TechRadar News

• Palm-sized SSD with 30TB capacity offers jaw-dropping storage in an ultra-compact aluminum shell
• Glyph Blackbox Plus U.2 is faster than any portable HDD, but slower than PCIe Gen4 SSDs
• Formatted for macOS, but reformatting for Windows may confuse less tech-savvy users

Glyph has unveiled its Blackbox Plus U.2 External SSD, a high-capacity, high-speed storage solution aimed at professional content creators, data-intensive workflows, and enterprise users.

Its standout 30.72TB capacity exceeds even the largest external HDD models, which typically top out around 24TB.

Measuring just over five inches in length and under an inch thick, the device is about the size of a rugged smartphone and easily fits in one hand.

Blackbox Plus U.2 still lags behind PCIe Gen4 internal SSDs

The Blackbox Plus U.2 is built on enterprise-grade NVMe technology and offers sustained data transfer speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s, fast, though notably slower than top-tier PCIe Gen4 internal SSDs.

That said, this portable SSD connects via a 10Gb USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C interface, which is backward compatible with USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3. This ensures broad compatibility across various hardware setups.

The drive ships preformatted for macOS but can be reformatted for Windows. Still, setup may pose a challenge for users unfamiliar with drive formatting or cross-platform configurations.

Cooling is handled through a fanless aluminum enclosure that doubles as a heatsink. While this passive system eliminates mechanical noise, it may not be ideal in high-temperature environments under sustained loads.

The device requires an external power supply, which impacts portability. Compared to bus-powered SSDs, this setup is bulkier and less convenient for mobile or casual users.

In the box, Glyph includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-A cable, and a three-pronged power adapter. Buyers also get a three-year hardware warranty, two years of Level-1 data recovery, and a one-year advance replacement program.

The Blackbox Plus U.2 is available in 7.6TB, 15.36TB, and 30.72TB models, priced at $899.95 (with a $200 discount), $2,399.95, and $4,999.95, respectively. Preorders are now open on Glyph’s official website.

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• Apple announced plans to support Switch Control for Brain-Computer Interfaces
• The tool would make devices like iPhones and Vision Pro headsets accessible for people with conditions like ALS
• Combined with Apple’s AI-powered Personal Voice feature, brain-computer interfaces could allow people to think words and hear them spoken in a synthetic version of their voice

Our smartphones and other devices are key to so many personal and professional tasks throughout the day. Using these devices can be difficult or outright impossible for those with ALS and other conditions. Apple thinks it has a possible solution: thinking. Specifically, a brain-computer interface (BCI) built with Australian neurotech startup Synchron that could provide hands-free, thought-controlled versions of the operating systems for iPhones, iPads, and the Vision Pro headset.

A brain implant for controlling your phone may seem extreme, but it could be the key for those with severe spinal cord injuries or related injuries to engage with the world. Apple will support Switch Control for those with the implant embedded near the brain’s motor cortex. The implant picks up the brain’s electrical signals when a person thinks about moving. It translates that electrical activity and feeds it to Apple's Switch Control software, becoming digital actions like selecting icons on a screen or navigating a virtual environment.

Brain implants, AI voices

Of course, it's still early days for the system. It can be slow compared to tapping, and it will take time for developers to build better BCI tools. But speed isn’t the point right now. The point is that people could use the brain implant and an iPhone to interact with a world they were otherwise locked out of.

The possibilities are even greater when looking at how it might mesh with AI-generated personal voice clones. Apple's Personal Voice feature lets users record a sample of their own speech so that, if they lose their ability to speak, they can generate synthetic speech that still sounds like them. It’s not quite indistinguishable from the real thing, but it’s close, and much more human than the robotic imitation familiar from old movies and TV shows.

Right now, those voices are triggered by touch, eye tracking, or other assistive tech. But with BCI integration, those same people could “think” their voice into existence. They could speak just by intending to speak, and the system would do the rest. Imagine someone with ALS not only navigating their iPhone with their thoughts but also speaking again through the same device by "typing" statements for their synthetic voice clone to say.

While it's incredible that a brain implant can let someone control a computer with their mind, AI could take it to another level. It wouldn't just help people use tech, but also to be themselves in a digital world.

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• Adata T7P5 SSD brings 15.36TB and blistering Gen 5 speed to enterprise storage
• Trusta isn’t just fast, it’s built for AI, virtualization, and high-efficiency data environments
• With 13,500MB/s read speeds, the T7P5 crushes most consumer and prosumer storage options

With enterprise demand for AI servers and high-performance storage infrastructure booming, Adata is making a bold move into the data center and AI markets with the launch of its new enterprise brand, Trusta.

Revealed ahead of Computex 2025, Trusta promises to deliver advanced PCIe Gen 5 SSDs in massive capacities, blurring the line between performance and practicality.

Trusta’s flagship model, the T7P5 SSD, leads the new T7 Series and is built to handle demanding workloads such as AI training, vector databases, and virtual desktops.

T7P5 SSD delivers extreme speeds

This SSD offers blazing-fast read and write speeds of up to 13,500 MB/s and 10,400 MB/s, respectively, with capacities ranging from 1.92TB up to a staggering 15.36TB, making it one of the fastest enterprise SSDs introduced to date.

Unlike consumer models, the T7P5 is built in enterprise form factors like U.2, E1.S, and E3.S, ensuring compatibility with server and cloud hardware. However, it’s a large SSD, and it won’t fit inside a typical business desktop.

For enterprises with less intensive needs, Adata also offers the T7P4 PCIe Gen 4 SSD, which delivers up to 7,400 MB/s read and 5,050 MB/s write speeds, in capacities up to 7.68TB.

The entry-level T5 Series, which includes the T5P4B, T5S3B, and T5S3, supports both PCIe Gen 4 and SATA III interfaces. These drives are targeted at system boot operations and applications requiring data reliability over raw speed.

Still, performance isn’t just about headline numbers. Trusta integrates Flexible Data Placement (FDP) technology to optimize data flow, particularly under high-load conditions where latency and efficiency matter most.

For enterprise IT buyers and planners, Trusta’s lineup offers a compelling look at next-gen storage. But for average consumers in search of the best external SSD or a high-capacity Gen 5 upgrade, these drives are out of reach, both in terms of form factor and intended use case.

Via TechPowerUp

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Audiobooks have saved my sanity on many long commutes and have been great company while I'm cleaning or doing other chores. When the performance is good, it's easy to fall into the story. Audible wants authors and their readers to embrace AI as an alternative to human narration, but I am skeptical. Audible is offering publishers access to a fully integrated AI production pipeline. That includes auto-generating entire audiobooks with synthetic voices.

Their pitch is appealing on the surface: there are millions of books out there, and only a sliver of them ever make it into audio. Making audiobooks is expensive, time-consuming, and involves real people who need to be paid fairly for their time. An AI narrator is faster, cheaper, and a lot of people might not even notice it's not a human performing.

But "good enough" shouldn't be the standard for art, and audiobooks are very much an art form. Great narration adds depth, color, rhythm, and even new meaning to a text. It transforms reading aloud from words on a page you can hear to a real performance. Even if AI gets close in a technical sense, and I've heard AI audio that matches a human performance for at least a few minutes, we’ll still know the difference.

Human narration has nuance because it has context. The narrator understands not just the definition of the words they're saying, but the emotion and history behind them. They know the difference between a sigh of relief and a sigh of resignation. AI can approximate those sounds, sometimes amazingly so, but it's like a pet trick. A dog can cover its eyes, but that's not actually the dog feeling embarrassed.

The more AI voices fill our earbuds, the more we risk turning one of the most intimate forms of storytelling into something that feels robotic, flat, and eerily lifeless. It’s like auto-tuning a lullaby. It might hit the right notes, but it doesn’t sing.

AI narration needs

All of that said, I'm not against using AI for audiobooks in the right setting. Like any technology, it's about how AI narration is deployed, not whether it exists. There are so many books and new ones emerging all the time. If you’re an independent author with no budget to hire a narrator, or a publisher with a shelf of titles no one has touched in a decade, AI narration could breathe life into your books.

Synthetic voices don’t replace anything in those contexts; they just provide access. And an AI voice could supplement human readers with a multi-voice performance if you use the self-service version of Audible's AI narration platform. Using AI to supplement rather than replace all human voices feels like a better option to me.

One area I'm all in on for AI voices is translating texts. Audible has a beta test for AI-powered translation tools that could bring books to people unable to understand them in their original language. If there’s anything worse than a great book not having an audiobook, it’s a great book not being accessible in your language. Audible is starting the program by offering to translate English books into Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

The translation service can simply translate text and then give the new work an AI narrator, but what is more interesting to me is the speech-to-speech mode. That means an audiobook performed by a human in English could be replicated in a different language while sounding like the original performer.

The narrator of a bestselling English audiobook could now “speak” fluent Spanish in their own voice, introducing that story to new listeners around the world. That’s my favorite way to think about how to use AI. It can expand the reach of art without diluting its heart.

It's not quite the same as original, human narration, but it's a solution to a problem. That's how Audible should pitch AI audiobooks. We should absolutely use AI narration to make books accessible. But if it's possible to give it a human touch, that should be the first thought.

It's important not to lose sight of how this AI audiobook shift affects the performers who often build careers lending their voices to other people’s stories. If AI starts gobbling up midlist titles, budget-conscious publishers might see no reason to hire real readers anymore. AI doesn’t have to be the enemy. But it shouldn’t be the default.

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• AI data centers overwhelm air cooling with rising power and heat
• Liquid cooling is becoming essential as server density surges with AI growth
• New hybrid cooling cuts power and water but faces adoption hesitance

As AI transforms everything from search engines to logistics, its hidden costs are becoming harder and harder to ignore, especially in the data center. The power needed to run generative AI is pushing infrastructure beyond what traditional air cooling can handle.

To explore the scale of the challenge, I spoke with Daren Shumate, founder of Shumate Engineering, and Stephen Spinazzola, the firm’s Director of Mission Critical Services.

With decades of experience building major data centers, they’re now focused on solving AI’s energy and cooling demands. From failing air systems to the promise of new hybrid cooling, they explained why AI is forcing data centers into a new era.

What are the biggest challenges in cooling a data center?

Stephen Spinazzola: The biggest challenges in cooling data centers are power, water and space. With high-density computing, like the data centers that run artificial intelligence, comes immense heat that cannot be cooled with a conventional air-cooling system.

The typical cabinet loads have doubled and tripled with the deployment of AI. An air-cooling system simply cannot capture the heat generated by the high KW/ cabinet loads generated by AI cabinet clusters.

We have performed computational fluid dynamic (CFD) on numerous data center halls and an air-cooling system shows high temperatures above acceptable levels. The air flows we map with CFD show temperature levels above 115 degrees F. This can result in servers shutting down.

Water cooling can be done in a smaller space with less power, but it requires enormous amount of water. A recent study determined that a single hyper-scaled facility would need 1.5 million liters of water per day to provide cooling and humidification.

These limitations pose great challenges to engineers while planning the new generation of data centers that can support the unprecedented demand we’re seeing for AI.

How is AI changing the norm when it comes to data center heat dissipation?

Stephen Spinazzola: With CFS modeling showing potential servers shutting down with conventional air-cooling within AI cabinet clusters, the need for direct liquid cooling (DLC) is required. AI is typically deployed in 20-30 cabinet clusters at or above 40 KW per cabinet. This represents a fourfold increase in KW/ cabinet with the deployment of AI. The difference is staggering.

A typical Chat-GPT query uses about 10 times more energy than a Google search – and that’s just for a basic generative AI function. More advanced queries require substantially more power that have to go through an AI Cluster Farm to process large-scale computing between multiple machines.

It changes the way we think about power. Consequently, the energy demands are shifting the industry to utilize more liquid-cooling techniques than traditional air cooling.

We talk a lot about cooling, what about delivering actual power?

Daren Shumate: There are two overarching new challenges to deliver power to AI computing: how to move power from UPS output boards to high-density racks, and how to creatively deliver high densities of UPS power from utility.

Power to racks is still accomplished with either branch circuits from distribution PDUs to rack PDUs (plug strips) or with plug-in busway over the racks with the in-rack PDUs plugging into the busway at each rack. The nuance now is what ampacity of busway makes sense with the striping and what is commercially available.

Even with plug-in busway available at an ampacity of 1,200 A, the density of power is forcing the deployment of a larger quantity of separate busway circuits to meet density and the striping requirements. Further complicating power distribution are specific and varying requirement of individual data center end users from branch circuit monitoring or preferences of distribution.

Depending upon site constraints, data center cooling designs can feature medium voltage UPS. Driven by voltage drop concerns, the MV UPS solves concerns for the need to have very large feeder duct banks but also introduces new medium voltage/utilization voltage substations into the program. And when considering medium voltage UPS, another consideration is the applicability of MV rotary UPS systems vs. static MV solutions.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of the various cooling techniques?

Stephen Spinazzola: There are two types of DLC in the market today. Emersion Cooling and cold plate. Emersion Cooling uses large tanks of a non-conducing fluid with the servers positioned vertically and fully emersed in the liquid.

The heat generated by the servers is transferred to the fluid and then transferred to the buildings chilled water system with a closed loop heat exchanger. Emersion tanks take up less space but require servers that are configured for this type of cooling.

Cold-plated cooling uses a heat sink attached to the bottom of the chip stack that transfers the energy from the chip stack to a fluid that is piped throughout the cabinet. The fluid is then piped to an end of row Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) that transfers the energy to the building chilled water system.

The CDU contains a heat exchanger to transfer energy and 2N pumps on the secondary side of the heat exchanger to ensure continuous fluid flow to the servers. Cold plate cooling is effective at server cooling but it requires a huge amount of fluid pipe connecters that must have disconnect leak stop technology.

Air cooling is proven technique for cooling data centers, which has been around for decades; however, it is inefficient for the high-density racks that are needed to cool AI data centers. As the loads increase, it becomes harder to failure-proof it using CFD modeling.

You're presenting a different cooler, how does it work and what are the current challenges to adoption?

Stephen Spinazzola: Our patent pending Hybrid-Dry/AdiabaticCooling (HDAC) design solution uniquely provides two temperatures of cooling fluid from a single closed loop, allowing for a higher temperature fluid to cool DLC servers and a lower temperature fluid for conventional air cooling.

Because HDAC simultaneously uses 90 percent less water than a chiller-cooling tower system and 50 percent less energy than an air-cooled chiller system, we’ve managed to get the all-important Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) figure all the way down to about 1.1 annualized for the type of hyperscale data center that is needed to process AI. Typical AI data centers produce a PUE ranging from 1.2 to 1.4.

With the lower PUE, HDAC provides an approximate 12% more usable IT power from the same size utility power sized feed. Both economic and environmental benefits are significant. With a system that provides both an economic and environmental benefit, HDAC requires only “a sip of water”.

The challenge to adoption is simple: nobody wants to go first.

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• Hygon’s C86-5G breaks free from AMD Zen, unleashing 128 cores of homegrown muscle
• SMT4 powers each core to run four threads, stacking up to 512 threads total
• AVX-512 instructions make it a strong fit for AI, analytics, and scientific computing

Hygon, a key player in China’s semiconductor industry, is advancing its server processor lineup with the upcoming C86-5G, a flagship, high-performance CPU featuring 128 cores and 512 threads, positioning it to compete directly with AMD’s EPYC and Intel’s Xeon platforms.

According to TechPowerUp, this marks Hygon’s complete break from AMD’s Zen architecture and the introduction of its first fully homegrown design, the result of five years of domestic R&D in CPU development.

The new lineup is made possible through four-way simultaneous multithreading (SMT4), allowing each core to handle four threads.

Built for parallel workloads and high throughput

While SMT4 is not a new concept - it has appeared in processors like Intel’s Xeon Phi and IBM’s Power8 - its use in a modern, domestically developed Chinese processor is a notable milestone.

The 128-core configuration in the C86-5G represents a major leap from its predecessor, the C86-4G, which had 64 cores and 128 threads using traditional SMT2.

Designed for enterprise and server workloads, the C86-5G features 16 channels of DDR5-5600 memory, potentially supporting up to 1TB using 64GB DDR5 modules. This is a step up from the previous model’s 12 channels of DDR5-4800.

On the connectivity front, while Hygon has not yet disclosed the exact PCIe 5.0 lane count, it has confirmed support for Compute Express Link 2.0 (CXL 2.0), aligning the chip with industry standards used by AMD’s EPYC 9005 (Turin) and Intel’s 5th Gen Xeon (Emerald Rapids). The earlier C86-4G already offered 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0, so similar or better support is expected.

Although the specific microarchitecture has not been detailed, Hygon states it is based on an "enhanced self-developed microarchitecture" that follows the Zen-based Dhyana design of the first generation.

According to the company, the architecture delivers a 17% improvement in instructions per cycle (IPC), though this remains unverified in the absence of benchmark testing.

The chip also supports AVX-512 instructions for high-performance computing tasks and is built to handle physical stress in demanding environments. It is expected to support standard server memory modules like RDIMMs and is intended for large-scale data center deployments.

While Hygon still trails AMD and Intel in overall performance, the C86-5G's technical specifications, including I/O capabilities, memory bandwidth, threading, and core count, place it in a competitive position.

Although there is no official launch date yet, development is likely well underway, given that the C86-4G has been on the market since 2024.

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• Communication devices have been found in Chinese made solar inverters
• These have the potential to destabilase the power grid
• It's unknown how many were found or the intent behind them

Rogue communication devices have been discovered in Chinese made solar inverters, devices which play a ‘critical role’ in renewable energy infrastructure, Reuters reports. This has prompted US energy officials to re-assess the risks of emerging technologies produced in China.

Power inverters are primarily produced in China, but used globally to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids, as well as being used in heat pumps, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers.

It’s reported that over the last nine months, some batteries bought from Chinese suppliers have been discovered with hidden communication devices like cellular radios - according to sources familiar with the matter.

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Rogue components

Experts have warned that communication devices could evade firewalls and switch inverters off remotely, posing a huge risk to power grids, as they could change settings, damage energy infrastructure, destabilize the grid, and cause widespread blackouts.

It’s not yet clear how many of these communication devices were found, nor the nature of the devices themselves - and the intent behind the planting of these is unknown. That being said, the US Department of Energy has confirmed it continually assesses risks associated “with emerging technologies and that there were significant challenges with manufacturers disclosing and documenting functionalities.”

This isn't the first time solar grids have been targeted - and security flaws leaving them vulnerable to being hijacked and even disabled. 46 vulnerabilities discovered by Forescout were found to allow hackers to deploy remote code execution, denial of service, device takeover, and access cloud platforms or sensitive information.

It seems likely, given recent events and rising geopolitical tensions, that the US will look to move production to domestic manufacturing plants for a more secure supply chain, It’s worth noting though, that Huawei is currently the world’s largest supplier of inverters, accounting for 29% of shipments around the world in 2022.

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• Folds up small, opens wide, Uperfect's Omega series is screen real estate on the go
• 3K OLED with 100% DCI-P3 makes this portable monitor a visual powerhouse
• Uperfect’s hinge tech handles 30,000 folds with no creases, no shadows, just clean visuals

Uperfect recently announced its new Omega Series, a line of portable displays that includes the 22-inch Omega and the 17.3-inch Omega Mini.

These devices feature a foldable and flexible design, allowing them to compress into a compact 16-inch and 12.5-inch form factor, respectively, for easier storage.

The OLED panel can fold flat or bend at any angle up to 180°, thanks to a hinge system and flexible substrate capable of withstanding 30,000 folding cycles without developing creases or shadows, common issues in other foldable displays.

A good companion for mobile business

When unfolded, the device measures just 7mm thick and 14mm when folded, yet still delivers ample screen real estate with a 3K resolution.

The display supports a wide color gamut with 100% DCI-P3 coverage, a 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and a peak brightness of 500 cd/m².

It also features touchscreen functionality, supporting tap, swipe, and zoom inputs, along with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time.

Despite its slim profile, Uperfect has integrated built-in speakers, contributing to a clean, cable-free design. A magnetic stand is included, allowing users to adjust both viewing angles and height.

Targeted at business professionals, the monitor includes low blue light technology and offers a 178-degree viewing angle to reduce eye strain during extended use.

For connectivity, it includes both USB Type-C and Mini HDMI ports, enabling compatibility with a wide range of devices including laptops, game consoles, smartphones, and cameras. It is also fully compatible with macOS, making it a potential companion for Mac mini users.

This device could be ideal for mobile users looking to set up a large display on the go. However, with a price tag of $2,499.99, it’s hard to justify the cost, especially when even the most premium portable monitors are priced at less than half that amount.

For connectivity, it comes with a USB Type-C and Mini HDMI ports, enabling compatibility with a wide range of devices, including laptops, game consoles, smartphones, and cameras. It is also fully compatible with macOS devices, a potential choice for Mac mini users.

Via Uperfect

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Some of the best Max shows have been showcased at the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfronts 2025, alongside what’s to come from across the media giant’s studios and networks.

There’s been plenty of new info across the board, with news on both shows and WBD streaming and broadcast platforms as the company bigwigs take to the stage.

With announcements coming thick and fast, the big news can be easy to miss, but here we break down the five most intriguing pieces of news from the day, featuring Westeros returns, baffling rebrands, new streaming services and more.

1. Superman gets a brand new trailer

Top of the bill is the Man of Steel himself with a brand new trailer — which you can watch above — for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman.

Starring David Corenswet as Supes, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, the new movie is an entirely new take on the Big Blue Boy Scout, although with all the multiverse shenanigans happening across superhero cinema lately, we wouldn't rule out some connection to the supposedly dead DCEU.

The latest trailer showcases much of what we’ve seen before, including the Fortress of Solitude and the big screen debut of super-cainine Krypto and further showcases the themes Gunn seems to be playing with around Kal-El’s status as an immigrant and vigilante.

Gunn has absolutely nailed every superhero story he’s turned his hand to thus far, and I'll be there as a new dawn breaks on DC’s cinematic offerings on July 11.

2. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms pushed to 2026

(Image credit: HBO)

It's bad news for fans of the Song of Ice and Fire saga as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has its release window moved to 2026.

Based on George R. R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight novella, the new show follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and s squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) as they travel the fictional land in the time between Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

Widely expected to land this year, the third Westeros-set show will instead arrive in “winter” 2026, leaving us sweet summer children hoping that winter is coming sooner rather than later.

3. TNT's High Value Target leads network TV lineup

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

WBD also announced a whole host of shows due to land across their networks in the coming year, among which is High Value Target, formerly known as Debriefing the President.

The series, based on John Nixon’s book detailing the interrogation of Saddam Hussein, stars Joel Kinnaman as Nixon, a CIA analyst who became the first American to positively identify the dictator in the wake of his capture.

Other new shows teased during the Upfront included Guy’s Flavortown Games hosted by Guy Fieri, HGTV’s Renovating the Bachelor Mansion and Discovery’s ludicrously titled Shark Week special Dancing With Sharks. Murder doc They Know What They Did winks to narrator Jennifer Love Hewitt’s soon-to-be-returning slasher franchise, while TLC’s 90 Day franchise continues to expand with 90 Day: Hunt for Love.

Returning shows include Rick and Morty, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking and My Adventures with Superman, while Max hit The Pitt will receive a linear broadcast on TNT ahead of its second season.

4. Max rebrands back to HBO Max

(Image credit: HBO Max)

Perhaps the most surprising piece of news coming out of the upfronts was the announcement that WBD’s flagship streaming service would be adding the HBO moniker back into its name.

The streamer initially went by HBO Max when it was launched in 2020, trading on the reputation HBO had as the home of the best US TV had to offer. In 2023, WBD dropped the prefix, rebranding the streamer to simply, Max, moving away from the focus on prestige TV and introducing more varied programming, even going so far as to drop some of HBO’s biggest hits, such as Westworld, from its library.

But now those three letters are due a comeback, with the service once again set to be known as HBO Max after a relaunch this summer. Seemingly realising that a quality over quantity approach might be the way forward, WBD said: “No consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content.” This seems to imply a shift for WBD, with the readdition of HBO to the name implying a refocus to the sort of prestige television that made the network be able to boldly state “It’s not TV. It’s HBO” in the first place.

5. CNN unveils new streaming service

(Image credit: CNN)

Following the ill fated CNN+, the news network are once again entering the streaming world with a brand new service set to arrive in the fall.

After an initial US launch, the platform will be available globally with CEO Mark Thompson call it “the first true new streaming service.” The streamer will also bundle CNN.com, which recently went behind a paywall, and will include live channels, news feeds and exclusive programming.

Current cable and satellite subscribers will be able to access the service at no extra cost, and CNN will, for now at least, continue to have a presence on Max after its rebrand.

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If you've ever wondered why you'd want a bezel-less display, LG Display just provided a visual and eye-opening answer.

The display technology company, which supplies panels to, among others, LG Electronics, is busy showing off a raft of screen technologies at SID Display Week in San Jose, California. Among them are a 4,000-nit, next-gen OLED (it uses Tandem RGB elements to achieve this brightness), Blue Phosphorescent OLED, stretchable displays, and this new Micro LED architecture.

Using a pair of 22-inch Micro LED screens, LG Display showed how they could operate separately or be slid together to make one, visually seamless ultra-wide display.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: LG Display)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: LG Display)

In addition to a truly bezel-free design, Micro LED technology, according to LG Display, brings several other visual benefits. This non-organic, self-emissive technology offers pixel-level control and higher color accuracy and better ("perfect") blacks than other screen technologies.

Still, it's the "Zero Bezel" tech that opens up possibilities for modular displays that could be almost any shape or size. LG Display notes that these kinds of displays are especially useful in commercial scenarios, but could also be useful for making your own ultra-large desktop monitor.

Micro LED technology is also more attractive than OLED because of its lack of burn-in and longer lifespan. But, as we reported late last year, "production costs needed to be slashed by 90% to make Micro-LED competitive in today’s TV market."

We also noted, however, that LG looked like it might be "pulling back" on Micro LED investment. If these Zeo Bezel Micro LEDs are any indication, that couldn't be further from the truth.

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• Oukitel WP300's battery can power other devices for days
• Not your average rugged phone - it's part powerbank, part fitness tracker, all survival tool
• This rugged phone has 108MP camera and 36GB of RAM for $399

The upcoming Oukitel WP300 takes an unconventional approach to rugged smartphone design - it's so over-the-top it’s already being called one of the most outrageous phones of 2025.

Built to endure harsh conditions while offering a feature set that rivals many flagship devices, the WP300 rugged smartphone comes equipped with a massive 16,000mAh battery, a capacity more commonly found in power banks.

The battery supports 45W fast charging and 18W reverse charging, meaning it can double as a battery pack for other gadgets like speakers, fans, or even rugged tablets.

Mobile phone and power bank for just $399

Even more surprising is the price. The WP300 will launch at just $399 - yes, $399 - when it debuts on Kickstarter at the end of May 2025. The original retail price is $599, but an early-bird offer includes a $200 discount.

Two key attachments transform this rugged business smartphone into a survival companion. One is a detachable LED camping light, perfect for nighttime use or emergencies. The other is a wireless earbud that docks into the phone and converts into a compact smartwatch.

This hybrid accessory features a display for alerts and an optical heart rate sensor, allowing it to function independently of the main device.

The WP300 is no fragile flagship. It meets IP69, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H standards, offering protection against dust, water, drops, and vibration.

The rugged chassis is reinforced, and the 6.78-inch display is shielded by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The screen delivers a resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 650 nits of brightness.

Under the hood, a 5G-capable MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor powers the device, supported by 12GB of RAM (expandable virtually to 36GB) and 512GB of internal storage.

Despite its rugged build, the WP300 doesn’t skimp on photography. It features a 108MP AI main camera and a 32MP front-facing selfie lens.

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Harman has unveiled details of a new software solution that it hopes will offer “beyond sight” contextual alerts to drivers, without the need for expensive additional hardware or lengthy developmental schedules for manufacturers.

Initially revealed as part of a package of automotive innovations at this year’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Harman went into further detail at its Harman Explore day in Munich last week, where it demonstrated a number of its vehicle-based solutions.

However, the Ready Aware Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) could well offer the most benefit to future drivers, as it leverages the power of modern vehicle sensor suites, 4G or 5G connectivity and next-generation infotainment systems to alert drivers about hazards they cannot yet see.

The company says that the digital approach ensures motorists receive “precise, relevant, and near real-time contextual insights for improved situational awareness”, drawing data from both connected infrastructure and connected cars from any brand.

According to the company, which is a a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, the cloud-based analytics engine uses digital twins and machine learning to create a detailed picture of surroundings based on real-time data received from a multitude of sources.

What can it do?

(Image credit: Harman)

For example, Harman says that it can detect circumstances of hard braking ahead, should the vehicle in question be sending standardized Vehicle Safety Messages to the cloud, and then warn the driver of impending congestion.

This also works for a vehicle reversing ahead, a fast-approaching vehicle from behind, or even a vehicle up ahead that is swerving or behaving erratically.

Similarly, standardized data from civil infrastructure, such as mobile roadworks or faulty traffic lights, can be logged by the system and distributed to any vehicle running Ready Aware in the vicinity.

Harman splits these events up into event-based and feed-based alerts, which include things like bad weather notifications, objects on the road and upcoming accidents.

An event-based alert could include a stranded or broken down vehicle, emergency electronic brake light activation ahead (traffic slowing quickly) or a sudden change in speed limit.

In order to reduce the number of false or incorrect messages, Harman says its Situational Awareness Engine (SAE) analyses the data it collects and assigns it a ‘confidence score’.

The more validating data it receives, the more confident it is that the event is worthy of a notification. All of this is done in near real-time, according to the company.

An attractive package

(Image credit: Harman)

Google Maps and Waze users will be familiar with some of these warnings, but the majority of those rely on the human community to log and confirm hazards, which is not only less reliable but can also prove a distraction to those behind the wheel.

Harman says that the driver won’t have to do anything thanks to its software, and it’s just as easy for OEMs and vehicle makers to install the system – the main requirements being an existing sensor suite (cameras, sensors, LiDar etc), the required processing power and a 4G or 5G connection.

What’s more, the company says the software solution can run on both Android and Linux infotainment platforms, with a simple Over-the-Air (OTA) update enough to have most modern connected cars Ready Aware compatible.

We reported recently on how EuroNCAP, Europe’s leading car safety organization, has been incentivizing greater levels of active safety like this, which will make Harman’s solution even more attractive to those OEMs wanting a simple, affordable off-the-shelf solution.

Harman says there are already more than 50 million automobiles on the road today equipped with its connected tech, and millions more with the required hardware to run such a system.

There is currently no timeline on when we will see its technology made available in production vehicles, but Harman says it is ready roll it out now.

The company also announced this week that it is one of the first to open-source a full connected services platform, part of its Eclipse Connected Services Platform (ECSP) project.

It hopes it will encourage greater "interoperability" between different carmakers and help speed up the development and deployment of future connected cars.

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• Square Handheld delivers full POS features in a pocket-sized form
• Built for mobility with barcode scanning and all-day battery life
• Seven software modes adapt to restaurants, retail and other business types

Financial technology company Square has introduced a new addition to its hardware lineup. Square Handheld is a compact, portable point-of-sale (POS) device built to serve the evolving needs of restaurants and retailers.

Weighing just 11 ounces and less than an inch thick, the device delivers full POS functionality in a form factor small enough to fit into an apron or pocket.

The new device includes a 6.2-inch Gorilla Glass touchscreen, an integrated barcode scanner, and a 16-megapixel camera.

Protected from dust and water splashes

Square Handheld supports tap and dip payments and runs on Square’s newly unified Point of Sale app.

The hardware is IP54-rated for protection against dust and water splashes, while the battery is built to last an entire business day.

This model is designed to help sellers take orders, manage inventory, and complete transactions from anywhere in their store or restaurant, without needing to return to a fixed checkout terminal.

The device builds on Square’s hardware design history, which began with its original card reader and now includes solutions like Square Stand, Square Terminal, and Square Register.

The software experience includes seven configurable modes tailored to specific industries, including food service, bars, and retail. Sellers can switch between modes as their operational needs change. Push notifications and device-specific controls help streamline workflows for on-the-go staff.

Square Handheld launches as part of Square Releases, a new biannual rollout that bundles together major hardware and software updates. It is available on Square Shop, priced from $399. A series of Belkin-designed protective cases will also be available in multiple colors, starting at $39.

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• Big Tech profits from broadband, but pays nothing to support the networks they depend on
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• Legislation shifts broadband cost burden from everyday users to enterprise giants

A new wave of broadband reform is gaining traction in the United States, and it’s poised to reshape how internet access is funded, particularly for underserved rural communities.

At the heart of this effort is the reintroduction of the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2025 by the U.S. Congress. It’s a bipartisan proposal aimed at fixing a long-standing funding imbalance.

Currently, many tech giants that heavily rely on broadband infrastructure do not contribute to its funding. The Act would ensure that they do, helping to expand the Universal Service Fund (USF).

A bipartisan push to fix broadband funding

Originally designed to ensure universal access to telephone services, the USF has since evolved to support broadband in rural and tribal areas.

However, its funding still comes primarily from voice service subscribers, who now pay far more than they did two decades ago.

For example, a user might purchase a mobile router and pay for broadband access simply to use social media. The user may also pay these platforms directly through subscriptions or in-app purchases. Yet, despite relying entirely on broadband infrastructure, the platforms themselves contribute nothing to its cost.

This imbalance is at the center of a legal challenge currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The new proposal aims to shift the cost burden from everyday consumers to large tech firms, such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Meta, and TikTok, whose services drive most broadband traffic, including that through WiFi routers.

This isn’t an entirely new idea. It mirrors the model tech companies already use to sell cloud services: payment based on usage and features. Since contributions would come from enterprise services like cloud computing, digital advertising, and AI infrastructure, there would be no added cost to consumers.

If implemented, the policy would remove the USF fee from phone bills, offering direct relief to users. It could pave the way for the best broadband deal in years by lowering surcharges.

Via StrandConsult

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• Proton CEO confirmed the company will leave Switzerland if new controversial surveillance rules pass
• An amendment to the current surveillance law would require VPNs and messaging apps to identify and retain user data
• Another Swiss company, NymVPN, is also ready to leave the country instead of undermining its privacy and security infrastructure

Proton confirms the company will leave Switzerland if new controversial surveillance rules pass.

Switzerland is considering amending its surveillance law, with experts warning against the risk to secure encryption and online anonymity in the country. Specifically, the amendment could require all VPN services, messaging apps, and social networks to identify and retain user data – an obligation that is now limited to mobile networks and internet service providers.

The firm behind one of the best VPN and encrypted email services, Proton, is ready to fight back on behalf of the privacy of its over 100 million users. Other Swiss-based companies, like NymVPN, are also doing the same.

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than five minutes to complete!

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No choice but to leave

In an interview with RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) on May 13, 2025, Proton CEO Andy Yen slammed the proposed amendment as a "major violation of the right to privacy" that will also harm the country's reputation and its ability to compete on an international level.

"This revision attempts to implement something that has been deemed illegal in the EU and the United States. The only country in Europe with a roughly equivalent law is Russia," said Yen.

The amendment aims to expand the number of service providers targeted to include so-called "derived service providers". Crucially, the new provisions will introduce three new types of information and two types of monitoring.

If the changes pass, Proton will be forced to modify how Proton Mail and Proton VPN handle encryption, alongside its strict no-log policies – something the company isn't willing to do.

"I think we would have no choice but to leave Switzerland," said Yen. "The law would become almost identical to the one in force today in Russia. It's an untenable situation. We would be less confidential as a company in Switzerland than Google, based in the United States. So it's impossible for our business model."

In Switzerland, the new version of the surveillance law aims to make it impossible for Proton, Threema and@nymproject to operate from Switzerland. We are in the consultation phase. We will fight. https://t.co/BcMBxzIPFCMarch 25, 2025

Proton is not alone in feeling this way, though.

A new player in the VPN world, NymVPN has also been publicly fighting Swiss government plans since the beginning.

Talking to TechRadar, Nym's co-founder and COO, Alexis Roussel, confirmed that Nym will do the same and leave Switzerland if the new surveillance rules are enforced.

What's next?

As public consultations ended on May 6, 2025, we will now have to wait and see what the Swiss government decides.

Nonetheless, Roussel confirmed to TechRadar that there has been significant push-back from political parties and Swiss companies.

Some Cantons, including Geneva, have even called on the right to digital integrity as an argument against these rules. Roussel was the main originator of the initiative that introduced this new right to protect citizens' online privacy and data – in Geneva in 2023 and Neuchâtel in 2024 – with over 90% consensus.

Yen also told RTS to be more optimistic, despite pointing out how this matter shows the need for a more balanced approach when it comes to crafting new laws.

"If we can get Bern to adopt common-sense rules that allow companies like Proton to be competitive in Switzerland and around the world, I will stay, take my passport, and continue to invest in Switzerland," he added.

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• Ivanti released a patch for a critical severity flaw in Neurons for ITSM
• The flaw can be abused to gain admin rights on target systems
• There is no evidence of abuse in the wild

Ivanti has patched a critical-severity vulnerability in its Neurons for ITSM IT service management solution, and is urging users to apply the fix and mitigate the risk as soon as possible.

Neurons for ITSM is an AI-powered IT Service Management platform used by IT departments in mid-to-large enterprises to automate, streamline, and manage IT support services, incidents, and assets across their organizations.

An exact number of users is unknown, but Ivanti claims to be servicing tens of thousands of organizations with its portfolio, so it’s safe to assume the attack surface is relatively large.

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Low complexity attacks

The vulnerability in question is tracked as CVE-2025-22462. NVD describes it as an authentication bypass in Neurons for ITSM in versions before 2023.4, 2024.2 and 2024.3 with the May 2025 Security Patch. It affects on-prem instances only, and allows a remote unauthenticated threat actor to gain admin rights on the target system.

The company says that depending on the system configuration, the vulnerability can be exploited in low-complexity attacks. That, however, doesn’t seem to have happened yet, since Ivanti claims there is no evidence of abuse in the wild so far.

Ivanti also suggested that organizations should follow its guidance, since then they will be less exposed to potential attacks.

"Customers who have followed Ivanti's guidance on securing the IIS website and restricted access to a limited number of IP addresses and domain names have a reduced risk to their environment," the company said in an advisory. "Customers who have users log into the solution from outside their company network also have a reduced risk to their environment if they ensure that the solution is configured with a DMZ."

This is the second major vulnerability Ivanti patched this week, after addressing a critical-severity bug in its Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) software.

Via BleepingComputer

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I’ve been flying and shooting with the DJI Mavic 4 Pro for a few weeks, and it's one of the best drones I've ever piloted with stand out camera features: the ability of the camera to be tilted up to 70 degrees, so it’s almost looking straight up, and for the entire camera housing to be rotated 90 degrees to capture photos and videos in vertical format.

Furthermore, the camera can be rotated through -40 to 400 degrees on the roll axis, which means you can continuously rotate the camera during video capture. Think dynamic Inception-style twists that add a dynamic and creative look to videos.

These movements are absolutely incredible because the camera unit on the Mavic 4 Pro isn’t small – it’s the largest seen on any Mavic drone, housing a superb 28mm Four Thirds Hasselblad camera with an adjustable aperture, a 70mm camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor and a 168mm camera with a 1/1.5in sensor.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

Being armed with three versatile camera movements naturally opens up many creative possibilities for photo and video capture. After all, many pilots use drones to mimic traditional crane-mounted and dolly-style camera movements, to capture smooth and fluid video without the need to own, hire or set up such large and heavy equipment.

True vertical photo capture with a high-quality Four Thirds camera or one of the telephoto cameras, on the other hand, speeds up photography at both the capture and editing stages. Say goodbye to the hassle of shooting and editing vertical panoramas for portrait shots or cropping landscape format photos to portrait, where you ultimately lose pixels and image quality.

The camera's hugely versatile range of movement on the roll axis is thanks to what DJI calls an 'Infinity Gimbal' with 360-degree rotation. The effect is achieved by pressing button C1 and turning the right shoulder dial on the controller, and has never been seen before on a drone.

A whopping 160 degrees of camera tilt

This video shows the full 160 degrees of tilt, and the degree of movement is super impressive. Other DJI drones can have their cameras tilted upwards, but it’s only the DJI Air 3S that comes close to this with 60 degrees of upwards tilt.

The Mavic 4 Pro gimbal is understandably robust since the camera unit is quite large, but it has a controllable tilt range of -90 to 70 degrees, which allows it to be pointed straight down at the ground as well as almost straight up.

When capturing video and tilting the camera up or down throughout its full tilt range, it takes 15 seconds to travel 160 degrees at the default gimbal speed. 160 degrees of camera movement doesn’t sound like much on paper, but when you see it, you can fully appreciate it.

Vertical capture with 90 degrees rotation

With the Mavic 4 Pro, you can capture cropped vertical video with the camera kept in landscape format in the same way that the DJI Air 3 models capture vertical video. This works perfectly well, however the Mavic 4 Pro goes one step better: you can also rotate the camera 90 degrees for vertical video, without sacrificing pixels.

During my testing, I found that the drone sometimes flew much slower than normal when capturing vertical video with the cameras rotated, but not always. This may have been because I was unaware of shooting settings that might have changed this, or it could have been a quirk of the pre-release firmware.

The main camera can capture cropped vertical video in 4K up to 60fps, while the two telephotos can capture cropped vertical video in 2.7K up to 60fps. With the gimbal rotated, the full resolution possible with the main camera is 6K up to 60fps video, while the 70mm can capture up to 4K at 120fps and the 168mm up to 4K at 100fps.

Never before seen 'Infinity Gimbal'

The Infinity Gimbal with -40 to 400 degree continuous rotation on the roll axis is another string to the Mavic 4 Pro's versatile camera bow.

The 90 degree rotation for vertical video and photos is handy for social cuts, the versatile 160 degree range of tilt motion gets you looking-up perspectives previously not possible, but it's the Infinity Gimbal that provides dynamic camera movements, especially if you love the Inception effect – you can see a short example I shot, below.

The Mavic 3 Pro was already my favorite prosumer camera drone, but the DJI Mavic 4 Pro is an even more versatile offering, with longer flight times. Those three handy camera movements complement the triple cameras for an unparalleled degree of creative camera work, and should cement the Mavic 4 Pro's place in best drone buying guides for some time to come.

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• Apple TV+ is getting a new limited series called Wild Things, though a release date hasn't been announced
• Jude Law and Andrew Garfield will star as iconic magicians Siegfried and Roy
• It's based on the Apple Originals podcast of the same name

I'm going to be sticking with Apple TV+ for the foreseeable future because they keep impressing me, and Wild Things has definitely caught my interest given its focus on late magicians Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn.

A release window hasn't been confirmed, but we do know its based on the Apple Original Podcast Wild Things: Siegfried & Roy, and that it's an eight-part series, which will dramatize their life and careers.

Why I'm excited for Wild Things

As mentioned, I've always loved stage magic whether it's the double act of Penn and Teller or the illusions of Derren Brown, and Siegfried and Roy have long intrigued me.

Their story is definitely one that would make for a great drama given their controversies, such as the fact they performed with lions and tigers, a practice that was criticized by some circles. This all came to a head when one of their lions attacked Roy, seriously injuring him, and this is the kind of show that I'm sure will open up plenty of conversations.

The new Apple TV+ show "tells the wild ride relationship tale of two of the greatest showman-magicians in history who, along with their white tigers, are tasked with turning Sin City into a family-friendly destination. The duo pushes the concept of illusion versus reality to the extreme, personally and professionally, until tragedy reframes and opens a mystery surrounding their last fateful Las Vegas show,” according to the streamer.

In 2024, we crowned Apple TV+ as our Streaming Service of the Year and there's been plenty to keep me interested lately. As well as dropping a trailer for a new star-studded nightmarish thriller, they've also announced that Jude Law and Andrew Garfield will step into the shows of the iconic showmen for Wild Things.

On top of all this, WandaVision (aka my favorite Marvel show)'s Matt Shakman is directing the pilot and serves as producer so I'm hoping we can add this to our best Apple TV+ shows.

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• Google Messages is finally getting a mentions features, similar to the one in WhatsApp and Telegram
• It was first spotted in March, but Android Authority has managed to get the feature working
• Though it works for the most part, it's not quite ready for an official rollout

Google Messages has been getting some major upgrades in recent weeks, and the latest looks to be a new mentions function for group chats that would catch Messages up to the likes of WhatsApp and Telegram.

Speculation that Google was working on a mentions feature was fueled when the feature was spotted in an APK teardown by Android Authority in March, and now another teardown by the same outlet appears to have confirmed that it’s in the works.

While Google hasn’t confirmed that a mentions feature is coming to Messages, Android Authority managed to enable the feature and has given us a first look.

(Image credit: Android Authority )

Based on this new teardown, the mentions feature works much like the one we’re familiar with in WhatsApp, letting you draw attention to any member in a group chat. When you enter the @ symbol in a chat, a list of members’ names will appear, and you can select the person you want to mention.

When you send a message that includes a mention, the name of the person will appear bolded and highlighted, and other members in the group chat will be able to tap on the name to access their profile with DM and call shortcuts.

While Android Authority has got the feature up and running, it did encounter some issues that suggest Google still has some work to do on the feature before it can be rolled out.

(Image credit: Android Authority ) Mentions in Google Messages has a long way to go

The main issue the outlet discovered was that while the mentions feature worked normally, the member that was mentioned in the text didn’t receive a notification on their end, as they usually would with other messaging apps.

It seems, then, that the feature is still being tested in beta, and there’s no indication of when it’ll be rolled out – but Google Messages users have a few new features to explore in the meantimes.

More recently Google Messages has been testing more new functions that are set to roll out soon, including a feature that allows you to join group chats via links and its long-awaited ‘Delete for everyone’ option.

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• The official trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie has been released
• It appeared online after its premiere at Warner Bros' Upfront 2025 presentation
• The rebooted DC Universe's first movie flies into theaters in mid-July

The official trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie has taken flight and it confirms David Corenswet's titular hero will face off against yet another foe in the hotly anticipated comic book film.

Moments after its worldwide premiere during Warner Bros' Upfront 2025 presentation, the DC Universe (DCU) flick's latest teaser, one which commits the cardinal sin I didn't want from Superman's second trailer, was released online. Before we dig into its biggest talking point, i.e. who the aforementioned villain is, though, watch it for the first (or 10th, I'm not judging!) time below because there's a lot to unpack and enjoy.

The DCU Chapter One movie's latest trailer comes almost five months after the Superman's Krypto scene-stealing first teaser landed online.

Since then, Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios have slowly begun to ramp up their marketing campaign for Superman's latest big-screen adventure. That promotional push has fully taken off in recent weeks, with the release of a new Superman clip that showed off the film's jaw-dropping Fortress of Solitude, numerous TV spots, and its latest round of footage leading the charge for a campaign DC Studios has dubbed as the 'Summer of Superman'.

Who is the Hammer of Boravia in Superman?

The Hammer of Boravia is a wholly new creation for Gunn's Superman film (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Alright, so who is this armored suit-wearing individual that Supes is seen battling above Metropolis? According to an edition of the Daily Planet newspaper that appeared in the movie's first trailer, they're simply known as the Hammer of Boravia.

Now, Boravia is a fictional nation that's appeared in Superman comic books. However, the so-called Hammer is an original character created specifically for one of 2025's most exciting new movies. Given their mysterious title, the Hammer hails from this country, which appears to have been repurposed as a Middle Eastern state for Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC cinematic franchise.

Here's the thing, though: I'm not convinced that the Hammer of Boravia is a totally new metahuman who's been invented for Superman. I believe this is simply a ruse and that the individual beneath the armor is one of two other foes – but not the one teased in Superman's first-look image – that Corenswet's Clark Kent will have to contend with in this film.

Potentially big spoilers follow for Superman. Do not proceed if you don't want this possible story detail ruined ahead of release!

A post shared by Superman (@superman)

A photo posted by on

The first option is that the Hammer of Boravia is none other than Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor. As one of Superman's most notorious antagonists, it's not a stretch to assume that the incredibly gifted supervillain could invent and wield a near-Superman-proof super-suit that would allow him to go toe-to-toe with someone that Luthor clearly despises.

That said, I can't see Luthor being the one to masquerade as this superpowered being. After all, It's not in his nature to get his hands dirty. Instead, I think it's a different foe and one we've previously seen in Superman's first trailer: Ultraman.

Ultraman (second right) is the person I believe is hiding under the Hammer of Boravia's super-suit (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Think back to (or, rather, re-watch) said teaser and you'll be reminded that the Man of Steel battled someone wearing an all-black costume in a US football stadium. Clearly, Supes is having a real tough time with this individual – so much so, in fact, that numerous observers have claimed Ultraman must be a laboratory-grown clone of Clark Kent/Kal-El.

This isn't outside of the realms of possibility. An evil, alternate reality version of Superman, one called Ultraman, already exists in DC Comics. Then there's the fact that the Hammer of Boravia is seen shooting laser beams from underneath his visor in Superman's latest trailer. Heat vision is one of Supes' most iconic superpowers, so it stands to reason that a clone would possess a similar ability.

Add in the prospect of Luthor realizing that the only way he can defeat Superman is to genetically engineer a clone who can literally beat Kent in a one-on-one battle, and the evidence seems undeniable. The Hammer of Boravia/Ultraman simply has to be a replica of the titular metahuman.

Of course, this is all speculation, but all signs point towards the Hammer being a bait-and-switch move on Gunn's part – one where the Hammer will eventually be unmasked as Ultraman and, by proxy, a carbon copy of Superman himself. We'll find out for sure when the film achieves lift-off in theaters worldwide on July 11.

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