TechRadar News

Business presentations no longer require a heavy projector permanently mounted in a meeting room. Portable models have become a practical alternative for small businesses and even hybrid and home workers.

And right now, the Anker Nebula P1i projector is just $299 (was $369) at Amazon, making it a more affordable way to equip offices, client meetings, and shared workspaces. In the UK, Anker's portable projector is also discounted to £299 (was £370) at Amazon.

Now, at 380 ANSI lumens, it's not bright enough for watching the World Cup final unless you're watching in a dark room (or once the sunsets). But it ticks all the core boxes for a budget portable projector for presentations and screenings.

Today's top portable projector deal

Native 1080p resolution, 4K support, 380 ANSI lumens, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Google TV, autofocus, automatic keystone correction, and a durable all-glass lens make this portable projector ideal for presentations, training sessions, and entertainment.

In the UK: now £299 (was £370)View Deal

The Nebula P1i produces a native 1080p Full HD image with 4K content support and 380 ANSI lumens of TÜV-certified brightness. The sharp resolution makes presentations, spreadsheets, documents, and video content easy to view in smaller meeting rooms and collaborative spaces, and it's equally suited to home entertainment purposes.

Anker's IEA 3.0 technology automatically handles autofocus, keystone correction, screen fitting, and obstacle avoidance, allowing you to place the projector almost anywhere.

You can get started within seconds, rather than spending valuable time faffing around with settings before every meeting.

Connectivity is flexible thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, and AUX, making it simple to connect laptops, wireless speakers, or other presentation equipment.

Built-in Google TV also gives you direct access to streaming services, which can be useful for training videos, demonstrations, and promotional content.

The hardware includes an all-glass lens, and a fully sealed optical engine helps to reduce dust build-up and support image quality.

Dual 10W Dolby Audio speakers rotate independently, so you can direct sound toward your audience, whether they're in a boardroom, classroom, or temporary workspace.

Although the P1i doesn't include an internal battery, its 7.3lb design remains portable enough to move between offices or take to client sites, and it can also be powered by a compatible portable power station for those locations lacking convenient mains access.

For the price, he Nebula P1i offers an attractive mix of Full HD resolution, automatic setup, durable optics, and flexible connectivity.

For small businesses, educators, and professionals who need a projector that's easy to transport and quick to setup, this is a terrific deal.

For more top picks, these are the best portable projectors we've tested and reviewed.

• See all projectors at Amazon

OpenAI has officially launched its first piece of hardware, and it's called the Codex Micro. It might sound like a retro computer in a Dan Brown book, but the Codex Micro is actually a very compact keyboard for coders.

How does that work? In this article we're going to dive into exactly what the Codex Micro is, and the point of the device, as well as how it aims to make life easier for programmers – and then we'll come on to the reaction of those coders (hold onto your hats, folks).

What is the Codex Micro?

(Image credit: OpenAI)

As already mentioned, it's a keyboard, but a keyboard with a very specific purpose. OpenAI produced this peripheral in conjunction with Work Louder, and it's actually a tiny keyboard – more of a keypad, if you will, or a 'macropad', in the same vein as pads that Work Louder has produced before, like the Creator Micro 2 – made for coders who are using Codex.

What's Codex? It's OpenAI's coding agent which can assist humans in writing programs, tackling debugging tasks, or indeed writing code from scratch prompted by simple natural language instructions (vibe coding, as it's known).

What does the Codex Micro do exactly?

(Image credit: OpenAI)

The idea with the Codex Micro is that you have a compact keyboard that easily allows you to switch between coding tasks (agents) with dedicated keys that have RGB lights to indicate their status at a glance. If there's an unread chat, you see a green light, or an orange one if user approval is needed, and so on.

There are other keys for voice dictation (hold and talk to give instructions – there isn't a built-in mic, by the way, this is triggering your laptop's microphone), a dial to adjust the reasoning level or how deeply the AI agent is thinking (though it can be changed to modify other options), and a joystick that you can map to what you need. The entire keyboard is fully customizable, it should be noted.

All of this is designed so that coders can quickly give instructions, see what's happening with agents and tasks at a glance, and swiftly switch between them, making changes in an easy and convenient way.

Who will buy the Codex Micro?

(Image credit: OpenAI)

Obviously enough, coders who use Codex are the target audience. Think of it this way: if Codex is a faster way of coding, OpenAI wants the Codex Micro to be a further hardware-based speed boost to this whole process.

It costs $230 in the US (around £170, AU$330), although it isn't yet in stock, and clearly this isn't a consumer-oriented device.

However, OpenAI does have plans for consumer hardware. If the rumor mill is to be believed, it could have a wearable in the works – or indeed a smart speaker, going by more recent speculation. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, this will be a smart speaker that uses mechanical elements to create a "sense that it is alive" and it'll tap your emails and other personal data to better "understand" you. Sounds frightening, right? Truly scary. It is, however, just a rumor.

What's the general reaction to the Codex Micro from programmers?

That smart speaker I just mentioned has already prompted a good deal of antagonistic reaction, and looking at the posts about the Codex Micro, it isn't faring much better than that rumored creation.

Notably there are a number of Redditors who are questioning whether this is April 1, and some kind of joke. There's quite a lot of shoulder-shrugging going on, or observations that you can easily buy a cheap macropad and DIY your own solution along these lines for a tenth of the price OpenAI is charging. Or indeed that there could just be a simple phone app version of this product (with on-screen buttons and sliders).

As one Redditor puts it: "Yeah it's like every big tech product now. Instead of a full keyboard, it's just 12 keys, and it's $230. It honestly feels like a prank and not a real product."

Others feel this is something that serious coders won't touch with a ten-foot pole. And I can't count the number of 'it looks like they asked ChatGPT to design a great product and ran with it' comments which are on Reddit.

Thus far, then, the reaction has been roundly negative from the target market. There are hardly any posts saying, 'I'm going to buy this', and there is a lot of disbelief being expressed at the price tag attached (even among the thin ranks of the interested parties).

The broader idea might be for OpenAI to test the hardware waters with a kind of initial practice launch here, ahead of the bigger consumer product that's coming, whether it's a smart speaker or wearable (maybe both). Although if so, quite why the price of the Codex Micro is pitched so high is a bit of a headscratcher – or maybe that's a test of sorts, and a sign of things to come, as well?

Medion Signium 27 S1: One-minute review

I'm a big fan of all-in-one (AIO) PCs, so I was pretty eager to get my hands on the Medion Signium 27 S1. I've long been a big proponent of the idea that we need more budget options in the PC hardware market, and with the current pricing crisis surrounding PC components like RAM and GPUs, reasonably priced systems are more important than ever.

Unfortunately, my excitement to review the Signium 27 S1 may have been somewhat misplaced. This certainly isn't a bad AIO desktop, offering decent (if unspectacular) performance in a clean, compact design. But there are a few too many small flaws here that make it difficult for me to recommend it wholeheartedly; if you're looking for one of the best all-in-one computers, this probably isn't it, though I do still think it can fill a certain niche in the market.

(Image credit: Future)

For the uninitiated, Medion is a German electronics company that cut its teeth producing budget PCs and notebooks in the 2010s and was recently purchased by Lenovo (whose leadership appears content to let Medion keep doing what it was already doing). I've tested some of Medion's gaming laptops in the past, and while they rarely wow, they're typically pretty good in terms of value for money.

And to be fair, the Signium 27 S1 is indeed good value for money. Its design language (particularly of the bundled keyboard and mouse) is clearly meant to evoke the Apple iMac 24-inch M4, and if you're only looking to do basic everyday tasks on your PC, it can offer a similar experience to Apple's excellent AIO for a far lower price. But if you crave the high-end build quality of Apple hardware or want a PC that can handle more demanding workloads, this won't be the right one for you.

Medion Signium 27 S1: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future)

• How much does it cost? Starting at $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

With a starting price of $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250), the Medion Signium 27 S1 is aggressively positioned in the all-in-one PC market, undercutting similar offerings from the likes of Lenovo and MSI.

There are a few different configurations available, which seem to vary greatly from region to region. My review unit uses an Intel Core 7 240H, while the cheapest configuration available uses the Core 5 210H. 1TB of storage comes as standard, which is very nice for the price, with 16GB of RAM in the lowest configuration and 32GB in my review model.

The closest comparison is the HP OmniStudio X, which costs $830 for the 27-inch 1080p configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU. The HP AIO offers superior build quality and very marginally better performance, which makes it a more attractive option for US shoppers – but Medion wins in Europe and Australia, since that super-budget configuration of the OmniStudio X is only available in the US.

The only real problem with the Signium 27 S1 from a purchasing standpoint is availability. It's available exclusively through Aldi (yes, that Aldi) in the US and Australia, which means the prices above are pretty much just guidelines since Aldi retains the power to adjust the price on a per-store basis – though of course, you may well find one for cheaper. Fortunately for UK consumers, you can get it through Amazon or directly from Medion's website.

• Value: 4 / 5

Medion Signium 27 S1: Specs

(Image credit: Future)Medion Signium 27 S1 specs

Base configuration

Review configuration

Price:

$875 / £649 (around AU$1,250)

$1,150 / £849 (around AU$1,635)

CPU:

Intel Core 5 210H

Intel Core 7 240H

Graphics:

Integrated Intel Arc Graphics

Integrated Intel Arc Graphics

RAM:

16 GB DDR5

32GB DDR5

Storage:

1TB SSD M.2

1 TB SSD M.2

Display:

27" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, non-touch, 400 nits, 60Hz

27" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, non-touch, 400 nits, 60Hz

Ports:

Ethernet (RJ45), 2x USB-C, 4x USB-A, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, Combi audio jack

Ethernet (RJ45), 2x USB-C, 4x USB-A, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, Combi audio jack

Wireless:

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Camera:

1080p webcam with privacy shutter

1080p webcam with privacy shutter

Weight:

3.8kg / 8.38lbs

3.8kg / 8.38lbs

Dimensions (H x W x D):

615 × 180 × 480mm

615 × 180 × 480mm

Medion Signium 27 S1: design

(Image credit: Future)

• Sleek design with easy assembly
• Limited range of screen movement
• Solid port selection

Gone are the days when AIO PCs were chunky, ugly devices. Now even a budget all-in-one can look good – and the Medion Signium 27 S1 certainly does look good.

Things do begin to fall apart a little once you actually touch it, though. The three buttons on the underside of the display are unsatisfyingly spongey, and although the base is solid metal and feels fairly durable, the rest of the device (including the keyboard and mouse) is made of cheap-feeling plastic. The mount is also very limited, only allowing for a small range of tilt with no height or rotation adjustment.

Still, there are several redeeming features here. The whole thing is very easy to assemble and start using, and the port selection is good for a PC in this price range, with a USB-C and USB-A on the side of the unit for easy access plus another USB-C, three more USB-As, Ethernet, and HDMI inputs and outputs – meaning you can either connect a second display for productivity, or use the whole device as a dumb monitor for a different system.

The webcam is merely passable, providing 1080p recording with pretty washed-out colors. It'll work for Zoom meetings, but don't expect to look good. On the bright side, there's both a physical camera shutter and a kill switch (which is a little redundant) for privacy purposes.

(Image credit: Future)

The display is decent enough, more than capable of handling everyday office tasks, and built with nice slim bezels. With a resolution of 1080p, a 60Hz refresh rate, and decidedly average color reproduction, it's not great for gaming or watching movies. The maximum brightness is fine, but again, it could definitely be better. Unsurprisingly, this monitor doesn't support HDR.

The IPS panel used here has a good-quality anti-glare coating, which helps offset the lackluster brightness; I had no problems using it in a brightly-lit room in the middle of the day. Strangely, the display can actually be raised to a 73.5Hz refresh rate, but doing so immediately knocks the resolution down to a blurry 720p, so 60Hz is the effective maximum (as listed on the spec page for the Signium 27 S1).

Surprisingly, the Signium is upgradable, with the option to remove the back panel and swap out the RAM and SSD for higher-spec components should you so desire. My review unit wouldn't really benefit from this kind of bump in performance terms, but being able to add more storage is definitely a plus.

FutureFutureFutureFuture

Lastly, the Signium 27 S1 comes bundled with a keyboard and mouse, both of which are clearly meant to evoke the aesthetic of Apple's Magic peripherals. They're absolutely nowhere close to Apple's hardware in terms of quality, immediately feeling cheap and tacky under the fingers.

They work, but they're undeniably very far from any of the best keyboards and best mice, especially the keyboard, so you'll most likely want to consider upgrading unless you have a high tolerance for poor-quality technology.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Medion Signium 27 S1: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Good performance for basic workloads
• Ill-suited for gaming and creative tasks
• Sound quality is poor

Here's how the Medion Signium 27 S1 performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

GeekBench 6 (single-core) 2,409; (multi-core): 10,227

3DMark Fire Strike: 4,337; Time Spy: 1,617; Night Raid: 16,686

CrossMark Overall: 1,540; Productivity: 1,473; Responsiveness: 1,287; Creativity: 1,719

Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (1080p, High): 16 fps

Without beating around the bush, the performance on offer here is merely alright. If you want a svelte all-in-one desktop for basic office tasks like web browsing, word processing, and video calls, then it can get the job done very competently. It comes with Windows 11 as standard and the usual free trial of Microsoft 365.

I found that for my straightforward work, the Signium 27 S1 was very responsive and effective, giving me no noticeable slowdown or issues with productivity. Once I swapped out the mouse and keyboard for something more amenable to my tastes, I actually quite liked working on it.

But for more demanding tasks, like gaming or creative workloads, the Intel Core 7 240H falls short. You can squeeze a bit of casual gaming out of it by tweaking down the graphical settings and using resolution upscaling tools like AMD FSR or Intel XeSS, but don't expect to be playing Cyberpunk 2077 on this PC.

(Image credit: Future)

Creative tasks offer similarly lackluster performance. While the Signium is arguably capable of low- to mid-level 3D rendering, digital art, and video processing, it's really not ideal for that sort of work. While not part of our standard benchmarking suite for AIO PCs, I fired up Canva and Photoshop during my testing period and found that it really started to struggle once numerous layers were involved.

Finally, you'll want to get your hands on a decent headset or a set of the best computer speakers if you have any intention of playing audio via this PC. The integrated speakers are weak and tinny with poor noise cancelling, more or less hopeless for anything beyond very basic video playback.

• Performance: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Should you buy the Medion Signium 27 S1?Medion Signium 27 S1 scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The pricing here is competitive, but availability issues and configuration confusion might turn off some potential buyers.

4 / 5

Design

It looks excellent and offers solid functionality, but the build quality is lackluster.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Performance in basic tasks is good, but don't expect to run any demanding software or get good audio performance from the built-in speakers.

3 / 5

Total score

The Medion Signium 27 S1 offers an undeniably solid value proposition, but fails to impress in a few key areas.

3.5 / 5

Buy the Medion Signium 27 S1 if...

You're on a tight budget
In terms of value for money, this AIO delivers the goods. Few desktop systems can offer this sort of spec sheet at this price point.

You want an attractive all-in-one computer
Despite my issues with the build quality, the Medion Signium 27 S1 looks excellent considering the price point.

You want an extra monitor and an extra PC
Using the Signium 27 S1 as a second monitor is a seamless process, which is a neat bit of additional functionality.

Don't buy it if...

You need strong performance
Even with the upgrade options, there's no real chance that you'll be able to use the Signium 27 S1 for creative workloads or triple-A gaming.

You want good build quality
Although it looks nice at first glance, this isn't a system that was built to a premium standard. The bundled keyboard in particular feels extremely cheap.

Also consider

If my Medion Signium 27 S1 review has you considering other options, here are two other AIO PCs to consider...

Apple iMac 24-inch M4
The Apple iMac 24-inch M4 is the pinnacle of this type of computer and still sets the bar, especially in the looks department. It’s also fairly powerful thanks to Apple’s M4 chip, even though it hasn’t gotten a meaningful update outside of that Apple silicon and upgraded RAM in quite a while.

Read the full Apple iMac 24-inch M4 review

HP OmniStudio X
The lower-spec version of the HP OmniStudio X 27 in the US is probably the closest product to the Signium 27 S1, making it a very strong alternative – plus, it offers higher-spec configurations with discrete graphics, if you're willing to drop a bit more cash.

Read the full HP OmniStudio X review

How I tested the Medion Signium 27 S1

• Tested for one work week
• Used it for productivity and gaming
• Ran it through our standard benchmarking suite, plus some extra tests

I used the Medion Signium 27 S1 as my regular work system for one week, swapping it out for my everyday desktop at home and using it for the usual range of work I do for TechRadar: online research, video calls, and writing reviews like this one.

I also ran our usual selection of benchmark tests (which you can see in the Performance section of this review) as well as firing up some extra programs to do further testing, including Canva, Photoshop, and Cyberpunk 2077 (which ran very poorly, no surprise there).

I've been reviewing PC hardware for more than eight years, testing all kinds of products from desktop computers to individual peripherals. I put every bit of my industry experience into my review process, so you can trust that it's both accurate and impartial.

• First reviewed July 2026

• Two UK men sentenced to 5 years and 6 months for the 2024 cyberattack on Transport for London, linked to the Scattered Spider group
• Police seized devices showing evidence of the TfL breach; Flowers was also mid‑attack on US healthcare firms SSM Health and Sutter Health at the time of arrest
• TfL reported $39M in damages; the NCA says the sentencing effectively dismantled Scattered Spider, with Microsoft confirming the arrests degraded the group’s operations

Two young men, one aged 20 and the other 18, have been sentenced to five years and six months in prison for their involvement in the cyberattack on Transport for London (TfL) in 2024.

Thalha Jubair, from East London, and Owen Flowers, from Walsall, West Midlands were arrested in 2025 under the suspicion that they were the leading members of Scattered Spider - an infamous hacking collective known for breaching dozens of companies. Initial reports from different cybersecurity organizations claimed the group consisted mostly of teenagers whose native language was English.

During the arrest, the police seized different types of electronic equipment from the suspects, including laptops, PCs, smartphones, hard drives, removable storage, and more. On one of the computers, law enforcement found screenshots and videos showing the intrusion into TfL’s systems.

Millions in damages

To make matters even worse, Flowers was in the middle of breaking into US healthcare companies SSM Health Care Corporation and Sutter Health when he was arrested: According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), these two were already “infiltrated and damaged”.

The attack on TfL was one of the more disruptive incidents that year, and one which caused a lot of financial damage, too. According to a report TfL shared with the City of London Police (CoLP), it suffered around $39 million in loss and recovery costs.

Both Jubair and Flowers initially pleaded not guilty and changed their pleas to guilty on the day they were due to stand trial, it was said. Now, they are both sentenced to more than five years in jail. The NCA says these arrests and sentencing effectively dismantled the notorious hacking collective.

“Although other cybercriminals may continue to use the damaged Scattered Spider brand, the NCA’s action against Jubair and Flowers effectively halted the group’s criminal activity,” the NCA said in its report.

“Independent assessment supports this, with Microsoft confirming that the arrests materially degraded the group's ability to continue conducting cybercriminal operations.”

I've uncovered a pretty cool way to save almost $400 off a ThinkPad by combining two separate promo codes.

Right now, you can get the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD for $1,324.39 (was $1719) at Lenovo. The laptop is already discounted down to $1,471.55. But then, enter coupon code THINKWEEKEND, which saves you $77.45, and code LENOVO10DEAL to save an extra $147.16. That's almost $400 off one of our top-rated business laptops.

I don't know how long this loophole will last though, so use them while you can. Better still, you can run this coupon combo across a range of other laptops and desktops, too.

Today's top Lenovo ThinkPad deal

Lenovo's ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD combines a Ryzen 5 PRO processor, 16GB DDR5 memory, a 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, Wi-Fi 7, and business-focused security in a lightweight laptop built for work, study, and travel.

Use coupon codes THINKWEEKEND and LENOVO10DEAL for a big saving.View Deal

Business laptops can sometimes blur together, but Lenovo's ThinkPad range has always stood out for me, earning its reputation by focusing on reliability, security, and practical features that make everyday work easier.

Powered by AMD's Ryzen 5 PRO 230 processor, the ThinkPad T14 has more than enough performance for office work, web browsing, video meetings, spreadsheets, and multitasking.

You get 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, as well as a fingerprint reader for fast sign-ins, a 5MP RGB and IR webcam, a physical privacy shutter, and Windows 11 Pro, making it well suited to business tasks.

The 14-inch WUXGA IPS display has a 1920 x 1200 resolution with an anti-glare finish and 400 nits of brightness, making it easier to work in bright offices or while traveling on a train or plane.

A backlit keyboard, integrated Radeon 760M graphics, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 round out modern specifications that mean the laptop should continue to be perfectly fine for many years.

Although Lenovo markets the ThinkPad T14 primarily toward professionals and small businesses, it also makes plenty of sense for students and anyone wanting a durable, lightweight laptop that puts productivity ahead of flashy, but entirely unnecessary, extras.

If you need a dependable laptop that can handle almost anything you throw at it, these combined discounts make the ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD an easy recommendation.

For more top-performers, see our guide to the best business laptop. And for more savings, see our round-up of the best business laptop deals around right now.

Also consider: More ThinkPad deals

Lenovo's ThinkPad T14s 2-in-1 pairs an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor with 16GB LPDDR5X memory, a 256GB SSD, 14-inch touchscreen, Yoga Pen, Wi-Fi 6E, and a versatile 360-degree hinge.

You can use coupon codes THINKWEEKEND and LENOVO10DEAL for a big saving.View Deal

Lenovo's ThinkPad T14s Gen 7 combines a Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, 16GB LPDDR5X memory, 256GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, Wi-Fi 7, and a 14-inch WUXGA display in a lightweight Copilot+ PC for productivity.

You can use coupon code LENOVO10DEAL for a big saving.View Deal

• Shop all ThinkPads at Lenovo

Over the last year, one topic has dominated conversations across the cybersecurity industry: artificial intelligence.

Every week seems to bring another announcement, another capability, or another prediction about how AI will transform security. In offensive security, the discussion has become particularly intense. We are seeing AI-assisted vulnerability discovery, AI-generated attack simulations, AI-powered analysis tools, and increasingly bold claims about autonomous security testing.

The question I am asked most often is surprisingly simple:

“Will AI replace penetration testers?”

My answer is equally simple: No.

What AI will do is change how penetration testers work.

And in many ways, it will make experienced penetration testers even more valuable.

AI is already changing security testing:

Let’s start with the obvious.

AI is genuinely impressive.

Modern AI models can process vast amounts of information, identify patterns, summarize findings, correlate data sources, and surface potential issues far faster than any individual analyst could achieve manually.

Within offensive security, AI is already helping teams:

• Identify vulnerabilities more quickly
• Analyze large datasets
• Correlate findings across environments
• Surface potential attack paths
• Generate documentation and reporting
• Reduce repetitive manual tasks

These are meaningful improvements.

Many of the activities that traditionally consumed valuable consultant time can now be accelerated significantly.

As a result, organizations are gaining greater visibility into their environments than ever before.

But visibility alone has never been the ultimate goal.

Finding vulnerabilities has never been the hard part:

One of the biggest misconceptions in cybersecurity is that finding vulnerabilities is the primary challenge.

It isn’t.

Understanding risk is.

Most organizations already have access to large amounts of security data. They run vulnerability scanners. They receive penetration testing reports. They consume threat intelligence. They deploy attack surface management tools. They monitor logs and alerts.

The problem is rarely a complete lack of information. The problem is understanding what matters.

• Which vulnerabilities are genuinely exploitable?
• Which attack paths represent realistic threats?
• Which issues require immediate remediation?
• Which findings can safely wait?

These questions are considerably harder to answer than simply identifying a vulnerability. And they are questions that require context.

Context is where human expertise matters

A vulnerability rarely exists in isolation.

The real-world risk associated with any finding depends on a range of factors, including asset criticality, business impact, compensating controls, user privileges, environmental configuration, attacker motivation, and the relationships between multiple weaknesses.

This is where experienced penetration testers provide value that AI alone cannot replicate.

When performing an assessment, we are not simply identifying vulnerabilities. We are thinking like attackers.

We are asking questions such as:

• How would I gain initial access?
• What would I target next?
• How could I chain these weaknesses together?
• What data could be accessed?
• How difficult would exploitation actually be?
• What is the likely business impact?

These decisions are rarely straightforward. They require judgement, creativity, and experience.

Two organizations may have the same vulnerability present within their environments, yet the associated risk could be dramatically different depending on the surrounding context.

Understanding that difference is where human expertise becomes critical.

The future isn’t autonomous testing:

There is currently a great deal of excitement around autonomous security testing. The idea is appealing. Feed an environment into an AI model and receive a complete understanding of risk in return.

The reality is significantly more complex.

Attackers do not operate according to predefined workflows.

• They adapt.
• They improvise.
• They exploit unexpected opportunities.
• They combine seemingly insignificant weaknesses into meaningful attack chains.

Successful offensive security assessments require the same flexibility.

While AI can assist with analysis and discovery, security testing remains fundamentally an exercise in understanding human behavior, business context, and attacker decision-making. These are areas where human expertise continues to outperform automation.

For the foreseeable future, I believe the most effective approach will be human-led, AI-assisted testing. Not human versus AI. Human plus AI.

AI should make penetration testers better:

The conversation should not be about replacing penetration testers. It should be about enabling them. When repetitive activities are automated, consultants can spend more time focusing on the areas where they create the greatest value.

Instead of manually processing information, they can spend more time:

• Investigating attack paths
• Validating exploitability
• Understanding business impact
• Identifying complex attack chains
• Advising clients on remediation priorities
• Delivering meaningful security outcomes

In many respects, AI allows skilled security professionals to operate at a higher level. It augments expertise rather than replacing it. The result is not fewer penetration testers.

It is more effective penetration testers.

The real challenge is prioritization:

As AI continues to improve vulnerability discovery and analysis, organizations will inevitably uncover more security findings.

That sounds positive, but it introduces a new challenge. More findings do not automatically reduce risk. In fact, without effective prioritization, they can create additional noise.

The organizations that succeed over the next decade will not necessarily be the ones finding the most vulnerabilities. They will be the ones that can most effectively distinguish genuine risk from background noise, understand how attackers are likely to exploit weaknesses in practice, and make informed decisions about where to focus finite resources.

As AI continues to improve vulnerability discovery and analysis, security teams will inevitably gain access to more data, more findings, and greater visibility than ever before. While that represents a significant advancement for the industry, visibility alone does not reduce risk. The real value lies in understanding what matters, what is exploitable, and what action should be taken next.

That is why I believe the future of security testing is not autonomous. It is human-led and AI-assisted. AI tools will continue to accelerate analysis, improve visibility, and help uncover opportunities that may previously have been missed. However, understanding business context, assessing real-world risk, and making sound security decisions will remain fundamentally human responsibilities.

The cybersecurity industry has spent years trying to solve the visibility problem. AI is helping us make enormous progress. The next challenge is prioritization, and that is where experienced security professionals will continue to play their most important role.

We've featured the best antivirus 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

• Market research firm Newzoo reports that Grand Theft Auto 6 has "the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded"
• The game earned roughly $180 million in digital pre-order sales across the US and the five largest European markets during the last week of June
• It's estimated GTA 6 will achieve $3.3 - $5.2 billion in cumulative global sales by the end of launch week

Grand Theft Auto 6 reportedly achieved the strongest pre-order period ever and is on track to earn over $5 billion by the end of its launch week.

That's according to video game market research firm Newzoo, which released a new analysis reporting that the upcoming Rockstar title earned roughly $180 million in digital pre-order sales across the US and the five largest European markets during the last week of June.

These markets represent 69% of lifetime console players for GTA 5, which Newzoo used as a guide to estimate that the total global spend was around $260 million in the first week of pre-orders, concluding that this "kicks off the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded."

"That is a massive sum with major implications for how GTA 6's total sales should be forecast," the firm said. "Placed on the sales curve GTA 6 is likely to follow, that puts it on pace for $3.3 - $5.2 billion in cumulative global sales by the end of launch week."

The report states that popular titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA 6, follow three sales curves: the "brand-new IP," the "sequel with performance uncertainty," and "the proven sequel - a known quantity." GTA 6 "will most closely resemble the proven sequel curve," and will see linear growth as we get closer to release, with Newzoo predicting that the first-week pre-order sales account for roughly 5.8% of the total sales by the end of the game’s launch week.

With this being said, the firm believes GTA 6 could reach $4.5 billion in sales by the end of its first week on sale, which is roughly 51 million copies sold.

GTA 6 is the most anticipated game of all time, but it Newzoo noted that, contrary to social media reports, the game "has not done a billion dollars in pre-orders 21 weeks out" from launch.

"This is absurd. Given how pre-order curves look, nothing ever has and nothing ever will in the near future," Newzoo said. "What the data actually shows is $180 million in digital pre-order spend across the US and the five largest European markets in the final week of June, translating to a global opening week of roughly $260 million, with most of the ramp still ahead."

It added, "Run that figure through the plausible band of pre-order curves, and GTA VI is on track to book between $3.25 billion and $5.2 billion in week-one launch revenue. Even at the most conservative reading, namely that GTA 6 front-loads harder than any major title in our dataset, it lands at a tremendous number by any historical standard."

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19, but physical copies don't come with a disc, but a digital download code. Despite the controversy surrounding the move, a recent report suggested that the physical edition is a top seller at multiple retailers.

If you're shopping for a new phone but aren't sold on the usual Apple, Samsung, or Google options, this deal on the Nothing Phone (3) is well worth a look.

Right now, it's down to $599 (was $799) at Amazon, which is extremely close to the record-low price we saw over Prime Day just a few weeks ago. The device briefly hit $584, but this is the next best price I've seen.

On paper, the Nothing Phone (3) packs plenty of flagship-worthy hardware, including a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, a versatile quad 50MP camera system, and a sharp 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. It doesn't quite match the Galaxy S26 in outright performance, but that's arguably beside the point.

Nothing has built its reputation on offering something genuinely different, with a bold industrial aesthetic and a clean, distinctive take on Android that stands apart from the competition. Combined with this record-low price, the Phone (3) makes a compelling alternative to more conventional flagship devices like the Galaxy S26 or Google Pixel 10.

Nothing Phone (3) on sale at Amazon today

Nothing's latest flagship device has just tumbled down to $599 — a price that's just $15 away from the record-low during Amazon Prime Day. With an incredibly eye-catching (and fresh) design, powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, and Quad 50MP camera array, the Phone (3) is a fantastic alternative choice to the big Android names — particularly at this price.View Deal

Is the Nothing Phone (3) still worth it in 2026?

(Image credit: Blue Pixl Media)

When we reviewed the Nothing Phone (3) at TechRadar, we came away impressed by its distinctive design, solid hardware, and polished software experience. Our biggest criticism was its launch price, which put it in direct competition with flagship phones from Samsung and Apple. That made it a tougher recommendation unless you were looking for something really different.

With today's discount, however, the Phone (3) is a more tempting option. While the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset doesn't quite match the raw performance of the Galaxy S26, it's still more than capable for everyday use and remains a strong performer by 2026 standards.

In terms of specs, the Nothing Phone (3) holds up well, with a vibrant 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, long battery life backed by fast charging, and a versatile quad-camera setup built around four 50MP sensors.

In our testing, the hardware consistently produced impressive images, although we'd still give the edge to Apple and Google when it comes to cutting-edge image processing. Still, for most people, the Phone (3) is still an excellent camera phone.

Of course, specs have never been the main reason to buy a Nothing phone. The real appeal is its distinctive love-it-or-hate-it design. It's very different from the usual iPhone or Galaxy look, and the brand has also carried the industrial design through to its software with its own re-skinned version of Android.

In May, WordPress shipped the most consequential release in its history. Version 7.0 brought AI into the core of the CMS platform for the first time, and the people who built it made a choice that's easy to miss in all the noise about the feature itself. They left it switched off.

The infrastructure is in the codebase, but nothing reaches an AI service until the site owner connects a provider and turns it on. Upgrade a site and walk away, and it behaves exactly as it did the day before.

The on-switch was handed to the person who owns the site, not flipped on their behalf.

It's worth sitting with how deliberate that was. The team had just shipped the most powerful capability the platform has ever carried, and the posture they chose for it was opt-in, plugin-based, with nothing injected into anyone's site automatically.

In an industry that loves a sensible default, that restraint was itself a statement: this decision is yours to make.

Then the more interesting thing happened.

A reasonable instinct, taken one step too far

Within days of the release, SiteGround, one of the most established managed WordPress hosting companies in the business, did close to the opposite. It pre-installed and activated its own AI product across its customer base, configured it as the default connector, and bundled in a generous allowance of free usage to get people going.

The active-install count crossed a million almost immediately. Plenty of site owners logged in to find capable new software already running on sites they had never touched to put it there.

I want to be fair to SiteGround here, because fairness is where the useful lesson lives. This is a serious operator with a long, well-earned reputation, and the product it built is genuinely good, a real piece of engineering rather than a thin upsell. The reasoning behind the rollout isn't hard to reconstruct either.

The "correct" path to native AI is fiddly, and most people would stall somewhere in the middle and never finish it. Pre-installing the whole thing, free usage attached, removes that friction in a single stroke. From an operator's chair, that's a tempting piece of customer service, and I've sat in that chair for the better part of two decades. I understand the pull of it completely.

So this isn't a story about a company behaving badly. It's a story about a reasonable instinct (reduce friction, help the customer get to the good part faster) carried one step past the line. And the reaction told us exactly where that line is.

The objection wasn't AI. It was consent.

The pushback

The pushback was quick and pointed, and the striking thing about it was its subject. Almost none of it was about whether AI belongs in WordPress, or whether the tool was any good. Many of the people objecting use AI every day. What they objected to was finding it already switched on.

That distinction matters more than it first appears, because it separates two things the industry tends to blur: the quality of a change, and the consent to it. A genuinely good feature, installed without asking, still lands as something done to you rather than for you.

The standard defense (it's optional, you can remove it whenever you like) is all true, and none of it is the same as agreement. "We switched it on and you can switch it off" quietly moves the work of noticing, understanding, and undoing onto the customer, for a change they never approved. "Here's one-click setup if you'd like it" delivers the identical convenience and leaves the decision where it belongs.

This isn't a new tension. Webhosting companies have always made changes customers never see, and most of the time they're glad we do. But AI is going to surface this question over and over, because it's the most consequential thing most of us will ever be tempted to switch on by default. Getting the principle right now, while the stakes are still mostly reputational, is a lot cheaper than getting it wrong later.

The line worth holding

The honest objection to all of this is that hosts intervene on customer sites all the time, and nobody asks permission for that. True, and the distinction is the whole point.

When a host patches a vulnerability, blocks a malicious request, or disables a plugin that's being actively exploited, it's protecting the customer's site and the wider platform from harm. Customers extend us that trust precisely because it's defensive, narrow, and in their interest. Installing a new product is a different category of act.

It isn't protecting anything; it's changing what the website is. The trouble starts when the second borrows the permission we were granted for the first, when goodwill extended for security work quietly gets spent on shipping features. That's the line. Maintain the platform freely; change the product only with a yes.

Holding it doesn't mean making customers do more work. New capabilities can arrive off by default and one click away for anyone who wants them. Multi-site managers can get a single place to see and control what's running, rather than a hunt site by site.

Anything a host pushes can be pulled back as easily as it went out. And changes can be announced in plain language before they happen, including how to say no, because the absence of a clear, opt-out-inclusive heads-up is usually what turns an ordinary product decision into a breach of trust.

Parts of the ecosystem are already moving this way. None of it is anti-AI. If anything, it's what lets hosts lean into AI confidently, because customers can trust that nothing shows up uninvited.

Whose site is it, anyway?

As AI moves from novelty to default across the web, every host will face its own version of this question. Here's a genuinely useful new capability. Do we switch it on for everyone, or do we let people choose? The convenient answer and the right answer won't always be the same one, and the gap between them is where reputations are quietly made or lost.

It helps to remember who actually lives with the answer. When a host changes something on a site, the host moves on to the next ticket. The owner is the one who stays: the one whose visitor hits a page that behaves differently than it did the day before, whose inbox fills up when something looks off, whose name is on the business the site exists to represent. We get to make the change. They have to live with it. That asymmetry, more than anything written into the terms of service, is the real reason asking first isn't a nicety. It's an acknowledgement that the consequences were never ours to carry in the first place.

The site owners who pushed back this spring weren't standing against progress. Most of them, I'd wager, will happily adopt the very tooling they objected to, the moment they get to be the ones who switch it on. They were defending something simple that's easy to lose sight of when the technology is moving this fast: it's their site. Not the site we host for them. Theirs. A host's authority runs right up to the edge of the customer's ownership and stops there, and the best operators I've worked alongside never needed reminding of it. They saw their role as stewardship rather than possession.

That trust is the real product. Not the servers, not the dashboard, not even the support, though every bit of it matters. What a customer is buying is the confidence that nothing happens to their site that they didn't choose, and that when we do step in uninvited, it's to protect what's theirs and never to quietly redraw it. Trust like that takes years to earn and an afternoon to spend. Asking first is simply how you keep from spending it.

Get the boundary right, and AI in hosting becomes exactly what it should be: useful, and genuinely welcome. Get it wrong, and even the best feature in the world arrives as something taken rather than offered. The difference was never the technology. It was only ever whether anyone thought to ask.

We tested, reviewed, and rated the best website builders.

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 UK's payment landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation. While regulatory initiatives, such as the mandatory authorized push payment (APP) reimbursement scheme, provide safeguards, sophisticated cyber-attacks and elaborate scams relentlessly evolve.

To reduce fraud, strong data-sharing frameworks and collaboration across the financial services industry are essential. Collaboration between big tech, telecoms, banks and the public sector can help combat fraud through a joined-up approach to data-sharing aimed at driving out scammers and identifying potentially fraudulent transactions.

Current landscape

The scale of UK fraud is stark, with losses reaching £1.28 billion in 2025, a 4% increase year-on-year. Fraud is now operating on an industrial scale, with criminals using increasingly advanced tools and techniques to target victims. Fraud increasingly funds serious and organized crime in the UK and globally, reinforcing its status as a national security threat.

Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud is a growing area of concern – this type of fraud continues to rise, with 248,070 cases recorded in 2025 (up 7%), showing that fraudsters are consistently adapting, pivoting to exploit new vulnerabilities, even as defenses strengthen. New scams have focused on investment, purchase-related, advance fee, invoice, and mandate scams as well as romance and impersonation scams.

Total losses from APP fraud rose sharply to £576.4 million (up 19%). This reflects a clear shift in criminal behavior, from exploiting systems to manipulating people through increasingly sophisticated social engineering.

Purchase scams made up 71% of all APP cases, demonstrating the scale and diversity of modern fraud tactics. This impact extends beyond financial loss, affecting individual livelihoods, disrupting businesses, and undermining national economic confidence.

Crucially, most APP fraud now originates outside the banking system. 66% of cases begin online (accounting for 32% of losses) and 17% via telecommunications networks, highlighting the growing role of digital platforms and telecoms in enabling fraud. Criminals are no longer primarily hacking systems; they are manipulating people, using sophisticated social engineering to bypass even the strongest technical controls.

Key considerations for the payments industry

Tackling these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach, combining robust technology, seamless collaboration to enable effective and compliant data-sharing, effective regulation, and public awareness. Key considerations are:

What does government strategy mean in practice?

Initiatives, such as the Government Fraud Strategy, provide an important framework for government, law enforcement, and the private sector. Infrastructure and data-sharing initiatives need to be effective, compliant, and aligned with national priorities to disrupt and prevent fraud. This ensures the fight against fraud remains a national priority that continuously adapts.

New data-sharing initiatives with Faster Payment System participants can play a key role here. Pay.UK’s work with participants on Enhanced Data Exchange (EDEx) will facilitate secure, timely data-sharing to empower financial institutions to detect and prevent fraudulent payments before they happen.

While still in development, its principles will complement the FCA’s APP fraud guidance and the Home Office’s Data Strategy ambitions: to enable secure, proportionate information exchange that helps prevent fraud before funds leave the system.

How can the industry continue to build cross-sector collaboration?

Cross-sector intelligence sharing and advanced data analytics are increasingly vital. Real-time, secure data exchange illuminates patterns, identifies emerging threats, and enables proactive intervention before attacks occur. When combined with strong governance and clear accountability, this kind of collaboration shifts fraud defense from isolated warning signs to a coordinated, system‑wide response.

Confirmation of Payee significantly reduces misdirected payments and various APP fraud types such as impersonation and invoice scams. It's a vital, preventative layer of security before funds are transferred. It has implications beyond its intended purpose and has strongly influenced the development of Verification of Payee in Europe.

There is a growing call for greater enforceable responsibilities for technology platforms and telecommunications providers, not only to prevent fraud at source, but also to contribute financially and operationally to combating it.

How can the industry empower and educate end users?

Beyond technology and industry collaboration, fraud prevention has a vital human dimension. Educating and empowering end users remain central – recognizing the warning signs of a scam is still one of the strongest protections available. But education alone is not enough. Consumers also need better information at the moment a decision is made.

It’s encouraging to see that, as a payments community, we are already building richer data-sharing across the ecosystem to provide clearer, more relevant context when prompting customers to pause before making a payment. Banks are moving beyond generic warnings, providing genuinely useful guidance and strengthening the point of payment as a powerful, collective line of defense.

The APP reimbursement scheme is a significant consumer protection funded by UK banks. Data from the PSR shows that £215 million was reimbursed to victims of APP fraud in 2025 alone. Across the first 15 months of the scheme (October 2024 to December 2025), 89% of the money lost to APP scams has been successfully claimed back from a payment firm and returned to victims.

While not a direct comparison, this is a significant uptick from the 65% reimbursement rate reported by UK Finance for personal accounts in 2024. Providing a safety net of up to £85,000 for victims, this scheme offers a clear recovery mechanism and brings more consistency for customers than the previous voluntary Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code.

Further, the scheme continues to evolve in line with the shifting payment landscape. The PSR has appointed Frontier Economics to carry out an independent evaluation and review of the APP fraud policies, the results of which are due to be published in the second half of 2026.

These findings, which look at the current effectiveness of the policies, fraud performance reporting and the reimbursement requirement, will influence the future of APP fraud prevention strategies and regulatory requirements, ensuring the creation of safe and trusted payment infrastructure

The battle against payment fraud is ongoing, demanding constant vigilance and strategic adaptation. While the digital age has transformed how we transact, it has also presented fraudsters with new avenues for exploitation. Yet, as outlined, it is a battle we are actively and collectively winning.

By embracing a multi-faceted approach, combining robust technological defenses, seamless industry collaboration, effective regulatory frameworks, and comprehensive public awareness, we are building a formidable shield against these threats.

We've featured the best billing and invoicing 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

• HP India has been fined 1.42 billion rupees ($14.7 million) for two separate cases
• Self-reporting ultimately landed it with lighter fines
• Both cases relate to government tender manipulation between 2017 and 2020

India's Competition Commission (CCI) has accused HP India and some related resellers of coordinating bids for Indian government contracts on the Government e-Marketplace.

According to the CCI, the company and certain partners manipulated government tenders by predetermined or communicated bid prices, submitting deliberately uncompetitive bids to create the appearance of competition and controlling discounts.

The regulator revealed two separate cases for investigation – one relating to PCs, and the other relating to printing consumables like ink and toner.

HP accused of manufacturing bids to win Indian government contracts

In the printing case, the CCI uncovered emails, witness statements, WhatsApp group conversations and even a 2019 video from a reseller meeting. Discussions around which companies would submit supporting bids, prices and discounts, and which reseller should win particular contracts were found.

The CCI declared that a total of 16 Tier-2 resellers had violated its Competition Act through bid rigging, with HP India fined 119.8 million rupees and its resellers fined a combined total of 23 million rupees.

A separate case revealed similar conduct covering laptops, desktops, workstations, POS systems, peripherals and more. Similarly, five additional resellers were highlighted on top of HP India's core businesses, bringing this case's fines total to 1.3 billion rupees and 12.2 million rupees respectively.

The CCI's final orders bring HP India's total fines to around 1.42 billion rupees, or $14.7 million, excluding the fines imposed on its partners.

But the fine could have been a lot worse had HP India not come forward and admitted to its wrongdoing between 2017 and 2020, having submitted a lesser-penalty application to buy itself a discount on the fines.

TechRadar Pro has asked HP for a comment, but we did not receive an immediate response.

The enterprise technology industry has a peculiar relationship with accountability. When it comes to cloud uptime, latency, and data security, we expect contractual guarantees, SLAs, and clearly defined remedies. But when it comes to AI-generated outputs, the actual content these systems produce, we've quietly accepted a different standard: best effort.

I've spent years in commercial and operational roles at companies like Gap, Amazon, and Door Dash / Wolt. In every one of those environments, product visuals weren't a marketing nice-to-have. They were infrastructure. A wrong color on a listing didn't just look bad; it drove returns. A missing ingredient on a food image wasn't an aesthetic issue; it was a trust issue that compounded at scale and was dangerous to our customers.

So when AI-generated images started entering enterprise workflows in earnest, I watched with real interest. The efficiency gains were compelling: the ability to generate, retouch, and adapt product visuals at a speed and scale that traditional studio workflows simply cannot match.

But something fundamental was missing from the enterprise conversation: accountability for outputs.

The gap between impressive and dependable

There's a difference between AI that produces impressive results in demos and AI tools you can stake commercial operations on. For enterprise buyers, that gap matters enormously.

Consider what happens when am AI-generated product image fails at volume. A wrong product color in a hero image doesn't trigger one return; it triggers thousands. A distorted shape on a fashion listing doesn't affect one conversion; it affects an entire category. The commercial exposure from visual inaccuracy compounds at scale in a way that individual errors simply don't.

Yet for most of the AI visual tools currently available to enterprise buyers, the contractual position on this exposure is essentially zero. You buy credits, you run images, and what comes out is what you get. If the output doesn't match the brief, you absorb the cost: in regeneration time, in quality control overhead, and ultimately in the downstream commercial impact of content that doesn't perform.

This isn't an indictment of the technology. AI-generated images have genuinely transformed what's operationally possible for enterprise visual production. But the commercial model hasn't kept up with the commercial reality.

Why ownership changes everything

The reason most AI visual vendors can't offer meaningful output guarantees isn't reluctance; it's architecture. If you're building on third-party foundation models, you have no ability to evaluate, course-correct, or stand behind the quality of what those models produce at the output level. The accountability stops at the API.

The vendors who can make guarantees are the ones who own the full stack: the generation models, the evaluation models, and the remediation process. This is the structural distinction that makes contractual guarantees viable, not as a commercial gesture, but as something that can actually be operationalized.

When a proprietary fidelity evaluation model is running on every output before delivery, you have a mechanism for identifying failures before the client does. When you own the rater, the fixer, and the generation pipeline, you have the ability to correct those failures.

When you've run a feasibility check on a customer's actual catalogue before any commercial commitment, you know what the pass rate will look like in production.

That's the architecture that makes a guarantee meaningful: not a promise, but an auditable process with contractual teeth.

What contractual accountability looks like in practice

The mechanics matter here, because "guarantee" can mean many things. In practice, an enterprise visual guarantee should do three things: define pass/fail criteria upfront based on the customer's actual brief; evaluate every output against those criteria before delivery; and trigger a clear remedy, regeneration or credit refund, when failures occur.

Critically, the criteria need to be specific. Product fidelity failures, an altered color, a missing ingredient, a distorted product shape, are measurable and contractually defensible. Subjective aesthetic preferences, a lighting angle, a background tone, are not. The boundary between these two things is where a real guarantee lives, and where vague commitments fall apart.

For enterprise buyers, this specificity is valuable in itself. It forces the conversation about what "quality" actually means for a given catalogue before procurement, rather than after. That clarity typically improves outcomes on both sides.

The accountability moment for enterprise AI

We're at a point in the enterprise AI cycle where the conversation needs to shift from what these systems can do to what vendors are willing to stand behind. Capability is no longer the differentiator; the market is full of capable tools. Dependability is.

For enterprise procurement teams, this means starting to ask harder questions. Not just "what's your accuracy rate?" but "what happens when it's wrong, and what are the contractual terms?" Not just "can you handle our volume?" but "what remedies apply when you don't meet the standard we've agreed?"

For the vendor community, it means recognising that the era of best-effort AI in enterprise contexts is ending. Buyers who are running tens of thousands of product images through AI pipelines need the same accountability from those systems that they expect from any other mission-critical infrastructure.

The goal in commerce was never the most beautiful image. It was always an image that sells, reliably, accurately, at scale. Enterprise AI that can guarantee that outcome is the next competitive frontier. The vendors willing to back their outputs contractually are the ones that will earn a place in enterprise infrastructure for the long term.

We've featured the best AI website builder.

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

A decade ago, technology used data to make commercial real estate processes faster. Brokers leveraged tech platforms to gather data, run it through a process, and serve up solutions that flowed from predefined formulas.

Today, data is used to make processes smarter. With the power of AI, platforms are giving brokers more than fast access to data and computations. They are also serving up decisions. Data is no longer simply an input for a system, but rather the intelligence of the system.

The change introduces a host of new capabilities. AI doesn’t just accelerate processes; it automates them.

But the change also introduces new dangers. Pre-AI, data issues resulted in platform failures. Now, data issues result in faulty thinking.

For commercial real estate brokers, as for any business professional who has integrated AI into their processes, faulty thinking leads to misleading outputs.

And decisions based on those outputs have the potential to lead to big losses. Consequently, brokers need clean data to execute in the Age of AI.

AI-driven systems need data that delivers context

When it comes to data, context is the key to AI’s effectiveness. Accessing data is not enough. AI systems need to understand data.

The traditional platforms brokers would use to gain real estate insights might show parcel boundaries, zoning codes, permits, or points of interest as separate layers. They streamlined the access and filtering process, but users had to determine the context.

For AI to function as intended, it needs to understand how the layers of data relate to each other. It has to know whether a zoning district allows a use, whether the parcel size supports the intended development, whether permit activity signals market momentum, and whether surrounding demand drivers support the investment thesis.

Clean data allows AI to reason across categories. It does away with fragmentation, inconsistencies, and exaggerations. The platforms that empower brokers have refined, normalized, and blended data into one usable intelligence layer.

In the world of AI, reliable data is often described as having representativeness. It gives AI an accurate representation of the environment it is being asked to assess. Clean data ensures representativeness.

AI-driven systems don’t warn users when data is bad

Brokers use AI-driven systems to uncover insights they need to make confident decisions. But when those systems run on bad data, brokers end up with dangerously misplaced confidence.

The threat of being misled by AI systems is often overlooked because AI doesn’t warn users when it is running on bad data. It will confidently provide an answer that sounds precise, even when the response is questionable because it is built on data that is incomplete, outdated, misclassified, or overstated.

For real estate brokers, moving on any outputs built on bad data can lead to real financial consequences. A developer may overestimate the buildable area. A retailer may misread a trade area. An analyst may recommend a site that fails zoning review. An investor may compare markets using datasets that are not actually comparable.

AI’s intelligence is based on the data used to train it. Good or bad, that is the well it has to draw from.

General AI models can’t deliver the context brokers need

General AI models like ChatGPT or Claude can help real estate brokers if they are looking for general information. They can explain zoning, offer alternative financing options, or help explore the possible outcomes of a real estate scenario. But their intelligence is constrained by their data, which typically won’t include the localized, up-to-date, contextual content that drives real estate developers’ decision-making.

To qualify as “clean,” the data driving platforms used by brokers needs to be complete and contextually connected. Foundation models like those developed by OpenAI are extremely powerful, but they are not a substitute for clean, domain-specific data.

They cannot reliably know whether a specific parcel in a specific county has current zoning coverage, whether the local assessor data is missing a building attribute, whether a permit record has been matched to the correct parcel, or whether two providers are using conflicting land-use definitions — unless that data has been cleaned, governed, and connected.

AI can provide brokers with the reason they need, but only when it is given trusted context. In commercial real estate, that context is highly local, highly fragmented, and constantly changing.

Counties publish data differently, municipal zoning codes vary, and permit structures are inconsistent, to name just a few of the contextual challenges. AI systems become useful for real estate decision-making by giving them a reliable data layer underneath.

Demanding clean data is especially important for commercial real estate brokers because the cost of error is high. A site evaluation can influence acquisition strategy, entitlement risk, development feasibility, lending assumptions, and a host of other critical components. A small data issue upstream can become a large financial mistake downstream.

The only platforms brokers should trust are those that treat data quality like infrastructure. You wouldn’t build a high-rise on a weak foundation. The same applies to AI. The model, interface, and automation layer are only as strong as the data foundation beneath them.

We've featured the best property management 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

• The UK has the second-highest energy costs and planning environments in a study of 10 countries
• Britain also ranks ninth out of 10 in terms of overall network quality
• VodafoneThree wants networks to be seen as critical national infrastructure

VodafoneThree has argued that the UK is falling behind the rest of Europe in its mobile infrastructure because of regulations, which make it hard for companies like itself to invest heavily in the right areas at the right time.

According to the report, the UK is being set back by pressers from all angles, including high energy costs for running mobile infrastructure, expensive property and site costs, planning delays, restrictive policies and even competition from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

More broadly on a global scale, the UK is also falling behind countries like Singapore, South Korea, the US, Norway, Australia, Germany and Hungary.

VodafoneThree slates UK mobile network regulatory landscape

Of the 10 specific countries studied in the company's analysis, VodafoneThree revealed that the UK has the second-highest energy costs and second-most burdensome planning environment. The UK ranks ninth on the scale of 10 countries for overall network quality.

"Bringing the UK’s investment environment up to the standard of our international peers could help to support public services, eliminate digital divides and enable communities to thrive," Networks Director Andrea Dona wrote.

The report warns that the UK could fall behind peers in terms of digital public services, national resilience and economic growth if the landscape doesn't improve, which is why it's working with the UK Government "to examine the barriers holding back our mobile networks."

One of the biggest changes that could impact the landscape is a shift to recognize mobile network operators are providers of critical national infrastructure, so that they're protected against some cost fluctuations such as energy costs.

"Fast, reliable and quality mobile networks are a fundamental driver of economic growth and prosperity," Dona concluded.

• The Garmin Cirqa is a rumored screenless smart band, like a Whoop or Google Fitbit Air
• It's been the subject of a few unofficial leaks, and has been posted on Garmin's site in error before
• Another recent now-deleted post on Garmin's Romanian website has added fuel to the rumors

The Garmin Cirqa smart band is all but confirmed at this point. For months now, we've seen leak after leak about Garmin's Cirqa fitness tracker, and while we don't know too many details, it's seemingly a screenless smart band designed to compete with the likes of Whoop and the Google Fitbit Air.

Now it's reportedly leaked yet again. As spotted by Gadgets and Wearables, a recent update to Garmin's Romanian website, on the page explaining a feature called Health Status, mentions the Garmin Cirqa smart band (styled 'CIRQA') as a compatible device.

Health Status is a feature that combines five core metrics — heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, skin temperature and pulse ox — to give an overview of your general health. It's a feature on most of the best Garmin watches now, so it's unsurprising that the Cirqa would be getting it.

The reference to Cirqa was reportedly swiftly deleted, but not before a screenshot was captured.

In January, Garmin posted the Cirqa on its own website, including color options (black and French Gray), before swiftly deleting it. It seems this has happened again. Add in other recent leaks, and you can see why it's basically confirmed at this stage.

The screenless 'focus wearables' category is having a moment. We've already seen the launches of the Oura Ring 5, Whoop competitors such as the Polar Loop (as seen in the image above, alongside the Whoop MG and Amazfit Helio Strap), and most recently the Google Fitbit Air. It makes sense that Garmin, one of the leading names in fitness tracking, wants in on the action while the category is still on the up.

I don't think a launch can be far away at this point, and I'll be keeping my ear to the ground for more Cirqa news as it breaks.

Spoilers for Heartstopper Forever ahead.

It's a mammoth task to bring a beloved IP like Heartstopper to a close, but creator Alice Oseman has done an incredible job with the new Netflix movie, Heartstopper Forever.

If you're bummed out because we're not getting a full fourth season, don't be. As Nick (Kit Connor), Charlie (Joe Locke), and the gang all brace before going their separate ways to university, a feature film actually reflects their growing maturity and crises of confidence much more fittingly.

As our favorite friends brace themselves before heading their separate ways to start university (and more, but more on that later), emotions are running high.

But do our beloved relationships survive the final farewell, and what is everyone planning to do next? Here's the full Heartstopper Forever ending breakdown that you're looking for.

Do Nick and Charlie stay together?

(Image credit: Netflix)

Yes... but that isn't without its challenges. We start Heartstopper Forever with Nick and Charlie as besotted and in love as they always have been, with the others gently roasting them as being the "perfect couple" while their own relationships experience problems.

But while Charlie embraces his newfound self-confidence through becoming Head Boy at Truham Grammar School, Nick is having a tougher time with his emotions. He's decided that he wants to put Leeds University as his first choice on his application, and the thought of drifting apart from Charlie is weighing on his mind.

Nick starts to close himself off from Charlie, not fully explaining why he's not feeling 100%. Charlie is left at a loss, only wanting to support Nick in the same way he's always felt supported in return. This all comes to a head at a house party, where the boys get into an argument.

As Charlie tells Tori (Jenny Walser), Nick is trying to prevent a future problem that hasn't presented itself yet... Charlie just doesn't know exactly what that problem is. At the party, Nick complains that Charlie has been avoiding him the whole night, with Charlie responding that he thought Nick might want some space to talk through uni and future plans with his friends.

Nick, slightly drunk, lashes out by saying that the pair could probably use some space. "So you want to break up then?" Charlie asks, with Nick replying, "Well, it sounds like you want to break up." With communication between them coming to a halt, that's exactly what happens.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Cue endless moping while keeping to themselves. Charlie stops eating and refuses to get out of bed, with Elle (Yasmin Finney), Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and Tao (William Gao) all staging an intervention by taking Charlie to Truham Pride. All goes well until Charlie spots Nick talking to a girl on the dance floor at a local gay club.

From Nick's perspective, he's just looking for friends. Just like Charlie, he's been unable to shake off the breakup, telling mum Sarah (Anna Maxwell Martin) that everything that has happened is his own fault, believing that it's too late to be fixed.

The day of Truham Pride, Imogen (Rhea Norwood) introduces him to a friend, who offers to hook him up with someone if he wants a rebound. He refuses and moves away, which is when Charlie spots him.

Days later, Charlie leaves a pack of printed disposable photos at Nick's door, asking him to meet at the beach. Charlie tells him that he thought that the pair could always talk to each other, but somewhere along the line, their communication has broken down.

Nick says that he envies the way that Charlie can express himself, as he often doesn't understand how he's feeling half of the time. The two make amends, promising to always look after each other. From there, it's back to being as loved-up as ever, just in time for the Truham prom.

What about Elle and Tao?

(Image credit: Netflix)

Elle and Tao are the relationship that doesn't survive Heartstopper Forever, as the pair get into an argument about their future plans. Elle wants to move to Berlin to become an artist, having a go at Tao for not frequently planning to visit.

Tao says that he can't afford it, with their argument made worse by a drunk Nick claiming that everything with Charlie is perfect (hint: we know that's not true).

The pair agree to a truce to help Charlie out of his funk post-breakup, and appear friendly at Truham prom. They have "one last dance" before things change for good, and are noticeably emotional at the thought of being apart.

However, there's a silver lining on the horizon. In the very last scene of the pair, we see Elle at an art exhibition in Berlin, with Tao arriving to surprise her.

What's next for the gang after they finish school?

(Image credit: Netflix)

Let's start with Nick and Charlie. While Charlie stays local, Nick gets into Leeds. The final scene shows Charlie going to stay with Nick for the weekend, being introduced to all of his new friends, clubbing, and getting pancakes for breakfast.

They're ready to write a new chapter in their relationship, and as they say, they feel as if they're "different" from typical teen romance... they're in it for the long haul.

Elle and Tao are accounted for, but it's Tao's video project at prom that lets us in on what's to come next for the rest of the gang. Tara (Corrina Brown) has asked girlfriend Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) to go interrailing across Europe with her, deferring their places at uni for at least a year.

Tori has a more skeptical answer, telling Tao that she will "do nothing, then die." However, things are going well with boyfriend Michael (Darragh Hand), having figured out the rhythm of their relationship.

Sahar (Leila Khan) tells Tao that the band, Queer Intentions, has broken up, but she's going to try a solo music career and see what happens.

Don't miss this epic Heartstopper Easter egg

Just as Nick gets on the train to Leeds, he walks through the carriage and passes a young woman reading at a nearby table.

If you're a Heartstopper fan, you'll know that this is Alice Oseman, creator of the original graphic novel series. She's also acted as the showrunner of seasons 1-3. She's also written the script for Heartstopper Forever.

All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately for Netflix subscribers, that includes the blossoming romance between Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke). The Heartstopper franchise is drawing to a close with Heartstopper Forever, a feature film in lieu of a full fourth season.

Like most fans when they first heard the news, I felt cheated. Much like the original graphic novel books by Alice Oseman, Nick and Charlie's story is one best told over time. Two teens grappling with their feelings and identities need time to breathe together, let alone without their smorgasbord of friends who also all have their own delicious narrative arcs.

Now I've seen all 114 minutes of Heartstopper Forever — which is the equivalent of about 4.5 standard episodes — I stand corrected. As Nick, Charlie, and the gang all brace before going their separate ways to university, a feature film actually reflects their growing maturity and crises of confidence much more fittingly.

Newsflash, people: Nick and Charlie aren't kids anymore. In fact, the new Netflix movie wastes little time reminding fans of that, with a significant increase in drinking, partying and all-out sex scenes. Tender and wholesome romance can have an incredibly passionate side, too.

As a Heartstopper fan who has been in the trenches since the release of Oseman's first novel installment, Heartstopper Forever feels like the most satisfying ending that's able to be delivered. Nobody really wants to be in this position, but all of my questions are answered, and every single character is set up for their future away from our prying eyes.

Heartstopper Forever delivers everything a hardcore fan will want

You're going to have to trust my (excellent) judgement on the above statement, because there's no way I'm divulging anything even faintly resembling a spoiler in this review. As we know, Nick is getting ready to leave for university, and Charlie is taking on new responsibilities at school.

Elle (Yasmin Finney) has her mind set on big artistic goals, which means her relationship with Tao (William Gao) also hits its snags. More than any other characters' storylines, both relationships hit on the central theme of worth: does teenage romance even mean that much anyway?

As the push-pull effect of university and a daunting, vague future takes hold, Nick falls apart at the seams. Unlike Charlie, who has always been able to effectively communicate how he's feeling, Nick doesn't know how to describe what's going on in his head. It has the pair doubting the validity of their love and connection, even though nothing is overly wrong from an objective point of view.

It should be frustrating to watch two teenage boys self-sabotage, but the reality is overwhelmingly poignant. Even though the movie is called Heartstopper Forever, nothing in life is guaranteed — and I, for one, am fed up with pretending that doesn't keep everyone up at night.

As Tao points out, everyone has assumed up until this point that Nick and Charlie are a "perfect couple," and it's fascinating to watch how they deal with actual grown-up problems. Oseman has always had a unique knack for conveying the best of what love has to offer, and she's just as adept at holding a mirror up to the worst.

On top of this, watching the boys get physically intimate, drunk, and accosted by topless men wearing leather chaps at the local gay club feels like emotional whiplash in itself. Socially, we seem to have a difficult time understanding that young people grow up to do adult things, and Oseman handles these changes with touching sensitivity. There are some fans out there who have been waiting on tenterhooks for these moments... and the reality is spot-on.

Anna Maxwell Martin, I love you... but Olivia Colman was the better Sarah Nelson

(Image credit: Netflix)

So we can tick off the fact that none of our favorite characters are left hanging, and we know exactly what's happening with them and where they're going. Fantastic. However, there are a few minor misdemeanors that need addressing.

The main thorn in Heartstopper Forever's side the recast role of Sarah, Nick's mum. I feel like an absolute heathen even bringing this up, seeing new Sarah, Anna Maxwell Martin, is one of my favorite actors in the country. But when you remember that you once had Olivia Colman in the same role — and that she delivered one of the best scenes in Heartstopper's history thanks to Nick coming out — well, there's a somewhat sour taste.

Heartstopper Forever is the most narratively and tonally different installment of Nick and Charlie's story to date, but it is still essentially more of the same at its core. Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a negative... but if you've come to the movie looking for something new, you're not going to obviously find it.

Still, Oseman should give herself the biggest paycheck possible for what she's been able to achieve. It's not easy to deliver a finale that already looks nothing like what everyone expects it to, let alone make the final result compelling, endearing, and ultimately remarkably satisfying.

Heartstopper Forever really is forever... at least, it is in my house, where I'll be replaying it so much that Netflix might issue a warning. Its spirit and generation-defining impact will live on, and that might be the most special achievement the streamer has ever been responsible for.

Looking to upgrade or replace your tech for less but missed Amazon AU's Prime Day sale that ended earlier this week? Or perhaps there something you forgot to pick up while the sale was still on? Fret not — there are still plenty of affordable buys right now at the world's biggest online retailer, with discounts of up to 71%.

Fifty bucks (or often less) is all you need to grab a high-quality power bank to keep your devices charged on the go, a great-sounding pair of headphones, or some handy tech accessories that you didn't know you needed ranging from trackers to air dusters, Bluetooth speakers and a whole lot more. You can even get gaming-grade PC gear like mice and controllers for under AU$50!

I've put together some of the best Amazon deals under that have retained their discounts long after Prime Day's official end date — and better yet, you don't even need a Prime membership to take advantage.

Looking for more post-Prime Day Amazon deals? We've rounded up over 50 more right here.

Ugreen 65W Nexode USB-C Charger

Ugreen Magsafe Power Bank 10,000mAh

Ugreen 2-In-1 Qi Magflow Charging Stand

Anker Nano 621 Power Bank (22.5W with built-in USB-C connector)

Ugreen Finetrack Slim

Clevast Compressed Air Duster

Ugreen Revodok 105 USB-C Hub

Logitech Logitech Mk250 Bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo

Logitech G305 Lightspeed

Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2

Logitech Signature M650

Soundcore Select 4 Go

Soundcore Soundcore by Anker P20i

UGREEN USB-C earphones

GameSir Nova Lite

Tomtoc Slim Carrying Case for Nintendo Switch 2

JBL Tune 500

UGREEN 130w Car Charger

HyperX Cloud Stinger 2

UGREEN Laptop Stand

Charmast 10,000mAh Power Bank

While it's fair to say the Australian TechRadar deal-hunting team gets excited by major sale events such as Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday, we're actually a lot easier to please, and we'll even get excited when deals are still live following the aforementioned events.

That includes myself, so you can only imagine the size of the smile on my face when I found 55 deals my team and I spotted during the recent Prime Day sale in Australia that are still available to shop. Sure, in most cases the sale price is higher than the week-long sale, but in some other cases, the prices have actually dropped below.

It's also pleasing to see Amazon offering extra coupon savings on select products, such as the JBL Flip 7 and JBL Charge 6, which plummet to near-all-time-low figures.

It's also great to see such a spread of product categories, as you'll see below. The usual suspects of headphones and Bluetooth speakers are present, along with a smattering of kitchen appliances and vacuum cleaners — there are some particularly noteworthy deals on robot vacuums. Furthermore, it's also possible to find some tantalising tech for a lot less, as my colleague Nico has found 21 deals under AU$50 that are live on Amazon right now.

A word of warning though, given the fact these deals are still live so close to Prime Day, I don't expect them to last much longer, so this really could be your final choice to grab a bargain before we go an sort of deal hiatus until Black Friday in November.

Audio

These Sony cans might now be two generations old, but damn are they still glorious. And while they may have increased by AU$36 since Prime Day, I can still comfortably recommend them. Although, for an extra AU$60, you can get yourself the newer and better-sounding XM5.View Deal

The Pro 3 did drop to an all-time low during Prime Day, much to my surprise. Understandably, that's now ended, but they've retained an attractive 14% discount in the days since. If you're a Pro 2 user, though, it's not worth the upgrade. Check out our review for the full story, but the new features include heart-rate monitoring and even better ANC than before.View Deal

We may not have tested these buds ourselves here at TechRadar, but it’s hard to ignore the 100K customer reviews on Amazon. While often discounted to this price, if you’re after dependable Bluetooth buds on a budget, these are a great option and just AU$3 more than their Prime Day price.View Deal

These affordable earbuds with ANC are brimming with features, including a range of ANC modes, EQ presets and other audio adjustments. They sound good (but you'll want to tweak it from the default) and they'll last up to 7.5 hours with ANC on before they need a recharge. Check out our Earfun Air Pro 4 review for more info and take advantage of this offer. View Deal

Our 1More Sonoflow review praised the comfort of the headphones, as well as the excellent active noise cancelling and up to 70 hours of battery life. Honestly, at this price, it's excellent value for everyday listening and they've now dropped to just below their Prime Day price thanks to a 22% coupon saving at checkout. View Deal

We gave these stunning earbuds 4.5 stars in our review as they have class-leading audio handling and impeccable sound quality that rivals the best wireless earbuds. With balanced sound, effective ANC and a great battery life, these Sennheiser buds will make any audiophile smile. View Deal

Offering poised and revealing sound, along with excellent comfort and microphone quality, this saving is one to consider if you've been on the hunt for a quality pair of earbuds. Though noise cancellation and battery life could use some work, we awarded these earbuds a TechRadar Recommends seal of approval in our Technics EAH-AZ80 review. What's more, the blue model has dropped to below their Prime Day price, now just AU$290.View Deal

The 5th-gen version is out now, but it's our Sennheiser Momentum 4 review that scored a full five stars, where we called these headphones "unbeatable". With active noise-cancellation, 60-hours of battery life and excellent sound quality, there are few pairs that can compete with the Momentum 4.View Deal

This Sony Bluetooth turntable is as fuss-free as they come with regard to setup and getting your favourite vinyl records spinning. Whether you're playing via wired or wireless speakers, it delivers a delightfully musical sound that will satisfy vinyl beginners or those looking for a more hands-off approach. View Deal

In our Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review, we said this soundbar rivals the Sonos Arc, which is the best Sonos soundbar we've tried. The Smart Ultra is compact, beautifully built, and offers plenty of control options to go with its wide, detailed sound. View Deal

This floatable Bluetooth speaker is perfect for the poolside party, with up to 15 hours of playtime and very decent 45m connectivity range. It promises bassy, punchy and yet a clear 360º soundstage.View Deal

The JBL Flip 7 outperforms its predecessor, getting a full five stars in our review. The sound is a lot punchier than before and that's without compromising details across the range. It even gets a bigger battery to last you up to 16 hours and makes a case for itself at a very good price indeed, which is made even more attractive thanks to a AU$28.80 coupon saving — the coupon only applies to colours that are listed for AU$144.View Deal

Not only can the Charge 6 last up to 28 hours on a single charge, but it can also be used as a power bank to top up your devices via its USB-C port. Sound quality is energetic and detailed in equal measure, and it’s built to withstand virtually anything you wish to throw at it. View Deal

The Dreamegg Sunrise 1 is a handy bedside upgrade if you want a gentler way to wake up without spending a lot. It combines a gradually brightening sunrise alarm with 29 soothing sounds, a dimmable night light and custom sleep routines. View Deal

Vacuum cleaners

This is a very different Dreame R10 to the one we've previously reviewed on TechRadar, but if it performs anything like the light-coloured version that has since been discontinued, then I think this is excellent value. For not a lot of money, this appliance promises up to 45 minutes of runtime and a bendy wand to get under furniture. It even comes with a wall-mount attachment and is only AU$20 more than the Prime Day discount.View Deal

We haven't tested this cordless vacuum ourselves but user reviews are glowing and I think that says something. For quick and daily vacuuming, this is great and excellent value, and has previously proven to be very popular with our readers. Do note, however, that the price of this vacuum has been alternating between AU$199 (which the lowest) and AU$249, so you better hurry and grab it for the lower amount.View Deal

Dyson quietly released this model last year, offering a cheaper way to get yourself a wet-and-dry vacuum. It has lesser suction power than the V15s Detect, but we haven't been able to try it for ourselves yet. It also lasts no more than 40 minutes on a single charge. I'd say this would be better suited to smaller homes with hard floors. Importantly, still available at its Prime Day price.View Deal

This Roborock wet-dry vacuum will leave your hard floors sparkling clean thanks to powerful suction and effective cleaning. It can get up close to edges and the whole body can lay completely flat to help getting underneath tricky to reach places. This price is AU$100 more than its previous discount, but it's still a great saving on an excellent floor washer — read our review for more info.View Deal

In our Dreame L10s Ultra review, we called this handy little gadget "a robot vacuum powerhouse" that will "do as it's told" – what more do you want from a robot vacuum? While its price isn't quite as good as what we saw during Prime Day, it still gets a mammoth 68% saving, which is incredible for a machine that automatically detects floor types, empties itself, has a useful onboard camera and an intuitive mobile app.View Deal

With 10,000Pa of suction, this might not be the best for carpets but, at this price point, it's a very good option for hard floors even in a pet-friendly home. I love the Roborock app as well, it's one of the better ones I've used, and the all-in-one dock here promises minimal human intervention.View Deal

Now just AU$50 more than Prime Day, this remains a pretty good discount on what is a relatively new flagship model from Ecovacs. We haven't tested this version just yet, but if it works as well as the previous X8 Pro Omni did, then I think this is a good premium robovac to consider without the hefty price tag. View Deal

Kitchen appliances

We haven't tested Philips' dual basket air fryer, but considering how much we've loved the brand's other kitchen appliances, it's hard to not make a mention of this offer. This 9L air fryer has drawers of different sizes, which makes it easy to cook a main and a side together, and promises to sync cooking times if needed. View Deal

The Ninja Crispi is earning legions of fans for good reason. It uses glass baskets to cook in — 2.3L and 5.7L are provided — and both come with lids, so you can serve in the same basket or cover and store in the fridge. It was down to AU$341 for Prime Day, but a 20% discount is still a good one for a newly released air fryer.View Deal

This food processor's biggest drawcard is its small footprint (30cm tall and 16cm wide), making it great for those with smaller kitchens, but it also has a powerful 650W motor to help blitz foods to slice, grate, chop and knead in seconds. You can read the full review here.View Deal

The Ninja Creami is great and all, but paying almost AU$300 for an ice cream maker is a lot — but this one is a lot cheaper even at full price and also takes a lot less space too! It's a versatile machine that makes ice cream, slushies, milkshakes, sorbets, and mix-ins to truly earn its space in the kitchen. You can even combine up to three flavours with three included dessert cups. It was under AU$90 last week, but it's still pretty darn affordable.View Deal

There's no doubt that a Vitamix is a very handy kitchen appliance to have, but the price tags can be a little prohibitive. However, this machine gets a pretty generous discount and can take care of your soups, smoothies, butters and fair few other things as well, with 10 speed settings and a heck of a lot of power.View Deal

While we haven't tested the Vitamix Ascent 2300i for ourselves here at TechRadar, our colleagues at T3 love it, calling it a "real quality blender that will last longer than most things in your home" in their review. The only downside was the asking price. Now, though, the price has dropped considerably.View Deal

The Lavazza Jolie machines are excellent and affordable alternatives to Nespresso. This Evo model just has a single button for extracting coffee (compared to the Jolie Plus that has programmable buttons), making it oh so simple to use, and only for around AU$20 more than Prime Day. If you'd like the option to froth milk, you can get a bundle with a frother too. View Deal

This portable espresso machine is a fantastic option for those constantly on the move. It uses Nespresso pods and made such good coffee that it earned a 4-star review from us. It can be considered affordable at full price, and while this saving is slightly less than Prime Day, it's still well worth checking out.View Deal

This compact manual coffee machine can pour up to two espresso shots at once and features a steam wand for cafe-quality milk foaming. There's no built-in grinder, but you either use ground coffee beans or invest in a separate grinder using the cash you save with this deal. View Deal

The Ninja Slushi dropped to just below AU$240 during Prime Day, so this 58% saving is fantastic. It lets you skip the ice and still enjoy perfectly smooth icy drinks with very little effort. Whether you're craving a frappe, smoothie, or even a cheeky spiked slushi, its multiple drink modes have you covered. Check out our Ninja Slushi review for the full rundown. View Deal

While not as cheap as the AU$170 Prime Day price, but this purifier justifies this discount by letting you use its filter for up to five years (potentially longer if you don't use it every day). For context, most other purifier filters can need a replacement every year or two, depending on how much the machine needs to clean out each time it's switched on. As a compact option, this Shark purifier is best used for a single room or smaller spaces.View Deal

Beauty

The Dreame Gleame hair dryer is an affordable alternative to the bigger brands. Its motor spins at a mighty fast 110,000 RPM for fast airflow and quick drying, plus built-in ion technology results in smooth, shiny hair. Not to mention, the slim, lightweight build make it comfortable to hold. It was around the AU$65 mark for Prime Day.View Deal

Now this is the Rolls-Royce of shavers. Gents, if you want the best, our Philips i9000 review found it to be impressive. It's RRP is sure on the high side, and the discount isn't quite as good as the 63% saving during Prime Day, but at nearly half price, I had to include it here still.View Deal

This Colgate water flosser proved especially popular with TechRadar Australia readers during Prime Day, so it's great to see it's maintained a discounted price. If you don't enjoy flossing the traditional way, this handy flosser will clean out those hard-to-reach gaps. Plus, it's cordless, meaning you can take it on your travels too. View Deal

If you're after a really good electric toothbrush that won't cost an arm and a leg (or some teeth), then this is it. It's an entry-level oscillating brush, which means it rotates at fast speeds and may not be ideal for people with sensitive or bleeding gums as that movement can be harsh, but it sure does remove a heck of a lot of plaque and keeps your teeth healthy for just a few dollars more than its Prime Day price. View Deal

While I think the iO 6 is the smarter brush, you can save some cash by opting for the iO 5 instead. You don't really miss out on much — the more expensive iO 6 has an interactive display, an extra gum-care mode and slightly faster charger. Other than that, the iO 5 is just as good an oscillating toothbrush as any of its more expensive siblings.View Deal

The Oral-B iO 6 is a smart brush that can recognise your personal brushing style and provide feedback via the companion app to improve it. It also features a pressure sensor and an interactive display, as well a ring timer letting you know when to move on to a different section of your pearly whites, while being about AU$4 more than its Prime Day discount. View Deal

Wearables & accessories

Samsung's answer to the AirTag, the SmartTag 2 works with select Samsung phones to help you find mislaid items. It has a built-in hole for easier attachments, up to 700 days of battery life and it's water-resistant. If you're always losing stuff, this is a worthy investment. Make sure to tick the box for the 5% off coupon to get this price.View Deal

Outputting a maximum of 65W via either one of its USB-C ports (and a maximum of 22.5W via its USB-A port), this charger isn’t just capable of fast charging top iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices at the highest speed, it’s also worth considering as a laptop charger replacement with its compact size, provided you have a sufficiently capable USB-C cable and your laptop can charge via said cable.View Deal

A 100W charger might seem overkill, but if you’re thinking of simultaneously charging a laptop, phone, set of earbuds and a smartwatch, this is certainly a device to consider. The two top-most USB-C ports can output at a maximum of 100W, while the bottom USB-C port delivers up to 30W and the USB-A port up to 22.5W.View Deal

The EcoFlow Delta 3 is a practical option for camping or backup power, with a 1,024Wh battery, 1,800W output and a full mains recharge in as little as 56 minutes. It typically sells for around AU$1,200 and previously dropped to AU$1,100, but the current deal is the lowest Amazon price I’ve seen, and it matches the Prime Day saving.View Deal

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a worthwhile fitness device for folks that don’t like the feeling of a watch. Water resistant at up to 100 metres and available in three colours, the Galaxy Ring can track steps, sleep, heart rate and more. It comes with a charging cradle, with the Ring capable of lasting up to seven days on a full charge. Remember to try the sizing kit first. This is the exact same discount we saw last week.View Deal

The 'S' in the name stands for 'small', meaning this specific Garmin was made for petite wrists and features a 42mm vibrant OLED display. You also get Multiband GPS, an intuitive menu navigation, excellent battery life, plenty of Garmin fitness features... and, oh, did I mention the OLED display?View Deal

Cameras

This point-and-shoot camera fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and makes content creation as easy as possible. You quite literally just need to point and shoot. There are just a few control buttons on the rear, but the tiny 2-inch flip-up touchscreen adds functionality too. It's capable of 4K/30p videos and 20MP stills. View Deal

With some serious grunt under the hood of this palm-friendly camera, you get AI-powered subject tracking, up to 13.5 stops of dynamic range and even 4K/120p slo-mo recording. This camera has since been succeeded by the 6th-gen model but it's still a fabulous shot (pardon the pun).View Deal

This is Canon's first compact camera in years, picking up where the fabulous and popular PowerShot G7 X series left off. It features a brand-new 22.3MP 1.4-inch sensor that boasts Canon's trusty Dual Pixel CMOS II autofocus and it has an integrated fan to keep things cool for the content creator. All this for around AU$20 more than Prime Day.View Deal

While it's not a huge upgrade over the previous model, the TG-6 is no longer available to buy, making this the best choice if you'd like a near-indestructible camera that you can take underwater. The best price is on the black model, although this camera does tend to be a lot cheaper at other times..View Deal

This might be an entry-level camera but it has some advanced features. Anyone who wants to shoot wildlife or sports will be thrilled with the 40fps burst speed, and it inherits some of the tracking precision from Canon's higher-end cameras too. With a 24.2MP full-frame sensor, it's one of the lightest cameras available today and represents excellent value for a beginner even though this isn't the best price it's been.View Deal

It's been cheaper than this before, but this is still a fantastic saving on an excellent Nikon full-framer. The 24.6MP sensor can shoot at up to 120fps, records 6K video, has built-in image stabilisation and has dual card slots, including one for a CFexpress device to make full use of its speed.View Deal

We call this an "all-round surveillance solution" in our 70mai Dash Cam A510 review, due to it including both front-facing and rear-facing cameras in the box. They're quality cameras, too, recording 2.7K footage from the front and 1080p at the back, complete with wide fields of view. Built-in GPS, 360º rotation for in-car recording and easy install only add to its appeal. Be sure to use the additional AU$70 coupon on the listing.View Deal

PC & gaming

A 100Hz-refresh-rate monitor for just under AU$100? Sign me up! This display from Lenovo may be a bit small at under 24 inches with a 1080p resolution, but it uses IPS technology for sharp image quality. This is price is just AU$4 more than the Prime Day discount.View Deal

This is one of Amazon's bestselling webcams and while we haven't tested this specific model, we have tried a couple of other Brio cams. And they're good. If you're looking for a capable 1080p webcam for your work calls (or personal video calls) with light correction, auto framing, noise-cancelling mics and many more useful features, this promises to deliver at an affordable price.View Deal

Boasting a 12,000dpi 'Hero' sensor, as well as 6 programmable buttons, a 250-hour battery and onboard memory for your settings, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse is ideal for competitive play. The deal price here applies to a range of colours. Want to know more? Check out our review. View Deal

Sure, it's a wired controller, but this gamepad is simple to use and durable, with drift-free hall effect analog sticks. In fact, the base of the sticks also have RGB, which is fantastic at this price. Being wired, however, means this isn't ideal for couch play, but if you're a PC gamer at your desk, it'll do wonderfully well. Note that this offer ships from Amazon UK.View Deal

The most striking feature of this mechanical keyboard is its thinness, but it also comes with the promise of sub-1ms latency and 8,000Hz hyper-polling. In our review we praised the K100 Air's durability, great actuation and high polling, while bemoaning the high price of this slab. And yeah: it's expensive, so good thing there's a discount, albeit one shipping from the US.View Deal

Please don't confuse this with the ROG Xbox Ally X, which has more powerful specs. This is the cheaper sibling, now cheaper still on Amazon. And given the recent price hike of the Steam Deck, this handheld definitely seems a lot more tempting now. This was AU$799 during Amazon's Mid-Year Sale in early June, but it would be remiss of me to not list this discount here.View Deal

• Google Pics is rolling out to Google Workspace users starting August 18
• Pics lets you generate and edit images within Google Workspace apps like Slides, Docs, Sheets and more
• Generative AI usage limits will apply starting February 2027

Google Pics, the AI-powered image-generation and editing application the search giant unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year, is set to go live widely across Google Workspace business and education accounts in August, after just three months of testing as an ‘experiment’ in Gemini Alpha.

Google said the rollout will start from August 18 to users within organisations who hold Workspace subscriptions:

• Google Workspace Business Standard
• Google Workspace Business Plus
• Google Workspace Enterprise Standard
• Google Workspace Enterprise Plus
• Google Workspace AI Expanded Access
• Google AI Pro for Education

Built on Google’s own Nano Banana imaging model, Pics will exist as both a standalone web app and be integrated directly within Workspace apps such as Slides, Docs and Sheets, and its key features include letting users generate images using text prompts, manipulate individual elements within images, edit or translate text, swap elements out for new ones and more.

These tools are aimed at addressing some of the more common shortcomings of AI-generated images — like objects not being at scale, text being misspelled (or complete gibberish), and elements potentially clashing with the background image.

Initially, Pics will only be available to Google’s business and education customers, and as a product, it certainly seems to be taking aim at a variety of digital-imaging heavyweights such as Adobe — particularly its Adobe Express online image editor – and Canva, as well as stock-image sites like Shutterstock and iStock.

Pics will directly compete with Canva’s Magic Grab feature (which repositions, resizes and moves objects within images) and Adobe’s built-in background removal tool. By letting users edit images directly within its office apps suite, they won’t need to export assets into external tools.

What changes to expect

Google said Pics will be enabled by default for all Workspace customers as it rolls out, but there will be an option to disable access if desired.

The company added that generative AI usage limits will be implemented as Pics becomes more widely available, though users can expect to enjoy higher-priority access until February 28, 2027.

Google hasn’t yet given any timeline for when Pics could be coming to consumer account holders.