TechRadar News

• Sam Altman admits AI development may require greater control
• Altman references Hugging Face "accident" as something which might cause wider distrust
• However Altman said he still believes AI technology can greatly benefit humanity as a whole

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has admitted that the rapid pace of development in the AI industry is rightfully scaring some people, and that more controls might be necessary.

Speaking at Dreamforce 2026, Altman was quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on a variety of topics, giving his opinion on not just the most recent incidents in the world of technology, but where the future of AI could go next.

"This could go wrong"

Altman and Benioff's wide-ranging conversation began with the latter asking the former for his view on "what's been going on" concerning recent controversies in the AI industry.

This included the widely-reported Hugging Face hack, as well as increasing calls for greater AI regulation in recent weeks.

"People have been talking about the potential downsides or serious risks of AI for some time,” Altman said, noting that the increased capabilities of models have meant people are paying more attention than ever before.

Altman also highlighted the recent “Hugging Face accident”, which he later described as “obviously a terrifying incident”, as raising awareness among the wider world as to what AI is capable of.

“It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to, to imagine how this could go wrong,” he pointed out, adding that he would like to know that companies don’t intend to use their models for nefarious means - “there should be no qualifier on that,” he pointed out.

Altman also highlighted the “real fear” that “some companies working in AI could get too much power and be able to influence the economy”.

“I think the world is right to be afraid of this,” he pointed out.

Future hopes

However it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as Altman noted that OpenAI was navigating a “narrow path” with pragmatism, steadiness and consistency.

“People are now saying, this seems pretty important, so let's get it right...and we will get it right, by the way, I'm very confident in our ability to do this. The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing, because it is the right thing, and we know the magnitude of this.”

Altman was also confident that despite the continuing advances of AI, he had high hopes for the future of humanity, noting that while "people don't care that much what a machine does...we have a wonderful ability of being obsessed with other people.”

However this might still involve some tough work, as society and people would “need to uplift themselves very fast” to get all the advantages of technology - “but this seems very achievable to me,” Altman added.

Looking forward

Overall though, Altman noted that the degree that people care about other people is a major positive, and predicted that "we will stay in an extremely human-centric world, no matter what technology does.”

AI will help with this progress, though, with Altman saying that although the technology is capable of incidents such as the Hugging Face hack, it is also possible to use AI to defend against such attacks.

“We have to (use AI to defend) to get the prize of curing diseases, giving people this incredible creativity, this human entrepreneurship that I think is coming.”

“I think people, with this technology in their hands, can live a much better version of their lives.”

Benioff closed out the session by asking what he hoped the legacy of his company would be, with Altman noting that the company had set out on an "insane mission" to achieve AGI, and that it had only scratched the surface" of building great products".

“There is no doubt there will be more technological wonders by 2030, and they'll be big ones,” he added, highlighting the fact that you can talk to a computer and it knows what you want, understand your company and take action, “is one of the most profound changes to how we use technology that I've ever seen...this is one of the moments that feels like you're in a movie (and) I think this will transform the way we work and use computers”.

• Project Zenith adds developer tools before users have to install them manually
• The required 64GB memory immediately pushes Zenith beyond ordinary Windows hardware
• Microsoft wants Zenith machines ready for local AI development

Microsoft has unveiled Project Zenith, introducing specially configured Windows 11 machines aimed at developers and local artificial intelligence work.

The idea sounds practical until you consider the hardware required, because Zenith begins with computers that already sit firmly above mainstream prices.

That makes the project feel less like Windows optimization and more like an attempt to give expensive computers another reason to exist

Microsoft is creating another category for expensive PCs

Zenith is not a separate Windows edition, despite how Microsoft's announcement could initially make the concept sound.

Instead, Microsoft is changing the default software configuration and hardware requirements for computers intended for people developing applications and AI systems.

Eligible machines need at least 64GB of unified memory and 250GB/s of memory bandwidth before receiving the Zenith configuration.

Microsoft also wants these systems capable of running models exceeding 30B parameters locally without metered usage restrictions, according to its announcement.

Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code come pinned, while GitHub Copilot, PowerToys, WinAppCLI, and Windows Dev Skills arrive preinstalled.

File Explorer also starts with extensions, hidden files, complete paths, and other settings that developers might otherwise configure themselves.

Microsoft describes the objective as providing a “ready-to-code distraction-free Windows experience” for people using developer-class hardware.

That sounds sensible for professionals who repeatedly configure similar machines, especially when those machines are deployed across larger development teams.

However, most ordinary Windows users have little reason to want these settings or applications occupying their computers from the beginning.

The expensive machine gets another reason to sell

The timing makes the strategy particularly interesting because Microsoft is effectively attaching specialized software treatment to increasingly costly hardware.

This resembles the way manufacturers increasingly describe premium laptops as AI or creative machines, even when professionals remain their obvious buyers.

Zenith appears to take that familiar approach further by defining a software experience around hardware specifications that most consumers will never require.

The first systems will use AMD Ryzen AI Halo processors, with other platforms expected to receive support during subsequent months.

That requirement immediately narrows the field because 64GB of unified memory is far beyond what typical Windows laptops currently provide.

There is nevertheless a straightforward benefit for developers because several hours of repetitive setup can disappear when the computer starts ready for work.

Microsoft's configuration also does not lock these conveniences behind Zenith hardware, since existing Windows 11 installations can receive many changes manually.

That creates an awkward question about why someone should purchase an expensive Zenith machine when much of its software setup remains reproducible.

For companies managing many developer computers, the standardized configuration could save administrative time and reduce repeated setup work across machines.

For an individual buyer, however, the financial argument becomes considerably harder when the main advantage involves settings that require little effort manually.

Microsoft may therefore be selling convenience to people who already have compelling reasons to buy powerful hardware in the first place.

That makes Zenith look less like an entirely new Windows experience and more like a carefully packaged justification for expensive developer computers.

Via Windows Central

• Diablo 5 will have features inspired by Diablo 2 and Diablo 2: Resurrected
• Senior game director Joe Shely says the team was able to look at Resurrected for modern inspiration because it's so recent
• He says the team can "look at it through today's lens"

Diablo 5 senior game director Joe Shely has said that the success of Diablo 2: Resurrected has enabled Blizzard to use the game as modern inspiration for the upcoming sequel.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon following Diablo 5's announcement, Shely shared how previous games helped the team find modern inspiration for Diablo 5.

Instead of going back 20 years and just looking at Diablo 2, the team used its 2021 remaster, Diablo 2: Resurrected, for ideas. The developer said the game was brought to life thanks to the passionate fanbase, and the continued work on it has benefited Diablo 5's development.

"Certainly we've been very happy with the response to Diablo 2: Resurrected," Shely said. "The reason that Diablo 2: Resurrected exists is because of the continued passion of players in the first place, because of the continued passion of players for Diablo 2, and so both the honor of having a game that players love and the ability to add new content to it has given us the opportunity to look at it in terms of inspiration."

Resurrected's itemization system, from weapons, loot, and armor, is one of the core features that Blizzard used as inspiration; Shely also said the game's modern features were just as important because it was created and released so recently.

"Because Diablo 2: Resurrected exists today alongside Diablo 4, we can look at it through today's lens, and not just have to go back to, you know, 20 years ago, and think about how to bring lessons forward from 20 years ago. We can bring lessons from D2, but lessons from today."

Diablo 5 is in development and launches in Spring 2029.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discuss AI at Dreamforce 2026
• Amodei says the pace of progress had surprised Anthropic
• Huang calls for greater safety, but hails the advantages AI can bring

Some of the world's leading AI minds have shared their opinions on the future of the technology, revealing some intriguinly diverging viewpoints.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei were both guest appearances during the opening keynote of Dreamforce 2026, where they were both quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on their opinions and views on the future of the technology.

The pair had some interestingly differing viewpoints, showing the trouble facing not just internal and external stakeholders, but also lawmakers and regulators.

Jensen vs Dario?

First up was Amodei, whose Claude platform has become increasingly partnered with Salesforce in recent months, culminating in the recent launch of Claudeforce.

Asked by Benioff about the state of the AI market right now, Amodei likened it to the motor industry, where safety records can be conflated, but companies can learn from each other - and he also seems keen to open things up internationally to set standards.

“I think that’s the way to lead the industry forward, to set an example, to say that everyone can always be better,” he pointed out.

Benioff also asked Amodei about the biggest surprises has had while developing his technology over the last decade.

The Anthropic head replied the "pace of the progress" - not just in the development of AI technology, but the economic impact of it too - noting his company didn't appreciate how quickly certain companies would grow and become central to everyday life.

Finally, Benioff asked what actions Amodei would like the public to take when using AI.

Amodei replied that even if development of AI technology was frozen right now, we'd only be using maybe 5-10% of the possible value we could get.

Making use of all the information with platforms such as Claude could open up new areas of business - "there's so much diffusion left," Amodei says.

(Image credit: Future / Mike Moore)

Huang was much more positive in his appearance, leading Benioff in a walkabout around the keynote theatre as the pair discussed AI.

"We're going through a new industrial revolution," Huang pointed out,

However he did urge caution in some areas, particularly around safety.

“Safety is paramount in a lot of ways. It’s job one,” Huang said. “However, safety is an engineering problem.”

Speed and safety are not mutually exclusive, Huang noted, pointing out that companies should pace themselves until they are sure they are releasing something that the market will appreciate.

“It’s a false choice,” Huang told Benioff. “You could definitely have both at the same time.”

When it comes to model protections, Huang said that companies should, “run as fast as you can...but if you feel at any given point in time the company’s out of control or the product’s not going to be safe, take a pause and make sure you get it right.”

Wrapping up, Benioff asked Huang about his vision for the next few years - and what he wants to see from Salesforce.

Huang says he wants to "Agentforce every company", outlining an aim of "really deploying AI".

"You don't want to be left behind, this is too important of a technology revolution," Huang noted, "if it doesn't work for you straight away, don't give up on it."

"The most important thing - don't get left behind...the sky's the limit for us."

It's an unusual Apple iPhone season. Not since the early days of the iPhone almost 20 years ago have we seen such a limited lineup. No base model, no super thin model, no plus model, no mini model. Instead, we have two powerful Pro models and the unusual, foldable iPhone Duo. Without all of Apple's typical next-gen iPhone cards on the table, you might think even Apple would be struggling with how or where to steer consumers. Now, though, thanks to Apple CEO John Ternus, we know exactly which iPhone Apple hopes you buy.

It's the iPhone Duo, okay?

Apple hasn't and honestly wouldn't say this, but sometimes it only takes a subtle signal or simple choice to reveal what should've been obvious in the first place.

On Monday night, amid the Hollywood glitz and glamour of the 78th Primetime Emmys, newly minted Apple CEO John Ternus stood on the red carpet. Looking spiffy and maybe a bit uncomfortable in his tuxedo, with multiple microphones stuck in his face, Ternus fielded questions about Apple TV's incredible seven-year run and vast trove of awards for shows like Shrinking and the freshman Windows Bay, which garnered more season 1 Emmys than any other show before it.

He produced it like magic

A post shared by Deadline (@deadline)

A photo posted by

Then a Deadline reporter started asking about the new phones. Without hesitation, Ternus pulled the stunning new iPhone Duo from his breast pocket as the reporter squealed with delight.

I guess she could be forgiven for her over-the-top reaction. After all, since Apple unveiled its first folding phone as the "one more thing" during Apple's "Surprise & Shine" iPhone event, not much has been seen of the passport-sized handset. It's shipping almost a month after the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the only other new iPhones on offer right now.

And yet, here was Ternus, carrying it as, it seems, his phone of choice. Or at least the one he chose for that night. I guess he could've demurred when the reporter asked and pulled out a burgundy iPhone 18 Pro, but he didn't.

It was hard to hear what Ternus said over the reporter's screams, but I think it was "there we go...look at that," as he unfolded the phone to show off the unusual matte and virutally creasless display.

Doing so, on one of the entertainment world's biggest stages, was surely a calculated choice. Apple is steering all eyes toward its $1999 iPhone Duo.

You might say it's a craven attempt to garner more revenue via the pricey handset, but I think something else is at work here.

Why Apple needs to try harder with the Duo

With its late entry into the folding space, Apple is taking a risk. It's calculated, but still a risk. The foldable phone market is tiny, and most of it is owned by Samsung, which has a wide array of folding devices in shapes from the basic Flip to the larger and more powerful (at least camera-wise) Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It also has a passport-sized Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Apple isn't the first, and we still haven't decided whether it is the best. Still, how often has Samsung had the opportunity to show off its hardware at a big consumer entertainment event ostensibly watched by millions?

Well, it has been pushing its newest foldables in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but in the action film, the phones are featured but not addressed in any real way. No one plays with them on camera to show off new features.

What would Samsung have done?

I do recall, though, when Samsung sponsored the 2014 Oscar telecast and handed out Samsung phones to celebrity audience members. With one of those phones, Ellen took one of the most famous, fame-filled selfies of all time. Even so, that sold people on social media and not the Samsung Galaxy phone.

This Emmy's opportunity was different. You had a willing and tech-obsessed reporter and Ternus, who just so happened to have their newest and most important Apple product in his pocket. There's little chance she would've asked, and he would've presented it, if he were only carrying the iPhone 18 Pro.

That wasn't the only moment where someone mentioned the foldable phone to Ternus. Another entertainment reporter called it the "Flip," and Ternus let it pass (notably without producing the phone). For Apple, it was a golden opportunity to steer consumers toward the new iPhone form factor and give it an even better chance of success.

I know, it was just a few seconds and by no means a true commercial for the iPhone Duo, but give Ternus credit for making the most of it and sending a clear signal of where Apple hopes you spend your next iPhone dollars.

• Watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels on Daily Wire
• Traveling? Watch streaming services from anywhere with our no.1 VPN (SAVE 75%)

Jonathan Majors (Creed III) is back — and armed for battle in Run Hide Fight: Infidels, a provocative new action thriller about a battle-hardened Delta Force veteran thrown into a deadly campus siege.

Billed as a 'standalone follow-up' to 2020's Run Hide Fight, which starred Isabel May as teenager Zoe Hull, who fights back when gunmen attack her high school, Infidels aims to reboot the franchise.

The original, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, received a sharply divided reception: it currently has 30% from critics but 93% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes (1,000+ audience ratings).

Expect to see plenty of social media posts about this provocative movie. If you want to judge for yourself, here's how to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels online from anywhere.

• TV tips email: Never be stuck for anything to watch again

How to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels in the US

Run Hide Fight: Infidels premieres exclusively on DailyWire Plus on Wednesday, September 16.

The streaming service costs $15 per month (cancel anytime). Or choose an annual plan for 40% off.

Traveling outside the States? You may need to use a VPN to unblock DailyWire Plus when abroad. It's also a great way to stream content privately.

How to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels from outside your country

If you're out of the country but keen to stream Run Hide Fight: Infidels (2026) you might find local restrictions in place.

Luckily, there’s an easy solution. Downloading a VPN will allow visit your usual websites and streaming services no matter where you are. It's a simple bit of software that changes your IP address, meaning that you can access on-demand content or live TV as if you were back at home.

Get 75% off Nord VPN with this deal to stream safely and privately...

Editors Choice

NordVPN – get the world's best VPN
We regularly review all the biggest and best VPN providers and NordVPN is our #1 choice. It unblocked every streaming service in testing and it's very straightforward to use. Speed, security and 24/7 support available if you need – it's got it all.

The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at $3.99 per month, and includes an extra 3 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

- So, try NordVPN 100% risk-free for 30 daysVIEW DEAL ON

Can I watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels in the UK, Canada and Australia?

Yes, Run Hide Fight: Infidels is also streaming on Daily Wire in Canada, the UK and Australia.

If you are worried online privacy or security, we highly recommend that you invest in a VPN. Our favorite, and the best value for money, is NordVPN (Save 75% and try for 30 days).

Run Hide Fight: Infidels - Cast 

• Jonathan Majors — Clayton “Clay” Saunders / Captain Saunders
• JC Kilcoyne
• Stephen Hailo — Ibrahim Asad Melod
• Tyler Aser — Lizzy Dupree
• James Bingham — P.J.
• David Lucas
• Charlotte Delaney Riggs — Farrah Abel
• Jason Gray-Stanford
• Myles Clohessy
• Chase Ramsey — Hermann
• Sharon Johal
• Paulina Alvarez
• Erin Davie
• Siaka Massaquoi
• Travis Mills

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

• A webcam and mirror replace human eyes during Radeon driver testing
• The laptop watches its own screen via a mirrored image
• Schroeder's setup targets AMD Radeon compatibility inside Omarchy Linux

Justin Schroeder, a Linux developer, built an unusual setup pairing an older Intel MacBook with a mirror and camera.

The setup uses the laptop's camera, a mirror, and its display to let the software inspect graphics changes without human checking during development.

This process was demonstrated while working on Omarchy, an open-source Linux distribution that is being adapted for Radeon graphics hardware.

A camera becomes the agent's eyes

The experiment turns the laptop's webcam into an unusual inspection tool by directing its view toward a mirror facing the display.

That reflected image gives the programming agent access to visual information about what happens after changes are made to graphics code.

Instead of relying entirely on textual output, the system can inspect visible rendering problems that appear directly on the laptop's screen.

Those problems can include distorted images, flickering displays, incorrect resolutions, or other changes that indicate graphics software is malfunctioning during testing.

The arrangement is unusual because the computer is effectively using its own camera to observe an image produced by itself.

Schroeder's demonstration concerns AMD Radeon support within Omarchy, where driver compatibility requires changes that can affect actual display output.

The camera and mirror therefore provide a physical feedback path between the software agent and the graphics hardware it is modifying during each test.

Schroeder said the agent could “see” the altered screen, giving its coding process information from direct visual feedback during testing.

Driver changes can be checked through the display

Conventional graphics driver work normally requires programmers to alter code, compile it, restart relevant services, and inspect results manually.

The experiment instead gives the AI programming agent a way to inspect the outcome after modifying, rebuilding, and testing its graphics driver code.

This means visual verification can occur directly on the physical machine rather than depending only on compiler messages or textual diagnostics.

For Radeon support, that distinction matters because successful compilation does not necessarily mean the resulting graphics output will appear correctly.

A driver may build successfully while producing visible artifacts, unstable rendering, incorrect display settings, or other problems during actual operation.

The demonstrated workflow allows the agent to identify those visual changes and use them when deciding what code requires further adjustment.

It also allows repeated testing without requiring a programmer to inspect every intermediate result produced during the graphics development cycle.

Schroeder's experiment therefore connects automated programming with direct observation of hardware output, although the available demonstration does not establish how reliably this scales.

The setup also does not show that the agent independently created an entire production-ready Radeon driver without direct human involvement.

Instead, it shows a development method where an AI system can modify driver code and receive visual information from the resulting display.

That distinction is important because driver development involves many functions that cannot be evaluated solely through what appears on one screen

• Huawei's new Kirin 9050 Pro is being called its "most powerful" all-Chinese chip tech giant has ever made
• Huawei is claiming a 55% density gain by 'folding' its chip in half and stacking it instead of shrinking the actual die
• The chip still uses US hardware and foreign technology to manufacture, including ASML scanners and pre-2022 Applied Materials and Lam Research equipment

Huawei has introduced the Kirin 9050 Pro, a mobile processor that it says is fully free of American technology.

The chip powers the Mate XT 2, the third device in the company's tri-fold line, which starts at 19,999 yuan (~$2,980), and went on sale in China on September 12 2026.

The South China Morning Post noted Huawei is reducing reliance on advanced foreign semiconductor equipment, and this might be what the state-backed AI and chip giant wanted to highlight above all else, even as it refused to mention sanctions anywhere in its own press materials.

An impressive SoC that continues to indicate a shrinking technological gap

Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei's consumer business group, said on stage that the Kirin 9050 Pro is the company's "most powerful Kirin chip ever" and, based on the performance figures, touts a 42% overall improvement over the last-gen Mate XTs' Kirin 9020.

At the chip level, it claims 24% higher peak single-core and 52% better multi-core throughput against the Kirin 9030 Pro, plus a 142% jump in graphics rendering. The nine-core LinxiCore CPU peaks at 3.1GHz, the Maleoon GPU adds hardware ray tracing, and the Da Vinci NPU runs a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model on device.

The performance figures alone aren't the only interesting thing about Huawei's new silicon offering; the Kirin 9050 Pro is the first commercial silicon built on LogicFolding, a technique Huawei semiconductor chief He Tingbo presented at IEEE ISCAS in Shanghai in May and expanded on in a signed paper.

Rather than shrinking transistors, LogicFolding splits logic across two active silicon layers bonded face to face, with roughly 50 million vertical interconnects at a pitch of about 1.5 micrometers. Because signals travel shorter distances, Huawei says it could lower operating voltage while raising density.

However, all of these figures (including performance) come directly from Huawei, with no independent verification or peer-reviewed studies. More interestingly, while the Kirin is considerably less dependent on US or Western tech, it doesn't remove it from the equation entirely, and you still have to look closely at the bill of materials for receipts.

Huawei did not announce a process node for the Kirin 9050 Pro, and that silence has been deafening in more ways than one. SemiAnalysis tore down the predecessor in June 2026 and found SMIC's third-generation 7nm process, N+3, reaching about 113 million transistors per square millimeter with no extreme ultraviolet lithography anywhere in the flow.

SMIC's process, however, still leverages ASML immersion scanners. Bloomberg reported in 2024 that SMIC built the earlier Kirin 9000s using equipment acquired from Applied Materials and Lam Research before the October 2022 export rules closed that door, and the same is still in play here.

Despite this, Huawei has come a long way since its phones were declared America-free seven years ago. A UBS and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions analysis seen by the Wall Street Journal in late 2019 found the Mate 30 Pro contained no American parts, and Huawei cybersecurity officer John Suffolk told the paper that "all of our 5G is now America-free." The Kirin 990 inside that phone, however, was fabricated by TSMC on an EUV node.

Huawei's approach, backed by the Chinese state, to essentially rid itself of US influence in the fabrication end of the spectrum remains more of an ongoing struggle than one which it has already achieved, even as it continues to push ahead in certain disciplines and erode a performance gap that industry players earlier thought would take years longer than it is now projected to.

• Ukraine’s navy has claimed victory over a Russian drone boat in the first recorded seaborne drone battle
• The exchange took place in the Black Sea
• Russia has yet to confirm that its craft was sunk by the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 closed

An unmanned Ukrainian naval vessel has destroyed a Russian drone boat in what is thought to be the first military exchange of its kind. The uncrewed vessels encountered each other in the Black Sea, with the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 destroying the enemy craft using its Protector RWS turret.

While described as a first, the claim has not yet been independently verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the date, time, or location of the engagement. In addition, Russia has so far declined to confirm whether the exchange took place, or that it lost a vessel.

The news, however, follows an increase in seaborne drone activity by Ukraine, and comes just a few months after launching the Sargan-3000 into service.

What is a Sargan-3000?

Introduced into active service in April 2026, the Sargan-3000 was described as a “multi-purpose platform” which suggests the craft can be easily modified to house weapons, sensors. The term typically indicates a design that can house mission-specific modules, and the Sargan-3000 seems to have been involved in a wide variety of missions since its commissioning.

Ukraine has expanded maritime drone operations within the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov during 2026, with 105 Russian vessels known to have been attacked in the Sea of Azov. The Sargan-3000 has been described as “highly maneuverable”, but its physical characteristics are currently unknown.

We do know, however, that it can carry a Protector RWS, itself a modular system capable of mounting various weapons systems: machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles.

A remote-controlled 12.7mm machine gun turret (possibly an M2 Browning, or an NSV) was used in the encounter with the Russian vessel.

Drone engagements

Ukraine has other unmanned sea vessels at its disposal. While the Sargan-3000 is under the Ukrainian navy, a craft called Sea Baby is used by the Security Service of Ukraine. This 6 meter long boat is believed to have a 1,000 km range, and can carry a payload of around 850 kg. It is believed to be used primarily against moored (anchored) targets, which suggests it can be deployed pretty quickly.

The Magura V5, meanwhile, is under the Defence Intelligence group. This is a shorter craft with a lighter payload and cannot manage the same range as the Sea Baby, but has a similar role.

In the most recent incident, we’re told that the Russian vessel was identified by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, clearing the Ukrainian Navy unmanned craft to engage with the enemy. An earlier incident, in July 2026, featured a similar Ukrainian vessel remotely sink a Russian craft in the Black Sea.

Taking place off Gelendzhik, the Russian border patrol ship PSKR Izumrud was a casualty of an overall strategy that has seen Ukraine force Russia’s Black Sea Fleet into retreating from Crimea.

Dead zones are one of the most common home networking complaints - especially if you're working from home. Eliminating them is exactly what Netgear's Orbi 370-series Wi-Fi 7 mesh router system did during our testing.

• Best for: Remote workers and families who need fast, reliable internet across large homes.

• The deal: The Netgear Orbi 373 mesh router system is now £249 (was £300) at Amazon

• Why we like it: This is the lowest ever price we've seen for the Orbi 373 three-pack, which was already an affordable Wi-Fi 7 pick. It performed incredibly well throughout our tests, and delivers up to 4,500 sq ft coverage and support for up to 70 devices. While not loaded with ports, there is a 2.5Gb port for fast wired connection.

• What's the catch: Like most cheaper Wi-Fi 7 setups, it's a dual-band router, so it skips the faster 6GHz band to keep costs down. But it's more than quick enough for everyday home use.

Today's best Wi-Fi 7 mesh router deal

Orbi 373 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router system: was £299.99 now £248.99
We rated this dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system 4 stars after testing, praising its simplicity and affordability. For anyone working from home and struggling with internet drop-outs, it's a lifesaver. This three-pack comes with one router with a 2.5 Gbps internet port, plus two satellites, rated up to 3.6Gbps and covering up to 4,500 sq ft. Supports up to 70 connected devices and WPA3 security.View Deal

Why we recommend it

The Orbi 373 certainly gave my office Wi-Fi a welcome boost.

In our review for the Netgear Orbi 373, we awarded it 4 stars, and it earned a TechRadar Great Value badge. It's an extremely easy system to setup at an exceptionally affordable price for a Wi-Fi 7 router.

During testing, our reviewer Cliff said: "The Orbi 373 that we tested certainly gave my office Wi-Fi a welcome boost."

It's worth quoting his experience in full here, as it gives you an idea what to expect in terms of real-world performance:

"I also have an office towards the back of the building that my old office router can’t reach at all, leaving me with an annoying Wi-Fi deadspot that means I have to use powerline adaptors to provide a wired connection instead.

The Orbi 373 immediately kicked my office Wi-Fi up a gear, hitting the maximum 150Mbps for devices in the same room for both the Ookla Speed Test and file downloads on Steam.

To reach the back office, I placed one of the satellites inside that office and the second satellite in a hallway, roughly halfway between the main router and the other satellite. And, as I wandered along the corridor to the back office with my laptop still downloading files from Steam, I was pleased to find that the Orbi held steady at 150Mbps the whole time."

The 2.5Gb internet port matters more than it might seem. Many mesh systems in this price range still cap out at Gigabit Ethernet, which bottlenecks faster broadband plans. A 2.5Gb port means the hardware will not be the limiting factor if you upgrade your internet speed later.

A three-piece system, one router and two satellites, is also the right size for most larger homes without over-buying. It is enough hardware to cover real dead zones without paying for a four- or five-unit kit most households do not need.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is an all-time low price according to Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel. Compared to other Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers, the Orbi 373 was already very affordable - as we noted in our review - so this limited time deal makes it an even better price.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Netgear Orbi 373 if...

You have a larger home with persistent Wi-Fi dead zones, you want Wi-Fi 7 hardware without paying flagship mesh pricing, or you need a 2.5Gb port to actually use a faster broadband connection.

❌ Skip the Netgear Orbi 373 if...

You need tri-band or 6GHz support for maximum future-proofing, you want full parental controls without a paid Netgear subscription, or your home is small enough that a single router already covers it.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The UK version of this system is capped at 3.6Gbps and rated for up to 4,500 sq ft, both lower than the 5Gbps and 6,000 sq ft figures quoted for the US and Australian versions of the same hardware, due to regional radio regulations. It is dual-band only, with no 6GHz support, so it will not match the raw throughput of tri-band mesh systems at this price. Full parental controls also require a paid Netgear Armor subscription, and the satellites have limited Ethernet ports, so plan your wired connections accordingly.

• Check out other network deals at Amazon

• Check Point spotted phishing emails spoofing voicemail transcript notifications, hitting 7,800+ orgs
• Malicious SVG attachments auto‑fill victim emails, redirecting to fake login pages for credential theft
• SVG format bypasses filters; businesses urged to verify notifications and treat SVGs as active content

Hackers have a new phishing lure - the automated voicemail transcript notification, and have already used it against thousands of organizations already, sending tens of thousands of malicious emails.

In a new report, security experts from Check Point Research (CPR) said they spotted an ongoing campaign that has already targeted thousands of organizations.

The goal of the campaign seems to be credential theft - grabbing access to people’s email accounts, business services, and similar.

Abusing the trends

The proliferation of AI gave rise to a new trend in the office - automated voicemail transcripts. When a person receives a voicemail, they can choose to read it instead of listening to it. Useful for a noisy workplace environment, or for emails that are too sensitive to be blasted through a speaker system. An automated system mails the transcript to the recipient’s inbox in a familiar format, and since they’re used to receiving this type of email, they’re not suspicious or skeptical enough. Their guard is lowered, which is a perfect opportunity for the attackers.

“Between August 17 and August 31, Check Point identified more than 58,000 emails tied to the campaign. The operation targeted over 7,800 organizations, leveraging more than 38,400 spoofed sender addresses across over 9,300 spoofed domains,” the researchers explained.

The emails follow a simple formula the recipients are already used to seeing. Each message’s subject line begins with “Automated transcript”, followed by a partially redacted phone number and a random tracking string. “The effect is deliberately understated: a notification that appears to have been generated by a trusted workplace system,” CPR explains.

The email domains are also spoofed in a way that makes it seem as if they’re coming from within the same organization.

SVG attachments

Every email comes with an attachment. It is designed to look like a regular call recording file, using names such as “▷ ——— 001min 09sec_….svg.” But notice the file type - SVG. This is not an audio file, it is short for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) - an image file. There are a few reasons why scammers are opting for this particular format, but the number one is that it is an XML-based document that can contain JavaScript. When a browser opens the SVG, that JavaScript can execute, redirecting victims to a spoofed login page where they’re asked to log in.

This is exactly the setup here, too. To make matters worse, since the recipient’s email address is hardcoded in the URL, the fake login form auto-fills it. When the victim opens up the SVG, they’re redirected to a login page where the “username” part is already populated, making it more personalized and credible.

Another key reason why SVG is a popular format in these attacks is that it can bypass email security systems. If scammers put a hyperlink in the email’s body, it can be scanned by the system, and sanitized if proven malicious (which it would). But without a link the only other thing a security system can check are the attachments, and there the usual suspects are .exe, .docx, or .pdf files. Very few are focusing on SVG files, as well.

Adapting to change

This campaign is a great example of how quickly attackers adapt to enterprise workflows as automation becomes more common, Check Point’s researchers have warned. In response, businesses should start treating automated notifications as signals that need to be verified - especially those when the sender appears to match the recipient’s domain.

Furthermore, businesses should define which file types and domains AI agents are allowed to access without human confirmation, and finally, they should definitely inspect SVG attachments as active content, not simply as images.

Update - Discord now says that it has implemented a fix and that services are recovering. The rest of the story remains as originally published below.

• The gaming chat service Discord appears to have gone down
• Users are reporting that the app is not loading
• Discord says there are problems affecting availability right now

Popular gaming chat service Discord appears to have gone down, with many users reporting that they are currently unable to access the app on social media.

It's unclear which regions are affected right now, but here in the UK, I can no longer open the desktop application. The mobile app seems to be functioning properly, though, and I am able to both send and receive messages for the time being.

Those in the US also appear to be having problems, with many taking to X in order to voice their frustrations.

"Discord went down as soon as I was about to text somebody," wrote one user in a post that has already racked up hundreds of likes.

Another quipped: "This is devastating for people who don't take showers."

At the beginning of this apparent outage, the official Discord status page reported that all servers were operational. It has since been updated to report an issue with "session availability" and states that the team is currently investigating.

It's unclear how long these issues will last, though I would recommend using alternative chat services for the time being until service has been fully restored.

This story is developing and will be updated shortly.

Like many people who've just installed the new iOS 27, you're probably wondering why Siri doesn't seem quite like the new all-singing, all-dancing AI assistant you were promised.

Try to strike up a conversation with it and it will still try to palm you off to ChatGPT, or just throw up a load of web links instead of answering you directly. You'd be forgiven for wondering whether Siri AI is just another failure.

Part of the problem is that Apple's terminology makes it genuinely confusing, but there's an important distinction between iOS 27's Siri and Siri AI that you need to make. Let me explain.

Installing iOS 27 gives you some new Apple Intelligence features, but it does not automatically give you the headline new Siri. The big Siri upgrade is Siri AI (Beta), which you can apply for, but requires joining a separate waitlist.

Of course, that doesn't mean you don't get anything new with iOS 27, though, so let's break it down.

(Image credit: Apple / Future)What you get in iOS 27 without joining Siri AI (Beta)

Most of the really dramatic Siri improvements aren't actually part of ordinary Siri. With iOS 27, however, you do get new Apple Intelligence features elsewhere on your iPhone.

For example, existing Writing Tools remain available without Siri AI, while iOS 27 adds things such as Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone. There's also Call Context, which can surface relevant information such as an airline confirmation code while you're on a call, improved Smart Replies, Mail suggestions and suggested polls.

Visual Intelligence is another useful AI feature that works without Siri AI. Just click and hold the Camera Control button to activate it.

Visual Intelligence is a way of asking ChatGPT, using your voice or text, about what your camera is looking at, as well as searching for similar things online using Google. You can also use it to identify plants, translate text and turn dates on posters or flyers into Calendar events.

There's an onscreen version of Visual Intelligence too, although it's a bit clunky to use. Take a screenshot with the Side + Volume Up buttons and you'll see Visual Intelligence tools appear at the bottom, including Ask, Search, Summarize, and actions such as Add to Calendar. Again, once you tap Ask, you can speak your request instead of typing it.

But these are really iOS and Apple Intelligence upgrades, rather than Siri becoming something like ChatGPT. For that you'll need the upcoming Siri AI.

(Image credit: Apple / Future)What you DON'T get until Siri AI (Beta)

With Siri AI, Apple has a long list of new capabilities it says Siri gains:

• Broad world knowledge — with proper conversational answers to general questions rather than relying so heavily on search or ChatGPT.
• Personal context — it can find things buried in your Mail, Messages, Photos and Notes apps, even from fairly natural descriptions.
• Onscreen awareness — you can ask Siri about whatever you're currently looking at without having to take a screenshot. Apple's examples include asking it to explain a diagram in your class notes or compare two reports in Files.
• Much deeper app actions — Apple gives examples including finding information and then drafting an email, or editing and sharing a set of photos.
• Real generative writing — in the new version, Siri itself can compose text from scratch, rewrite, proofread and critique writing. Without Siri AI, you're using the separate Writing Tools instead.
• Conversational history — there's an entirely new dedicated Siri app that sits on your Home screen, with conversations synced privately through iCloud so you can start on one Apple device and continue on another.
• Visual Intelligence through Siri — rather than invoking Visual Intelligence separately, you can simply ask Siri questions about what's on your screen.
• More natural speech and dictation — on supported hardware, Apple says its new on-device model gives Siri more expressive voices, customizable pace and expressiveness, and improved system-wide dictation. This is an area where Siri currently stands well behind Gemini Live and ChatGPT Voice.
• Personalized writing style — Siri can apparently learn how you communicate with different people. Apple's example is recognizing that you normally send your manager short bullet points and drafting your text accordingly.

And that's the Siri AI you don't have yet.

Join the waitlist

The good news is that you can apply to join the beta right now. Go to Settings > Siri, where you should see Siri AI (Beta) at the top of the screen. Tap Join waitlist and you'll be added to the queue. You'll get a notification when Siri AI is available for you.

There are also some major regional restrictions. Siri AI isn't currently available on iPhones or iPads in the European Union, although EU users can access it on Macs and Vision Pro. In mainland China, Siri AI isn't currently available at all for users whose Apple Account region is set to China.

Because I’m in the UK, the EU restrictions don’t apply to me. I've joined the waitlist now, so I'll be putting Siri AI through its paces as soon as Apple lets me in. Until then, if you've installed iOS 27 and wondered why Siri still feels suspiciously like the Siri you had yesterday, there's a simple explanation: it pretty much is.

Poco F9 Ultra: Two-minute review

Poco’s latest high-end phone, the Poco F9 Ultra, continues to show you don’t have to spend absolute top dollar to get the best performance — but a price increase over the previous-generation model is hard to ignore.

The F9 Ultra replaces the Poco F8 Ultra after less than a year, and with the same chipset and design, it doesn’t change too much at first glance. But look deeper, and this is a refined upgrade that boasts an enormous battery bringing multi-day power, a new 200MP main camera sensor, and some of the best speakers on any phone.

The whole package proves you don’t have to spend four figures to land a phone with top-of-the-line specs and performance. The base model with 12GB RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset costs $799 / £899 — yes, that's a $70 / £150 increase over the starting price of the F8 Ultra, but Poco did explain to TechRadar that it believes this new price remains "competitive" for the level of specs on offer. And it has a point — there are only a handful of phones offering 12GB RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset for less money (one of which is Poco's own F8 Ultra).

The F9 Ultra's massive 6.9-inch AMOLED display looks great and is capable of 185Hz refresh rates during compatible games. Gameplay is also boosted with the unusual addition of a Bose-tuned subwoofer on the back, plus you're getting dual speakers, which makes the F9 Ultra a top choice for hands-free calls and listening to podcasts without headphones (though I still can’t condone blasting music from it here are on principle).

(Image credit: Future)

As mentioned, for those after the latest Snapdragon silicon for as little money as possible, the F9 Ultra is only undercut by Poco's own F8 Ultra, or indeed the Xiaomi 17, which launched for £899 but is currently on sale for £699. But the F9 Ultra still costs a whopping $500 / £380 less than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it wipes the floor with the pricier Google Pixel 11 Pro XL when it comes to gaming.

The cherry on top is a mammoth 8,050mAh battery, one of the biggest on a flagship device available in the UK at the time of writing (September 2026). It means the F9 Ultra can last for three days with moderate use, and I found it impossible to kill in a waking day.

And lastly, aside from a slightly stingy four years of Android updates, six years of security patches to see you through to 2032 is good to see on a phone as well-rounded as this.

Poco F9 Ultra review: Price and availability

• Starts at £899 / $799 / €1,099.99
• A $70 / £150 price increase on the F8 Ultra
• Not officially available in Australia
• Still competitive considering the specs

The Poco F9 Ultra starts at $799 / £749, though the US price varies depending on the seller (the phone is not officially available through US carriers, but $799 is Poco's official US price). Official UK availability is good to see, though £749 represents a £150 increase on the F8 Ultra’s £749 starting price, and at the time of writing, the older model is on sale for £649, which is an absolute steal.

But in being equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, the F9 Ultra undercuts the Galaxy S26 Ultra — the only S26 series phone in the UK to run a Qualcomm chipset — by an almighty £380, and it's much less than the £1,279 Pixel 11 Pro XL, too, whose Tensor G6 chipset can’t hold a candle to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in terms of performance.

In fact, at £899, the F9 Ultra is the same price as the Google Pixel 11, but it offers superior gaming chops, a more expansive display, and much better battery life. That's why, despite increasing the price, Poco believes the F9 Ultra remains "competitive" in today's market — and we're inclined to agree.

• Value Score 4 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Specs

Here’s a look at the Poco F9 Ultra’s key specs:

Poco F9 Ultra

Dimensions:

163.5 x 77.9 x 8.7mm

Weight:

235g

Display:

6.9-inch AMOLED

Resolution:

1200 x 2608 

Refresh rate:

185Hz

Peak brightness:

10,000 nits

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

RAM:

12GB/16GB

Storage:

256GB/512GB/1TB

OS:

HyperOS 3, based on Android 16

Main cameras:

200MP main (f/1.7), 50MP ultra-wide (f/2.4), 50MP 5x telephoto (f/3.0)

Selfie camera:

32MP (f/2.2)

Battery:

8,050mAh

Charging:

100W wired, 50W wireless

Colors:

Dark Cherry, Black

Poco F9 Ultra review: DesignFutureFutureFuture

• Similar look to the iPhone 17 Pro
• Large but manageable device
• Sleek dark cherry colour replaces gaudy denim

The Poco F9 Ultra I reviewed is the lovely Dark Cherry option, which I prefer over the F8 Ultra’s bold but gaudy Denim Blue. Despite being a very large phone, the F9 Ultra is very comfortable to hold thanks to subtly curved aluminum side rails and a ‘Glass Fibre’ composite rear, which should be more resilient than the glass found on most rival flagship devices.

There’s also a black model if you'd prefer a safer option, with a red power button for a pop of color. The Dark Cherry variant hardly shows any fingerprints on its matte surface, and the overall look of the F9 Ultra grew on me in the weeks I was testing it, despite its obvious similarities with the iPhone 17 Pro and indeed the F8 Ultra.

The phone's four-circle camera design alongside the Bose-branded subwoofer is different enough to me, and manages to look as simplistic as possible. The F9 Ultra also doesn’t rock and wobble when used face up on a table, which is a nice touch.

Save for the one-piece volume rocker above the power button on the right edge, there isn't much else to report besides a USB-C port and speaker grilles on the top and bottom. When all is said and done, this is quite a conservative design when it’s not clad in faux denim!

• Design score: 4 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Display

(Image credit: Future)

• Large, bright 6.9-inch panel
• Up to 185Hz refresh rate in some games
• Punch-hole selfie camera

The Poco F9 Ultra’s display is excellent, with great brightness and clarity. It's a 6.9-inch 1200 x 2608 AMOLED panel that Poco claims has a peak brightness of 10,000 nits, much higher than rivals. However, it tames that claim by saying this 10,000-nit figure only applies to 1% of the display area, so a 4,500-nit “multi-scenario peak brightness” is the real figure here.

This is a good example of a brand obfuscating the real specs when it doesn’t need to. The F9 Ultra has a great screen, so Poco should lean into the actual numbers rather than fudging a fake one for marketing purposes. The display is very easy to read in bright sunlight, which is all you need to know.

Poco offers excellent granular control over display and color settings, a nod to the phone's gaming focus under the hood. You'll find ‘Original color PRO’ or ‘Vivid’ options in the settings app, which offer full custom control so you can find the right look for you. A dedicated hardware chip can even enhance video quality if you switch the ‘dual-core visuals’ toggle on. All this really does is smooth everything out, so I left it off.

The display can refresh at up to 185Hz, which is the highest I have ever tested on a phone. Most modern OLED displays achieve 120Hz with a variable rate, and some gaming phones have pushed to 144Hz or 165Hz. At the time of writing, the F9 Ultra's 185Hz rate is only available in CrossFire: Legends and Blood Strike, but you'll still get 165Hz in titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Bang Bang.

So again, what Poco should really say here is that the F9 Ultra has an excellent 120Hz display in most scenarios. That information is hard to come by in the review documents I was provided with, and most users, most of the time, will never see 185Hz unless they play the two aforementioned games daily.

I personally prefer the Pixel 11 Pro XL’s display, which I think handles white balance better and isn’t so blinding to look at, but it’s a close call, and the F9 Ultra certainly has one of the best displays for the price. It’s a great choice for a large screen and undercuts, say, the Galaxy S26 Plus by a significant margin, though the F9 Ultra's display has a slightly lower resolution.

With every conceivable display spec under the sun included here, such as HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and TÜV Rheinland certification for flicker-free viewing and blue light filtration, it’s hard to criticize the screen on this phone.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• Strong 200MP main lens
• Very capable 5x telephoto
• Ultra-wide is not the best

Poco has equipped the F9 Ultra with a pleasingly capable trio of cameras, which is led by a 200MP main lens, an upgrade on the 50MP shooter on the F8 Ultra. Shots are binned down to 12.5MP by default, though 50MP and 200MP settings can be toggled on.

In the default mode, shots look excellent, offering most of the color and mood I personally like from Xiaomi phones such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and 17T Pro, though Poco does not have the same Leica partnership or photo filters here.

Apart from a few times where colors looked wildly oversaturated, I really liked the output from the F9 Ultra. It has an artistic, filmic quality that many phones abandon in 2026 in favor of sharpened, contrast-heavy looks. The main camera is better than that of the regular Galaxy S26, which retails for $899 / £879, $100 / £20 less than the Poco.

It’s great to see a 5x optical zoom lens here too, mirroring what you’ll find on the Xiaomi 17T Pro and beating the S26’s 3x optical lens handily. Images are crisp thanks to optical image stabilization (OIS), and shooting in portrait mode at 5x makes for some great street photography. The F9 Ultra is also a phone that’ll come in handy when you’re sitting up in row Z at your next Harry Styles concert thanks to digital zoom up to 100x, though things look patchy after 30x.

The 50MP ultra-wide lens is the weakest of the three cameras, but that’s usually the case on triple-lens phones. In broad daylight, images are very usable, but without OIS, the smaller sensor size shows its limitations in low light, with noise and grain.

The 32MP selfie shooter is solid for solo and group snaps, and works as you’d expect for video calls.

Speaking of video, the main lens can record at up to 4K at 60fps, or even 8K at 30fps. 4K 60fps is great to see, though the Snapdragon chipset here is probably capable of 4K 120fps, like you’ll find on the aforementioned Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the cheaper 17T Pro. This is a case of Poco limiting its hardware’s capabilities in software, which is a shame, even if most users won’t notice.

That said, the camera app is fully featured and well designed, with an accomplished Pro mode offering the ability to shoot in RAW for those who want to edit images later on their computer.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Camera samplesFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFuturePoco F9 Ultra review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is still excellent
• Nothing slows this thing down
• Bose audio is fun but not a gamechanger

Performance is where Poco phones really shine, and the F9 Ultra is the most performant Poco phone yet. Its flagship-level specs include the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, though this is the same chipset as you'll find in the F8 Ultra. Poco explained this decision to us, so you can see if you agree with the firm's reasoning, but it does appear as though the launch of the F9 series was brought forward this year, because Poco has opted to not use the next-generation flagship Snapdragon chipset, which is usually unveiled in October.

The base $799 / £899 F9 Ultra comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, though there are also 512GB and 1TB storage options available, each offering 16GB RAM. Poco sent me the latter for review, which retails for £1,199 — notably less than the 12GB/256GB Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is £1,279. So, despite some price rises, Poco is still delivering value here for those after the very best specs for the money.

Performance follows, too. I could not get the F9 Ultra to stutter, even when playing Genshin Impact with the settings maxed out — the Pixel 11 Pro XL, by contrast, can’t even load the game.

The impressive thing about the F9 Ultra is its sustained performance under load. Where rival phones can stutter after half an hour or so on Call of Duty: Mobile, the Poco soldiers on (pun intended) without breaking a sweat. The phone didn't overheat once during my time testing it, presumably thanks to the built-in cooling system that Poco says reduces strain on the CPU.

Audio is great thanks to two stereo speakers and the addition of a subwoofer next to the cameras. This is tuned by Bose thanks to a partnership, and promises deeper bass and a wider soundstage. Compared to the Pixel 11 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, the Poco F9 Ultra sounds much fuller when playing music out loud or listening to gaming audio, though I don’t think this is a reason to buy the phone. The Bose partnership improves audio slightly, but you will still want headphones connected via Bluetooth for most things.

Now that you can no longer buy the identically priced OnePlus 15 in the US or UK (RIP), the F9 Ultra would have been your best bet for Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-level power, but the previous-gen F8 Ultra offers incredibly similar performance and is available at the time of publication for £649.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Software

(Image credit: Future)

• HyperOS 3 based on Android 16 at launch
• Some AI tools require account sign in
• Four years of Android updates, six of security

The F9 Ultra gets Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3 Android skin, which at launch is based on Android 16, rather than the latest version, 17. Poco says the phone will get four platform updates, presumably to Android 20, and six years of security updates to keep buyers going until 2032.

HyperOS changes the look of Android to feel a little more like the iPhone’s iOS, but that’s no bad thing as it is perfectly functional, if a little cluttered at times. It’s a shame to see bloatware installed on a phone of this price, with AliExpress, Amazon Music, TikTok, and a few others pre-installed, but they can all be removed.

Going the way of iOS, notifications are a swipe from the left while quick settings are from the right. After I’d wrangled the software a bit during setup, I got it looking cleaner with more icons per row and fewer folders full of apps that are initially presented.

What is thankfully not shoved in your face is AI, even though there is a lot of it on board. There’s a whole section in the settings app called Xiaomi HyperAI, which directs you to Google’s built-in Gemini platform, as well as Xiaomi’s own branded AI tools.

(Image credit: Future)

AI Dynamic Wallpapers, AI Writing to generate text, AI Speech Recognition to transcribe audio, AI subtitles for videos — AI everything! In the Gallery app, there are some capable AI editing tools, including a beautify mode that works well. But others, such as an Ultra HD toggle or an Expand feature to generate images, require you to sign in to a Xiaomi account within the settings app.

HyperOS is visually quite different to Google’s Android flavor on the Pixel or the now-barely-seen ‘stock’ Android look, but I’ve warmed to it in recent months. It’s perfectly functional, and mercifully lets you swipe down on notifications to expand them, unlike on fellow Xiaomi stablemate Redmi’s phones.

The software is also very responsive on this hardware. Menus flow, and apps open instantly. I saw and felt no difference between the F9 Ultra and other, more expensive Android flagship phones. It feels faster than Samsung’s S26 series in many ways, though that could be down to Samsung’s slower default animations.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Poco F9 Ultra review: Battery

(Image credit: Future)

• Two- to three-day battery life
• 100W fast charging but no charger in UK box
• 50W wireless and 27W reverse wired charging

The F9 Ultra has a whopping 8,050mAh silicon-carbon battery. This new tech means phone makers can put higher-density batteries in phones than they could with lithium-ion, resulting in devices of the same physical thickness that last for much longer. Using the F9 Ultra as my main phone for more than a week, I consistently got two days of use out of it, sometimes stretching into a third day’s morning.

That’s seriously good longevity, made even more impressive by the phone’s flagship specs. It’s capable of 100W wired charging, but there is frustratingly no charger in the box for UK buyers. I tested the charging speed of the F9 Ultra using a Vivo 100W charging brick with the ‘Top Speed’ charging setting turned on.

The phone went from dead to 100% in 95 minutes, which is impressive for a battery of this size, and it got to 27% in 15 minutes. You’ll have to fork out for a compatible fast charger, which is a little galling when you’re laying down at least $799 / £899.

The phone also has 50W wireless charging — faster than the S26 Ultra can do via a wired connection (45W) — and can even be used as a power bank for other devices thanks to 27W wired reverse charging and 22.5W reverse wireless charging.

A few phones on the market go for longer, like the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max, but the Poco F9 Ultra gets top marks here for stonking battery life paired with top-tier specs.

Here are the phone's charging speed results broken down:

• In 15 minutes: 27%
• In 30 minutes: 46%
• 0-50%: 33 minutes
• 0-100%: 95 minutes

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Poco F9 Ultra?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The Poco F9 Ultra offers top specs for a lower price than many of its competitors, but the F8 Ultra has the same chip for less.

4/5

Design

While a refinement on the F8 Ultra, the design is sleek and is as manageable to hold as large phones get.

4/5

Display

A superlative 185Hz display that usually tops out at 120Hz, save for some games. Great peak brightness and extensive customization options.

5/5

Software

HyperOS 3 is a mature and easy to use software skin, though launching on the older Android 16 stings. AI stays out the way if you want it to, which is a win.

4/5

Cameras

Very capable triple cameras led by a 200MP main sensor are a year-over-year upgrade, though they rank a tier below the very best on the market. Still excellent in this price range, though.

4/5

Performance

Incredible performance thanks to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and up to 16GB RAM. Sustained performance under load is notably great thanks to strong thermal management. An exemplary gaming phone.

5/5

Battery

Some of the best battery life on a phone with flagship specs thanks to enormous silicon-carbon cell and fast charging, though no charger in the box (in the UK).

5/5

Buy it if...

You want the best battery life on a flagship phone
Two days of battery life with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phone is possible with this phone; you may even get three days with careful use. This is the best you can get in the UK with these specs.

You want top gaming performance
No game can bring this thing down. If you fire up triple-A mobile games every day, the F9 Ultra should be at the top of your shopping list.

You want a great, large display
There aren’t many better displays on a smartphone. It’s best suited to mobile gamers, but the 6.9-inch size is strangely manageable thanks to good handset design.

Don't buy it if...

You want to spend as little as possible on these specs
Poco sells a very similar product for less in the F8 Ultra, which is still on sale.

You want the best cameras in this price range
While very capable, you can get better cameras on the Xiaomi 17T Pro for less.

Poco F9 Ultra review: Also consider

The Poco F9 Ultra is a strong phone in its price range, but there are a couple of similarly priced options worth considering alongside it:

Xiaomi 17T Pro
This phone has very similar specs to the Poco and costs £100 less. It lacks the Snapdragon chip, but has better-tuned cameras and longer software support.

Read our full Xiaomi 17T Pro review

Oppo Find X9 Pro
A phone with noticeably better cameras and very comparable performance is on sale at the time of writing for £899, the same price as the F9 Ultra.

Read our full Oppo Find X9 Pro review

Poco F9 Ultra

Xiaomi 17T Pro

Oppo Find X9 Pro

Price:

$799 / £899

£799

£1,099 (£899 on sale)

Display:

6.9-inch OLED

6.83-inch OLED

6.82-inch OLED

Cameras:

200MP main; 50MP ultra-wide; 50MP 5x telephoto

50MP main; 12MP ultra-wide; 50MP 5x telephoto

200MP main; 50MP ultra-wide; 200MP 3x telephoto; 50MP 10x telephoto

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

MediaTek Dimensity 9500

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Battery:

8,050mAh

7,000mAh

7,050mAh

How I tested the Poco F9 Ultra

• Review test period: Two weeks
• Testing included: Everyday use with messaging, web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music streaming
• Tools used: Geekbench 6, 3DMark

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

I tested the Poco F9 Ultra over the course of two weeks, using it as my main phone with my main SIM card for a week, and as a secondary phone on other days. I used it to make calls, send WhatsApp messages, take video calls, play mobile games, stream podcasts and music, and take scores of photos.

I tested the performance of the phone’s display, chipset, cameras, and battery life for this review, comparing results with Poco’s claims as well as my decade of experience reviewing Android smartphones professionally. I’ve used many of the most recent Android flagship devices the F9 Ultra is gunning for.

I also ran benchmark tests using the Geekbench 6 and 3DMark apps to qualify my performance assessments of the phone.

Read more about how we test here.

• First tested September 2026

As summer fades and fall approaches, it's the perfect time to take a step back, assess your workspace, and add some items for elevated focus and comfort. A functional, clear, and relaxing work environment can shift our daily mindset – so I've curated six seasonal additions for my own home office space.

This isn't a start-from-scratch list; you'll find no desk or office chair recommendations here. Instead, I offer considered pieces, each selected to bring refined warmth to your everyday routines.

These are all items I'll personally be adding to my desk in the coming weeks. I hope they bring a touch of comfort and a sense of luxury to your workday, too.

Yajishsjaz Hammered Decorative Gold Tray

blomus Kumi Stoneware Mug

Riedel Veloce Crystal Water Glass

Salt & Stone Salt & Stone Coconut & Soy Blend Scented Candle

Bose Bose Quietcomfort Ultra Headphones

YSAGi Leather Desk Mat

• Five-sixths of a financial advisor's time is spent doing prep and admin
• Claude for Financial Advisors is an assistant that sits on top of existing tools
• Anthropic is offering a one-time usage credit to new Enterprise customers

Just days after rival company OpenAI announced its own upgrades targeting the financial services, Anthropic has lifted the wraps off Claude for Financial Advisors.

It adds a layer of connectors and pre-built workflows on top of Claude designed to support wealth management and financial advice firms, giving them quicker and more direct access to the relevant research and data.

According to the company, financial advisors currently only spend around one-sixth of their time in client meetings, with the rest of their time largely taken up by preparing and researching.

Claude could speed up five-sixths of a financial advisor's work

The idea is that Claude for Financial Advisors sits on top of the firm's existing stack, acting as a hub to pull everything together. An advisor could ask something like 'prepare me for my 2pm client review' and the assistant will pull in relevant context as well as wrap up a meeting with notes and follow-up tasks.

Addepar, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Envestnet, iCapital, Orion, SS&C Black Diamond, Wealthbox, Wealth.com, Vanguard and Zocks are among the first connectors being added to the tool.

The benefits are two-fold, both in terms of productivity but also what firms can do with that unlocked time, as Anthropic explains: "Practices can expand their customer base, and offer more of the services they need, like tax, estate, insurance, and retirement planning."

The company stressed that its assistant is intended to support, not replace, advisors, by handling the repetitive administrative work and giving them time to do what they trained for.

While the tool is available as a plugin now, the Claude maker suggests that Enterprise plans may be better suited to the financial sector in general because of the additional audit logging.

Finally, the company is also offering a one-time usage credit to new customers requesting a license before the end of September.

• IGN asked Valve if the RAM crisis would impact the Steam Deck 2
• Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais said "not really", but added: "It's just a matter of looking at the current conditions and seeing how and when we can deliver"
• This is effectively saying that the spec won't be compromised, but the release timeframe might slide

Valve is sticking with its plan for the Steam Deck 2 in terms of ensuring that the sequel will be a proper generational leap compared to the existing handheld.

IGN interviewed Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais (along with Jeff Leinbaugh) and brought up the subject of whether the RAM crisis – which appears to be intensifying in an unpleasant manner as this year rolls on – would affect the Steam Deck 2.

When asked if the memory supply shortage had changed Valve's plans for the sequel of the Steam Deck, Griffais said "not really", adding "We've talked before about how we want to make sure there's a very delineated performance improvement for something like a future Steam Deck, and I think we're still looking at it in the same way."

Griffais continued: "It's just a matter of looking at the current conditions and seeing how and when we can deliver something like that. But from what we're working on, as far as the user experience goes and what the product that we're trying to build goes, it's very similar goals."

In other words, Valve still wants to make the Steam Deck 2 a major leap in handheld performance, and the only thing that pricier components (not just system RAM, but other elements of the device) will mean is that the "when" of the delivery timing might be altered.

So, I read this as essentially hinting that the release timeframe could be pushed back, but ultimately the spec of any Steam Deck sequel is not going to be messed with due to any component price rises.

Analysis: value is more important than timing

(Image credit: Valve)

I think this is a sensible stance. Having clearly laid out its stall from the get-go, shortly after the launch of the Steam Deck, in terms of making the sequel a considerably more powerful handheld, Valve can't go back on that really.

Well, it could, but it wouldn't be a good look, and I think this is basically what Griffais is getting at with that key "how and when we can deliver" comment. The Steam Machine being released at a less-than-ideal price hasn't done Valve's reputation any favors, and a lot of gamers have been seriously disappointed with the end result in terms of value there. I don't think that Valve can take the risk of a repeat performance with the Steam Deck 2, as that'd further erode the goodwill of gamers.

Personally, I'd prefer Valve to wait until after the RAM crisis has (mostly) blown over before introducing the Steam Deck sequel – even if that means a long delay, and the memory shortage continues for the rest of this decade (as some are predicting). I'd rather have a performant handheld with a palatable price tag – and wait however long that may take – than something that's expensive arriving sooner.

It sounds like Valve is very much thinking along those same lines, perhaps not surprisingly given that RAM-driven price hikes have reportedly had quite a negative impact on Steam Deck sales in recent times.

• PUBG: Dednet was revealed at Gamescom 2026
• The upcoming shooter has roguelike elements and crazy abilities
• Creative director Dave Curd says the game is meant to bring the franchise "to an audience that hasn't historically connected with it."

Upcoming PUBG: Battlegrounds spinoff Dednet is intended to bring the franchise to a whole new audience. Revealed at Gamescom 2026, Dednet is a multiplayer shooter with a smattering of roguelike elements.

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at the show, creative director Dave Curd explained how Dednet fits into the wider battle royale franchise.

"We're already getting into what PUBG is as an IP and what makes PUBG, PUBG," he said. "For me, it's not necessarily a closing circle or a level three helmet. PUBG is desperate survival. It's a dark sense of humour. It's survival of the fittest.

"Dednet is kind of my attempt at spreading the gospel of PUBG to an audience that hasn't historically connected with it."

Curd also said that the game is being "developed console first" with matches that unfold at a much faster pace. "We're faster, leaner, and meaner, taking more fights and coming back."

Persistence is an important part of the formula too, with each match progressing you in a way that carries forward into the next.

He continued: "Between every match, you're gaining crazy abilities like sliding like a snake or having blade hands, and you're also gaining funny injuries like fumbling your weapon or sneezing in smoke. All on your way to chase a perfect build."

He described the team's overall mission as "to create an unhinged, f***** up adult sandbox" that allows "players [to] tell interesting stories."

In the same interview, the creative director also touched on how the '90s-inspired multiplayer shooter stands out with its zany abilities and unique style.

Although there's no official release date yet, players can pre-register for the closed beta now for an early taste of the action.

Amazon has announced that its Prime Big Deal Days sale will return for another year, effectively kicking off the Black Friday sales season on October 6 - 7.

• Browse all early deals at Amazon

The event is similar to its regular Prime Day sale in the middle of the year, with 48 hours of deals exclusively available for Prime members. Whether it's your first time hearing about it or you're a regular, I've brought together everything you need to know.

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 — key info

(Image credit: Amazon)

When is it? October 6 - 7
What is it? A 48-hour sale exclusively for Prime members
Who's involved? Expect deals on Kindles, Blink, Ring, Fire TV, Shark, Ninja, Lego, Braun, and many more.

As we've come to see over the last few years, Amazon has hosted the Prime Big Deal Days sale mainly as a teaser of what to expect from the retailer's full Black Friday sale in November. While it's not made up of all the exact same deals, many products do pop up again in the later sale, which can help you plan any spending you want to do.

In its announcement, Amazon has confirmed several featured brands, including Lego, Shark, Braun, Anker, and many more, with new deals promised across tech, home, fashion, toys, and essentials each day. It's almost guaranteed that many of its own-brand tech will feature in the sale, too, such as Blink, Ring, Fire TV, and Kindle.

Even with recent price hikes, I'm hopeful that we'll at least see a few products down to record-low prices in the sale — or at least the cheapest we've seen them so far this year. That'll be more likely with Amazon products, though, so I wouldn't expect any out-of-this-world bargains on RAM or storage, for example. Sorry to dash any hopes.

Still, there should be some strong deals available in some categories — and we'll be here to bring you all of the very best ones we recommend right here at TechRadar. And if you want to be prepped for the sale, new subscribers can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime.

Reports that cameras intended for Royal Navy drones contained Chinese-made components sending “heartbeat” signals to China sound like the opening of a spy thriller. The reality is more mundane, but arguably more useful as a warning.

There is currently no evidence that Ministry of Defence data, imagery or classified systems were accessed or exfiltrated. Routine cyber testing reportedly identified third-party camera components sending automated heartbeat communications to an IP address in China, after which internet connectivity to the affected camera subsystems was removed and the vulnerabilities closed.

So, based on what we know today, this is not a story about confirmed data theft. It is a story about something potentially much more widespread. How little organizations can know about what is happening several layers down in their technology supply chains.

When insignificant data becomes intelligence

A heartbeat signal sounds fairly innocuous. A device is effectively saying: “I’m alive.”

The danger is assuming that because the data looks insignificant, it has no intelligence value.

Basic telemetry can potentially disclose device presence, uptime and temporal patterns. You could see when something comes online, how long it remains active and whether there are patterns in when it is being used.

None of that necessarily tells you much in isolation. Intelligence, however, rarely comes from one perfect piece of information. It comes from joining lots of apparently insignificant pieces together.

Combine those signals with OSINT, SIGINT, routing metadata or knowledge of exercises and deployments and they could potentially contribute to a much richer picture.

That does not mean this incident exposed Royal Navy locations, personnel or operational movements. There is no public evidence to support that conclusion.

But it shows the question is more than “Did sensitive information leave the system?” We also need to ask “What could somebody infer from the information that did?”

With cameras and other connected sensors, there is another consideration. If you discover an unexpected external communications path, you need to understand what it can do. What has already travelled across it is only part of the picture. You also need to know what the component could potentially transmit.

‘Buy British’ misses the point

The instinctive response to supply-chain concerns is often greater sovereignty. But telling defense companies to simply “buy British” misunderstands how modern technology is built. Pull apart a supposedly trusted product and the processors, cameras, communications modules, microcontrollers and firmware inside it may originate from suppliers scattered around the world.

Modern defense capability has effectively become a giant systems-integration exercise conducted across global technology supply chains.

Defense organizations may have a strong understanding of their Tier One suppliers. However, visibility can deteriorate considerably at Tier Two, Tier Three and beyond, precisely where specialist manufacturers, smaller technology providers and software dependencies enter the system.

You can perform assurance to the nth degree. The problem is doing it across every component in every system without making innovation painfully slow and expensive.

That is particularly difficult for startups. Switching from a commercial component to a sovereign or trusted alternative can mean higher costs and longer lead times, but also hardware redesign, software changes, testing and recertification.

Ukraine has changed the economics

This tension is becoming more important because modern conflict is simultaneously pushing defense towards technologies that benefit from rapid commercial development.

Ukraine has demonstrated the military value of relatively inexpensive unmanned systems that can be produced, modified and replaced quickly. They do not eliminate the need for sophisticated missiles or high-end platforms, but they are changing the economics of warfare.

Future militaries will need exquisite capability, but they will also need technology that can be manufactured at scale and adapted rapidly as battlefield conditions change.

Commercial off-the-shelf components help make that possible.

That creates a fundamental tension at the heart of strategic autonomy. The global technology ecosystem that allows defense companies to innovate quickly and relatively cheaply can create exactly the dependencies governments are attempting to reduce.

Scrutinize what can see, think and communicate

Risk should be determined by what a component can actually do, not simply which country appears on the label.

The questions I would ask are: what can it see? What can it do? Can it communicate independently? Can its behavior be changed?

A connected, programmable camera warrants considerably greater scrutiny than a passive component. Cameras, radios, sensors and communications modules deserve particular attention because they can collect or process information, run firmware and potentially create communications paths of their own.

Programmable sub-components are another area of concern because their behavior can potentially be altered through software or firmware.

As defense moves further into AI, the same principle will increasingly need to extend beyond physical hardware. Assurance will need to consider where models came from, what data they depend on, who can update them and how their integrity is maintained.

Design for things you cannot see

Supply-chain assurance should not be the only defense. Architecture matters too. If a component does not need internet access, why give it internet access?

If a camera only needs to communicate with another system locally, restrict it to that. Network segmentation, telemetry suppression, tightly controlled communications paths and air-gapping where appropriate can all reduce the consequences of unexpected behavior.

There is also a strong argument for a shared repository of vetted components from trusted manufacturers and vendors. This could include a Bill of Materials (BOM): a formal, nested inventory of software and hardware components. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) promotes BOMs to improve supply-chain security, increase transparency and accelerate vulnerability management.

But such a repository cannot become a static approved shopping list. Firmware changes. Manufacturers substitute components. Vulnerabilities emerge. Supply chains move. Trust must therefore be continuously maintained rather than awarded once. This ongoing assurance is ultimately what identified the Royal Navy issue.

Perfect knowledge and assurance of every component is neither realistic nor economically viable if it makes defense innovation impossibly slow.

What we need instead is explicit, risk-based assurance of trusted manufacturers and vendors. Understand which components and software present the greatest threat, scrutinize them accordingly, and use architectural controls and ongoing assurance to reduce exposure elsewhere.

Strategic autonomy goes far beyond where a platform was assembled or which flag sits above the company that built it. What this incident highlights is the risk when an unvetted external communications path exists inside technology intended for a military platform. Sometimes good cybersecurity comes down to asking the simplest question: why is this thing talking to the internet at all?

We've featured the best endpoint protection software.

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

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