TechRadar News

• A study carried out by researchers in France looked at drone delivery for defibrillators
• It found that wait times could be cut by 3.76 minutes on average
• Provision of more fixed defibrillators and better placement of the devices is important too

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are currently survived by fewer than 1 in 10 people, but researchers in France have explored a new defibrillator delivery method that could help push these figures in the right direction: delivery by drone.

In an analysis carried out by Lariboisière Hospital emergency physician Hillary Minka and her colleagues, drone delivery capabilities were added to the current network of fixed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in areas surrounding Paris.

Using drones could cut delivery times by an average of 3.76 minutes, the simulations showed, with 95% of cardiac arrest patients reached within five minutes, compared to the current 30-40% figure when relying on foot and road transport of the devices.

However, the researchers emphasize that the provision of more AEDs should be a priority too, not just the use of drones to deliver them, and say locating more AEDs in places that are publicly accessible, rather than in private spaces, will also help. Together, they say these measures could increase the five-minute coverage rate to 99.4%.

Real-world testing is next

Everdrone already deploys medical drones in Sweden (Image credit: Everdrone)

"Drones will never replace bystanders, resuscitation efforts or emergency medical teams," says Minka. "However, they could represent an additional link in the chain of survival and help make defibrillation available more quickly."

The researchers' work also showed the importance of the geographical distribution of AEDs. Better placement reduces the need for additional units, given the drone range of around 3,900 meters (12,.795 feet).

Next, the researchers want to set up real-world trials. This new study was based on simulations and modeling — no actual drones were flown — and so it doesn't take into account any day-to-day variables, such as weather conditions.

The study hasn't yet been peer-reviewed, but it has been presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress 2026 in Paris. Defibrillators are already delivered by drone in some parts of Sweden, and it may not be too long before other countries follow its lead.

Last week I flew out to Warsaw for Logitech G Play 2026. The gaming brand’s annual flagship event saw a wealth of new product reveals, with the Pro X2 Rapid keyboard and Pro X3 Superstrike mouse dominating headlines in the PC gaming peripheral space.

I tried them out at the venue ahead of the official launch, and they’re great pieces of hardware, but ones squarely aimed at a very specific audience of esports pros and aspiring competitive gamers. With top-of-the-line specs, they’re also pretty expensive at $229.99 / £209.99 / AU $399.95 and $199.99 / £169.99 / AU$299.95, respectively.

I naturally assumed that such high-end kit would be the highlight of the show for me, but it was actually something right at the other end of the price spectrum that impressed me the most.

More for less

The keyboard is available in both white and black. (Image credit: Logitech)

The Logitech G316 X 75 is the latest arrival in the brand’s more budget-oriented G3 series.

It’s a smaller version of the existing G316 X 98 from earlier this year. I didn’t really pay much attention to the original launch: it was a full-size keyboard, and I’ve always preferred more compact designs for that extra desk space.

As a 75% size model, the G316 X 75 ditches the pointless numpad (seriously, when was the last time you used yours?) and a couple of little-used keys like Home and End to give you roughly 2.4in / 6cm on the right-hand side — perfect for positioning your mousepad if, like me, you’re short on desk space.

It wasn’t just the size that drew me to the G316 X 75 on the show floor, however. It’s a very flashy-looking keyboard with full RGB backlighting and a large LED strip with zones you can customize in the compatible Logitech G Hub software. There’s also a little LED screen in the top right corner which, alongside an accompanying button and dial, is used to turn on game mode (locking the Windows key), adjust music volume, or tweak key settings like RGB brightness.

It seemed like a practical little addition in my hands-on time, with some playful touches like a dancing smiley face that appears if you leave the keyboard idle. I found myself wondering if you could display your own little custom icon or emoji on the screen, though, sadly, a representative told me that wasn’t possible for now. A missed opportunity for even more personalization, perhaps.

The 75% form factor leaves plenty of room for your mouse. (Image credit: Logitech)

The materials were decent for the price too. The whole keyboard is plastic, but it still feels weighty and suitably premium, with no noticeable flex when typing. Keycaps are double-shot PBT, with shine-through legends, so they should hold up for a long time as well. If anything does go wrong, both the keycaps and switches are hot-swappable for easy repairs.

On the subject of the switches, they’re tactile ones developed by Logitech that feel a bit different to alternatives from the likes of Cherry or Akko. They require a bit more force to press, and don’t really have that noticeable mid-press biting point characteristic of tactile switches. Unusual, but not necessarily a bad thing. They’re not super loud either, and are very smooth and still suitably satisfying to press.

This is obviously a keyboard geared more towards casual gaming than anything else and is wired-only, though that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few decent specs. The big one is the 8kHz report rate, which should ensure that you’re not held back by delayed inputs if you do venture into more competitive titles like Counter-Strike 2.

All of this comes in at just £89.99 / $99.99 / AU$169.95. I’ve tested keyboards that cost a hell of a lot more and offer far less bang for your buck, so I can see the Logitech G316 X 75 becoming the go-to choice for cost-conscious gamers.

• Multiple Reddit threads have highlighted issues with iOS 27
• Some users say their screens are sometimes unresponsive, while others report slow and jittery performance
• Some possible fixes have been suggested, though these aren't ideal solutions

While iOS 27 has generally been well received, no update is perfect, and some users are reporting that, since downloading the latest software, they’re experiencing performance issues.

Across multiple Reddit threads, there are reports of unresponsive touchscreens and slowness or stuttering. It’s unclear how widespread these issues are, but in the case of unresponsive screens, users are reporting it can happen on almost any part of the interface, while the slow or stuttery performance is most often exhibited when swiping or switching screens.

However, a few possible solutions have also been presented. One user has reported that restarting their phone fixes an unresponsive screen (at least temporarily), while another has said that when their apps freeze, they can unfreeze them by switching to the home screen and then back to the frozen app.

As for slowness and jittery animations, one Redditor found that having too many app icons on your home screens can cause a stuttery launch animation, so reducing the number of apps on each screen might help.

You might have to wait for a proper fix

iOS 27 on an iPhone (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Still, these all seem to be either temporary solutions or ones that restrict how you customize your phone, so they’re not ideal.

More long-term, it’s possible that things will settle down on their own after the initial post-update system-wide indexing is complete. Failing that, if you’re affected by these issues, you might have to wait for the next iOS update for a proper fix, as hopefully Apple will address it there.

And if you haven’t updated to iOS 27 yet, you might want to consider holding off until it’s clearer how widespread these issues are — though usually bugs like these only affect a minority of users, so the risk probably isn’t too high.

There’s certainly plenty of good stuff in iOS 27 too, including the long-awaited AI overhaul for Siri, so hopefully these teething issues don’t last long.

Launching a business has never been easier. AI tools can generate brand names, build websites, create logos, and produce marketing copy in hours.

It's a remarkable shift for entrepreneurs - but the same technology is also making it easier for cybercriminals to create convincing digital impersonations at scale.

Recent allegations by Google claim cybercriminals used AI to generate 1.5 million malicious URLs designed to mimic legitimate organizations.

As AI lowers the cost of creating convincing websites, businesses face a new challenge: proving they're real.

That's why conversation around domains is changing. The hardest part of launching a business is no longer getting online; it's establishing a distinctive brand that customers can recognize, trust, and confidently return to.

The problem isn't .com's relevance but its availability

For decades, securing a .com domain was considered the first milestone of establishing an online presence. It became the default because it was familiar, widely recognized, and trusted.

That hasn't changed. A .com domain still carries value and remains the first choice for many organizations. What has changed is availability.

According to The Domain Name Industry Brief's (DNIB) latest quarterly report, there are more than 166 million .com domains registered with domain registrars. Many short, memorable .com domains are already registered, held defensively, or owned by investors.

Businesses launching today might discover that their ideal domain has long since been taken, forcing them to settle for longer names, additional words, or unconventional spellings that can make brands harder to remember.

This doesn't signal the decline of .com. Instead, it's encouraging organizations to become more intentional about how they establish their online identity. Rather than focusing solely on securing a .com address, businesses are evaluating whether their domain reflects their brand, communicates what they do, and supports long-term recognition.

Organizations are looking beyond convention and exploring domain extensions that better align with their brand, industry, or audience. Not because .com has lost its value, but because a memorable and distinctive online presence has become just as important.

Domains have evolved from web addresses into brand assets

A domain name has traditionally been viewed as a technical requirement; a web address customers type into a browser. Today, it’s much more than that.

A domain shapes the first impression customers have of a business. It appears in search results, LLM citations, email addresses, advertisements, social media profiles, and digital marketing campaigns. It is one of the few digital assets a business owns.

Businesses invest heavily in building audiences across social media platforms, but those platforms ultimately control the experience. Algorithms change, policies evolve, and visibility can change overnight. A domain, however, provides a stable identity that remains under the business’ control.

This shift is changing how organizations approach domain strategy. Businesses are asking whether it reinforces their brand, communicates what they offer, and supports long-term recognition.

Alternative domains have become part of that conversation. A technology startup may choose an .ai domain. An ecommerce retailer might adopt a .store extension. Creative agencies, consultants, and online communities are similarly exploring domain names that better align with their industries and audiences.

These choices are less about following trends and more about improving clarity. A well-chosen domain can communicate something meaningful before a visitor even reaches the homepage.

Digital identity is becoming a competitive advantage

AI has accelerated more than business creation. It has also made it easier to imitate legitimate organizations.

Generative AI simplifies the creation of convincing fake websites. Professional-looking branding, realistic copy, and cloned user experiences can now be produced at a scale that would have been difficult just a few years ago.

As a result, businesses face growing pressure to make their digital presence unmistakably authentic. A customer who lands on the wrong website may not have another opportunity to determine which business is genuine. In this era, a domain is not just a destination for customers. It's part of a broader trust strategy.

Business owners should think beyond individual websites and consider their entire domain portfolio. Relevant brand variations, country-specific domains, and campaign domains all contribute to protecting digital identity, while forgotten domains, expired microsites, or unmanaged registrations can create opportunities for phishing, typosquatting, and brand impersonation.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently closed their first application opening for new generic top-level domains since 2012, which means more TLDs will be available for business owners and impersonators. It's not enough to focus only on your primary business domain. Businesses need to consider monitoring registrations and new TLDs and understand where their brand sits within the domain landscape and decide when and how to protect their names.

Protecting online identity is no longer solely the responsibility of cybersecurity teams. It requires coordination across marketing, IT, legal, and security as organizations work together to protect customer trust.

More choice creates more opportunity

The growing range of domain extensions is giving businesses greater flexibility in how they establish their online identity.

For many businesses, .com remains an important part of their domain portfolio. But businesses are recognizing that different extensions can serve different strategic purposes.

A global organization may continue using its .com as its primary corporate website while adopting other extensions for regional initiatives, product launches, marketing campaigns, or specialized services. Startups may choose an extension that more reflects their industry while maintaining consistency across their broader brand.

The conversation is shifting from finding the right extension to building the right domain strategy.

As businesses expand into new markets, introduce new products, or adopt emerging technologies, their digital presence should evolve alongside them. The growing diversity of domain extensions gives organizations more tools to support that evolution.

Owning your identity matters more than ever

A .com domain is still one of the internet's most valuable assets, and there is little reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

The bigger shift is how businesses think about domains. AI can help launch companies faster, but it also helps malicious actors imitate them more convincingly. That’s why domains are more than just navigation tools. They also prove authenticity.

The future is more than choosing between .com and newer domain extensions. It's also about being intentional - building a domain strategy that helps customers recognize the genuine business while supporting long-term growth and resilience in an AI-driven internet.

To put this into practice, businesses should prioritize:

•Monitoring for typosquat and lookalike domains

•Auditing their domain portfolio regularly for unused domains

•Registering brand domains across other reputable domain extensions

•Maintaining an accurate domain inventory

•Making legitimate customer communications easy to verify

Together, this strategy can help protect a brand’s reputation online, no matter what domain extensions are used.

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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

ChatGPT has a new way to help you study with interactive flashcards that the AI chatbot can generate on demand from almost any subject or from documents you upload.

The decks save automatically in your ChatGPT Library, so they become something you return to whenever you need a refresher. In my case, it was all about dinosaurs and the history of paleontology.

(Image credit: ChatGPT)

The flashcards are baked into the conversation; you just have to ask for some on a topic or based on attached information, and ten will appear almost immediately, with one question visible at a time. A prompt like “Make me some flashcards about dinosaurs”, will do the trick.

You need to self-mark the quiz. There's a tick or a cross to click on depending on whether you know the answer, and you can click on the card to reveal the answer.

You can also edit the question or response as you choose, or shuffle the deck, which becomes increasingly useful once you have accidentally memorized the order of the answers. If you ask for more, the number of cards jumps to 30, then 50, and so on.

Dinosaur expertise

My paleontology deck started with the sort of material I actually wanted to learn, including early fossil discoveries and the development of dinosaur science. Instead of having ChatGPT explain the entire history of paleontology in one enormous response, I was forced to stop and retrieve individual facts.

That tiny bit of friction made the information feel much more like something I was learning rather than something I had merely read. OpenAI lets you ask ChatGPT to add cards or edit existing ones conversationally, so I could expand the paleontology deck without starting again.

Next I went broader and asked for flashcards about what dinosaurs actually looked like. That produced cards dealing with feathers, posture, skin coverings, and the evidence paleontologists use to reconstruct animals nobody has been able to photograph.

The actual studying is deliberately uncomplicated. I tried to answer each question, clicked the card to reveal the answer, and then marked whether I had got it right. Cards I miss can be practiced again later, while ChatGPT keeps track of that progress for future reviews.

When I finally made it through a complete round correctly, ChatGPT rewarded me with a brief burst of on-screen fireworks. It lasts only a moment and does absolutely nothing for my understanding of paleontology, yet I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Apparently, several decades of technological progress have led us back to the educational power of receiving a shiny sticker.

(Image credit: ChatGPT)

I also tested out the flashcards using some uploaded documents from online histories of paleontology and asked ChatGPT to turn them directly into flashcards. That's a feature that makes flashcards potentially much more useful for students studying a specific class rather than a general subject.

I didn't have to have the AI decide what generally mattered about a subject when it had the study material I wanted in front of it. ChatGPT pulled out important names, concepts, and details and converted them into short question-and-answer pairings. It's faster than doing it manually, though arguably making them manually is part of the study process.

And while sticking to uploaded sources should make it more reliable, I still wouldn't blindly trust the finished deck without double-checking. In particular, if you're using flashcards for technical material where a small change in wording can completely alter an answer.

Quicker study than quizzes

There are plenty of other alternatives like Quizlet, Knowt, and Gizmo using AI to turn notes and documents into flashcards. Current flashcard tools increasingly compete on what happens after the AI generates the cards, including scheduling, practice modes, importing material, and long-term review.

ChatGPT's advantage is convenience. I don't have to decide to visit a dedicated flashcard service, create a new account, and learn another interface. I can be discussing paleontology with ChatGPT, decide that I actually want to remember some of it, and ask for flashcards without leaving the conversation.

The flashcards make an interesting companion to ChatGPT's interactive quizzes, which I previously tested on many subjects. The quiz feature is more aggressive about exposing what you don't know because it puts a question in front of you, makes you commit to an answer, and then tells you where you went wrong. You can also adjust the difficulty as you go, ask ChatGPT to make the multiple-choice answers less obvious, and have it concentrate later questions on areas where you struggled.

I see the flashcards as better for learning and reinforcing information, while quizzes are more useful when I want to find out how much of it has actually stuck. Flashcards feel less like a test and more like practice. The two features could work well together, though.

The simplicity of ChatGPT's flashcards may be its best feature. It's important to treat the first generated deck as a draft, but it gets made so quickly that it's not a heavy time investment if you need to alter it. It's also useful to tell ChatGPT the difficulty you want for the cards and any particular areas to focus on. For me, it's time to really dive into the Bone Wars and the crazy world of early paleontology.

Social media has become central to how businesses communicate with customers, promote their brands, and build trust. But as businesses have relied more on these channels, they have also become a more attractive target for cybercriminals.

New research has found that social media impersonation and defamation have risen from the fifth greatest cyber threat last year to the top expected cybersecurity threat over the next three years. The data also revealed that employee and executive impersonation, including deepfakes, has entered the top five areas of risk for the first time.

These findings point to a wider challenge for security teams. Cybercriminals are still trying to compromise systems, but they are also increasingly using other ways to exploit legitimate brands’ hard-earned trust. That trust might sit in a senior leader’s online profile, a brand’s social media presence, a customer service account, a domain name, or a website that looks legitimate at first glance.

For security leaders, this means the attack surface is no longer defined only by infrastructure they own and control. It also includes the public-facing channels where customers, employees, and partners interact with the company every day.

Security strategies now need to reflect that reality. A threat may start with a fake profile, but it rarely stays there.

Social media and identity have become frontline cyber risks

Fake profiles and fraudulent customer service accounts are not new tactics, but they are becoming more prevalent and are increasingly being used as entry points for phishing, fraud, counterfeit sales, and wider brand abuse.

And this is all happening at a time when cybersecurity teams are already under pressure. Recent research found that 72% of senior technology leaders said the level of cybersecurity threats faced by their organization in 2025 was either “critical” or “very critical”.

On social media, criminals can meet potential victims where they are already used to engaging with brands. Fake accounts can be used to share malicious links, promote fraudulent schemes, spread false information, or pose as legitimate support channels.

Attackers may then direct users to a “second location”, such as a lookalike website, fake login portal, or phishing page, where victims are encouraged to enter account credentials, payment information, or other sensitive data.

A separate but related risk is counterfeiting. Fraudulent social media accounts can impersonate legitimate brands to advertise fake goods, directing customers to websites where counterfeit products are presented as genuine. In both cases, criminals are using the trust associated with a recognized brand to make the next step of the attack appear credible.

The impact can also go beyond fraud and counterfeiting. Impersonation or fake accounts can be used to spread false or defamatory claims about a company or its employees, potentially damaging reputation and customer confidence even when no direct financial fraud takes place.

As such, social media abuse, domain impersonation, and identity-based fraud should be treated as part of the same threat landscape.

AI is making impersonation faster and more convincing

AI is making impersonation faster and more convincing. Criminals can use AI tools to imitate a brand’s tone of voice, generate convincing customer messages, produce realistic imagery, or create more credible fake profiles at speed.

Deepfakes, synthetic audio, and AI-generated content can also strengthen employee or executive impersonation, particularly when combined with information gathered from multiple sources. For example, an attacker could create a fake executive profile and use AI-generated messages that mimic how that individual communicates, making requests or links appear more credible.

But AI is only one part of the threat. Attackers can also use established techniques to build the infrastructure behind impersonation campaigns. Domain generation algorithms (DGAs), for example, can produce large numbers of plausible lookalike web addresses to support phishing and impersonation campaigns. DGAs are not inherently AI-powered, but they remain a concern for security leaders, with 86% of respondents viewing them as a threat.

These domains can then be combined with fake social media profiles to create a more convincing digital presence. A fake executive account may point to a fraudulent landing page. A counterfeit product post may direct customers to a lookalike domain.

For customers and employees, these attacks are becoming harder to identify based on appearance alone. The signs of fraud may be subtle, and by the time an impersonation attempt is reported, the campaign may already have moved to another account, page, or domain.

Businesses need a more connected approach to protecting trust

Social media impersonation should be treated as part of the wider cybersecurity strategy, rather than as a standalone brand or communications issue. That requires coordination between the teams responsible for protecting organizations, their people, and their customers.

Attacks often move from a fake profile to a lookalike domain, phishing page, or fraudulent website, so companies need a connected view of where threats are emerging. Social media teams may spot one warning sign. Security teams may see another. Legal or brand protection teams may hold the takedown process. A coordinated approach can help companies respond more effectively.

Alongside those measures, organizations need continuous monitoring across social media, domains, websites, and other public-facing digital assets to identify impersonation, brand abuse, and related threats occurring beyond infrastructure they directly control. Bringing these signals together can help teams recognize when activity across different channels forms part of the same campaign.

Clear processes for investigation, escalation, and takedown are essential, particularly as AI enables campaigns to spread, adapt, and reappear rapidly. Businesses need to know who owns the response, what evidence is needed, and how quickly action can be taken.

Technology will also play a growing role. More than half of respondents, 57%, confirmed that they use AI-based monitoring and enforcement solutions, while 44% use AI-based solutions for threat detection and fraud prevention. Given the 24/7 nature of the internet and how quickly malicious accounts and materials can appear, some level of automated detection is increasingly important for identifying threats at scale.

This is an important step, but tools alone will not solve the problem. Companies need the right governance, clear ownership, and close collaboration between security, legal, marketing, and digital teams.

The goal should be to detect and stop impersonation before it reaches customers, employees, or partners and causes wider damage.

Looking ahead

Social media is no longer simply a communications platform that sits outside the traditional cybersecurity perimeter. It has become one of the main environments in which criminals exploit trust, impersonate legitimate people, and manipulate victims into falling for fraud.

As AI makes these attacks faster and more convincing, businesses will need to connect social media protection with their broader approach to identity, domains, and digital brand security. This means monitoring for threats across the full online journey, sharing intelligence between teams, and responding before an impersonation campaign has time to spread.

The companies best equipped to protect customers will recognize that trust itself has become a target and treat the channels where that trust is built as a core part of their cybersecurity strategy.

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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 most anticipated Netflix series — and perhaps the most awaited TV series of the entire year — is finally here, with East of Eden arriving later this week.

The new adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel stars Florence Pugh, Mike Faist and Christopher Abbott in its main roles, with events taking place between the 1860s and the build-up to World War I.

It's a cross-generational story that essentially retells the biblical story of Cain and Abel through the intertwined lives of two families in California's Salinas Valley; and it's epic in every sense of the world.

East of Eden is set to be a binge-watch for the ages, but exactly when does it arrive on Netflix?

What time can I watch East of Eden on Netflix?

East of Eden drops on Thursday, October 1.

As for the time, it should be the standard 12am PT / 3am ET release time that practically every other Netflix TV Original has.

For fans who don't live in North America, here's when you'll need to tune in:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 6pm AEST
• New Zealand – 8pm NZDT

When do new episodes of East of Eden come out?

(Image credit: Netflix)

All seven episodes of this season will be released at the same time. Unlike weekly drops on the likes of Prime Video, Apple TV, and Disney+, then, you won't need to wait around for new installment of East of Eden.

As this is a standalone book adaptation, there won't be a second series.

• Adobe Acrobat study claims 99% of C-suite leaders use AI, but only 41% of regular workers use it
• Use cases are far more advanced among business leaders
• Data security and privacy concerns are still major blockers

New Adobe Acrobat research has revealed a growing disparity in AI adoption at work among UK adults, with 99% of C-suite leaders using AI tools compared with just 41% of non-management employees.

But it's not just a case of who's using AI and how much – it's also which tasks they're using it for, and the most common use case for non-management workers is document creation and editing (17%). In other words, basic creative work.

In comparison, leaders are clearly using AI for higher-level decision-making, with use cases spanning data analysis (35%), meeting and task management (33%) and marketing (25%).

Managers are using AI for more reasons than regular workers

As a result of this disparity, 37% of C-suite leaders say they save three to five hours a week thanks to AI, compared with just 13% of knowledge workers. Adobe argues this could imply that access to AI, knowledge of how to use it and support for its adoption may vary depending on the type of employee.

For example, 74% of C-suite leaders say they're willing to share documents with AI, but only 20% of other workers feel the same way – that's a huge difference.

In its report, Adobe begins by recommending some basic AI use cases designed to alleviate some of the administrative pressures workers already face. For example, creating drafts and summaries covering meetings, emails and collaboration can reduce the need for some of the less creative work, freeing up time for more productive work.

But Adobe also stressed the importance of building organization-wide confidence to iron out the same old concerns we've been seeing since day one – once companies can get on top of security, privacy and transparency, workers are less likely to worry about potential risks.

For now, though, with data security and privacy concerns (22%) remaining some of the highest challenges to AI adoption, enterprises have a clear area to improve.

• The Godox iT32 simplifies off-camera flash with its modular remote trigger
• It's available from just $79 / £87 (about AU$140), plus as a kit with your choice of trigger
• Wireless triggers covering leading camera systems are also available separately

Price and technical complexity put most people off ever trying off-camera flash photography — and if you're in that camp, I implore you to consider the Godox iT32.

The Godox kit is the camera flash reimagined for today; it's simpler and cheaper than others I've tried, and I had a blast using it with my Nikon, Canon and Olympus (OM System) camera gear. I shot portraits that popped, and ones that I simply couldn't have created by relying on available light alone.

What's so different about the iT32? Well, it's built around a remote trigger, which snaps magnetically into the base of the flash itself, and secures to your camera's hotshoe. The trigger, called the X5, is available in five versions for leading camera systems: Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm and Olympus / Panasonic. I used three of them for my review.

This unique design simplifies off-camera flash. You can quickly switch from on-camera to off-camera flash, which you'll want to do for the best results, simply by pulling the flash off the remote trigger, which remains in the hotshoe. With some basic camera settings knowledge — which I'll share later in this article — off-camera flash really is a cinch. Heck, it's even fun.

For other camera flashes, you'll need separate remote triggers and receivers attached to the camera and the flash respectively for off-camera flash, all adding to the cost and complexity of the setup.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

The iT32 also features a touchscreen to navigate settings, and it might surprise you just how innovative this feels, given that camera flash design has remained largely the same for decades, with most models featuring a basic LCD (or no screen at all).

Furthermore, the iT32's internal battery charges via USB-C. Again, a regular-sounding feature in 2026, but most others continue to be powered by AA batteries.

Perhaps the best part of all is that the Godox iT32 costs a fraction of the price of old-fashioned proprietary alternatives from Nikon, Canon, Sony and others. It's available for just $79 / £87 (about AU$140), with your choice of remote trigger costing an additional $19-20 / £17-18 (about AU$30).

Shoot with multiple camera systems? You can buy additional X5 triggers separately, again cutting the cost of having to fork out for multiple flashguns for different cameras. The Fujifilm trigger costs $19 / £17, while the Sony, Canon, Nikon and Olympus units cost $20 / £18).

Godox sent me the iT32 flash with X5 triggers for Canon, Nikon and Olympus cameras for review (each manufacturer's hotshoe is the same size, but with a unique pin design), and each version worked flawlessly for iTTL (through-the-lens metering) flash.

For the gains, the iT32 may well be the best money you spend on camera gear this year. Let's dig into my experience with the Godox iT32 a little more, and why you might want to use it.

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)The case for off-camera flash

I used to shoot with natural light at all costs. After all, flash photography can be a complicated business — the technique, the extra gear, not to mention the prohibitive cost — whereas available light felt simplest of all.

There's no getting around it, though: sometimes you just need off-camera flash to lift portraits and still-life photography. For me, flash has become an essential part of my setup for portraiture and weddings. And in this vein, the Godox iT32 quashes all of the hurdles for getting started.

for the first time, off-camera flash felt completely simple, even enjoyable.

I came across the Godox kit when I spotted a fellow tech journalist using it at an event for the Lumix L10. At first, it looked like a regular flashgun, the kind I've relied on for years. However, he then pulled it off the camera and carried on using it as per usual. I grilled him about it, saw it in action, and knew that I had to get one for myself.

You see, on-camera flash is one thing, of the type that's built into your phone or camera, but being able to direct light is another level, and that's what the iT32 allows you to do, the most accessible way imaginable.

The classic Rembrandt lighting, for example, is 45 degrees above and to the side of your subject. With the iT32, you can simply line up the shot, remove the flash from the receiver on the camera, and hold it manually to get that effect. You then just snap it back in place when you're done. For me, for the first time, off-camera flash felt completely simple, even enjoyable.

The flash attached to a Canon EOS R100 via the camera's hotshoeTim ColemanWant off camera flash, simply pull the flash unit away from the remote trigger, which remains attached to the camera's hotshoeTim ColemanThe flash has a built in bounce card, plus it comes with a diffuserTim ColemanIt's also equipped with a model light, which can be used as a light source in and of itself, but also help with focusing in low lightTim ColemanTim ColemanHow I used the Godox iT32

In addition to composing your shot and understanding where to position the flash, you'll need to know what flash settings to use for any given situation.

A two-second hold of the power/test button turns the flash on (the button illuminates green), followed by a swipe up of the screen. This two-step process confirms you didn't accidentally turn the flash on.

From here, exposure compensation can be dialled in (manually adjusting the brightness of the flash) by swiping the screen left or right, or scrolling the dial on the flash's side.

The menu is accessed through the menu button or by swiping down the touchscreen, where you'll find the option for a model (continuous) light, the flash modes and more.

There are iTTL, manual and multi-strobe flash modes, plus options for rear curtain, front curtain and high-speed flash.

I tend to rely on iTTL (through-the-lens auto-exposure metering), which is available with the flash physically or wirelessly attached to the X5 trigger, and experiment with exposure compensation for each scenario. Sometimes I just want a little fill light, so I'll dial in negative exposure compensation. Other times I'll want punchy lighting for which I might not make any changes at all. In any case, the maximum power of the flash is impressively bright.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

For the manual flash mode, flash brightness is adjusted in the same way as exposure compensation for the iTTL mode.

You won't generally need to bother with the on-camera / sender / receiver menu options, as the flash automatically switches modes when you attach or detach the flash from the X5 trigger.

I only had a single iT32 flashgun for my testing, but it is possible to sync multiple flashguns and control the brightness as a group using the basic controls on the remote trigger.

If you want different brightness values for multiple flashes — say, the main front flash at full value and a side- or rear-positioned flash as a dimmer fill light — then those values need to be dialled in on the flashgun itself when it's off-camera. Something to bear in mind if the flashes aren't easily accessible in your setup.

With off-camera flash, even with a single light source, you can shape the light for more dramatic shadowsTim ColemanHere the flash is attached to the camera. Lighting is flatterTim ColemanThis portrait makes use solely of the model light, no flashTim ColemanAnd here there's no flash or model light at allTim Coleman

With iTTL in play, I set camera exposure settings manually, mainly because I usually want background detail to come through, too, rather than it being mostly black or seriously under exposed.

The flash sync speed of most cameras maxes out at around 1/250sec, but 1/160sec is a safe bet. An aperture of around f/11 tends to make a correct exposure in daylight, while a brighter aperture with shallow depth of field, say f/2.8, can be possible in low light at night or indoors.

Dialling in a high ISO helped to bring through the color and detail of the sunset in this portraitTim ColemanTim Coleman

An ND lens filter will unleash a brighter aperture in daylight for shallow depth of field (or a camera like the Sony A9 III). I then use a high ISO setting that brings through some of the background detail.

For the portraits I took at golden hour, my camera settings were 1/160sec, f/11 and ISO 3200, with the flash set to iTTL and the power adjusted with -0.7EV exposure compensation. Those settings are a good starting point to experiment from — but, of course, they depend on how bright the ambient light is.

Having used two flashguns for years that each require 4 x AA batteries, I really appreciated the USB-C charging of the iT32. The port can also be used for firmware updates, say, adding compatibility with future cameras.

The X5 remote trigger also has a built-in battery, and this receives charge when docked in the iT32 flash. The LCD shows the battery life of both units, and if you run into any off-camera pairing issues, docking the flash back in the trigger will do the trick.

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)The perfect package?

Is the Godox iT32 the perfect package? For pros, not quite — there's no multi-channel feature for individually controlling brightness values from the main transmitter of complex multi-camera flash setups. However, for beginners and simple 1-2 light setups, with the features on board and the low asking price, the iT32 is for me the perfect gateway to off-camera flash.

• Spider-Man 4's digital release date has reportedly been revealed
• It could be available to watch at home in early October
• The record-breaking Marvel movie is the highest-grossing film in US history

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to swing onto premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms very soon.

That's according to the ever-reliable WhenToStream website, whose sources have indicated that the record-breaking Marvel movie will be available to rent or buy on October 6, 2026.

Currently, digital stores, such as Amazon, Fandango, and Apple TV, have placeholder webpages for the latest Spider-Man film, but they make no mention of an impending release date, or simply say that its digital launch is "coming soon".

Nonetheless, WhenToStream has a fantastic track record when it comes to movie-based PVOD launch date announcements, so there's no reason to doubt the aforementioned at-home release date for Brand New Day.

I've approached Marvel and Sony Pictures for comment on what WhenToStream has reported, and I'll update this article if I receive a response.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026)Streaming: October 6, 2026PVOD (Apple, Amazon, Fandango, etc.)#SpiderManBrandNewDaywhentostream.com/spider-man-b...

— @whentostream.bsky.social (@whentostream.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-09-28T15:55:32.597Z

Whenever Spider-Man 4 makes its PVOD debut, every rental or permanent purchase will only add to the eye-watering amount of money it's already made.

At the time of writing, the Marvel Phase 6 flick has made a staggering $2.495 billion at the global box office. $950 million of that figure has been in the US alone, which is enough to make it that nation's highest-grossing movie of all-time. Star Wars: The Force Awakens had been the holder of that particular mantle, with the seventh Star Wars film making $936.6 million in the US between December 2015 and early 2016.

How long will that record last? It's hard to say. The iconic webslinger's latest big-screen adventure, which sees A-listers (and married couple) Tom Holland and Zendaya star in their fourth Spidey movie, has been lauded by pretty much everyone.

I wasn't as big on it as many others were — read my Spider-Man: Brand New Day review to find out why. Nevertheless, there's no denying that the aforementioned pair's star power, plus Spider-Man's enduring popularity, helped it to swing to unprecedented new heights.

Still, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) highly-anticipated next team-up film in Avengers: Doomsday set to hit theaters on December 17, it'll be fascinating to see if Spider-Man 4 can hold of its fellow comic book-inspired flick and retain its position as the biggest money-spinning movie in US history.

When might Spider-Man: Brand New Day be released on Netflix?

Spider-Man 4 won't swing onto Netflix and other SVOD platforms for a while yet (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

That's another tough question to answer, especially in light of the new 'Pay-1' worldwide agreement that Netflix and Sony announced in January 2026.

Currently, Sony-developed movies typically premiere on one of the world's best streaming services around four months after their initial theatrical release. Using that as a barometer, Brand New Day wouldn't come out on Netflix until late November, which would be an incredibly timely, well, time to arrive, as it coincides with Thanksgiving in the US.

However, things are more complicated than that. For one thing, Sony has various licensing agreements with numerous streamers that means its films have different streaming homes in different parts of the world.

For instance, Spider-Man: No Way Home, aka Brand New Day's predecessor, has regularly been available on Starz in the US. Overseas, the Spider-Man movies have come to Sky and Prime Video in the UK, and Stan and Binge in Australia. Further complicating matters is that the live-action Spidey flicks have occasionally joined Disney+ in multiple territories.

Things won't be that way for much longer, mind you. As I mentioned above, a new 'Pay-1' deal between Netflix and Sony means the latter's films will exclusively stream worldwide on Netflix following their theatrical and digital releases.

Per Netflix's blog announcing the agreement, the streaming titan said that "the new global Pay-1 arrangement will roll out gradually starting later this year as individual territory rights become available, with full global availability on Netflix in early 2029."

What does that mean for Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Theoretically, it could make its Netflix debut in the US and other countries before the end of the year.

Sure, much will depend on when Sony's current licensing deals with other streamers expires in certain parts of the world. Given Netflix's wording above, though, I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix users in multiple nations suddenly see Spider-Man 4 appear on their home page before 2026 is over, whenever that date will be.

For now, read my Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained piece for more on its biggest talking points. Once you're done, see why Spider-Man 4's post-credits scene might not mean what you think it does.

The Voice AI Agents market is growing exponentially. The industry is projected to grow from $2.4 billion in 2024 to $47.5 billion by 2034, while Gartner predicts that by 2028, 70% of customer service journeys will begin with a conversational AI interface.

For global brands, the appeal is obvious. Voice AI offers the potential to deliver consistent, scalable customer support across markets, languages and time zones.

But there is a risk that voice AI will face the same issue faced by outsourced customer service centers, where differences in language and culture create a disconnect and frustration between the brand and customer.

As voice AI advances, language may become less of a barrier. But speaking the same language is not the same as understanding someone.

It’s just one part of the puzzle. Customers bring accents, habits and cultural expectations to every interaction, and they expect support to reflect their reality.

For that reason, localization needs to become a core test of voice AI performance, rather than a translation exercise that happens at the end of development.

What does it mean for voice AI to be ‘local’?

Accents, dialects, terminology and cultural norms can vary considerable even when speaking the same language. In Scotland, for example, a customer might say “aye”, rather than “yes”, refer to something small as “wee”, or talk about “getting the messages” when they mean going shopping. The language is English but understanding the interaction requires familiarity with how that language is used locally.

Cultures also differ in their expectations around directness or politeness. Even something as simple as how a customer is addressed can matter. In some cultures, using titles and surnames is an important sign of respect, while in others, addressing someone by their first name is the norm. A voice agent that is too informal could come across overly familiar, while one that is too formal might feel distant or unnatural.

All this to say that just because an AI might sound like me, it doesn’t necessarily mean it understands me or is equipped to serve someone in my market.

These aren't cosmetic details. They shape an AI agent’s ability to understand intent and respond appropriately and, ultimately, determine whether customers trust the experience it provides.

It doesn’t sound like a robot anymore

This isn’t to say there haven’t been huge advances in AI. There’s a reason why so many brands are investing in voice AI for CX, and that’s because it's becoming so convincing. Just look at ElevenLabs, for example.

The organization has built its success on AI-generated voices that can reproduce not just speech, but the pacing, intonation and emotion that make a voice sound human. Its technology not only spans voice cloning, multilingual speech and conversational agents, helping take synthetic voice from a novelty to something businesses can realistically deploy at scale.

The days when synthetic speech was instantly recognizable as robotic are fading. Early digital voices such as ‘Microsoft Sam’ left little doubt that you were listening to a machine. Today, the line is becoming much harder to distinguish. As voice AI becomes more convincing, our interactions with it can start to feel less like using a piece of technology and more like engaging with another person.

The technology's ability to create a sense of social presence is already apparent beyond customer service. Even actors such as Matthew McConaughey are getting behind AI voice technology, where it can match their performance without requiring them to change the way they sound, demonstrating just how powerful voice and conversational cues can be in shaping our perception.

But the most advanced experiences aren’t universally available, meaning many people may still be exposed to underdeveloped AI voices. What’s more, humans are remarkably good at noticing when something is slightly off. This is what creates the uncanny valley effect.

An unnatural pause, misplaced emphasis or strangely enthusiastic response can quickly break the illusion. Local context adds another layer to that challenge. A voice can sound perfectly human while still sounding culturally out of place. That said, the closer AI gets to human speech, the more conspicuous those moments can become.

Global brands can’t rely on one global answer

This is where global brands need to resist the temptation to treat voice AI as a single product that can be rolled out everywhere.

A frontier model might provide the foundation, but its performance needs to be tested against local data and real customer interactions so it can capture what ‘good’ looks like in terms of:

- The empathy that de-escalates a frustrated customer

- The specific terminology a market actually uses

- The intonation that reads as natural

All of these can't be inferred by a frontier model; it has to be learned market by market, brand by brand. Successful voice AI models will have an ongoing feedback loop which monitors interactions within individual markets, identifies where misunderstanding or friction occurs, refines the experience and tests again.

Local teams can play an active role in this process as well, bringing market expertise into development rather than simply receiving the “finished product”.

It can’t be treated as a job that is ever truly finished. Language and slang changes, customer expectations shift and new trends introduce expressions and behaviors that may not have appeared in the original training data.

Final summary

Getting this wrong can have an impact on a brand’s reputation. As voice AI becomes more human, customers will naturally expect more from it.

Derby City Council recently experienced this with its AI assistant, Darcie, which struggled to understand a presenter with a strong Derbyshire accent who used local expressions such as “mardy” and “duck,” despite having been upgraded to support nine additional languages.

It is a useful reminder that multilingual does not necessarily mean localized. If a system repeatedly misunderstands an accent or fails to recognize local expressions and expectations, customers will not experience it as a technology problem.

Instead, it will shape their perception of the organization behind it. The brands that get real value out of the voice AI boom won’t be the ones whose technology can speak all 7,170 languages in existence today. They will be those whose customers feel the most understood.

We've ranked the best translation 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

Removing the Qidi Q2 from the box, I was instantly pleased to see that this new machine reflected everything that I have liked about the Qidi Plus4 machine that I looked at a couple of years ago. However, this is a smaller version with a footprint that is better suited to smaller workshops and studios.

Once again, it’s easy to write off these machines. Qidi , while in the business for as long as many of the big-name brands, just isn’t as well-known, and their machines just don’t have that spark of innovation that we see from the likes of Prusa Research, Bambu Lab, Creality, Elegoo or AnyCubic; however, above all, bar possibly Prusa, Qidi have reliability.

It’s been a busy few months, and the Q2 review has been a long time coming. It’s essentially been sitting, printing for 6 months without issue or fuss: switch on, print, whichever material I need for any given job, usually PLA but ASA, ABS and PETG-CF, same reliability, same print quality.

The main issue is that when a machine starts to blend in, just works as part of the workshop and now classroom you don’t tend to think of it as anything other than having always been there, and that really sums up the Qidi , while it may not have the cutting edge features, what it does have is absolute refinement and reliability.

As I have found in both a business and an educational environment, reliability is far more important than any headline speed figures, multitool changers, or other cutting-edge features when all you need to do is print.

QIDI Q2 3D Printer: Design

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Positioning the 402 x 438 x 494mm frame of the Qidi Q2 onto the workbench was something of a relief; the past three printers and laser engravers have all recently gone for scale, so to have something smaller and quite as neat and robust as the Q2 to move around is a welcome break. While it is smaller, it still offers a decent print area of 270x270x256; this will enable you to print most objects you’ll need for prototyping, although cosplay props and helmets will require the models to be split and produced in parts.

One of the key points for me was that the Q2 comes in at 18.1kg, so while that is still quite weighty, it’s not up to the backbreaking weight of many of the other new machines, which in smaller workshops means that it’s easy to move and store when needed.

The construction is all good and solid, and with the CoreXY mechanics and the full-metal frame it all feels a little more robust than some of the other printers that I have tested recently. I also like the fact that it, which has been product-designed, is more in line with workshop machinery, so slips into that environment neatly.

In the print workroom, which is where the Qidi machines tend to end up, the Q2 has sat alongside the larger Plus4 handling the smaller props prints and artworks that we’re required for the run-up to summer. The quality, speed and ultimately reliability have made this, alongside the other Qidi machine, a valuable addition.

All the features that are essential for education, especially, are here, with the fully enclosed construction which keeps students' fingers away from the heated internal chamber and, more importantly, the hot end.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The interface is also extremely straightforward, with the 4.3-inch touchscreen making it easy to navigate. What I liked was that the calibration is automatic, so once the machine is set, you can just leave it.

The auto bed levelling with the standard dual-sided textured PEI build plate meant that there were few, if any, misprints, and once prints cool, they’re easy to remove.

When it comes to the build, the Qidi has been designed as a solid and reliable part of the studio, and a printer that blends in rather than standing out and demanding constant attention.

QIDI Q2 3D Printer: Features

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Taking a look at the Q2’s features, while impressive, it positions this fully enclosed printer at entry level these days, which, compared with printers just a couple of years ago, shows just how far the technology has progressed.

The fully enclosed design gives the machine its premium look and feel and houses the CoreXY motion system using heavier-weight 1.5GT belts, with linear guide rail used rather than rods on the X-axis and dual independent lead-screw motors controlling the Z-axis. These are all features that ensured Bambu Lab’s position when they launched, and now even in this entry-level machine they’re a standard.

Toolhead speed is 600mm/s, fast but not unusual at this level, with acceleration of up to 20,000mm/s². Compared with the old Cartesian machines, this is impressive, but with many machines now reaching 1000mm/s, it puts this machine's print speeds at a reliable and steady pace.

The machine is shipped with QidiSlicer, which, as with most slicers these days, is a derivative of Prusa Slicer, although here it has been heavily adapted to enable ease of use. What I liked through the test is that the default profiles are solid and well tested. If you’re new to 3D printing, then it’s just a case of selecting your filament type and the software then the machine sorts the rest. Through this test, I stuck to these default profiles, and the consistency with the QIDI and other manufacturer filaments was superb.

The print volume is 270 x 270 x 256mm, which is a decent size, with most standard 3D printers offering around the 250 x 250 x 250 mm volume. The platform itself is an aluminium-substrate heated bed topped by a removable dual-sided textured PEI plate with a bed temperature that can reach 120°C.

The standard hotend nozzle impressively reaches a temperature of 370°C, meaning that out of the box the bimetal 0.4mm nozzle is equipped to deal with engineering materials. As one feature point that really highlights the direction of the QIDI 3D printers, it uses a direct-drive extrusion system with hardened-steel gears, again built for durability and maximum filament support.

As I mentioned, the 0.4mm bimetal nozzle is fitted as standard; however, if you want to swap it out for something else, then there are 0.2, 0.6 and 0.8mm alternatives available. While you can print with abrasive materials as I did through the test, there is a Tungsten Carbide nozzle available which will last far longer.

The material compatibility list is extensive, with the usual PLA, PETG and TPU, and support for ABS, ASA, PA and PC. The BiMetal nozzle will also print carbon- and glass-fibre reinforced polymers, although this is where I would invest the additional £60/$60 for the Tungsten Carbide hotend.

The Q2 is a fully enclosed machine with active PTC chamber heating system that can push the internal temperature up to 65°C; this is ideal for materials such as ABS, ASA and engineering polymers. The heat around the print enables better control over warping and other print problems for these more advanced material types.

There are several points around the engineering materials that are worth knowing before you start using them on this printer. While it can print with them out of the box, if you’re going to be using carbon-fibre or nylon on a regular basis, I would invest in a filament dryer and that hardened hotend.

Looking at a few of the features that have been introduced that actually make this machine an interesting option for small studios and education are additions such as the G3 pre-filter, H12 HEPA filter and coconut-shell activated-carbon filter. These essentially take out some of the fumes and smaller particles that some of the more advanced materials can make.

The Q2 uses hands-free automatic levelling with a load-cell sensor integrated directly into the hotend. The nozzle itself can therefore be used during the levelling process, removing the need for a separate offset probe.

Specs

Print Technology: Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), CoreXY
Build Area: 270 x 270 x 256mm
Minimum Layer Resolution: Dependent on nozzle/profile
Maximum Layer Resolution: Dependent on nozzle/profile
Dimensions: 402 x 438 x 494mm
Weight: 18.1kg
Bed: Aluminium heated bed, up to 120°C
Print Surface: Dual-sided textured PEI plate
Software: QIDI Studio; compatible with third-party slicers including OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer
Materials: PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC and carbon/glass-fibre reinforced polymers
Print Speed: Up to 600mm/s; acceleration up to 20,000mm/s²

In everyday use, the important point is that calibration is straightforward and, once complete, I’ve found little reason to start making manual fine adjustments.

That’s exactly what I want from a machine being used in education.

The purpose of the printer is to make things. If you’re continually adjusting the printer itself, something has gone wrong with that relationship.

Other advanced features include the 1080p resolution camera that enables you to monitor prints and create time-lapse sequences; this camera is now AI-enhanced, so it will spot defects automatically.

More standard features, including WiFi across a 2.4GHz connection, Ethernet and USB, are all available, and the 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 touchscreen enables you to easily switch through settings.

QIDI Q2 3D Printer: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

After having the relative complexity of the multi-filament machines over the last year, it’s actually quite nice to go back to the simplicity of a single filament. There is the option to go multifilament, but in this review I’m just looking at the base machine, and as the first few prints finished, I was instantly impressed by the quality of the PLA prints.

As I ran through the stock models that had been provided and then the additional test prints, the quality and speed were consistent. This is a mid-speed printer, and while it’s not as fast as some of the machines I’ve looked at recently, at this price the speed and quality are well balanced.

What is apparent is that, consistently and unusually due to the volume of printers and engravers that have been coming through the workshop, this machine has been printing consistently for six months without issue. This is part of the reason that I’ve delayed the review: firstly, waiting for the Qidi Box, and secondly, it just became a part of the workshop that was in constant use.

This reliability has been seen with the other QIDI printers that I’ve used, with the Plus4 now having been run for almost two years in the college; it's the one printer of many that has consistently worked and meets the safety requirements.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Checking the quality of the prints and the first layer after the auto calibration is always slow and precise, and at no point have I had to make any adjustments to that initial calibration height.

The prints also hold firm during printing, and if printing multiple prints across the heated bed, they all stick firmly through the process, releasing easily when the platform cools.

What was also apparent was that after a six-week break at the college, where the machine has sat mostly unused, all it took to get it back into action was to power it on. A quick bench test, and the machine was printing perfectly.

Taking a look at the benchmark tests, the results were impressive.

QIDI Q2 3D Printer: Print quality

Dimensional accuracy - score of 4

Target 25 = X: 24.90mm / 0.10mm Error | Y: 24.87mm / 0.13mm Error
Target 20 = X: 19.88mm / 0.12mm Error | Y: 19.80mm / 0.20mm Error
Target 15 = X: 14.90mm / 0.10mm Error | Y: 14.93mm / 0.07mm Error
Target 10 = X: 9.89mm / 0.11mm Error | Y: 9.78mm / 0.22mm Error
Target 5 = X: 4.88mm / 0.12mm Error | Y: 4.89mm / 0.11mm Error
X Error Average = 0.11
Y Error Average = 0.146
X&Y Error Average = 0.128

Fine Flow Control - score of 5

Fine Negative Features - score of 5

Overhangs - score of 5

Bridging - score of 5

XY resonance - score of 2.5

Z-axis alignment - score of 2.5

Adding up the totals gives a final score of 29 out of 30.

QIDI Q2 3D Printer: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The review of this 3D printer has stretched over a far longer period than most, with the machine being set up and used for the last six months. While the pricing places this at the entry level, the build quality and reliability make it clear that this machine strikes a careful balance.

It gives you a standard out-of-the-box machine that is a reliable tool in the workshop, and if you work in education or have a small business or design studio, then that is exactly what it provides.

The Q2, used as a single-filament machine as I have looked at it in this review, offers a solid, no-fuss approach and huge support for a good range of materials. Key features include the CoreXY design, cooling system, filter and fully enclosed design that enable everyone from a complete beginner through to professionals to have a machine that will be reliable and easy to use.

The Qidi software is again well thought out, and the stripped-down approach again makes it an ideal option for those who are new to 3D printing; the machine connection and the slicing workflow are all well thought through.

This might not be a machine that shouts. out with the latest features and cutting-edge additions, but instead it refines this style of machine perfectly. If you want more, then there are the other hotend options, and there’s the QIDI box for multifilament printing.

Essentially if you need a no fuss, solid and reliable 3D printer then the Qidi Q2 is a great option, while there is the multifilament option at present as a single filament machine it’s a great price and close to perfect for what it is.

Should You Buy the Qidi Q2 3D printer?

Value:

Excellent value with a fully enclosed design and robust build that should last for years

4.5

Design:

Relatively compact design, with expansion options and built-in filters

4.5

Features:

Heated chamber, filtration and multi-material expansion future-proof the machine

4.5

Performance:

Six months of reliable printing highlighted just how refined this machine is

5

Total:

Compact, capable and exceptionally reliable all make this a great choice for education.

4.5

Buy it if…

Reliability really matters

If you’re using a 3D printer in the classroom, workshop or busy home setup, the Q2’s headline feature is its consistency and reliability. Once calibrated, it simply gets on with printing, with little maintenance or recalibration needed.

You need versatility

The Q2 is perfect for PLA printing for everyday tasks, but then with the fully enclosed chamber it’s also a great option for more advanced materials, especially with the upgrade options.

Don't buy it if…

You print huge

The 270 x 270 x 256mm build area is pretty decent for an everyday printer, but large prototypes and single-piece models will need something bigger.

Speed matters

The 600mm/s maximum is good rather than exceptional, especially against the competition. There are competing printers with faster, higher speeds, although the Q2’s real strength is the consistency.

See what I rate as the best 3D printers you can buy based on my workshop tests

We’ve just published our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review and, spoiler alert, it’s glowing and they're certainly in with a shot of claiming a spot in my guide to the best wireless earbuds in Australia. However, for all their talents, there’s no denying they’re expensive at AU$499.

The good news is that now they’ve launched, it means their just-as-talented predecessor, the Momentum True Wireless 4, enjoys a significant discount, and have now plummeted to AU$248 — just in time for the Prime Big Deal Days sale that kicks off tomorrow.

The sleek and compact Momentum True Wireless 4 are brimming with features including aptX Lossless and Auracast support, along with an impressive 30-hour battery life. Audio quality is top notch, offering very much a balanced and neutral profile, meaning each aspect of your favourite tunes gets the attention it deserves. The best price is on the black model. View Deal

Sennheiser is no stranger to producing quality headphones, but I do feel the brand can go under the radar for many, being overshadowed by the likes of Apple and Sony. And that’s a shame, because when you consider pairs of earbuds such as the Momentum True Wireless 4, there’s an awful lot to like.

As we said in our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review, “sound quality is where [they] shine”. These compact ‘buds serve up a neutral sound profile, and will reproduce any genre you want to throw at them with accuracy and packed with detail.

The new model also favours a neutral approach, and as we said in the review of that pair they "essentially sound about the same as Momentum True Wireless 4”, no doubt in part because they use the same 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers. That makes the huge price cut on the MTW4 all the more impressive and worth considering.

There are a few concessions compared with the newer model, of course. The MTW4 have Sennheiser’s older, slightly bulkier design, while the MTW5 sit lower in the ear and have been reshaped for a more comfortable fit. The newer buds also step up to Bluetooth 6.0, increase total battery life from 30 to 40 hours, add an improved eight-mic calling system and introduce user-replaceable batteries.

However, none of those upgrades fundamentally change the core listening experience — especially when the MTW4 is now less than half the price.

Garmin released its newest iterations of its flagship Fenix smartwatches in August in the form of the Fenix 9 and 9 Pro and, as expected, they come with super-premium materials, brighter-than-ever displays and improved maps. So it’s no surprise that they also carry sky-high price tags starting from AU$1,599.

If you’ve been eyeing one but don’t want to spend flagship smartphone-level money on a smartwatch, this deal on the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition for AU$849 will get you most of the core functionality for a much lower price.

Amazon’s Prime Big Day Deals sale hasn’t started yet but the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition is already discounted by 50%. While it’s been cheaper before (having dropped to AU$684 in July this year), you get the same core functionality of the Fenix 9 — like multi-band GPS tracking, a built-in LED torch, core mapping data, and premium materials like scratch-free sapphire lenses and titanium bezels — for a much lower price.View Deal

Having launched in 2023, our Garmin Epix Pro review called the watch “essentially an AMOLED-screened version” of the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro, but still earned itself 4.5 stars out of 5 for being one heck of a multisport wearable. Some of the features introduced here include the Elevate Gen 5 heart rate sensor, Up Ahead, Hill and Endurance scores and fast charging support.

You can also find your typical Garmin fare here like sleep scores, VO2 max, notification functionalities, music control, onboard music storage, estimated race prediction times, maps for golf courses and ski resorts, and many more usually found in a premium multisport outdoor watch.

The Fenix 9 offers a faster processor, brighter screens, more onboard file storage, improved mapping, a 40m dive certification, built-in speakers and microphones for calls, and new sport profiles that, honestly, aren’t really necessary for every athlete.

If you’re not too fussed about having all the latest and greatest additions but want a very capable premium watch to track all your adventures this summer, you can’t go wrong with the Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 for almost half the price.

• Fable associate game directors Craig Littler and Will Kennedy say British humour is a "crucial" part of the reboot
• They say it's presented in all systems, from story to dialogue and combat
• Playground Games made sure to steer away "from anything that's too crude"

Playground Games has said its Fable reboot will feature the series' iconic British humour across all systems, but it avoided anything overly "crude."

During a press Q&A at Gamescom, attended by TechRadar, associate game director Craig Littler said British humour "is a core part of the Fable DNA" and the decision to bring it forward into Playground's reboot "has been a crucial thing that we're always thinking about, because for us it has to be interwoven throughout the entire game."

"It's not just in the story. It's not just in the dialogue, but you even see flourishes of it in the combat," Littler said, before talking about the spell that lets players turn enemies into chickens, which he laughs about every time.

"It's hilarious," he added, saying, "We believe that the core idea of Fable is that the humor is [shown] throughout."

Associate game director Will Kennedy said that even when enemies turn back from a chicken, they'll still flap around for a while, which is visually funny but also gives players the opportunity to land some attacks.

"To us, tone is something that we're thinking about all the time and in every system, really," Kennedy said. "Any opportunity to add that fabled British tone of humor."

The directors also said the team thought deeply about how to present the humour, particularly for a modern audience; not every joke or gag will land the same for everyone, and the humor in the older Fable titles may be outdated, and they made sure not to feature anything too rude.

"For us, we've steered away from anything that's too crude," Littler confirmed, "and I think the real test for Fable when it comes to the tone is that it does just have to be funny, and that comes from really great writing, having a brilliant narrative team, and honestly the actors that we've hired as well."

Those actors include British stars and comedians like Hayley Atwell, Matt King, Natasia Demetriou, and more, with Littler saying they "really bring themselves to the role and are also capable of the sincerity that really gets to the heart of fairy tales as well. You want somebody who has that humour, but can really deliver an enormous performance as well."

He also teased some improvisation from the cast, explaining that the actors are given a solid script, but do give them "some latitude" for some improv.

"At the end of the day, they're great British comedians," he added. "Sometimes they're going to say something that's just pure gold. So yes, there is some latitude, and absolutely we reuse it when we can."

Fable launches on launch on February 23, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• X-energy has completed the main structure of its Tennessee fuel plant called TX-1
• The facility could eventually produce 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually
• TX-1 will be America's first new commercial-scale advanced fuel facility in decades

X-energy has completed the main structure of TX-1, a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The 214,000-square-foot plant, developed by subsidiary TRISO-X, represents the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility built domestically in over 50 years.

Clark Construction Group, the contractor handling the project, oversaw this vertical construction phase, clearing the path toward interior systems and eventual equipment installation.

Manufacturing capacity built for a growing fleet of reactors

TRISO fuel consists of tiny uranium particles wrapped in multiple carbon- and ceramic-based protective layers for durability.

Those layered coatings contain fission products while letting the fuel withstand temperatures far higher than conventional nuclear fuel typically tolerates.

The TX-1 plant is expected to produce roughly 700,000 TRISO fuel pebbles annually when it commences full operations, consuming about 5 metric tons of uranium, which would supply enough fuel for as many as 11 of X-energy's Xe-100 advanced reactor units combined.

Each Xe-100 reactor module produces 80 megawatts of electricity, with four combined modules forming one standard 320-megawatt plant.

TX-1 will initially supply fuel for X-energy's planned Xe-100 deployment at Dow's UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas.

"Completing vertical construction is a major milestone for TX-1 and another tangible demonstration of the progress our team is making in Oak Ridge," said Joel Duling, president of TRISO-X.

Clark Construction Group will now shift focus toward process equipment, an administration building, and an adjacent graphite matrix powder facility.

Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the plant a 40-year Special Nuclear Material License for operations ahead.

X-energy says this represents the first NRC Category 2 fuel fabrication license issued for processing high-assay low-enriched uranium, known as HALEU.

Expanding beyond one site as demand for advanced fuel grows

TRISO-X has separately expanded its broader Oak Ridge nuclear fuel campus by approximately 70 additional acres of land.

The company also extended its existing research partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory while beginning construction on a separate facility.

That new facility, called TX-L, will function as a dedicated research and development site going forward.

Beyond the Dow project, X-energy is pursuing additional Xe-100 deployments with Energy Northwest, Amazon, and Centrica as future customers.

Each new reactor project would add further demand for the specialized fuel TX-1 is being built to eventually produce.

Finishing the building's main structure does not mean fuel manufacturing can begin immediately at this location.

X-energy must still install specialized production equipment, commission interior systems, and prepare the facility for full commercial operations ahead.

No completion date has been disclosed for TX-1, but when completed, it would give the United States its first new domestic source of advanced reactor fuel in decades.

That outcome would also reduce reliance on foreign uranium suppliers while supporting new clean energy projects already planned with Amazon, Energy Northwest, and Centrica.

Via Interesting Engineering

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, September 27 (game #1707).

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

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

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• T

• S

• H

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1708, are…

• BRUNT
• TORSO
• STONE
• HEATH

Words beginning in T and ending in O always look exotic to me — possibly because the one that I’d first think of would be tango.

There are also two brilliant cities in Tokyo and Tromso, which today’s most difficult-to-get word, TORSO, shares some of its letters with.

Daily Sequence today (game #1708) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1708, are…

• TEDDY
• BLUFF
• CHOCK
• OTHER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH

The storage space on your phone can quickly fill up, what with movies, music, photos, videos, games, and apps to consider, and you don't want your handset to get close to running out of room — what if you need to download some movies for a flight or record a moment with the kids and there's not enough space on your phone for it?

Among the many tricks you can turn to to free up some space on your device, one of the lesser-known options is reducing the room taken up by apps you're not really using any more. You can do it on any phone model: Android calls it archiving, and iOS calls it offloading, but the process works in a similar way.

This isn't uninstalling apps (which is also an option for freeing up space): it's stripping them down to the bare bones. It works best for those apps that you're not using regularly, but that you think you might come back to at some point, such as apps you only use on vacation or at events such as festivals, or games you haven't played in a while but still enjoy.

What archiving and offloading does

You can archive apps manually if needed (Image credit: Future)

There's a good chance you've got a bunch of apps on your phone that you don't actually use that much: you installed them to test something, or try something out, or as an alternative to another app, and they just didn't stick. If you're not using these apps though, they're really just taking up room.

Uninstalling these apps is one option you've got, and will maximize the amount of storage space you get back. On Android, open the app drawer, tap and hold on an app, then drag it up to the Uninstall button at the top; on iOS, find the app on one of your home screens, press and hold on it, then tap Remove App > Delete App.

You can of course reinstall these apps whenever you like, but it's not a particularly quick or easy process. You need to find it again on the app store on your phone, wait for it to download, enter all your login details again, and customize it the same way you had it set up before. You might also lose some account data along the way, depending on the app.

Archiving or offloading is a middle ground. The bulk of the app gets removed from your phone, which helps with storage space, but key files stay in place — and the app icon stays in the app drawer or on the home screen. When you need the app again you just tap its icon, and after a few moments the necessary files are downloaded, and you're able to pick up from where you left off.

Archiving apps on Android

You'll find the relevant setting in the Play Store app (Image credit: Future)

This feature is called Auto Archive on Android, and Google promises it can free up as much as 60% of the storage that an app is using, without removing the actual app or deleting your user data. It isn't turned on by default, but you can enable it yourself.

Open up the Play Store on your phone, tap your profile picture (top right), then choose Settings > General. Turn on the toggle switch labeled Automatically archive apps, and when storage space starts to run low, certain apps will be archived for you.

You can let Google choose the apps that are archived when space runs low, or archive them yourself. To archive an app, open Settings then Apps: Select the app you want, then tap Archive on the app details screen.

Android might prompt you to turn on Auto Archive if space is running low on your phone and you try and install something new from the Play Store: if this happens, tap Turn on to enable the feature, or No thanks if you want to clear some space manually.

Offloading apps on iOS

The Offload Unused Apps option in iOS (Image credit: Future)

Over on iOS, the feature is called Offload Unused Apps, and it was introduced all the way back in 2017 with iOS 11. As on Android, the feature is off by default, but Apple will prompt you to turn it on when storage is low, or you can just turn it on preemptively: From Settings, select Apps > App Store, then turn on the Offload Unused Apps toggle switch.

Apple doesn't explain much about which apps are picked to be offloaded, so we're presuming that iOS chooses the ones you've left dormant for the longest when space starts to run out. Offloaded apps have a small arrow next to their name below their home screen icons.

You can opt to offload specific apps manually too, whether or not you've enabled the feature for iOS as a whole. From Settings in iOS, tap General > iPhone Storage, then select an app, and pick Offload App. The same screen lets you uninstall the app too.

How much space you're going to save using this method is obviously going to vary, but you might be able to free up more room than you thought. Whenever you need one of your offloaded apps back again, tap on its home screen icon to reinstate it.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5: Two-minute review

Sennheiser doesn’t rush its new products — especially within the best earbuds market. It’s been over two years since the launch of the Momentum True Wireless 4 and, even back then, I remember the brand saying at my product briefing that they were already at work planning ahead for potential EU regulations. Which regulations specifically? That the batteries within these tiny earpieces may well need to be user-replaceable in coming launches.

Those laws are still on the horizon… sort of. Other brands have had their complaints, saying the rules force tiny devices to be bulkier and less waterproof, so there are now various exceptions. Sennheiser, though, stuck to its plan. With the launch of the Momentum True Wireless 5, the company is proving that user-replaceable batteries are possible even in products as small as wireless earbuds.

Longevity is only one part of the story when it comes to these new buds though. Much like the new Momentum 5 over-ear headphones, they’re stuffed full of upgrades. They’ve now got a refreshed premium design, a different shape and fit, improved noise-cancelling and transparency, refined sound, and extra features, such as immersive Dolby Atmos audio and aptX Lossless high-res streaming. Spoiler alert for the rest of this review, but they’re the complete package.

After more than two weeks of use, the Momentum True Wireless 5 (or MTW5) have quickly become my new favorite wireless buds for just about anything and everything. They’re quite clearly the flagship to beat in 2026.

To my ears, they’re better-sounding than the top rivals from Technics and JBL, with an enjoyable, neutral, yet non-fatiguing sound that caters to critical listening. The improved ANC is now only a slight step behind Apple, Bose and Sony’s best, and that gap is close enough to barely matter for most of us.

Crucially, the Sennheiser buds are highly customizable with the Smart Control Plus app, an intuitive platform that I find to be one of the best companion apps in the business. Should you want to, you can adjust the sound, tap controls, ANC levels, codecs in use, battery preservation, and more.

The sustainability credentials and long-term usability make them easy to recommend. But once you add in their natural audio on a wide soundstage, high-end style, comfortable fit, and smart companion app features, the Momentum True Wireless 5 might just be the best buds out there for the money.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks )Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5: price & release date

• Launched in September 2026
• Sells for $300 / £250 / AU$499

How much money, though? For high-end earbuds, you expect a high cost, and the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 are launching at the competitive price of $300 / £250 / AU$499.

Unsurprisingly, that puts the MTW5 pretty much in the mix with the rest of the flagships. Apple’s AirPods Pro are $50 cheaper at $249, but these directly compete with Sony’s WF-1000XM6 — costing $329 / £250 / AU$499.95 — and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) – for $299 / £299 / AU$450. And, of course, luxury or boutique pairs such as the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 ($399 / £349 / AU$599) or Master & Dynamic MW09 ($349 / £319 / AU$599) will still cost a fair chunk of cash more.

No matter how you look at it though, these are pricey for most of us. But once you factor in the replaceable batteries, it’s easy to see how these could keep you going for longer than others on the market. And these are the first premium buds from an audio brand to have this repairability feature, with Fairphone's Fairbuds being essentially the only other rival even attempting it. So, kudos there.

Future / Simon Cocks Future / Simon Cocks Future / Simon Cocks Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: specs

Drivers

7mm dynamic

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

Up to 12 hours per earbud, 40 hours in total

Weight

7g (per bud)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0

Frequency range

5 Hz-21 kHz

Waterproofing

IP54

(Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks )Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: Features

• User-replaceable batteries (for both the buds and the case)
• Bluetooth 6.0 with seamless multipoint switching
• Head-tracked Dolby Atmos spatial audio

The replaceable battery is the headline feature here, of course. It’s a big deal because the batteries are what's most likely to degrade first in your earphones. Until recently, the glued-in cells in wireless buds have meant that, one way or another, they’re destined to be e-waste in only a matter of years.

Sennheiser includes a battery replacement tool for the buds in the case, and you can access the case battery and the bud batteries with the help of a tiny screwdriver. Luckily, the required screwdriver is the one I have on hand to adjust my glasses. To do my due diligence for this review (even though these fresh buds would be a long way away from needing their batteries replaced) I’ve gone through the process of opening up both the case and buds, and can confirm it’s easy enough as long as you follow the instructions on how to use the included tool. Just be careful as you’re dealing with delicate, small parts.

I also spoke with Frank Foppe, the product manager for the MTW5, and I asked how long they’re made to last before a battery replacement might be needed. He confirmed that about 80-90% of the capacity should remain after 500 charge cycles. That’d mean you could use them every single day for two hours and get to four years of use before you notice much of a difference.

And, while Sennheiser isn’t yet able to confirm the cost of replacement batteries, once those are available, they should make a big difference to the longevity of the MTW5. You could realistically buy these earbuds, take care of them, replace the batteries and keep them working for well over five years or much more (as long as all other parts remain functional).

Right now, you should get 6 hours of playtime with ANC on, and up to 12 hours with it off. Sennheiser claims an ANC-off battery life totalling 40 hours once you factor in the charging case, which seems to be about right in my testing. I ran a test playing a Spotify playlist for three hours at 50% volume with ANC on, and had 60% remaining, which confirms a single-charge runtime of around 7.5 hours, a little better than Sennheiser’s estimate. Recharging is via the USB-C port on the case or wireless charging, and a quick charge of eight minutes gives you an hour of use.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks )

Much like the MTW4, Sennheiser has also made these a “future-proof” pair of earbuds when it comes to the feature set. They include several abilities other current launches still lack, and they have the brand’s excellent battery protection feature (to slow down charging and limit the charge level to 80%), which is another way they’re designed for long-term use.

You’ve got Bluetooth 6.0 with Snapdragon sound, a low-latency mode, support for lossless audio and 24-bit/96kHz streaming, Dolby Atmos head-tracked immersive audio, reliable wear detection, excellent multipoint switching, Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair, and upgraded microphones for better noise-cancelling and transparency, along with LE audio and Auracast (not at launch, but promised for a future firmware update).

While I’d found ANC on the MTW4 “effective”, I’d say the new version definitely takes things a step further. We’ve now got four microphones per earbud (plus bone-conduction voice sensors for calls), which is up from three per bud on the predecessor. In all the environments where I’ve used noise-cancelling – including coffee shops, city streets and the London Underground – I’ve found my music or podcasts still audible at reasonable volumes without needing to turn it up to overpower the noise.

The wind-noise reduction kicks in quickly and is also excellent, and I should know, as it’s been particularly windy on my walks lately! Noise-cancelling, overall, feels quite natural while still being capable enough to silence a great range of outside sounds, adapting well to changes in your environment.

But it still isn’t quite the “bubble of silence” ANC that you can get from the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds! I don’t find that it’s a difference that matters that much anymore, but it’s worth knowing that there’s even more powerful ANC out there.

Transparency is brilliant, though, and up there with AirPod models for how natural its passthrough of the outside world is. I also love that turning on transparency pauses your audio. I listen to podcasts a lot, and having a one-tap way to pause and get awareness is fantastic for quickly saying hi to the cashier at my local corner shop. I also tested the microphones with calls and voice notes. They’re decent at isolating my voice when playing loud, busy cafe background noise, but with the occasional missed word or two. That said, they’re good for outdoor calls and great in a quiet room.

• Features score: 4 / 5

Future / Simon Cocks Future / Simon Cocks Future / Simon Cocks Future / Simon Cocks Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: Sound quality

• Neutral sound on a wide soundstage
• Excellent detail and warmth for a non-fatiguing listen
• Highly customizable in the app

Sennheiser markets these as “engineered for serious listeners” and I don't disagree. They’re not really made with bass-heads in mind, and have more of a neutral approach when compared to some consumer sound profiles. But they’re also not sterile, offering warmth, depth and smoothness. You get just enough weight and control to the bass, a natural midrange and crisp highs, plus a lot of flexibility to adjust the sound to your liking.

If you know much about the previous generations of these earbuds, all that I’ve just said won’t come as a big surprise. While there are slight refinements to the sound, these essentially sound about the same as the MTW4 and MTW3 before them. They use the same 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers from the predecessors, and one notable benefit over rivals is a greater width to the soundstage and a palpable sense of instrumental separation.

Billie Eilish’s Oxytocin is a fantastic test track for these buds — with effects zipping across the mix, perfectly centered lead vocals, and breathy backing vocals coming at you from all sides. I played the spatial mix from Apple Music and switched on Dolby Atmos, and it’s definitely a convincing implementation of the processing. As my playlist went on, I began to encounter tracks not mixed for spatial audio, though, and you’d need to manually turn off Atmos so those don’t sound a bit weird.

I far prefer Dolby Atmos over most proprietary spatial options, so I appreciate its presence here, but I’d make sure you only use it when listening to playlists or albums full of tracks optimized for Atmos. It works best with Atmos-certified content, and in those cases much of the processing will be done on the source device.

Head tracking works, but it’s still not essential. The fixed spatial audio is plenty, and I still recommend mostly using this mode with films and TV shows designed for immersion, rather than music, which can be a little more hit-and-miss. I tested it with Severance on Apple TV and found it enhanced the eeriness of the quiet sound design and the dialogue clarity.

I tested bass with my go-to low-end thump test, the slow-burn sub-bass of Massive Attack’s Angel. The MTW5 excel, not coming off as overly bloated or boomy, but instead clear and textured. Vocal and midrange realism is where Sennheiser’s natural tuning pays off most. Listening to Coldplay’s Clocks reveals more detail and subtleties I don’t usually hear. And I moved on to the busy mix of Muse's Supermassive Black Hole, where every element feels defined, without the smearing you so often hear from lesser drivers. The width of the soundstage makes for a more engaging listen and, when combined with the tightness of the bass and detail in vocals, I’d say they’re a pair that’s ideal for a relaxed listening experience.

They’re so non-fatiguing that I can keep listening for hours and hours. The most intense audiophiles may still have their nitpicks, as these are tuned more for musical enjoyment than they are for being analytical, but I really think there’s very little that can’t be solved with the 8-band EQ. A full parametric equaliser (as on the HDB630 over-ears) would’ve been a great customization feature, but it’s also one that many users wouldn’t find intuitive.

Sennheiser’s Sound Personalization is a companion to EQ, and is a blend between a preference test and hearing evaluation, where you tweak the volume of different instruments to your liking, and then use a slider to find the lowest level at which you can hear the sample track. The result still sounded great for me, but I ultimately found that I prefer the default “Neutral” after comparing the two.

My honest view on the codec support is that it’s very easy to get lost in the weeds with it all, and far more of this is marketing than most of us tend to admit. The high-res aptX Lossless codec is present, but only kicks in with compatible Android sources, so you may not be able to engage this mode anyway.

I tested it with the Fairphone 6 Plus, which supports the full aptX suite, but it wouldn’t shift out of Adaptive. But this isn’t surprising given that “Lossless” is more of a “mode” hiding inside aptX Adaptive. Basically, this can all get a bit confusing, and there isn’t a substantial difference. A competent codec like AAC will give you quality with virtually no audible difference from aptX, thanks to Sennheiser’s great tuning and driver design. If you have a phone supporting aptX Adaptive, you may hear a tiny difference, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

These sound superb, so you’re not losing anything by choosing “Robust connection” instead of the “Advanced sound quality” mode. You won’t be able to tell them apart, and you’ll get to use every feature (Atmos is unavailable if you turn on high-res, for example).

• Sound quality score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks )Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: Design

• New, premium design with a shallow fit and slim case
• Comfortable to wear all day
• Screws for the user-replaceable batteries

Fans of the fabric-wrapped case may be disappointed to see how Sennheiser changed things up with the MTW5. The buds now live in a slim and lightweight, textured plastic casing with a shiny circular logo on top. This case has a sturdy metal hinge, one of the best I’ve tried, and the USB-C port is now at the bottom left (it used to be on the front of the older design). On the case and buds, you’ll see the screws needed for changing batteries, but the earphones are still IP54 dust- and splash-resistant.

The fabric case of the MTW4 I tested quickly picked up a big scuff, so I’m hardly mourning its departure. In fact, everything about the MTW5 feels significantly more premium to me. Another added benefit? This svelte approach is far more pocket-friendly.

The buds themselves are very shiny, which I quite like but may divide opinions, and they’ve got a different form factor, at a similar size and weight (7g per bud vs 6.2g for the MTW4). They’re on the chunkier side, so are harder to recommend for those with the smallest ears. They now fit in a totally different way from the predecessor, too, with a much shallower fit and no stability fins. Despite lacking the fins, they actually fit me slightly better.

Even more than with other buds I’ve tried, you absolutely must double-check your ear tip sizes with the four options in the box (I needed a larger tip size in my right ear than in my left). And try not to twist them too much, as I’ve found that can break the seal and introduce friction noise when you walk while ANC is on. A gentle turn is all you need to lock them in place, and with the new thicker silicone tip material Sennheiser uses, they shouldn’t budge. With a good fit, it’s a secure seal that offers great passive noise isolation.

Aside from being shiny, the buds have a more curved look (a bit reminiscent of the Sony WF-1000XM5) and an “anti-wind” design, with a visible grille covering the mics at the front. They’re still controlled with customizable tap gestures, but the touch target is now noticeably smaller, and it’s one of my few (minor) negative points. I find you have to be pretty intentional about where you tap, because it’s easy to miss and do a single tap when you intend to double-tap.

Overall, I’m a big fan of the rounded, stylish new design, and I love that it comes in a more expansive range of colors (Graphite, Copper, Denim, Lavender and the Cream shade reviewed here) than the likes of AirPods or Sony buds. But you might find these distractingly shiny and not suit the shallow fit or chunky body. How much you like them will come down to personal preference.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Cocks )Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: Value

• Competitive with other high-end buds
• Feature-packed and premium
• Loads of rivals, but very few offer replaceable batteries

Sennheiser is not short of competition. The key rivals are the AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen), JBL Tour Pro 3 and Technics EAH-AZ100. In direct comparison, though, the MTW5 is packed full of features that some of these lack, and they deliver a natural and clear sound instead of the bass-forward sound of many other buds.

Ultimately, though, Sennheiser’s value argument comes down to how it offers user-replaceable batteries. Assuming these batteries are under $50, you won’t be forced to throw away your $300 pair when the cells naturally degrade in about three to four years or so. That’ll help if you consider them as a long-term investment.

With that said, the landscape won’t stay the same. New buds with replaceable batteries will eventually launch, and many will surely be cheaper than this too. For flagship quality in sound, design, comfort, and battery life, though, I’d bet Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 5 will remain some of the best buds you can buy for years to come.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5?

Section

Notes

Score

Features

The app gives you loads of ways to customize the buds to suit you, and they have all the features you could want.

5/5

Sound quality

These are a fantastic-sounding pair of buds, prioritizing detail, clarity and smoothness on a wide soundstage.

5/5

Design

I’m a fan of the new look and fit, which is sleeker and shinier, but may still be a little bulky for small ears.

4.5/5

Value

They’re an investment, but offer a lot to compete with flagship rivals, and have replaceable batteries that other pairs lack.

5/5

Buy them if…

You want earbuds for the long run
Switching out batteries for fresh ones after years of use means you should be able to own these for far longer than others, so they’re ideal for anyone hoping to escape the upgrade cycle.

You like a balanced and natural sound
Sennheiser is known for its trademark natural sound, wide soundstage and relaxed listening experience – these impress on all counts.

You want a premium and comfortable design
The new subtly rounded bud design and slimmer charging case are much more premium than Sennheiser’s old buds and much of the competition.

Don’t buy them if…

You need the absolute best ANC around
This is a minor but notable shortcoming, so if you want top-tier noise-cancelling, you’ll still need to go with Apple, Bose or Sony, as these are still a step or two behind the class leaders.

You’re on a budget
I can argue that they’re good value and competitive with other flagship wireless earbuds, but this is still a lot to spend on buds, even if they’re some of the best around.

You don’t like shiny earbuds
There’s no getting around it; whichever color you pick, they’re eye-catching and shiny, and that’s an unavoidable aspect of the design.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review: also consider

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)
If superior noise-cancelling is your top requirement, these are some of the best options out there; it helps that they’re also comfortable, immersive, and offer dynamic and powerful audio that adapts to your unique ear anatomy. Read our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4
The older model is still stacked with features even when compared to today’s rivals, so it’s worth considering if you can pick up the MTW4 at a discount – they’re great all-rounders with detailed and balanced sound, strong battery life and future-proof Bluetooth support including aptX Lossless, LE audio and Auracast. Read our full Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review.

Technics EAH-AZ100
Our current top pick for wireless earbuds overall, the Technics flagship won’t disappoint with its secure and comfortable fit, nuanced and customizable sound and control, and excellent triple-device multipoint connectivity. Read our full Technics EAH-AZ100 review.

How I tested the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5

• Tested for over two weeks
• Paired with Android, iOS and macOS devices
• Used during multiple activities

I tested the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 for over two weeks, pairing them with my iPhone 17 Pro, MacBook Air, Fairphone 6 Plus and Activo P1 music player, all of which allowed me to thoroughly test different codecs and multipoint connectivity.

I took them with me everywhere and I used the earbuds while on the London Underground, at coffee shops and while walking on city streets to test the active noise-cancelling capabilities, and I used them for long listening sessions while working to evaluate battery life. I tested calls and microphone recordings, and ran a controlled battery test to see how much they drained over the course of three hours. While testing, I listened to podcasts and music from a wide variety of genres, mostly streamed from Apple Music but also on Spotify and Deezer.

I've been testing gadgets since 2020, and I've reviewed countless headphones and earbuds, including several flagship earbuds including those from Bose, Apple, Technics, JBL and Sennheiser, and I previously tested out the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 and Momentum True Wireless 4.

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

• Ukrainian bombers dropped ground robots more than ten kilometers behind Russian lines
• Gryphon robots reached positions Ukrainian forces could not easily access
• Ukraine is increasingly using machines to reduce soldiers' frontline exposure

Ukraine's Third Army Corps has carried out a first-of-its-kind attack, using heavy bomber drones to deploy ground robots directly behind Russian positions.

The operation formed part of the ongoing Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive, which launched in May 2026 across the northern Donetsk region.

According to the Ukrainian military, soldiers from the corps' unmanned systems units developed this specific tactic entirely on their own initiative.

How bombers delivered strike robots past enemy defenses

Heavy bomber drones operated by the Third Assault Brigade dropped NC13 strike ground vehicles, nicknamed Gryphons, more than 10 kilometers behind Russian lines.

These wheeled robots carried cameras that recorded the entire operation, which allegedly resulted in casualties on the Russian side.

Attacking troops in a location where they had not anticipated ground-level assault reportedly gave Ukrainian forces a clear tactical advantage.

The name Gryphon honors Hryhorii Bach, a machine gunner who went missing during earlier fighting for the settlement of Andriivka.

"Now, even more of our infantry soldiers' lives can be saved, while more enemy personnel and resources are destroyed," said the Third Army Corps in a public statement.

Separately, Ukrainian ground robots cleared antipersonnel mines across more than 18 miles of routes without requiring human sapper teams onsite.

That same clearance task would normally have needed two full engineering companies working manually across multiple days.

Remote-controlled robots and their operators already handle roughly 60% of mine clearance within the corps' entire area of operations.

Electronic warfare units attached to the operation reportedly disrupted more than 20,000 Russian drone missions throughout the wider counteroffensive campaign.

Vivaldi's broader gains and what comes next this autumn

Since its launch, the Ukrainian military claims that Operation Vivaldi has reclaimed up to 96 square miles of territory while defeating one arm of a Russian pincer movement.

“Our operation is called ‘Vivaldi,’ and Vivaldi, as we know, has four seasons. And this is only the first of them. […] There will be good news, but for now our actions require silence,” said Andrii Biletskyi, Commander of the Third Army Corps.

Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian fuel supplies has reportedly limited diesel availability for generators powering enemy electronic warfare systems nearby.

Russia's elite drone unit, known as Rubicon, reportedly withdrew from the region after suffering losses inflicted by Ukrainian forces.

Russian commanders are now redirecting armored vehicles and drone units toward Dobropillya, preparing for expected mechanized assaults later this autumn season.

During the summer months, Russian forces tested a new anti-drone protection system on their most modern tanks.

Ukrainian drones reportedly still overwhelmed those defensive systems despite the added protective measures fitted to the vehicles.

Ukraine's growing reliance on ground and aerial robots signals a broader shift toward reducing human exposure along the most dangerous frontline positions.

As winter approaches, both militaries appear likely to keep adapting their drone tactics in response to each other's latest countermeasures.

Via ArsTechnica