TechRadar News

• Video showcases China's road-mobile electromagnetic catapult launching an aircraft for the first time
• The footage comes from a now-deleted social media post from the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Mechanical Engineering
• Leverages China's existing EMALS tech by miniaturizing what it already uses on its aircraft carrier

China seems to have solved one of the biggest challenges modern drones face: deploying without a runway anywhere on the planet, thanks to a miniaturized version of the EMALS catapults found on its newest aircraft carrier.

A short video clip that surfaced towards the tail end of last month, from a social media post by the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Mechanical Engineering, shows three eight-wheeled trucks linked together in a Lego-like fashion to form a runway that allows a propeller-driven drone to take flight.

The footage also shows all three trucks detached, coupling with each other, and exhibiting all-wheel steering that, in principle, enables them, if given enough space, to launch drones or small aircraft in any direction.

Replacing a runway in the modern battlefield?

China's move is not one that occurred in a vacuum: the United States was the first country in the world to deploy an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), sparking an arms race when it launched its first aircraft in 2017 aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford.

China followed suit with its own aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which sports three EMALS catapults to the US's four, possibly accounting for the Chinese carrier's smaller size relative to its principal naval rival's largest.

China has, however, beaten the US to the punch when it comes to demonstrating a portable EMALS, it seems, with its three-truck solution essentially marking a first for either country.

Chinese state-owned giants account for a significant share of the 70+ organizations directly involved in an impressive achievement that sets the stage for the next generation of drone-based combat.

Despite the video making its way across social media, it was taken down by the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Mechanical Engineering, which originally posted it. The move, however, has not stopped defense forums and Chinese analysts from offering insights into what is clearly a major technological achievement for the country.

With France and India both committed to launching EMALS (albeit on future aircraft carriers for now), only two countries currently have the tech deployed on a ship, and only one of them has a land-based, portable option in play for now: China.

Big news for foldable phone fans this week. Reservations for the next generation of Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series phones have just arrived at the official Samsung Store ahead of the next Galaxy Unpacked keynote event.

The event will take place on July 22, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. BST, which means preorders are likely just a few weeks away. If you're interested in picking up a new device, then you'll find everything we know so far right here, including speculation on pricing and potential preorder deals.

While we're expecting the next generation of the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung has already suggested there's something more in store. In its first teaser for the event last week, the company said that "after seven generations of pushing the boundaries of foldables, Samsung is taking a different approach to how it builds anticipation this year."

That message, coupled with months of rumours about a wider foldable design, has sparked speculation that Samsung could finally be ready to introduce an entirely new type of foldable smartphone. With that said, details are still pretty scant as of writing, so take any speculation here as an educated prediction, rather than the gospel.

You can already reserve a device now

You can sign up to reserve the next Galaxy at Samsung directly at no cost and unlock $30 Samsung Credit towards the preorder of the next device and up to $1,230 off with an eligible device trade-in.

In the UK? Reserve your device right hereView Deal

How much will the devices cost?

Right now, we don't even know what these devices will be called, let alone official pricing, so any speculation here is an educated guess. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 debuted at $1,999 / $1,299 respectively, so that's a rough ballpark of what to expect. Over in the UK, the last-gen devices debuted at £1,799 / £1,049.

I have a suspicion that Samsung might increase the price for this year's devices, however. RAM shortages and inflation are potential contributing factors here, and I think the brand could potentially increase the price anyway if the upgrades are big enough. If there's a new form factor, for example, I could see Samsung leaning heavily into that as a justification for a price increase.

How much can we expect to save?

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

• Trade-in rebates of up to $1,100 to $1,200
• Additional store credit at Samsung
• Major carriers matching discounts

Samsung itself has confirmed that there will be discounts of up to $1,230 with a trade-in rebate once preorders open. That will most likely cover both unlocked and carrier devices, so that gives you an idea of how premium these devices are likely to be.

Up until now, we've usually seen discounts of up to $1,100 on the latest Galaxy S26 and iPhone 17 series, so it looks like Samsung is being particularly aggressive with its discounts at launch.

Breaking that deal down, it could potentially resemble something like a trade-in rebate of up to $1,100, $100 of bonus credit to spend at Samsung (usually on accessories), and the $30 bonus for reserving a device. That's roughly in line with what the brand has offered over previous launches.

In terms of major carriers, you can definitely expect Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to match those trade-in rebates on their sites. We could potentially see these major carriers waive the trade-in criteria altogether, but they usually only do this when you pair up the device with one of their super high-end plans. We're talking about plans that cost over $60 to $80 a month over a three-year duration, so they're usually pretty damn pricey in their own regard.

What about over in the UK?

You can already reserve a device if you're in the UK too, but annoyingly, Samsung hasn't confirmed any of the opening deals with its reservation page in this region. All we know is that you'll be able to get an extra £100 with your trade-in rebate, plus £30 in store credit if you reserve a device right now.

We've seen trade-in rebates of up to £700 with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in recent months, so I suspect a rebate of anywhere between £650 and £850 is likely to be the maximum saving on the next-gen device when it arrives. Major networks like EE, Three, and O2 might have higher discounts than this, but those won't be for unlocked devices — you'll probably need a pretty substantial contract to get big savings.

Here at TechRadar, I test some of the best 4K Blu-rays each month as part of the Blu-ray Bounty. This is where we look at the latest 4K releases from that month and judge whether they’d be a worthy addition to your collection, focusing solely on the video and audio quality of each disc.

Every so often, a disc wows me so much that I add it to my rotation for testing the best TVs and best soundbars. 4K Blu-ray is my go-to source for AV testing, as it delivers a higher video bit rate, resulting in better picture quality than streaming, and uncompressed soundtracks for the best audio.

Some of the discs from the near-100 discs I’ve tested as part of the Blu-ray Bounty that have joined over the years include Wicked, The Mask, The Sound of Music and Dark City, to name just a few.

As part of the most recent June 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, there’s another disc that will definitely be joining the testing rotation, as it performs at a reference-quality level. And that disc is Speed Racer.

Breathtaking color

Speed Racer's bold red colors proved an interesting test for the Samsung S95H/S99H (left) and LG G6 (right) (Image credit: Warner Bros / Future )

My go-to 4K Blu-rays for color testing have been Wicked and The Sound of Music. Wicked features an oversaturated, candy-color style that really generates a lot of pop on the right screen, while The Sound of Music delivers still-vibrant but more authentic and realistic colors.

Speed Racer falls in Wicked’s camp, but takes it to another level. Throughout the movie, there are some seriously vivid colors. Red is a prominent feature throughout the movie, as it's the color of Speed Racer’s ‘M’ logo and the interior of his car, both of which are often front and center on screen. It’s also the color of the Racer garage at home and Papa Racer’s shirt, which he wears throughout the movie.

When I tested the Samsung S95H/S99H and LG G6 side-by-side, both TVs interpreted the red differently: the G6 gave it a much deeper red hue, while the S95H/S99H made it look paler, almost orange in some places. Both of these TVs, likely to be two of the best OLED TVs I’ll test in 2026, captured the visual punch of this red, but it was useful to see how each TV interpreted the color.

Both the S95H/S99H (left) and G6 (right) do a great job delivering the vibrant purples of Royalton Industries accurately. (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future )

There are plenty of scenes where a single color dominates. As the Racer family arrived at Royalton Industries, there were a lot of bold purples, including the airship's color, the walls, and even the transport. On the OLEDs I tested the disc on, these purples had a beautiful richness to them that again was displayed in different ways by the S95H/S99H and the G6, with the latter again adding that bit more depth.

This trend continued throughout the movie, whether it was the neon greens of a grass field in a flashback, the fantastic pink/purple/orange gradients in the sky during sunset or the lush blues of the sky during daytime race sequences (or Speed’s iconic blue and white shirt.) Even the white of the Mach 5 / 6 and Speed’s helmet had a glorious clarity to them, really dazzling on the S95H/S99H and G6.

The use of color is fantastic in Speed Racer, and if you have a TV with Dolby Vision, you’ll be rewarded with the most breathtaking colors, some of the best I’ve ever seen on a 4K Blu-ray. But it’s not just color reproduction where this disc is useful.

A Dolby Atmos showcase

Speed Racer's races sequences are fantastic for sound testing, particularly Dolby Atmos (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future)

When it comes to testing soundbars and TV audio, my go-to 4K Blu-rays have been The Batman, namely the Batmobile/Penguin car chase scene for its detail and bass, and Top Gun: Maverick, for its all-around expansive Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

Speed Racer has proved to be a far more compelling disc, audibly, than I ever thought. While I anticipated some hefty bass from the car’s engines, I didn’t anticipate the level of detail and sound mapping I would hear.

During the opening race, there are plenty of demonstrations of pinpoint accuracy as cars swerve wildly through the corners of the winding track. The sound of squealing tires demonstrates excellent directionality and is fully connected with the action on screen. As a car moves from side to side on screen, you can be sure to hear it in the front channels.

One moment in this scene, in particular, really grabbed my attention, though. As Speed makes his way around the track, he has to grind the rear axle of the Mach 5 against the edge of the track and as I was watching, I heard the sound of a grind come through crystal clear in the left rear speaker of the Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar I was using (an 11.1.4 channel Dolby Atmos system comprising of a soundbar, subwoofer and two rear speakers). This was the moment that made me realize just how precise and detailed the Dolby Atmos mix of this disc is.

Speed Racer's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is truly immersive and exceptionally detailed (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future )

There’s good use of Atmos effects and height channels too. As Speed uses his spring-loaded chassis to jump over a rival racer, a cut to said rival’s cockpit reveals a burst of not only bass but also the sound of the wind from the Mach 5 as Speed flips over. This sounded immersive, clean, and incredibly precise. There are plenty of helicopter sequences too, which are great for showing what Atmos can do.

There were plenty of highlight moments throughout the movie, but it is the race sequences that showcase the clarity and depth of this Dolby Atmos soundtrack. But there’s one final area where this disc is a perfect testing disc.

Always in motion

Fast-paced race sequences are frequent throughout Speed Racer, and are a great 'stress test' for a TV (Image credit: Warner Bros / Future )

Motion handling is a key component of any TV. If a TV can’t accurately handle fast-moving images, then action movies and sports won’t look good. While motion interpolation settings, such as judder and blur reduction, can reduce these, they can introduce unwanted side effects, such as the ‘ghosting’ of a ball in a soccer game (where a trail of the ball appears as it travels across the screen).

I anticipate that Speed Racer is going to act as somewhat of a ‘torture test’ for some TVs (like The Batman can be due to its low brightness), as there are not only plenty of fast-paced driving sequences with plenty of quick shifts in direction, but one other real challenge: slow panning shots.

Frequently throughout the movie, commentators from various countries slowly track across the screen from side to side, and even on the S95H/S99H and G6, which have proven to have great motion handling with the right settings, these shots still struggled at times. The commentators sometimes showed judder as the TV’s tried to interpolate the motion, meaning this is something I’ll be using in future tests. With these panning shots, however, there is sometimes natural judder.

(Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future )

Again, though, it’s the fast-paced race sequences that can make or break a TV’s motion. Chaotic driving as cars swerve to avoid debris, smash into one another, or pull a tight turn can look unnatural if a TV’s motion isn’t right. Too much blur and judder reduction, and it’ll look artificial; not enough, and it’ll look like a juddery mess.

Speed Racer really is one of the best Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos 4K Blu-rays I’ve ever tested and is a triple threat disc for color, motion and sound, so if you’re a regular reader of our TV and soundbar reviews and comparisons here at TechRadar, expect to see Speed Racer appear very soon.

• Samsung quietly prepares DRAM-free PCIe 4.0 SSD with flagship-level read performance
• Host Memory Buffer replaces dedicated DRAM inside Samsung's upcoming budget SSD
• Leaked specifications reveal 7,150 MB/s speeds from Samsung's mystery SSD

Samsung appears to be preparing a budget PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD which removes the onboard DRAM cache found in traditional drive designs.

The unannounced model surfaced briefly on Samsung's website recently, before the listing was taken down without any official confirmation from the company.

Listed specifications describe a 1TB drive with sequential read speeds reaching 7,150 MB/s and write speeds reaching 6,450 MB/s.

How Samsung plans to compensate for missing DRAM

Traditional SSDs rely on dedicated DRAM to store the flash translation layer, letting the controller locate data across NAND flash quickly and efficiently.

However, as the global “RAMpocalypse” continues to worsen, even the largest vendors are looking for ways to reduce their dependence on DRAM.

Without that DRAM, drives can suffer higher latency and weaker performance during sustained workloads or heavy multitasking sessions.

To offset this gap, Samsung is using NVMe's Host Memory Buffer (HMB) feature, which reserves a small portion of system memory over PCI Express instead.

That borrowed memory holds mapping metadata rather than user files, connecting logical addresses to their physical NAND locations directly.

HMB generally cannot match the responsiveness of dedicated DRAM, though it improves performance compared to drives with no caching mechanism at all.

The drive carries a 400 TBW endurance rating, a modest figure for a 1TB SSD by current industry standards.

That number hints at Quad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND flash, which stores four bits per memory cell and lowers both cost and durability.

Samsung has not disclosed publicly which specific NAND flash technology sits inside this particular unannounced drive model.

Rising component costs are reshaping SSD design choices

Samsung's move comes as NAND flash and DRAM pricing continue climbing sharply across the broader global storage industry this year.

Removing the DRAM package cuts component costs directly, simplifies PCB design, and helps maintain competitive pricing within the mainstream SSD segment overall.

QLC NAND increases storage density and lowers manufacturing costs, though it trails Triple-Level Cell NAND in sustained write performance and long-term endurance ratings.

It also remains considerably less durable than older Multi-Level Cell (MLC) and Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND technologies still found in some enterprise storage products.

Despite those trade-offs, the listed sequential speeds of 7,150 MB/s and 6,450 MB/s place the drive alongside many mainstream PCIe 4.0 SSDs with dedicated DRAM caches.

Samsung has not announced pricing, availability, the official product name, or the specific NAND technology used in the drive.

Until those details emerge, the leaked specifications point toward a lower-cost PCIe 4.0 SSD designed to balance competitive performance with reduced manufacturing costs as memory prices continue rising.

Via The Guru of 3D

If you love cinematic action games like The Last of Us, then there’s one upcoming release that should be on your radar. Summer Game Fest 2026 gave me the opportunity to go hands-on with Blood Message, which seems set to deliver a killer mix of gripping stealth, visceral melee combat, and intense set-piece moments.

Under the Radar

Under the Radar is our way of highlighting great games that might have passed you by. Through a regular mix of news stories and features, we'll cover great experiences that we feel haven't found the audience they deserve. Read the full series here.

Set in Ancient China, it follows a nameless hero and his son on an epic 1,000-mile journey through the scorching deserts of East Asia towards the historical city of Chang'an to deliver a vital message. The pair must survive against impossible odds, navigating vast sieges and escaping the clutches of relentless enemy forces.

An epic journey

(Image credit: NetEase Games)

Because this is the first single-player title by Naraka: Bladepoint developer 24 Entertainment, I had no idea what to expect when I sat down for my demo.

Showcasing an early segment of the game, the demo opens with our protagonist searching a house, desperate to recover an important letter as hostile soldiers comb through the surrounding town. The high production values are immediately apparent: everything here is rich in detail, with plenty of high-fidelity objects for you to pick up and pore over. The architectural style of the building around you is striking as well, with clay walls, sandy floors, and thatched reed roofs.

While Ancient China is certainly becoming a more common setting in games, I can’t think of the last time I saw its arid desert regions depicted. I’m desperate to explore more of its tantalizingly exotic environments and soak in the unique aesthetic.

Playing with a DualSense Wireless Controller, I also quickly appreciate how the movement feels very fluid and benefits from some impressive animation that, like The Last of Us Part 2, looks seriously cinematic and realistic without sacrificing responsiveness.

(Image credit: NetEase Games)

It’s not long until I find myself in combat against a group of foes, and it’s just as excellent. You have a heavy attack and a light attack, plus the ability to parry. This is by no means a unique formula, but the impeccably slick way that the protagonist interacts with the environment leads to some of the most gripping encounters that I’ve ever experienced. There’s a real meatiness in your swings, which realistically causes enemies to trip and stagger.

Attacking a foe next to a stacked wooden shelf will send them tumbling into it, knocking objects onto the floor and stunning them for a moment. Launch a heavy kick while your opponent is standing in front of a table, and they’ll be pushed right over it onto the floor, creating vital distance when you’re surrounded. Fail to deflect an incoming strike yourself, and you’ll often be forced onto your knees, tapping a button to pelt anything heavy that’s within arm’s reach to give you a few moments to escape.

Although my combat time was limited, I was still impressed by the variety of ways in which fights could unfold, particularly when there was an allied companion in the mix. There were definitely some moments that felt scripted, like when two enemies locked swords with me at the same time near the end of a brawl to trigger a climactic struggle. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it helps introduce unexpected and exciting moments.

(Image credit: NetEase Games)

I really enjoyed going in with my sword drawn, but most of the time, combat is entirely optional thanks to a robust stealth system. This is another area where Blood Message feels similar to The Last of Us Part 2, forcing you to scurry through long grass and crouch in cover to avoid patrols. Get behind one of your quarries undetected, and you can initiate a brutal takedown, though be warned that any wrong move risks thrusting you straight into open combat.

At certain points, getting seen is inevitable, triggering bombastic chase sequences that have you sprinting away from barrages of arrow fire, scrambling up ledges, and leaping over perilous gaps. The path you need to take always feels very intuitive, though there are a few little alternative routes sprinkled throughout if you want to experiment.

Everything I played could easily rival the output of a developer like Naughty Dog, and with Blood Message set to release on consoles and PC, this should be at the top of gamers’ wishlists.

Whether rain or shine, weekday or weekend, my morning starts with a scroll.

It’s one of my most enduring habits. I’ll start by checking the time, before allowing myself a few texts or emails in the name of ‘productivity’, and before long, I’m lying there watching people throwing bowling balls at TVs or reading ragebait in the comments section.

I’ve long suspected that this isn’t the optimal way to start the day, but it was only after a recent moment of mid-scroll lucidity that I began to wonder why I reach for my phone first thing in the morning.

As it happens, research on early-morning phone habits suggests that it’s not just me diving into social media as soon as the alarm goes off.

The Independent reports that 81% of Brits reach for their phone as soon as they wake up, while a 2025 YouGov report found that the majority of US adults under 30 often use their phone right before sleeping and right after waking up.

These figures could suggest that most of us shared a mental tendency to pick up the phone right after waking up, but without additional context, they can’t tell the whole story.

So, to find out more about why I and so many others scroll first thing in the morning, I spoke to two psychology experts to connect the dots between ancient human behaviour and the supercomputers we keep in our pockets, and indeed our beds.

Information vs stimulation

Social media offers much more information that we evolved to handle early in the morning (Image credit: Getty Images)

“To boil it down as simply as possible, it’s a combination of our natural dopamine reward system and the fact that we are communal people,” says psychotherapist and addiction specialist John Puls.

Puls tells me that long-standing psychological drivers are pushing us to use our devices in the mornings, where in the past we might’ve sought different kinds of connection

“We are pleasure-seeking people, and one of the ways we do that is through engagement with our smartphones, particularly social media,” he explains, “and we want to know what’s going on in the world.”

Puls continues: “Previously, in closer communities with less technology, it wouldn’t be uncommon to just spend some time with your neighbours or your family in the morning. In the absence of that, people are looking for immediate connection, and the easiest way to do that is through the smartphone. You have to take into account the changes that have come with the smartphone, but these are natural impulses that social media is fulfilling.”

For clinical psychologist Dr. Ari Lakritz, the smartphone and all the news it connects us to fulfil an evolutionary impulse to detect threats: “The brain is somewhat hardwired to look for pertinent information, especially the more threatening information. The part of the brain that deals with that is called the amygdala — it’s one of the most ancient parts of the brain, one that’s most responsible for the fear response.”

“News sites, with their slant towards negative news, are hacking into an inborn part of ourselves,” he adds, “and when you’re looking at your phone as the first thing you’re doing, it may not be all that different from one of our ancestors scanning the horizon for threats.”

People are looking for immediate connection, and the easiest way to do that is through the smartphone.

John Puls

“We develop very early on to be aware of possible threats to ourselves, and to scan the environment for those [threats],” Lakritz continues, adding that the availability of information that may not be relevant to phone and social platform users could be increasing stress levels: “The existence of something we feel is negative or threatening in a far off country has no direct relevance to us, but we do find ourselves psychologically pulled to that.”

“It’s really assaulting people with a great deal of information that is not directly relevant to them, and definitely doing more harm than good… there’s this whole other aspect of life, which is positive news and uplifting stories that people are either not drawn to or simply not sent as much.”

Social media algorithms are blackboxed — meaning users aren’t privy to the decisions and equations that decide the content they see. With that said, it’s generally accepted that algorithms are designed to maximize engagement of any kind, and, as The Conversation reports, anger spreads more quickly through social media networks than other emotions.

As John Puls notes, this has a physical effect as well as an emotional one: “When you immediately go into your smartphone [in the morning] and start doomscrolling, so to speak, you’re releasing cortisol, a stress hormone, and your brain is getting overstimulated.”

“We’re basically in the middle of a giant experiment,” Puls continues, “our brains were not necessarily meant to be this stimulated first thing in the morning and then consistently throughout the day. Where it becomes problematic is with the risk of overstimulation — there’s a risk of constant pleasure-seeking that dulls the senses.”

Effects of the morning scroll

(Image credit: Getty Images / Cristina Quicler)

According to Dr. Ari Lakritz, beginning the day with an intake of highly charged, negative information can have major effects on one’s mood and focus. He describes social media as “unlimited scrolling” of “dramatic news that can get our fight or flight response very worked up.”

“It’s really not good,” he explains, “and it very much sets the tone of one’s cognitive framing. It’s very fast, intense stimulation, whether that’s YouTube Shorts, TikTok style videos, or even just Reddit-style scrolling through very short, snappy comments or news stories.”

Lakritz continues: “If my baseline is very fast, short, intense bursts of entertainment, when confronted with something that takes more focus or deeper thinking it’ll be hard to move on from that set point.”

When asked whether early morning phone use is always problematic, Dr. Lakritz makes few exceptions: “Aside from more extreme circumstances, it’s hard to think of a good advantage one is getting with the phone right there that couldn’t be gotten in a non-technological way.”

John Puls tells me that he’s noticed that several of his clients experience discomfort when away from their phones for even short periods of time: “It almost becomes an emotional support phone — if anything happens in our life, an interpersonal problem, a problem with our relationship, we could experience that discomfort until we scroll on Instagram.”

And for young people, even higher stakes could influence phone use from dawn till dusk.

‘If they don’t exist online, they don’t exist socially’

For those born in the digital era, connection to social media can feel absolutely essential (Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s worth noting at this point that I interviewed John Puls and Dr. Ari Lakritz separately, and without either knowing of the other’s involvement in this article. With that said, both professionals agreed that early morning phone use has a tighter hold — and greater impact — on young people.

“The teens that I’m working with that struggle with this, I have them check their screen time, and on average it’s between 14 and 15 hours,” says Puls, “that’s the majority of time that they’re awake.”

“Naturally, what comes with that is being pretty disconnected from people in real life [...] so there’s this pressure to constantly be online. Teens want to psychologically individuate from their families and feel part of a community, particularly with their friends. So they often feel the pressure that they can’t be part of that unless they’re on their phones.”

“For younger people, they feel that if they don’t exist online, they don’t exist socially.”

Dr. Ari Lakritz says that phone use in general has a huge impact on young people’s psychological growth: “It touches child development in a profound way. It’s a huge compound for something like ADHD, and makes assessment of ADHD very complicated — you have to piece apart how much of this is inattention issues, or developmental, and how much is very, very high exposure to electronic entertainment.”

Taking back time

Apple's Screen Time feature helps you keep track of your device usage. (Image credit: Future / Thomas Deehan)

Olivia Yokubonis, known online as Olivia Unplugged, is a digital wellness strategist for Opal, one of the best-known screen time limiter apps. She tells me that she “meets people where they are” with a message of digital balance and wellbeing, sharing tips and tricks to a combined social media audience of 600,000 followers.

"I was an Opal user before I even started working here,” Yokubonis explains, “the goal is to help people stop feeling like they’re the victim of their phones, and actually feel like they’re in control again.”

“I’m not anti-technology, I’m pro agency,” she adds, “you have to focus on awareness. I’m a big advocate of the idea that we can’t change what we don’t notice. And the morning scroll is very often unconscious.”

A post shared by Olivia Unplugged (@olivia.unplugged.ig)

A photo posted by on

At the time of writing, Opal boasts more than a million daily users, and in 2026 announced that the app had saved its user base a total of 500 million hours — but Yokubonis’ strategies go further than just using the app: “Something I’ve implemented with my family is no-phone zones. The bedroom is one of those places — we put our phones in the other room, our alarms go off, and we have to get up and go get it.”

She adds: “Digital wellness means your attention is not constantly being fragmented, that you can think in complete thoughts and sentences, and that you don’t lose hours of your day, especially the first few hours of the day, without realising it [...] We need the ability to choose to go on a social media app rather than have it be a habit, or something that’s just automatically happening because my nervous system is reaching for something.”

“We have a finite amount of willpower, and these apps have an unlimited amount of resources. They are designed to use up that willpower.”

On a similar note, Dr Ari Lakritz explains that even a marginal reduction in screen time can make a big difference: “Check your screen time, add up how much you do per week, and try to cut it down by 10%. If it’s 60 hours a week, just cut off six, see what you can do. You don’t have to be a digital hermit to improve.”

Though high screen time correlates to higher revenues for many phone makers and mobile software developers, a rising tide of social media legislation and backlash against big tech could push some brands to recognise its problematic potential.

Indeed, some smartphone manufacturers are beginning to acknowledge the issue of excessive phone use, and are developing software-based features to help users curb their screen time.

Nothing, for instance, believes its Glyph Matrix and Essential Space features will ‘help you be more human’, while Google's upcoming Pause Point tool will redirect you away from social media apps towards more meaningful forms of smartphone engagement. Apple, too, recently announced a slew of wellbeing-focused upgrades for its Screen Time feature in iOS 27.

In the pre-AI era, buying a Windows laptop or Windows desktop used to be pretty simple.

You looked at the processor, checked how much RAM and storage it had, considered a few screen size options, and tried to work out whether the battery claim sounded even vaguely realistic.

Fast forward to 2026, however, and most PC spec sheets look much busier and lot more focused on AI.

Alongside the usual phalanx of numbers and brand names, you’ll now find labels such as AI PC, Copilot+ PC, Snapdragon X Elite or X2, AMD Ryzen AI, NPU, and TOPS, among many others.

Some of these terms are definitely useful and relatively easy to understand, others are easy to misread, and a few sound more important than they are.

The good news is that the fundamentals have not disappeared.

The best laptop still depends on your apps, workload, budget, and the parts of the machine you’ll notice every day, such as CPU speed, memory, battery life, screen quality, ports, and weight.

The newer AI specs can help, especially if you want the latest on-device Windows features, but they are only one part of the picture.

To help demystify the laptop buying process, let's take a look at how to read a laptop spec sheet in 2026 – from AI PC to TOPS – and what actually deserves your attention before you buy.

(Image credit: Microsoft)AI PC vs Copilot+ PC: what’s the difference?

“AI PC” is the broadest label on the spec sheet. In most cases, it means the laptop has some form of dedicated AI hardware, usually a neural processing unit, or NPU, built into the chip.

While AI PC can be a useful shorthand, especially if you’re comparing newer laptops against older models, it is still a flexible term; different manufacturers use it in slightly different ways.

“Copilot+ PC” is Microsoft’s own branding category for Windows laptops that meet a defined hardware standard.

In 2026, that means a compatible processor or system-on-chip with an NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS, 16GB of DDR5 or LPDDR5 RAM, and at least 256GB of SSD storage. (Basically, a powerful set of specs.)

A Copilot+ PC should be ready for Microsoft’s latest on-device AI features, like smarter search and Live Captions, but it does not automatically tell you whether the laptop has enough storage or enough graphics heft.

(Image credit: Microsoft)NPU and TOPS: the new numbers in town

The NPU is the new spec most likely to trip people up. Short for neural processing unit, it is a dedicated part of the chip designed to handle AI tasks more efficiently than the CPU alone.

TOPS is the number usually attached to the NPU, and it stands for "trillions of operations per second", giving you a rough sense of how much AI work an NPU can handle.

For a Copilot+ PC, the important number is 40 TOPS or higher. Once a laptop clears that bar, it should be able to run Microsoft’s current on-device AI features.

A higher TOPS number may help with some local AI features, especially as software catches up, but it does not tell you how fast the laptop will feel when you open a big Photoshop file or fill Chrome with tabs.

For most people, NPU performance is worth checking, but it shouldn't take precedence over the specs you’ll feel every day, like battery life or screen size.

(Image credit: Qualcomm)Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra, and AMD Ryzen AI explained

Processor (or CPU) names have quietly become one of the easiest parts of the spec sheet to misread.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips brought Windows on Arm laptops into the mainstream, focusing on battery life and thin-and-light designs, which had often been Apple's main advantage.

Newer Snapdragon X2 laptops push that further with more powerful NPUs and improved graphics, but the basic buying question remains the same: will your apps run properly on Arm?

For most everyday tools, the answer is now likely to be yes.

Browsers, Microsoft 365, video calls, media apps, and many creative tools either run natively or work well through Windows’ translation layer. The areas to check are usually more specific, like older Windows software or specialist work apps.

Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen AI laptops take a more familiar x86 route, while still adding NPUs for newer AI features.

One thing to note: the exact model wording is important. A laptop with “Core Ultra” on the box is not automatically a Copilot+ PC, and the same goes for older Ryzen laptops without the right AI hardware.

(Image credit: Unsplash / Liam Briese)RAM still matters more than most AI labels

RAM is likely to be one of the specs most familiar to many Windows laptop buyers, and with good reason: it's still one of the clearest signs of how a laptop will feel in daily use.

For a mainstream laptop in 2026, 16GB should be treated as the baseline – especially if the machine is being sold as an AI PC or Copilot+ PC – giving you enough headroom for normal work, video calls, web apps, and so on.

Anyone buying for heavier work like photo editing or coding should look at 32GB if the budget allows. As the AI boom takes hold, though, RAM is getting extremely expensive, so make sure you do really need it.

One benefit of buying a laptop with more RAM is that, in general, it will make the laptop eel useful for longer, especially on machines where the RAM is soldered and cannot be upgraded later.

(Image credit: Getty / Deagreez)Storage: 256GB is the minimum in 2026

Storage is another spec where the minimum and the sensible choice are not the same thing. A Copilot+ PC only needs 256GB of storage to meet Microsoft’s hardware requirements, but that can start to feel tight in everyday use.

For most people, 512GB is the better starting point, and leaves more breathing room over the lifetime of the laptop.

A 1TB drive is worth considering if you work with large files or want more local storage for games, video, or AI tools. However, as mentioned in the RAM section, AI companies are rapidly driving up prices for higher-storage SSDs.

External drives and cloud storage can help, but they are not a complete substitute for having enough fast storage inside the laptop you use every day.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Battery life: look for real-world testing

Battery life is one of the biggest promises behind the latest AI PCs, especially newer Arm-based Windows laptops.

More efficient chips and dedicated NPUs can help away from the charger, but battery life is still one of the easiest specs to oversell. A claim such as “up to 20 hours” may be based on video playback or controlled test conditions, rather than a normal day of usage.

Reviews are much more useful here, and TechRadar puts every laptop through a series of real-world battery tests to really dig into the real endurance.

Look for tested battery life that reflects mixed use, rather than assuming the biggest number on the box will match your working day.

(Image credit: Getty / Deagreez)The boring specs still matter

While AI labels are useful, they obviously don't make the rest of the laptop disappear. The screen, keyboard, trackpad, ports, weight, heat, and fan noise will shape your experience far more often than a fancy Copilot+ badge.

The best way to read a laptop spec sheet in 2026 is to start with your own needs: enough RAM, enough storage, tested battery life, and a screen and keyboard you’ll be happy to use for hours at a time.

After that, the NPU and TOPS figure can help you understand how ready the machine is for newer on-device AI features.

Windows laptop spec sheets have not become meaningless, just easier to misread. The best laptop is still the one that gets the fundamentals right first, then uses its AI hardware to add something useful on top.

• Disney+ is reportedly mulling over a completely free tier with ads
• The cheapest tier already includes some adverts
• We're seeing streaming platforms become more like traditional TV

The line between streaming platforms and traditional TV continues to blur: there's a fresh report that Disney+ is considering adding a free tier to its platform, completely supported by ads, so some shows and movies could be watched without paying anything.

This comes from Business Insider, which says that "people familiar with the matter" have revealed that Disney+ product and tech chief Adam Smith mentioned the possibility of a free tier during a town hall meeting inside the company on Thursday (July 9).

Those are all the details we have, for now — so it's just a possibility. Smith didn't give any indication of when the free tier might be offered to consumers, or how much of the Disney+ library might be available without paying anything.

There is some indication from Business Insider that Disney+ is worried about YouTube and its continued growth. While you can opt to pay for YouTube Premium, all of the content on the platform is available for free, with opts.

Free vs paid-forDisney is exploring adding a free tier to Disney+ as YouTube draws TV viewers | The tier would enable accessibility to some movies and TV shows without a paywall from r/television

While streaming platforms like Netflix and Apple TV don't have a completely free tier, there are of course services such as Pluto TV and Tubi that are built entirely around free, ad-supported streaming television (known as FAST).

Statistics from Nielsen, quoted by Business Insider, say that the three largest free streamers accounted for 18.7% of watch time in the US in April 2026, up from 16.8% a year earlier, and 12.7% the year before that — figures Disney+ will have noticed.

Reactions to the rumors on Reddit have been mixed, with the observation that "we're so close to the streamers inventing television" and a quip that "we're just getting TV again huh" summing up the general sentiment among users.

One poster suggests the new tier would be "unwatchable" given how many ads already appear on the cheapest Disney+ tier, while another airs concerns that a completely free tier would eventually come with a monthly cost as time goes on.

• Lumo 2.0 release rebuilds Proton's privacy-first assistant with reasoning modes, image generation/recognition, cited live web search, and persistent memory
• The privacy stack mixes cryptography and policy: zero-access encryption protects stored chats and images, while inference-time protection relies on Proton's no-logs/no-training promises that have held in the past
• Proton's Lumo 2.0 Lite and Lumo 2.0 Max score 127% and 240% higher than Lumo 1.4 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, making them close in on last-generation frontier AI models

Proton has revealed Lumo 2.0, its updated AI alternative to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, focusing on privacy first and foremost, a distinctly different approach from most of its competition.

The new update is not only smarter than its predecessor at what it does, but also brings a host of new capabilities: reasoning modes, image generation and recognition, live web search with citations, persistent memory, and customizable assistants.

Lumo 2.0 looks to do all of this while leveraging zero-access encryption, no-logs, no-training, a pitch that makes it appealing to privacy-focused consumers, many of whom are already customers for its VPN product lineup.

Upgrades, multiple models and faster performance

The biggest upgrade to Lumo 2.0 is that it is now multimodal, allowing it to glean information and cross-check a variety of sources without often forcing the user to defer to other AI engines for most tasks.

Proton cites a 76% faster speed for 'everyday queries' while conceding that complex tasks still take a considerable amount of time.

Users can also leverage "Custom Lumos" or purpose-built assistants that retain instructions in memory while still maintaining the encryption promise that Lumo offers, allowing users to avoid starting from scratch each time they have a query to address.

Users can use either the fast, general-purpose Lite model for everyday queries and defer to the more complex Max model for demanding work, or use Fast and Thinking modes, which offer twice the context window of its predecessor for larger workloads and greater coherence with more complex asks.

Pricing spans a free tier for what Proton calls everyday private use, a $12.99-per-month Lumo Plus plan with unlimited chats, Projects, advanced image generation and access to the most capable models, and a $14.99-per-user Lumo Professional tier for teams.

Lumo is also available to business users and offers the same upgrades discussed above, making it a significantly more powerful and smarter AI tool than it was when we last reviewed it at TechRadar.

It is important to note that while Lumo 2.0 is a huge upgrade versus its older 1.4 version, it does not come as close to frontier models as Proton might want to make it appear: its model scores a 51 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index which sees current frontier models clock in as high as 59 (GPT 5.6 Sol Max) or 60 (Claude Fable 5) versus its own comparisions that show it much closer to older frontier models such as GPT 5.5 and Claude Opus 4.8.

This is not entirely surprising, given that one can find the underlying tech Lumo uses in its privacy policy. Proton states that it uses a mix of Qwen 3.5, GLM 5.2, Image-Turbo, and FireRed-Image-Edit-1.1, with GLM 5.2's scores roughly identical to the numbers it cites currently.

Despite its limitations versus newer frontier AI models, Lumo 2.0 arguably remains the most privacy-focused approach to AI available to most end users currently, and it comes considerably closer than its predecessor at what is an increasingly uphill task of late: offering a competitive privacy-centric alternative to billion-dollar proprietary AI models built by the likes of Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

Another year, another swelteringly hot Goodwood Festival of Speed, as the 11th Duke of Richmond's garden becomes one of the busiest — and noisiest — moving motor shows on the automotive calendar.

While it is an excuse to thrash all manner of new supercars and historical racing machines up 1.16 miles of haystack-lined driveway, it is also a destination for fans to get a glimpse at upcoming vehicles from the world's most recognized automakers.

In recent years, legacy brands have largely been pushed aside to make room for new players in town, with the likes of BYD and MG sporting some of the largest and most impressive stands at this year's event.

It wasn't exactly a bumper year for new reveals and dazzling concept cars, but there were several EVs and electric concepts to get excited about. These are my picks from the show.

1. Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+

(Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney)

Ignore the ridiculously long name, as Mercedes' impressively efficient CLA has been given the AMG treatment. The figures are nothing short of astonishing: 671 bhp from the tweaked electric powertrain, a 0-62 mph sprint time of just 2.7 seconds and a 177 mph top speed with the AMG Driver's Package option selected.

All of this performance comes courtesy of three high-performance axial-flux e-motors, with one on the front axle and two on the rear providing the monumental shove. Interestingly, there's also simulated engine noise and the option to play around with virtual gear changes.

Naturally, it comes packing more aggressive bodywork and distinctive AMG badging throughout, with prices expected to start at around £65,000 in the UK — or around $87,000/AU$125,000.

2. MG GO Concept

(Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney)

We have been waiting a long time to see what British brand MG, which is now owned by Chinese automotive giant SAIC, will do with its all-electric supermini, which is destined to do battle with the Renault 5, Kia EV2 and an ever-growing number of quirky small cars.

The MG GO Concept gives us our best look yet, although the overly aggressive body kit, diffusers and trunk-lid spoilers likely won't make it into final production. Still, it looks like it could be a lot of fun, doesn't it?

What's more, the MG4 X Power caught most people by surprise when it first hit the market in 2023, offering hot hatch thrills and a supercar-baiting 0-62 mph sprint time of just 3.8 seconds at bargain prices — proof that the revitalized MG is capable of embracing its silly side when it wants to.

3. BYD Shark

(Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney)

BYD's stand was, once again, extremely impressive this year, taking up one of the largest footprints of all exhibitors. Outside, showgoers could register to take a passenger ride as the company's latest pickup tackled a purpose-built off-road course.

The hulking truck, which comes to Europe for the first time this year, delivers a total of 430 bhp from its 'Super Hybrid' drivetrain, while the massive 32.2 kWh battery pack is good for a claimed 56 miles of pure EV range.

The Chinese automaker says it offers an impressive WLTP combined fuel efficiency of 81 mpg, can tow up to 2,500 kg, and features the latest technology, such as vehicle-to-load capabilities, so owners can power everything from tools to camping essentials.

In the UK, the BYD Shark will start at £47,290, which is roughly the same as the Ford Ranger PHEV — its only real plug-in pickup rival for the time being.

4. Alpine A110 Future

(Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney)

Since Porsche has placed its all-electric sports car dreams on hold, it is now up to French manufacturer Alpine to pick up the mantle.

Packing an all-new Alpine Performance Platform, this pure-EV version is low, wide, and suitably punchy in the performance department, with two electric motors on its rear axle that will make it 'even better' than the petrol version, according to Alpine boss Philippe Krief.

Further details are being kept tightly under wraps, but it looked menacing as it silently wafted up the famous Goodwood hillclimb. Electric sports cars clearly aren't dead and if you want proof, check out the…

5. Denza Z

(Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney)

BYD's upmarket offshoot wants to take the fight to Porsche, McLaren and Bentley with its swooping performance EV.

The Denza Z offers an eye-watering 1,604 hp from three powerful electric motors, priced at just under £143,000 (around $192,000/AU$276,000) for the standard Coupe version. There will also be a more expensive droptop convertible and a potent Racing version that gets masses of aero kit.

That car manages the 0-62 mph sprint in a mind-bending 1.96 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph. It can be used every day, too, with second-generation 76 kWh Blade battery tech delivering around 245 miles of range and 1,500 kW Flash charging compatibility for ten-minute top-ups.

Sony surprised the camera community this week with the launch of the new RX10 V, reviving its best-in-class series of bridge cameras.

The mark V comes nine years after the now-discontinued Cyber-shot RX10 IV. It has the same versatile 24-600mm F2.4-4 lens and 20-megapixel 1-inch stacked sensor, but with a refreshed design and Sony’s latest processor and autofocus. It takes the best bridge camera available today crown.

The RX10 V gained a recommended award in my in-depth review. I was able to bag some impressive sample photos, including macro closeups of insects and distant birdlife, thanks to the camera’s 0.49x maximum magnification and 600mm f/4 lens.

I also compared the RX10 V to the older Cyber-shot RX10 IV. It’s a solid upgrade where it matters most, but with a predictable price increase – $2,400 / £2,200 / AU$3,500 – making it a premium pick.

In the process, I got thinking about the RX10 V's performance, especially when using its telephoto settings, and what alternatives there are for the same money — after all, some of Sony's older full-frame mirrorless cameras cost less. Can the RX10 rival a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera with telephoto lens?

One similarly priced alternative is Sony’s longest lens, the FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 OSS — at least if you already own a Sony Alpha camera to pair it with. Can the RX10 V compete?

I took the Sony RX10 V and the Sony 400-800mm lens attached to a pro A7R V mirrorless camera to my local nature reserve for a bird-photography shoot, and the following is my honest reflection on the experience.

Size and weightTim ColemanTim ColemanI have previously used the 400-800mm lens with Sony's A7R VI, the successor to the A7R VTim Coleman

Let's begin with how each setup is in use. As you can see in the images above, there is a big difference in size and, therefore, weight.

The RX10 V is hardly compact, but when you compare it to a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera with telephoto lens like the 400-800mm, or alternatives that reach the same 600mm focal length as the RX10 V, such as the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3, it is positively tiny. It very much feels like an Alpha camera, with excellent ergonomics and a decent control layout.

It's also a much lighter all-in-one camera, weighing 1,111g. Compare that with the combined weight of the A7R V (723g) and the 400-800mm lens (2,475g)at 3,198g – approximately three times the weight. And the Sigma lens is just a fraction lighter than Sony's lens.

For casual travel photography, the RX10 V is an excellent pick, with its ability to capture everything from landscapes to macro and distant wildlife subjects. You'll need to be much more serious and focused about wildlife photography to lug around the mirrorless body and 400-800mm lens.

Viewfinder and LCDThe RX10 V has a higher-specced, larger and more pronounced viewfinder than the Cyber-shot RX10 IVTim ColemanTim ColemanHowever the viewfinder in the A7R V is even betterTim Coleman

For telephoto wildlife photography, I find a viewfinder invaluable for composing shots and ensuring autofocus is on the money, so how do the displays compare?

The RX10 V's viewfinder is bigger and more detailed than the Cyber-shot RX10 IV's — it's a 0.5-inch 3.68m-dot display. However, the A7R V's viewfinder is in another league altogether, measuring 0.64 inches and being a brighter 9.44m-dot unit with 0.9x magnification. Put simply, it's way more immersive. However, there's less of a difference in viewfinder quality with an older, similarly priced Sony mirrorless camera, such as the A7 IV.

I was less concerned about the LCD displays for this comparison, but in case you'd like to know, the RX10 V has a 3-inch tilt touchscreen, while cameras at the RX10 V price point and above typically have a multi-angle display.

AutofocusTiny subject? No problem, the RX10 V was able to latch onto this stonechat when I used its bird detection autofocusTim ColemanThe same shot with the A7R V and 400-800mm lens set to 600mm. See how the background is dreamier in the mirrorless camera shot, despite me using a smaller apertureTim Coleman

I was majorly impressed with the RX10 V's autofocus skills. After all, it inherits the Bionz XR processor and AI chip with real-time subject detection autofocus from the recent Sony A7 V.

Bird detection autofocus was on the money, even when the isolated subjects were only taking up a small portion of the frame. It takes a little experimentation to figure out which autofocus area option yields the best results in any given situation, but with the right subject detection tracking and the best AF area option selected, you'll struggle to find more reliable autofocus performance in another camera.

I can safely say that autofocus performance is an attribute where the RX10 V matches mirrorless camera capabilities.

Burst shootingRX10 V photos made possible with the high-speed burst shooting drive modeTim ColemanTim Coleman

The numbers for the RX10 V are impressive: up to 30fps using the electronic shutter, or 10fps with the mechanical shutter. It also has the option for an instant speed boost from a slower rate to the max 30fps when the action strikes — a feature that can be assigned to one of the custom buttons.

I played around customizing various buttons for this feature, but annoyingly couldn't find one that felt like it was logically placed, whereas Sony's recent mirrorless bodies have a custom button on the front, to the side of the lens mount, which works best. I found the RX10 V button placement awkward for this memory-saving feature.

Neither camera had the pre-capture feature, which is super handy in wildlife photography for when your reactions aren't up to speed. Sony's pre-capture can buffer for up to a second before you fully press the shutter, say in the case of a bird taking flight. For the A7R V, the lack of pre-capture is understandable — the A9 III, which came later, was the first Sony camera to have this feature. However, for the RX10 V, it's unfortunate, since other recent Sony cameras, including the A1 II, A7V and A7R VI, have it, so it feels like an oversight.

Image qualityRX10 V at 600mmTim ColemanAnd here's the 400-800mm at the 600mm focal length. Dreamier results, but the RX10 V effort is still excellentTim ColemanHere I've pushed the 400-800mm lens to its maximum 800mm setting, ideal for this situationTim ColemanThe RX10 VTim ColemanThe 400-800mm lensTim ColemanRX10 VTim Coleman400-800mmTim ColemanRX10 VTim Coleman400-800mm Tim ColemanRX10 VTim Coleman400-800mmTim Coleman

Image quality is where you might expect a real gulf to start opening up. The RX10 V shoots 20MP stills with a telephoto reach up to 600mm and a maximum f/4 aperture at this setting. Meanwhile, the mirrorless setup delivered 61MP stills (a more affordable mid-range model like the A7 IV is 33MP), and that extra 800mm reach.

Of any bridge camera, the RX10 V yields the sharpest results at 600mm and a pleasant subject separation thanks to that f/4 aperture. Compare the like-for-like mirrorless camera shots, and the RX10 V's look soft by comparison, but only when you look closely. The mirrorless camera has way more pixels to play with, meaning you can crop more severely into photos and still have high-quality output.

The 400-800mm lens is indeed sharper, and even though its maximum aperture is f/6.3 (400mm) to f/8 (800mm), which minimizes its light-gathering advantage, there's greater subject separation and dreamier results. Bokeh in foreground objects has a softer fall-off.

Another major difference is low light quality. In comparison shots taken at dawn (and nighttime photos I took later of the moon), the RX10 V images look muddier; less punchy, less sharp, just overall lesser quality. They still pass, but I would go for the mirrorless camera setup every time when the available light is minimal.

Conclusion

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The Sony RX10 V is a truly excellent casual wildlife photography camera, with reliable subject detection autofocus and a decent telephoto reach combined with a bright f/4 maximum aperture. You can get pleasant subject separation and punchy images, when the light is good, though less impressive results when the light is dim. Overall, I'm really pleased with the quality of several photos I was able to take.

For wildlife photography, however, it was the mirrorless camera system that I enjoyed the most in the hand, and the one I wanted to use more of the two, helped by the superior end results (even with the smaller f/8 maximum aperture at 600mm). The brighter viewfinder and better button placement enhanced the experience, even if it was a weightier setup.

Yes, the RX10V is an excellent all-in-one camera — the best of its kind — but if you already own a mirrorless body and are serious about wildlife photography, picking up a supertelephoto lens like Sony's 400-800mm instead will yield better results and likely be a more enjoyable user experience — if you're willing to carry the extra weight.

Austrian Audio The Arranger: Two-minute review

The Arranger by Austrian Audio are an attempt to at least begin to fill the gap that exists between the company’s highest-end headphones and its wildly successful entry-level stuff. In case that isn’t a big enough ask by itself, Austrian Audio wants this new gap-filler to be just as convincing as a pro monitoring tool as they are a domestic pair of headphones.

So the brand has come up with a light, comfortable and slightly oddly colored pair of (semi) open-backed headphones that are easy to drive, fold smaller than the norm and are fitted with mildly exotic DLC-coated dynamic drivers that deliver a prodigious 5Hz - 30kHz frequency response. About the only misstep (apart from the finish) is the lack of a balanced cable option — or, more accurately, the lack of a no-cost balanced cable option.

When it comes to performance, though, complaints like this become irrelevant. Without sacrificing anything where detail retrieval, organization or soundstaging are concerned, Austrian Audio has served up a pair of energetic, entertaining and thoroughly engaging headphones that are just as happy to deliver the excitement of a recording as they are to peer deep into the mix and examine it on a microscopic level. As a combination of analysis and enjoyment, The Arranger are very hard to lay a glove on.

Which is not to say they have the field clear, of course. Similarly specified, similarly priced products from brands with similarly credible reputations are, naturally, available among the best wired headphones — and when you’re talking about companies like Beyerdynamic and Meze Audio, you know the alternatives to The Arranger are going to be compelling.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Price & release date

• Released June 2026
• Priced $1,299 / £899 / AU$1,899

The Arranger by Austrian Audio are on sale now, and in the United States they sell for $1,299 per pair. They’re £899 in the United Kingdom, and AU$1,899 in Australia. They're intended to fill a gap, but it means they come up against some pretty stiff competition, too.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Specs

Type

Wired, over-ear, semi-open back headphones

Drivers

44mm DLC-coated dynamic

Weight

320g (without cable)

Cable length

3m

Impedence

25ohms

Sensitivity

110dB

Frequency response

5Hz - 30kHz frequency response

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Features

• 44mm DLC-coated dynamic drivers
• 3m cable with 3.5mm/6.3mm termination
• 25ohms impedance, 110dB sensitivity

Passive, hard-wired headphones are seldom groaning under the weight of all their features, and The Arranger are not in any way unusual. The feature-count is short but in this instance, at least, the few features here are all entirely fit for purpose.

The Austrian Audio are supplied with a 3m length of quite sturdily rubberized cable. It fits using the ‘click and turn’ method into the left ear cup, and at the other end there’s a 3.5mm termination that will happily accept the 6.3mm adapter that’s supplied. A 2m 4.4mm balanced cable and a 3m cable with an XLR termination are both available and, rather annoyingly, both will cost you additional money.

The information that travels along the cable is delivered to a couple of 44mm dynamic drivers. They have a diamond-like carbon coating on the diaphragm and also feature a proprietary ring magnet — the aim is superior impulse response, super-low distortion and significant bass extension. Austrian Audio suggests frequency response is 5Hz - 30kHz, which would seem to make ‘significant bass extension’ something of an understatement.

The Arranger are very forgiving headphones — impedance of 25ohms and 110dB sensitivity means they’re not even remotely difficult to drive. A dedicated headphone amp is always a good idea, of course, but even the 3.5mm socket on your laptop should have sufficient oomph to get the Austrian Audio up to speed.

• Features score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Sound quality

• Significant low-frequency substance and variation
• Open, organized and detailed sound
• Tremendous powers of analysis

Austrian Audio, it turns out, was not just talking. The Arranger really do function almost as well as a pair of monitors as they do when asked to simply entertain. In either circumstance, this is a very accomplished pair of headphones.

The (almost) open-backed arrangement means the presentation is spacious and airy, and the soundstage the headphones present is quite expansive, but not at the cost of unity or singularity. Despite being able to open up a recording like Natural Magic’s Galaxy Builder to the point that its constituent parts are individualized and easy to inspect, there’s a togetherness to the way The Arranger present the recording that makes it sound like a performance rather than simply a collection of discrete occurrences.

It helps that frequency response is nice and even, from the deep and almost extravagantly varied low end to the bright, substantial top end. The midrange projects well without forcing the overall response into any kind of ‘V’ shape, and the lack of coloration to the tonality allows every point of the frequency range to sound natural and unforced. Detail levels are high at every stage, and the amount of insight the Austrian Audio have into even quite complex recordings is never less than fully impressive.

As well as body and insight at the bottom end, there’s also unarguable control. The Arranger take a lot of care in expressing the attack and decay of individual bass events, and consequently have no problem in describing rhythms with absolute conviction. This sense of confidence and positivity is, in fact, apparent throughout the frequency range.

As well as being alert to the finest, most transient details that both build a complete picture of a recording and allow an engineer to understand a recording on a sort of ‘building block’ level, The Arranger are more than willing to handle the broader dynamics of changes in volume, intensity and attack. The distance they’re able to put between the quietest and most contemplative passages in a recording and the final all-out crescendo is significant.

It’s by no means an easy trick to entertain with the vigorous and engaging nature of your sound while simultaneously serving as a forensic tool of insight and analysis — it’s so difficult, in fact, that most headphone manufacturers don’t even bother trying. But it’s a trick Austrian Audio manages to pull off with something very much like aplomb.

• Sound quality score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Design

• (Semi-) open-backed configuration
• 320g without cable
• Just one, rather single-minded, option for finish

In many meaningful ways, the design of The Arranger is wholly successful. This is, at 320g without the length of cable attached, a light and comfortable pair of headphones, and thanks to come judicious choices where hanger arrangement, clamping force and padding of the contact points are concerned, it’s a pair of headphones that stays comfortable for hours on end.

The inside of the headband and the ear cups are of medium-density memory foam with a faux-suede covering. It’s soft, and it resists returning your own body heat longer after some alternative designs have started to warm your ears. Some sturdy articulation in the yokes means not only will the ear cups fold flat, but the frame folds in on itself too. This makes The Arranger much more compact in transit, and a far better proposition where portability is concerned.

To my eyes, though, there’s something quite inelegant and rather rustic about the width of the headband and the point where the headband chunkily meets the ear cups. The one available finish — a combination of black, something that thinks it’s gold and something that is unarguably beige — doesn’t exactly shout ‘premium product!’ either. The slats on the ear cups that result in the Austrian Audio being a quasi-open-backed design are a little more successful but, again, the color isn’t helping the headphones look as expensive as they actually are.

There’s absolutely no arguing with the standard of build and finish on display here but, then again, this is no more than you’re entitled to expect when paying over $1,000 for some headphones. The problem for The Arranger, I think, is about perceived value — and it comes up slightly short.

• Design score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Value

• Headphones for every occasion
• Light, comfortable and easy to wear…
• …although not quite as easy to look at

No, $1,299 / £899 / AU$1,899 is not an insignificant sum for a pair of headphones, even a pair from a company with the track record of Austrian Audio.

But when you consider their potency as a tool of analysis, factor in their energetic and enthusiastic attitude when you’re simply listening for pleasure, and then add in the build quality and the comfort that’s a by-product, they become pretty difficult to argue with on a value-for-money basis.

One or two options where finish is concerned wouldn’t go amiss, mind you — in fact, they might help The Arranger to become an even easier sell.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Should I buy the Austrian Audio The Arranger?

Section

Notes

Score

Features

Entirely fit for purpose; 44mm DLC-coated dynamic drivers, with 25ohms impedance, 110dB sensitivity

5 / 5

Sound quality

Open, organized and detailed, with tremendous powers of analysis

5 / 5

Design

Ear cups fold flat for compact transit; very comfortable; but the finish is a little inelegant

4 / 5

Value

Value for the not insignificant money, but 4.4mm or XLR connection cable would be nice

4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Buy them if...

You listen for long periods
The light weight and all-around comfort of The Arranger make them the perfect headphones for longer listening sessions.

You need an all-rounder
The Arranger are just as happy to examine the minutiae of a mix as they are to entertain you with the whole-hearted approach to music.

You need a degree of portability
Thanks to a clever yoke arrangement and some reassuringly sturdy hinges, The Arranger fold far smaller than the majority of their price-comparable rivals.

Don't buy them if...

You feel you’ve spent enough
You’d have thought a balanced cable was a no-brainer for headphones costing this much money, but you’ll have to fork out for a 4.4mm or XLR connection here.

You’re after a premium look
Your money has almost all gone on the sound The Arranger make, which is fair enough, but some people will think $1,299 should buy a premium feel too.

You don’t get on with beige
It’s a strange choice of finish, no two ways about it — and it gets even stranger when you realize it’s your only option.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Austrian Audio The Arranger review: Also consider

Meze Audio Strada
These closed-back headphones sound admirably un-closed — if you have a larger-than-average head, and like the color green, then you can't go far wrong.
Read our Meze Audio Strada review for more

Grado Signature S750
Yes, you'll need deep pockets in you're going to go down this $1,695 / £1,695 (about AU$3,400) route, but the Grado will reward you in spades. The delightfully brutalist handmade open-back construction stands out, along with an exceptional soundstage and excellent clarity.
See our in-depth Grado Signature S750 review for more

How I tested the Austrian Audio The Arranger

• Connected to a FiiO M15S DAP
• Connected to a full-size system via Eversolo DAC-Z10 pre-amp
• Using music from many formats and of many styles

The FiiO digital audio player features lots of hi-res FLAC and DSD files, and lots of different styles and genres of music within those digital files. The Eversolo DAC-Z10, meanwhile, is the preamplifier for an Arcan ST25 network streamer, a Technics SL-1300G turntable and a Rega Apollo CD player.

Which means that content from internet radio stations, vinyl and compact disc are all available too - which, by extension, means The Arranger by Austrian Audio got about as thorough a work-out as a pair of headphones at this sort of money demands.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

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

• Ukrainians reportedly manipulate Russian fuel maps through coordinated online participation
• Over a million users visit the website behind the fuel map campaign
• Digital platforms become another battlefield during ongoing geopolitical conflicts worldwide

A coordinated online campaign has reportedly encouraged users to alter fuel station information on digital maps across Russia, creating confusion among drivers.

The activity involves changing station statuses by marking locations with available fuel as empty or showing closed stations as operational.

Supporters of the campaign claim the effort is designed to disrupt travel decisions, increase uncertainty, and create additional pressure around fuel availability.

Map manipulation campaign spreads through online communities

The campaign reportedly centres around a website known as "GdeBenz," which has attracted more than one million visitors since its launch.

Participants are encouraged to use VPN services while accessing mapping platforms, allowing them to contribute altered information from outside locations.

Some users have reportedly relied on free VPN services to access the campaign tools and participate without revealing their actual network locations.

The changes reportedly affect fuel station details seen by drivers relying on online navigation tools when searching for available supplies.

Some participants have shared instructions through social media platforms, encouraging others to join the activity and modify fuel station information in different Russian cities.

The campaign has been described by supporters as an online operation aimed at creating confusion rather than directly affecting fuel infrastructure itself.

Reports surrounding the activity have not independently verified the full scale of the disruptions or confirmed how many fuel stations were affected by altered map information.

However, the campaign shows how digital platforms can become another area of competition during ongoing geopolitical tensions, where information accuracy can influence everyday decisions.

Digital disruption creates uncertainty around fuel searches

The reported campaign relies on crowd participation rather than technical attacks against fuel companies or mapping providers, making it different from conventional cyber operations.

By changing publicly visible location data, participants attempt to influence how drivers interpret fuel availability before travelling to specific stations.

Such changes could potentially cause unnecessary journeys, increased fuel consumption, longer queues, and frustration among motorists if users encounter inaccurate information.

The activity has also drawn attention to how Russia VPN searches and related privacy tools can become part of wider online campaigns where participants attempt to bypass regional restrictions or conceal their locations.

Supporters have celebrated the effort as an example of collective online action, while independent assessments of its practical impact remain limited.

Whether altered map information can create significant disruption over time depends on how quickly platforms detect inaccurate updates and restore correct information.

The incident also shows how digital services used for routine tasks can become vulnerable to manipulation when large groups coordinate around a shared objective.

Via Alex Bond on X

Samsung has officially confirmed that the Galaxy Ring 2 is in development. Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Samsung’s Digital Health Team, recently told Forbes that the company is “working on the next generation” of its smart ring.

Beyond confirming that a successor ring is on the way, Pak offered only a few hints about what we might expect. But the smart ring market looks different than it did when the original Galaxy Ring launched in 2024.

Competition is growing rapidly, with new smart rings appearing almost every month. While many still struggle to match the devices in our best smart rings guide, the bar has been raised considerably. The original Samsung Galaxy Ring remains our top overall pick, while the newly launched Oura Ring 5 is one of its strongest rivals.

I’ve tested many of the latest smart rings, and if Samsung wants its next ring to remain at the top, these are the upgrades I’d most like to see.

1. Resist the temptation to add a subscription

Even though interest in smart rings has surged over the past few years, I think we can still say they’re a relatively niche category. And I think one of the biggest barriers to entry is the ongoing subscription fee some brands charge.

For example, Oura requires a monthly membership of $5.99/£5.99 per month to unlock its full experience, and subscriptions — optional or otherwise — are on the up with fitness apps. Meanwhile, rivals like Ringconn have built some of their appeal around offering a similar health tracking experience without that additional fee.

Samsung certainly got this right with the original Galaxy Ring. And there are currently no signs a subscription is coming. But maintaining that approach feels increasingly important. We’ve already seen some companies introduce subscription-free products only to later place some features behind a paywall.

If Samsung wants to keep the Galaxy Ring truly competitive, it must make core health insights available without a monthly fee.

2. A slimmer and lighter design

(Image credit: Future)

Designing a smart ring has always been a challenge. Manufacturers need to pack in sensors, batteries and processing power all while making the ring feel as comfortable and jewellery-like as possible.

That’s one reason the new Oura Ring 5 has generated so much attention. It’s managed to become smaller and lighter while still adding some new capabilities.

Now, the Galaxy Ring 2 doesn’t necessarily need to be the smallest ring on the market. But even a slight reduction in size and weight would demonstrate that Samsung understands just how important comfort is when you’re asking people to wear something 24 hours a day.

3. Better battery life

Battery life is such an important part of the smart ring experience. The more I take off a ring, the less likely wearing it everyday will become a habit. And the more likely I become to forget about it. It also makes monitoring for trends and average vitals more tricky and less accurate.

As I write this, I’m testing the RingConn Gen 3, which promises significantly longer battery life than many of its rivals at 12 days on average. Other manufacturers are also exploring new battery technologies and the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 is rumored to be getting a powerful solid-state battery upgrade

The original Galaxy Ring already offers a good battery life, but expectations are rising fast. And again, Samsung doesn’t necessary need to beat every rival. But if competing rings continue pushing to longer runtimes, the Ring 2 will need to remain competitive.

4. iOS support

(Image credit: Apple/US Patent and Trademark Office)

I think we can safely say this one feels less like something I’d like to see in the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Ring and more like something that must be a necessity.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring was only for Android users. Now, reports already suggest Samsung is working towards iPhone compatibility. If that’s true it could dramatically increase the Galaxy Ring’s appeal.

Because at the moment, limiting the ring to Samsung’s ecosystem excludes loads of potential buyers. Sure, Samsung users will continue to benefit from deeper integrated and additional features. But core functionality across both Android and iOS feels like a necessity.

However, we know Apple's already filed a patent for ring technology — see the above diagram — so even if it never comes to fruition, it's certainly a form factor Apple is mulling over.

5. Add a compelling new health feature

Most smart rings track the same core metrics, like sleep, heart rate, activity, stress and recovery. That means Samsung may need to offer something genuinely distinctive to stand out.

I say that because I’ve been testing the RingConn Gen 3 over the past few weeks, which adds features like vascular health insights and sleep apnea monitoring. Now, whether those features prove valuable to most users over the long term remains to be seen. But, they give the ring a clear point of differentiation.

I don’t think Samsung needs to copy those exact features. But offering something beyond the standard collection of health metrics could help the Galaxy Ring 2 feel like a meaningful upgrade over the original and a solid choice in a sea of similar offerings.

6. AI that isn’t annoying

I’m generally sceptical about AI chatbots in wearables because most implementations I’ve tested simply repeat the same information that’s visible in the app or provide really generic recommendations.

That said, some of Pak’s comments to Forbes do suggest Samsung is thinking beyond a basic execution of AI. Explaining that people have different motivational styles, so the approach needs to be tailored accordingly: “Over the next two to three years, the AI will be able to say, based on this person's characteristics, I'm going to nudge them this way, and 70 or 80 per cent of the time I can predict that person is going to exercise more or sleep more.”

I’m still cautious, especially as Samsung has already added some AI features to Samsung Health. But many wearable brands underestimate how much language matters when it comes to behavior change. The best implementation isn’t just telling users to sleep more, it might identify useful patterns, changes or spot warning signs and deliver advice in a way that’s genuinely personalized.

If Samsung can achieve that, AI could become one of the Galaxy Ring 2’s most compelling features rather than another box-ticking exercise.

There’s a good chance we’ll learn more at Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event, which is scheduled to take place in London on July 22, 2026.

It's hard to get away from AI these days, with the technology finding its way into our apps, devices, and entertainment — but according to a survey carried out by TechRadar's parent company Future, heavy use of chatbots such as Gemini and ChatGPT has actually fallen over the past year.

The reasons behind the shift are interesting too: users are mentioning concerns over privacy, a preference for human interaction, and worries about becoming too dependent on the tech when it comes to why they're avoiding AI.

While AI is clearly reshaping our world in significant and myriad ways, there's also now a noticeable trend of anti-AI sentiment that's worth paying attention to — whether it's to do with protests against data center expansion or worries about AI slop content.

These results are based on questionnaires filled out by 1,008 respondents, and they make for interesting reading — especially when you compare them to the statistics from the same Future survey conducted last year. Here's what the latest responses tell us.

Privacy worries

There are many reasons why people aren't so sure of AI at the moment. Topping the list for our respondents are concerns over privacy, which were cited by 32% of those who completed our survey — that's actually unchanged from last year, so no matter which chatbot is being used, many of us are wary about what it's doing with our data.

Second in the list, mentioned by 31% of survey participants, is a preference for human interaction (this is a new response option, so we don't have anything to compare it to from last year). While AI is certainly now more than capable of holding a conversation on just about any topic imaginable, it seems we're still seeking out flesh-and-blood relationships.

In third place we've got those who are happy without AI, which accounts for 29% of people surveyed — that's actually a drop of 18% over the previous survey, perhaps a sign that a significant chunk of people have realized they are happy chatting to AI on a daily basis (it's certainly getting more ubiquitous by the day).

There are plenty of people holding out on AI apps like ChatGPT (Image credit: Getty Images / NurPhoto)

Next on the list are fears around becoming too dependent on the tech, and concerns over AI misrepresenting a 'voice' or personality (in emails, for example), which account for 26% and 24% of respondents respectively. It seems a lot of us are worried we'll get to the stage where we can't do without AI for even basic tasks — not good when there's an outage — and that our communications will turn into generic, bland AI averageness.

Neither of those two responses were available last year, but the next two came in at exactly the same level as in the previous survey: a lack of awareness of AI's capabilities (19% of respondents) and a lack of interest in what AI could do (17% of respondents). It seems the AI hype hasn't quite reached everyone yet.

Rounding out our respondents' list of barriers to AI usage, we've got technical complexity (15%, down 24%), skepticism over whether AI can be helpful (14%, down 21%), environmental and energy impact concerns (11%, a new category), and being philosophically opposed to AI as a concept 10%, down 24%).

Regular AI usage

When answering the question of how often chatbots like Gemini or ChatGPT are used, 17% of those quizzed said "daily or almost daily", while 14% said several times a day. That's nearly 1 in 3 people using generative AI at least once a day or so, though that's actually fewer people than last year — could the novelty of the tech be wearing off?

The 14% figure for the most enthusiastic users has actually dropped by 31% over the course of the past 12 months, so while usage is exploding in areas such as coding, it seems as though the overall trend is in the opposite direction (perhaps influenced by the increasing amount of AI stuffed into our apps).

As for the less frequent users, 21% of respondents said they were using AI chatbots once a week or a few times a week, 11% ranked their usage as being a few times each month, and 8% said they used generative AI less than once a month — apparently dipping in and out for occasional chats.

AI chatbots like Claude have faced questions over security and privacy (Image credit: Anthropic)

When it comes to complete refuseniks, 30% of the survey participants said they don't use AI chatbots at all, which is a hefty 24% jump from last year. That suggests more and more people are taking against the very idea of AI, or finding it completely useless for day-to-day life and work.

There is a divide in the respondents worth mentioning between those who read Future publications and those who don't: more than 42% of Future readers use generative AI on a daily basis, with 21% using it multiple times a day, which overall is around double the figure for non-readers.

So that's the state of play for consumers and AI at the moment then, according to the people we surveyed. With generative AI advancements showing no signs of slowing down, it's going to be very interesting to see how these figures might have changed again in another 12 months.

If you're going to invest in a crime drama this summer, make it The Westies on MGM+. With its two-episode premiere dropping on the streamer this weekend, the new TV show is set to follow the real-life Irish-American crime family of the same name.

Basically, it's the perfect warm-up act for MobLand season 2 and The Gentleman season 2, which are both set to return in September. Led by J.K. Simmons as patriarch Eamonn Sweeney, expect fist fights, a cat-and-mouse chase with the FBI, and an ongoing standoff with the Italian-American mob.

While their story has never been adapted for film or TV, the Westies ran the streets of Hell's Kitchen for decades from the 1960s. When we meet them in the new crime drama, it's the peak of the 1980s, and their reputation is well-known.

This means that we're transported back to how the Big Apple looked some 40 years ago, and no matter what you think of the storyline, the setting is jaw-dropping. But according to the show's creators, no AI was used in the process of getting there.

'The look is absolutely authentic to the time period'

"It was analogue... we built the set," Chris Brancato tells me. "We didn't use AI. What we did was build a street in Toronto that replicated 1980s New York, that Hell's Kitchen street. It had blue screens where we could project a VFX background.

"The way we created that look was absolutely authentic to the time period... we achieved that because we built it," Michael Panes adds. "So we never left our stage space very much. We shot interior scenes in the interior set, then we'd walk outside and shoot on our New York Street. It was an attempt to put you, the viewer, in this time capsule environment that brought you back to the 1980s."

As far as I'm concerned, the effort has easily paid off. In the opening moments of episode 1, our core group figures out how to best exploit the Jacob Javits Convention Center construction, which is beginning to be built as the season kicks off.

While there, we get a breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline that completely sets the tone for the artistry that we're about to see next. If anything, I think that the set is actually the strongest character of the bunch.

But even so, do mob stories like The Westies still pack a punch like they did in The Sopranos days?

"It seems to me that it shows like MobLand and others are very, very popular," Brancato responds. "So we think that the genre is alive and kicking. We hope that our show is going to enter the pantheon of the gangster shows that already exist... but I don't think an audience ever loses interest in watching criminals go after each other."

Amazon's Prime Day sale has delivered another very tempting robot vacuum deal, with the Dreame X50 Ultra dropping to just AU$1,479. That's a huge discount from its AU$2,999 launch price last year, and well below the usual AU$2,000 price we've seen it discounted to in recent months.

It isn't a budget buy, even at AU$1,479, but this is the lowest price we've seen for this robovac so far and, given it scored an impressive 4.5 stars in our Dreame X50 Ultra Complete review, we think it's worth considering at this price.

This is the Prime Day robot vacuum deal to check out if you want a premium cleaner that can handle vacuuming, mopping and most of its own maintenance. In our Dreame X50 Ultra Complete review, our reviewer praised its edge cleaning, smart design and hands-off dock.View Deal

Want a cheaper option? Take a look at the Dreame X40 Ultra for just AU$749 — another all time low price.

Or, take a look at our coverage of all the Prime Day Dreame deals available.

This isn't just another robot vacuum with a mop attached to the rear. The Dreame X50 Ultra is built to be a proper hands-off floor cleaner, with a self-emptying, self-refilling and self-cleaning dock, 20,000Pa suction, extendable mop pads and a side brush designed to reach into edges and corners.

In our review, the Dreame X50 Ultra was described as setting "a new standard" for the best robot vacuums, with the reviewer praising its cleaning results and low-maintenance design.

The model reviewed was the Complete version, which means it comes with an accessory bundle, but the core robovac and dock is the same X50 Ultra you'll find in this Amazon Prime Day deal.

(Image credit: Future)

The X50 has a lot of clever features that make it more capable than previous models. Its navigation puck can retract so the robovac can clean under lower furniture, while its small threshold-hopping legs help it clear raised room dividers and other tricky transitions around the home.

Our review also highlights its mopping and vacuuming performance — especially its ability to make use of its extending side brush and mop pads.

(Image credit: Future)

However, our reviewer found the X50 Ultra's object avoidance wasn't always as reliable as expected, and its pet-waste detection needed the right settings to work properly in testing. Despits these shortcomings, it still scored very well in our tests, which is saying something.

If you've been waiting for Dreame's top model to fall to a more tempting price, Prime Day has delivered exactly that.

More Amazon Prime Day deals in Australia

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• Navy orders first 50 Blackbeard hypersonic missiles for $23.4 million total
• Each Blackbeard missile reportedly costs under $300,000 once full production begins
• Castelion has received three separate Navy funding rounds since February 2026

A California defense startup is now selling hypersonic missiles priced like a luxury vehicle rather than a mansion, marking a shift in weapons pricing.

Castelion's Blackbeard missile travels in excess of Mach 5 and reportedly costs under $300,000 per completed round, a fraction of typical hypersonic pricing.

The pricing became real on June 16 2026, when the US Navy ordered the first 50 production rounds for $23.4 million.

The Navy's first real purchase

The order also covers 50 shipping and storage containers, running primarily through Castelion's sprawling New Mexico factory campus.

It is the third Navy payment in five months, following $50 million in February to push Blackbeard from prototype toward operational use.

In April 2026, the Navy committed a further $105 million specifically to integrate Blackbeard onto the F/A-18 and to run the carrier-suitability testing required before any missile can operate safely from a carrier deck.

According to Bryon Hargis, CEO and co-founder of Castelion, the funding reflects the Navy's commitment to "advancing affordable, manufacturable long-range strike capability."

Castelion was founded by former SpaceX engineers and has already completed more than two dozen flight tests within three years.

One of those flight tests took place at the Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah during the latter part of 2025.

Castelion has also partnered with uncrewed-boat maker Saronic to demonstrate launching Blackbeard missiles from a robotic surface vessel at sea.

If testing continues to succeed, the eventual plan is to purchase Blackbeard missiles by the thousand rather than by the dozen.

In May 2026, the company signed a framework agreement with the Department of War covering multi-year production of roughly 500 weapons annually.

Cheaper parts from unrelated industries

The affordability behind Blackbeard rests heavily on components borrowed from several industries far removed from traditional aerospace manufacturing methods and vendors.

Chief Operating Officer Sean Pitt said the company uses automotive-grade Field-Programmable Gate Arrays originally built for driver assistance systems and electric vehicles.

These automotive processors cost roughly one-tenth as much as aerospace equivalents and arrive about six times faster, Pitt said.

Castelion has also replaced aerospace-grade metal tubing with precision-machined tubes originally designed for fracking operations in the oil and gas sector.

These tubes withstand heat and pressure levels comparable to rocket motor requirements, yet come from many more vendors at lower prices.

Rival startup Anduril has adopted a similar approach, using pharmaceutical-industry mixing technology to process rocket motor propellant far faster than legacy methods.

Castelion, recently valued at nearly $3 billion, has secured Pentagon contracts covering more than 500 hypersonic weapons under current agreements.

Via Defense News

• A Molniya drone struck without any visible control antenna at all
• Only a camera and computer were found inside the recovered drone
• Ukraine believes navigation and targeting may now run without humans

A Russian Molniya drone recently struck a Ukrainian facility without a visible control antenna, and the strike appeared unusual to observers tracking the weapon's design.

The recovered drone carried only a camera and an onboard computer, a stripped configuration that suggests a move toward greater autonomy in strike sequences.

Radio technology specialist Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, said the finding points toward navigation and targeting functions operating without a human operator.

A familiar pattern from the V2U platform

The same onboard setup had previously appeared only on the V2U drone, a separate Russian platform used earlier in the conflict.

"The enemy is using the V2U platform to train its neural network," Beskrestnov wrote, adding that the repeated hardware marked a troubling development.

"The UAV had only a camera and a computer. This is where everything is heading. Navigation, target acquisition and the attack will become fully autonomous."

Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, through its War&Sanctions portal, already classifies the V2U as an AI-enabled loitering munition, though independent confirmation remains absent from other sources.

This overlap raises fresh questions about whether commercial processors, originally built for civilian robotics, are being repurposed for battlefield autonomy across programmes.

There are speculations that Russia's drone programme is drawing on Nvidia's Jetson Orin platform, a processor widely used in hobbyist and commercial drone projects for onboard image recognition.

That kind of chip could plausibly allow a drone to identify and track targets without needing constant external human guidance.

However, no independent laboratory analysis has publicly confirmed the specific chip inside the recovered Molniya drone.

That gap leaves the true source of the hardware unclear, and points to a wider question of how such components may be reaching Russian manufacturers at all.

COTS components complicate export controls

Russian reliance on commercial off-the-shelf, or COTS, hardware appears to expose a persistent gap in international sanctions enforcement efforts worldwide.

Such components are typically manufactured for civilian markets and often reach restricted buyers through intermediaries, complicating end-use verification across borders.

Once a chip like the Jetson Orin leaves its original supply chain, tracing its final destination becomes difficult for export control agencies to manage in practice.

Manufacturers rarely sell directly to sanctioned states, so a single chip can pass through several resellers before reaching its final buyer.

Each additional link in that chain makes it harder for regulators to know exactly where a processor ends up.

This loophole means sanctioned states can potentially acquire advanced processors meant for hobbyist or commercial use, then repurpose them for weapons development.

A chip designed for a drone hobbyist's camera rig can, in principle, end up guiding a loitering munition instead.

Closing that gap would likely require tighter monitoring of resellers and distributors rather than restrictions on the manufacturers themselves.

Export control regimes were largely built around large, traceable defence contracts rather than small consumer electronics shipments.

That mismatch leaves regulators several steps behind when commercial parts are diverted toward military applications.

Until distributors face stricter tracking requirements, similar hardware may keep surfacing in future weapons regardless of existing sanctions.

Via Ukrainska Pravda

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, July 10 (game #1628).

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 #1629) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* 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 #1629) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1629) — 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 #1629) — 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 2.

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 #1629) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• W

• P

• D

• D

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

Quordle today (game #1629) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1629, are…

• WORTH
• PRONG
• DINGO
• DRUID

One of my favorite things about playing Quordle is when you visualize a word before typing it and just know it’s right.

Of course, quite often that feeling can end abruptly, but sometimes, like today for me you get it four times.

Daily Sequence today (game #1629) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1629, are…

• MERIT
• OAKEN
• GAILY
• GLEAM

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1628, Friday, 10 July: GREET, STEAK, DUSKY, HAUTE
• Quordle #1627, Thursday, 9 July: CRUMP, PHONE, SHINY, STONY
• Quordle #1626, Wednesday, 8 July: GHOST, TREND, EXALT, ALONG
• Quordle #1625, Tuesday, 7 July: ARRAY, SUITE, KIOSK, BOULE
• Quordle #1624, Monday, 6 July: TRAWL, SPICE, PIANO, SHARK
• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID