TechRadar News

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feature practical web-swinging
• It's the first time it's been used in one of the webslinger's solo MCU movies
• Marvel fans think a Wolverine foe might join the film's extensive rogues gallery

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is bringing back one of the best aspects of the Andrew Garfield-led films – but some fans are more concerned about yet another villain who might appear in the Marvel movie.

With filming in full, erm, swing on the wallcrawler's next big-screen outing in Glasgow, which is being used as a stand-in for New York City (NYC), Spider-Man devotees have flocked to the Scottish city to catch a glimpse of the fan-favorite superhero. Just days into the Marvel Phase 6 film's lengthy shoot, we've got confirmation that it'll feature the long-overdue return of practical web-swinging.

A post shared by Movies Effects (@movies.effects)

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As you'll see from the fan-shot footage above – thanks to Movie Effects for rounding up said footage into a single video – at least one Brand New Day set-piece will include Spidey physically swinging through NYC.

Here's another angle, courtesy of YouTube user Jack Lewis, of one of Spider-Man 4's action sequences being filmed:

Practical web-swinging was used in Garfield's two outings as the iconic webhead. However, that changed when Tom Holland's version of the character was introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.

Since then, Spider-Man's solo movies and appearances in the two latest Avengers flicks have featured CGI recreations of Peter Parker's alter-ego swinging through his home city. Thankfully, Brand New Day director Daniel Destin Cretton wants to bring back that feeling of Spidey traversing NYC as practically as possible. That's a far cry from Jon Watts' stance on the matter, with the filmmaker behind the hero's first three MCU movies telling Collider that physical web-swinging is "boring" and "looks dumb".

Is Spider-Man 4 teasing a Silver Samurai appearance or an armored Mr. Negative?

Hugh Jackman's iconic mutant faced a version of Silver Samurai in 2013's The Wolverine movie (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

As you'd expect, most Marvel fans are delighted to see practical web-swinging return in Brand New Day. There's a small contingent, though, who are fiercely debating the potential appearance from Silver Samurai, a villain more commonly associated with iconic X-Men character Wolverine, is Spider-Man's fourth standalone MCU flick.

Yesterday (August 5), screenshots of the Pinterest account owned by Brand New Day costume designer Monica Avitto showed an image album labeled 'Spider-Man'. In it, numerous photographs of ancient Japanese attire can be seen, including samurai armor, Edo period hachi-gane, and ninja-inspired costumes.

Monica Avitto, the costume prop modeler for ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’, has created a moodboard for the film’s villain. pic.twitter.com/unYZGfRy9SAugust 5, 2025

Predictably, some observers immediately suggested that Silver Samurai is set to appear. After all, this villain is the most recognizable shogunate-influenced character in Marvel Comics, so it has to be him, right?

If you believe a fair number of commentators on this Reddit thread, yes – but not everyone thinks that'll be the case. Indeed, some think Mister Negative, a relatively recent addition to Spider-Man's rogues gallery who's rumored to make his live-action debut in Brand New Day, is the reason for Avitto's research. As Redditor Strong_Salad3460 rightly points out in the aforementioned thread: "It couldn't possibly have anything to do with Mr. Negative and the Inner Demons [the name of Mr. Negative's gang] who are known to wear Samurai inspired masks and wield katanas."

Until Marvel and/or Sony give us more official details, or more set leaks hit the internet, this debate will rage on for a while yet. But, what do you think? Could we see Silver Samurai in Spider-Man 4? Or is an armored Mr. Negative going to show up instead? Let me know in the comments.

For now, read my dedicated guide on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and check out the section below for the latest news on one of next year's most exciting new movies, which arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026.

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• Spider-Man: Brand New Day behind the scenes look appears to confirm two of the Marvel movie's villains – and a possible Venom cameo

Our sister site Tom's Hardware has long been one of the premier online destinations for news, reviews and analysis around the PC and semiconductor industry – and it's now had a major upgrade to make it even better.

For a small fee, Tom's Hardware Premium will offer members a wealth of extra content including exclusive features and interviews, hardware roadmaps and the new member-only newsletter Uptime.

You'll also get access to the site's new Bench feature; this is a seriously powerful new benchmarking tool that covers categories such as CPUs, GPUs, and laptops and that enables readers to explore individual test results and directly compare products.

What's more, the brand's commitment to free-to-consume tech journalism remains; nothing that already exists on the site is being put behind the paywall, and Tom's Hardware reviews will remain free.

How much will all of this goodness cost? A mere $69 for a one-year subscription right now as an introductory offer.

"For nearly three decades, Tom’s Hardware has served the enthusiast community with authoritative advice and insights based on years of experience and in-depth knowledge, and testing," says Paul Alcorn, Interim Editor-in-Chief, Tom’s Hardware. "Now we aim to take it to the next level"

"Think of our subscription service as a backstage pass that will give you a new level of access and insight into the inner workings of the tech world. Our Tom’s Hardware Premium subscription will provide you with even deeper analysis and perspective on the latest news and features, along with access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date benchmarking database available.

"This service will ultimately enable us to invest more time in the painstaking analysis and data collection that define our brand, while also enabling us to expand the scope and depth of our coverage, bringing you along with us as we explore the latest and greatest in the industry.

"We’re incredibly excited to launch Tom’s Hardware Premium and share it with the community that’s been with us every step of the way. We can’t wait for you to experience what we’ve been building and to continue shaping the future of Tom’s Hardware with you."

Tom's Hardware Premium has launched in Beta mode today, and to give it a look you can sign up here.

Tom's Hardware Premium: what you get

(Image credit: Future)

• Dedicated news analysis
• Exclusive features & interviews
• Uncut Q&A sessions with industry execs
• Access to Uptime, a brand-new member newsletter
• Unlocked access to Bench, a tool built on TH's benchmarking database

• PBS confirms a data leak affecting almost 4,000 people
• Someone shared a database on Discord, apparently to act "cool"
• The potential for abuse is there, so users should beware

Iconic US television network PBS has been hacked, and lost valuable contact information on its employees and affiliates.

However, the attack doesn’t seem to have been done out of malice, but rather curiosity, and the desire to be “cool”.

Recently, a database started circulating on Discord servers, allegedly containing PBS corporate contact information. The database was not present on any dark web forums, data extortion sites, or anything similar, but was being shared on a channel “PBS Kids”, where fans of PBS children’s shows get together to chat.

"Rebellious curiosity"

BleepingComputer investigated the database, and confirmed it contained information on almost 4,000 PBS employees and affiliates.

It came in the form of a JSON file, with each record containing an employee name, corporate email, title, timezone, department, location, job function, hobbies, and the name of the supervisor.

PBS confirmed the authenticity of the leak, saying young adults, teenagers, and kids, are sharing it “more out of a sense of novelty, rebellious curiosity, or simply to gain a bit of notoriety within their peer groups."

"It's less about exploiting the data for financial gain and more about the 'cool factor' of possessing it,” the company said.

That doesn’t mean the archives can’t be picked up by actual malicious actors and used for devastating phishing attacks.

PBS seems to be well aware of the potential for abuse, and has reached out to affected individuals to warn them about potential attacks, scams, and incoming fraud.

PBS, or Public Broadcasting Service, is a non-profit, public television network in the United States. It doesn’t produce shows itself, but rather distributes content created by member stations and independent producers.

One of its most famous programs is Sesame Street which, in the meantime, migrated to HBO and Max.

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• Windows 10's Game Bar has reportedly been hit with a nasty bug
• The Game Bar crashes when trying to access its options
• For those with Ryzen 3D V-Cache CPUs, this means they can't properly configure them for the best gaming performance

Gamers running Windows 10 with a high-end AMD Ryzen 3D V-Cache processor are suffering at the hands of an apparent bug that messes with the Game Bar, and hampers these chips as a result.

German tech site PC Games Hardware (PCGH) reports (via Neowin) that there's a problem with Windows 10 whereby the Game Bar - an overlay that carries a bunch of useful game-related settings - is crashing when you access the options to configure the mentioned Ryzen CPUs properly with any given game.

Top-end Ryzen X3D chips with 12 or 16 cores (like the Ryzen 9900X3D or 9950X3D) have two chiplets, only one of which has the 3D V-Cache on top (that boosts gaming performance). So, to ensure these run PC games with the fastest possible frame rates, it's necessary to manually flag them as a game (ticking 'Remember this is a game') in said options.

If the Game Bar crashes when trying to access the options, obviously, you can't do this, and therefore, those encountering this bug are having their games run sub-optimally on these particular chips.

Note that it is only 12 and 16-core X3D models - the 8-core versions of 3D V-Cache CPUs are fine, as they don't have two chiplets, and the cache applies to all their cores (and obviously other Ryzen processors don't have any of this game-boosting cache, anyway). Further note that the Game Bar itself works fine; it's just clicking on the options that causes a crash to happen.

An editor at PCGH claims that they were hit by this bug - even reinstalling Windows 10 didn't help as a possible (drastic) cure - and other gamers on the website's forum also reported the same experience.

Notably, these were people not running Windows 10 Home, but Windows 10 Pro or an enterprise version (which some PC enthusiasts are using for the longer support timeframe).

However, Neowin, which picked up on this report, also says it could reproduce the problem, though it doesn't specify which version of Windows 10 was running in this case. (And given that, I imagine it's not Home - as they would have said - but Windows 10 Pro most likely).

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Analysis: Whispers about 'sabotage'

Okay, so these are just scattered reports at the moment, and it seems, though we can't confirm, that Windows 10 Home isn't affected. This is a niche problem, then - specific to heavyweight Ryzen X3D CPUs and Windows 10 Pro or enterprise versions - but there are enough reports for it to be worrying.

Is this just a temporary glitch that's crept in with a recent version of the Game Bar, one that Microsoft will iron out? Possibly, but we've not even had confirmation of the bug yet, so we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Whatever the case, it's more fuel to the fire for those suggesting, without proof, that Microsoft is somehow quietly sabotaging Windows 10 as its End of Life comes near, in an effort to cajole those diehards sticking with the older OS to upgrade to Windows 11 (this comes on top of those recent accusations of tech extortion you may recall, too).

I don't think that any kind of 'sabotage' is afoot here, but at the same time, with Windows 10 about to slide into irrelevance come October 2025, there are certainly fewer reasons for Microsoft to worry about keeping the OS fully in shape for all users - and less impetus in general to investigate more niche issues like this apparent Game Bar-breaking bug.

For now, we'll just have to watch this space - and, obviously, this isn't a problem on Windows 11, in case you didn't guess already that.

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• Roku has launched a new paid-for streaming service
• Howdy was made available on August 5, 2025, in the US
• It costs $2.99 a month and is only accessible via the Roku platform for now

Roku has launched a new ad-free streaming service that lets you access 10,000 hours of movies and TV shows for just $2.99 per month.

The new service was made available to those in the US on August 5, 2025, and while Roku operates its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) – The Roku Channel – in other regions around the world, it's not yet clear whether the ad-free version will launch elsewhere.

The new streaming service is "priced at less than a cup of coffee," Roku's founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement alongside the announcement, where he also clarified that although it's cheaper than Netflix, Disney+, and other rivals, it's "designed to complement, not compete with, premium services".

Despite Wood's comments, the aggressively cheap pricing of the ad-free platform does mean it technically does rival the best streaming services. With content from Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Original titles, the new service does have a competitive offering at an attractive price point.

Of course, many can still access The Roku Channel to watch live TV channels, and its library of on-demand movies and shows via Roku-supported devices or the Roku app or website. As one of the best free streaming services, it is one of the most popular FAST services around. But Howdy offers a way to access this same content and more without having to put up with ads.

How to watch movies and shows on Howdy

Howdy will be accessible on the Roku platform at launch, which means if you have one of the best streaming devices or best TVs that support the Roku operating system (OS) then you'll be able to access the new service.

Roku has said that it plans to roll out the service on mobile and additional platforms in the "near future," but has not clarified how soon that might be, so for the moment, you'll only be able to try it out on select devices.

I haven't been able to try out the service yet myself to confirm what's available to watch, but Roku has said that Howdy's library will include some of its original content alongside movies and shows from Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise.

These include movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, which is only available to stream on Netflix in the US, and The Blind Side, which isn't available to stream anywhere at the time of writing. Roku has also said that shows like Weeds and Kids in the Hall will also be streamable on Howdy – both of which are currently available on The Roku Channel.

Whether more titles from its FAST service will move over to Howdy is unclear, but it would make sense considering that the new service offers a way to watch these movies and shows without having to put up with ads.

Howdy's library will also consist of "iconic rom-coms, medical dramas, ‘90s comedy, feel-good classics, and more," according to Roku, so we can expect there to be quite a mix of genres in the catalog.

You'll only be able to access Howdy by paying to sign up for the streaming service, as Roku has said that there will be no introductory or free trial offers, but you will be able to cancel at any time if you decide that it's not right for you.

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• A scammer tricked a Cisco employee into granting access to a CRM
• The attacker then used the access to exfiltrate sensitive data
• Affected customers were notified "where required by law"

Cisco has admitted recently suffering a cyberattack which saw it lose a whole lot of customer data, including personally identifiable information (PII).

In a short announcement published on its website, the company revealed a threat actor used voice phishing (vishing) to trick a Cisco representative and gain access to an instance of a third-party cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system it uses.

Following the intrusion, Cisco launched an investigation, which determined sensitive customer data was extracted.

Passwords are safe

“Our investigation has determined that the exported data primarily consisted of basic account profile information of individuals who registered for a user account on Cisco.com (name, organization name, address, Cisco assigned user ID, email address, phone number, and account-related metadata – such as creation date),” Cisco said.

“The actor did not obtain any of our organizational customers’ confidential or proprietary information, or any passwords or other types of sensitive information. Cisco did not identify any impact to our products or services, and no other Cisco CRM instances were affected.”

Cisco said that affected users were notified “where required by law”, but did not mention if the data was being used in the wild. Crooks can either sell it on the dark web, try to extort Cisco, or use it to target the company’s customers with custom-built, convincing phishing attacks.

Vishing is a form of phishing done over the phone, and usually revolves around the criminal convincing the victim they’re someone they’re not (an IT technician, a bank employee, or a government agent).

Knowing that the individuals are, or were, Cisco customers, threat actors can spoof the company and send emails that trick the victims into making payments, sharing login credentials, or downloading malware.

Cisco users should be wary of any incoming emails, especially those claiming to come from the company and carrying a sense of urgency with them.

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• Apple has just released the iOS 26 beta 5 update
• It contains numerous tweaks to the iPhone operating system
• It might also have leaked the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s display resolution

Apple has just released iOS 26 beta 5, and this latest iPhone update comes with a bunch of handy new features. But among the tweaks and adjustments is an unexpected leak, and it sheds light on what we might see when the Apple Watch Ultra 3 launches later this year.

According to iOS investigator and analyst Aaron Perris (via MacRumors), the iOS 26 beta 5 update seems to contain references to the display resolution of Apple’s upcoming Ultra 3 smartwatch. That will sit at a resolution of 422x514 pixels, Perris claims.

That’s a slight increase over the 410x502 pixels you’ll find in the Apple Watch Ultra 2. While it’s not a huge step up, any increase in resolution will be a welcome addition – particularly since Apple pitches the Ultra line of smartwatches as being designed for athletes and rugged explorers who need as much display clarity as possible.

MacRumors points out that there haven’t been any rumors indicating that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 might get a larger display than its predecessor, suggesting that Apple might instead opt to reduce the display bezels and use the same chassis as before. That would follow the pattern Apple has taken with its regular Apple Watch models, where display bezels have shrunk significantly over the years.

Changes galore

(Image credit: TechRadar)

A new Apple Watch resolution is not the only addition found in the iOS 26 beta 5 update. Elsewhere, Apple has added an option to the Settings app that restores the old way of switching between photo and video modes in the Camera app. You’ll also find that the Select button has been restored to the top-left corner of the Mail app.

And Apple has also added new icons and animations. That includes a Liquid Glass-style AirDrop icon, plus much more bouncy animations when swiping and navigating through your phone. There are also fresh splash screens for apps like Apple Music, Journal, Notes, and more.

Unlike previous iOS 26 betas, this update does not adjust the look and feel of the Liquid Glass redesign. Past tweaks have increased or reduced the glassy effect across a range of operating system elements, but the lack of changes this time suggests that Apple might have settled on something it’s happy with.

The full version of iOS 26 is expected to launch in September, right around the time Apple unveils the iPhone 17 range. And with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 expected to be among the new products, we could soon find out if the leaked display resolution is on the money.

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• The iPhone 17 series could be unveiled on September 9
• It might then ship on September 19
• We've detailed five of the biggest changes you can expect from these phones

We’ve long predicted – based on Apple’s usual patterns – that the iPhone 17 series would be announced on September 8, 9, or 10, and now a leak agrees with us, while also getting more specific.

According to “internal information from German mobile phone providers” shared by iphone-ticker.de (via GSMArena), the iPhone 17 series – including the iPhone 17 itself, the iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max – will be unveiled on Tuesday, September 9.

They add that these phones will then apparently ship a week and a half later, on Friday, September 19.

While we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt, it is believable that major retailers would now have this information. Plus, it fits with our own predictions, and doesn’t conflict with any other leaks, so for now we’d say September 9 looks to be the most likely announcement date.

In which case, there’s only just over a month to wait for Apple’s next handsets, and these phones are likely to be worth the wait, as numerous upgrades and changes have been tipped. Below, we’ve listed five of the biggest changes we’re expecting.

1. A new design

An unofficial iPhone 17 Pro render (Image credit: AppleInsider)

Perhaps the biggest change tipped for the iPhone 17 line is a visual one, with numerous sources suggesting these handsets will get a redesign.

The main change is likely to come to the camera block, which will reportedly run across the entire width of the back on most models, giving these phones a more Google Pixel 9-like appearance.

This change could allow for more of a two-tone color scheme, too, with the large camera block being glossy while the rest of the rear is more matte.

2. An iPhone 17 Air instead of an iPhone 17 Plus

An unofficial iPhone 17 Air render (Image credit: Front Page Tech / ‪@Zellzoi‬)

Another big rumored change is the replacement of the Plus model with an iPhone 17 Air. This new model will reportedly be far slimmer than any previous iPhone, likely coming in at around 5.5mm thick, which would make it a more direct rival to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

However, as a result of being so slim, it might also have a small battery, and is thought to have just one rear camera.

So, it’s a phone that might prioritize style over specs, though it could still have a large 6.7-inch screen like the iPhone 16 Plus.

3. A 120Hz refresh rate for every model

The iPhone 16 Plus has a 60Hz screen (Image credit: Future)

Apple has continued to stick with 60Hz screens on the base iPhones, despite most mid-range Android phones having had 120Hz screens for years now. But with the iPhone 17 line, Apple might finally be getting with the times.

Numerous reports suggest that all four expected models will have a 120Hz display, which should make scrolling feel smoother.

However, one source claims that while the screens will all be 120Hz, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air still won’t have a variable refresh rate, meaning that, unlike their Pro siblings, they probably wouldn’t support always-on display, as this needs a very low refresh rate to function without demolishing the battery. Either way, though, giving them a 120Hz refresh rate would definitely be an upgrade.

4. New cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The iPhone 17 series is also rumored to be getting some new cameras, with every model set to benefit.

For one thing, all four expected iPhone 17 models will apparently have a 24MP front-facing camera, giving you twice the megapixels of the current 12MP one. We’ve also heard that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a 48MP telephoto camera, which would be up from just 12MP on the current models.

Some less likely but still possible upgrades we’ve heard about include 8K video recording for the Pro models, and a mechanical aperture for at least one iPhone 17 model. That latter upgrade would allow you to adjust the aperture, and therefore also the depth of field.

And there are also some rumored camera upgrades that we’re not convinced we’ll see but can’t totally rule out, including an 8x optical zoom for the iPhone 17 Pro models and a second Camera Control button for all four models.

5. A big boost in power

Death Stranding on the iPhone 16 Pro (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Finally, one totally unsurprising but still appreciated upgrade that we’re hearing about is a power boost thanks to a new chipset.

Specifically, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a new A19 Pro chipset, while the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air could have an A19 chipset. In all cases, that should be an improvement, as the current models use A18 or A18 Pro chipsets.

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and possibly also the iPhone 17 Air could have 12GB of RAM – up from 8GB in the iPhone 16 series.

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• Critical security vulnerabilities have been identified in Broadcom chips
• These flaws leave Dell devices containing the chips at risk
• The resulting attack has been dubbed 'ReVault', and users should patch now

A host of critical security flaws in Broadcom chips could mean tens of millions of Dell laptops and other devices are at risk of possible attack.

The serious vulnerabilities have been found in over 100 models of Dell laptops with Broadcom chips, Cisco Talos has revealed, and are therefore at risk of an attack the researchers dubbed ‘ReVault’.

A ReVault attack could be used ‘as a physical compromise to bypass Windows Login and/or for any local user to gain Admin/System privileges’, allowing a hacker to steal sensitive information and credentials, as well as biometric data like fingerprint information.

Dell laptops at risk

These flaws could have a ‘significant’ impact on victims, and Cisco Talos reports two primary attack scenarios; a physical attack, and a post-compromise pivot.

As the name suggests, the physical attack refers to a local attacker with access to the victim’s device gaining direct access to the USH board over USB with a custom connector.

From there, the vulnerabilities become ‘in-scope for the attacker without requiring the ability to log-in into the system or knowing a full-disk encryption password’. If a system is configured to be unlocked with biometric data, it could be possible to adjust the CV firmware to allow any fingerprint rather than just legitimate users.

In a post-compromise pivot, users without administrative privileges can use the CV firmware to trigger Arbitrary Code Execution, and potentially leak ‘key material essential to the security of the device’ and then gain the ability to modify the firmware permanently.

Dell confirmed that customers have been notified about available updates that address the vulnerabilities; “Working with our firmware provider, we addressed the issues quickly and transparently disclosed the reported vulnerabilities in accordance with our Vulnerability Response Policy.”

“Customers can review the Dell Security Advisory DSA-2025-053 for information on affected products, versions, and more. As always, it is important that customers promptly apply security updates that we make available and move to supported versions of our products to ensure their systems remain secure.”

It’s not yet clear if these vulnerabilities have been exploited in the wild, but users are of course advised to patch urgently to address them, as well as to regularly rotate passwords and use MFA where possible.

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By the end of episode 4, we knew Conrad’s point of view (POV) was going to be the crux of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 5, and the move was smart enough to make it one (if not, the) of the best episodes in the show’s entire history. If there was ever a moment in the show’s sordid love triangle to emotionally eviscerate us, this was it, with Conrad (Christopher Briney) having to watch his unrequited love Belly (Lola Tung) become even more invested in his wayward brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), all the while teased by flashbacks of Belly and Conrad’s romantic past.

If this wasn’t bad enough, the latest episode of the hit Prime Video show also follows Conrad losing his mom after her battle with breast cancer, with their final scenes together before her memorial peppered in between the romantic angst. I’ve made no secret of the fact I feel incredibly sorry for him – and also wish he didn’t have these feelings, but the heart wants what the heart wants – but season 3 episode 5 drew my eye to someone else entirely.

Right from the start of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly has been the person who’s dragged us into this colossal mess in the first place. But her decisions are no longer having a superficial effect, with Conrad set to crumble in front of our very eyes. With this in mind, it’s probably time we all admit the ugly truth: Belly is an absolutely terrible character, and we’d all probably be better off with her out of the picture (in a non-sinister way).

Sorry, but Belly shouldn’t coming back from The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 5

shut the entire show off. delete the episode. #TheSummerITurnedPretty pic.twitter.com/v2LNnmHMPPAugust 6, 2025

Don’t just take my word for it, check out these pretty enraged fan reactions to The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 5. While the flashbacks of Conrad and Belly in bed together are the ultimate knife in the back, present-day scenes of Conrad metaphorically setting himself on fire to try and make Belly’s life easier are just as painful. Obviously, she takes no notice of his efforts, instead engrossed in her dead-end future with Jeremiah (featuring the worst engagement ring ever seen with the naked eye).

me whenever belly and jeremiah: #TheSummerITurnedPretty pic.twitter.com/CkyyQGAtspJuly 30, 2025

If The Summer I Turned Pretty wasn’t a work of fiction, the answer to how to straighten out the chaos would be obvious. While it’s clear Belly is a lost cause, the right people could be around Conrad to make him see his own worth – or at the very least, invest in some worthwhile therapy. The same goes for Jeremiah, who desperately needs to get his life back on track in order to be attractive to himself, and to women.

Sadly, none of this makes for good TV, so Prime Video would need to resort to more drastic measures to sort things out. I don’t think it’s above Belly to take off in a mega strop and never be seen again, especially considering the way she talks to her mom. If she gets last-minute cold feet before actually getting married, Belly could easily run away from everything and everyone… and as cruel as that is, I wouldn’t be too bothered if she did.

Given that season 3 is the final farewell for The Summer I Turned Pretty, the remaining episodes have to go out with a big bang. Could the TV show veer away from the books and surprise us all with a shock Belly departure? If Prime Video had any sense, they’d keep Conrad and Belly apart for good and teach their young, impressionable viewers a valuable lesson (don’t get married to selfish boys, kids).

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• Perplexity's AI chatbot will both find and book restaurant tables through OpenTable
• The conversational approach streamlines the process of fulfilling requests for the details of the location and when it has an opening
• Perplexity hopes the integration will encourage people to stay on the platform rather than needing to leave to complete a task

AI search engine Perplexity wants to do more than just find your next restaurant; it wants to book your table. Perplexity made a deal with OpenTable to embed the reservation tool into Perplexity. Instead of just providing links to restaurants to help you reserve a table, you can get a spot at any of OpenTable’s more than 60,000 restaurants within the conversation.

The first part of the process is the same as before in Perplexity. Ask for “a quiet Thai place in Brooklyn that’s good for vegetarians and has outdoor seating,” and it’ll serve up a filtered list of OpenTable options that match your requested decor, dietary needs, and vibe. If you see a location you'd like to go to that is available through OpenTable, there will be a “Reserve” button for when you want to go, and you’re done. Instead of hopping from search to decision to reservation, you now get everything in one conversation.

Dining Perplexity

The deal encourages people to stick around on Perplexity to make their dinner plans, part of a bigger trend where AI platforms try to not just provide information, but complete tasks. Booking a table might seem like a small thing, but the magic lies in collapsing all the invisible steps between wanting to find a place to go and actually doing so.

The normal route might involve a half-hour of browsing, second-guessing, and refreshing OpenTable to see what’s still available. With Perplexity’s new system, you describe the scenario and watch it solve itself. Under the hood, OpenTable’s own AI Concierge handles most of the work. It draws on each restaurant’s metadata, including menus, seating arrangements, and any tags attached to its listing on OpenTable, and uses that to give Perplexity more precise recommendations.

Perplexity shows the restaurant, available times, and then OpenTable handles the booking itself, complete with confirmation and any options to modify or cancel. It’s not an autonomous agent like ChatGPT's Agent Mode. It smooths the path between the two services but doesn't travel between them like an Agent would.

That's probably for the best since Perplexity can occasionally misunderstand your request or over-promise based on incomplete restaurant data, but OpenTable won't book you a table that's not available. And while OpenTable’s restaurant profiles are usually rich in detail, they still rely on restaurants to keep things accurate.

From OpenTable’s perspective, this is a distribution move. Putting their booking infrastructure into Perplexity’s flow gives them access to a new set of users. Instead of trying to win attention in a crowded app race, OpenTable becomes part of a platform people are already using. As AI assistants continue to evolve, expect more of these seamless handoffs between search, decision, and action. Booking a table might just be the beginning; better reserve your spot now.

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• Pandora notified its customers of a data breach
• Hackers stole people's names and email addresses
• Unconfirmed reports named ShinyHunters as perpetrators

Jewelry powerhouse Pandora has confirmed suffering a cyberattack which saw it lose sensitive customer information.

The company revealed the news in a data breach notification letter sent to affected customers which said, “We are writing to inform you that Pandora has experienced a cyber security attack, where some customer information was accessed through a third-party platform that we use.

“We want to reassure you that the attack has been stopped, and as a result we have further strengthened our security measures.”

ShinyHunters

Pandora stressed that “only very common types” of data were exfiltrated - names, and email addresses. Passwords, credit card details, and similar confidential data was not taken.

The company also said that its investigation determined that the data has not yet been abused, but it recommends users stay vigilant, and keep track of unsolicited email messages, or online interactions asking for their data.

“Therefore, we recommend that you do not click on links or download attachments from unknown sources,” it said.

The company did not say who the threat actors were, how they managed to access Pandora’s networks, or how many people were affected by this incident.

However BleepingComputer claims the attack was most likely the work of ShinyHunters who broke into Pandora’s Salesforce database.

According to the publication, ShinyHunters has been looking for a way into corporate Salesforce databases since January 2025 and have been using different social engineering and phishing tactics.

Apparently, one worked, and ShinyHunters are now saying they will “perform a mass sale or leak” of companies that decline to pay the ransom.

Salesforce, on the other hand, confirmed that its solutions were not compromised.

"Salesforce has not been compromised, and the issues described are not due to any known vulnerability in our platform. While Salesforce builds enterprise-grade security into everything we do, customers also play a critical role in keeping their data safe — especially amid a rise in sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks," Salesforce told the publication.

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• Samsung has confirmed more One UI 8 schedule details
• The Galaxy S25 phones will get a full update in September
• One UI 8 Watch will hit older watches later in the year

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched with One UI 8 (based on Android 16) preinstalled, and the rollout for older phones isn't far off: Samsung has confirmed the Galaxy S25 series is going to get the software update in September.

Samsung confirmed the news in a press release, which also announced the ongoing One UI 8 beta program will expand to the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6 next week, before reaching more devices next month.

The testing phase for One UI 8 started back in May – and not long after the official introduction of One UI 7 in fact. Samsung is clearly keen to catch up to Google's Android launch schedule, which has been shifted further forward this year.

Among the features the software update brings with it are upgrades to Bluetooth audio (enabling multiple, simultaneous connections), improved sharing options, more capabilities for the Now Bar, and upgrades to on-device security.

Watch this space

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 comes with One UI 8 Watch (Image credit: Samsung)

One UI 8 is going to be accompanied at some point by the One UI 8 Watch update for the best Samsung watches, but it looks as though the wait for that will be a little longer – it's going to arrive "later in the year" Samsung says.

You can already get One UI 8 Watch on your wrist, but only on a select number of models: the brand new Galaxy Watch 8 or Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, the refreshed Galaxy Watch Ultra for 2025, or the original Galaxy Watch Ultra launched in 2024.

As is the case with the phones and their software update, there is a beta available for watches too – but at the time of writing it's only available for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 series and only if you're in the US or Samsung's home country of South Korea.

One UI 8 Watch brings with it a selection of useful upgrades, including new tools for monitoring sleep and improving your runs, and antioxidant measurements. More improvements, including Gemini AI, could be on the way too.

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• It seems as though game prices will remain variable going forward
• Analyst Matt Piscatella described the market as the 'Wild West' in a recent interview
• 'Publishers and developers are trying to find the sweet spot for their pricing,' he explained

Don't expect uniform game prices any time soon, a prominent industry analyst has warned.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Circana executive director of games Mat Piscatella said that prices are "a little Wild West right now."

"We have more variability in launch pricing and strategies than we've ever had. We have a lot of titles trying to kind of nibble at the high end of that market, and we have many more that are launching at lower prices," he continued.

It's not difficult to find examples of the irregularity in game prices these days. A physical copy of Mario Kart World launched at $79.99 / £74.99, while the recent Donkey Kong Bananza was a lower $69.99 / £64.99.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach retailed for $69.99 / £69.99, while a massive role-playing game (RPG) like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, in contrast, cost just $49.99 / £49.99.

"Ultimately, publishers and developers are trying to find the sweet spot for their pricing strategy," Piscatella explained.

"If you look at the games that are pushing that higher end of that price envelope, those are games that have super dedicated fan bases in general, where price sensitivity, particularly at launch, is very low, meaning that people want to play this game no matter what it costs," he added.

"I know a lot of people don't like it, but people still buy these games at these high price points, so they're going to keep getting made at high price points for the right game that can do that."

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• Perplexity says Cloudflare's analysis of its AI crawlers was technically flawed
• There seems to have been a mix-up with a third-party service used by Perplexity
• Perplexity wants Cloudflare to engage in dialogue – not just to post accusations online

Perplexity AI has accused Cloudflare of mischaracterizing its web crawlers as malicious bots after the latter claimed the AI company obfuscated its bot identity using deceptive strings and unexpected IP ranges.

Responding to Cloudflare's analysis and testing, Perplexity declared that analysis was technically flawed and that it misattributed unrelated traffic.

Perplexity has also asserted its traffic is user-driven, not stealth scraping or malicious crawling, suggesting that Cloudflare has misunderstood modern AI assistant behavior.

Cloudflare gets Perplexity all riled up

"It appears Cloudflare confused Perplexity with 3-6M daily requests of unrelated traffic from BrowserBase, a third-party cloud browser service that Perplexity only occasionally uses for highly specialized tasks (less than 45,000 daily requests)," the company wrote in an X post.

Hitting back at Cloudflare's obfuscation claims, Perplexity said the company obfuscated its own methodology, even accusing the company of pulling off a stunt to gain attention.

One of Perplexity's possible explanations reads: "Cloudflare needed a clever publicity moment and we–their own customer–happened to be a useful name to get them one."

"This controversy reveals that Cloudflare's systems are fundamentally inadequate for distinguishing between legitimate AI assistants and actual threats," the post continues.

In the post, Perplexity also offered context about how AI crawlers work: when a user asks a question, the AI agent doesn't retrieve the information from a central database, but rather fetches it in real time from the relevant websites. This contrasts to traditional web crawling, "in which crawlers systematically visit millions of pages to build massive databases, whether anyone asked for that specific information or not."

Moving forward, Perplexity urges Cloudflare to engage in dialogue instead of publishing misinformation about its practices.

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• Google Cloud adds six new AI agents for data scientists, engineers and more
• Advanced analytics will become more accessible with natural-language AI
• A solid data foundation is just as important, but Google can help you migrate

Google Cloud has launched six new AI agent tools to assist data engineers, data scientists, developers and business users realize even more productivity benefits.

Outlining a, "new era where specialized AI agents work autonomously and cooperatively to unlock insights at a scale and speed," Data Cloud Managing Director Yasmeen Ahmad explained the benefits of a "single, unified, AI-native cloud" over siloed tools when it comes to using AI.

Besides new, specialized AI agents, Google Cloud is also launching a series of APIs, tools, and protocols as well as updates to unify data.

Google Cloud launches even more AI agents

The first agent, destined for data engineers, is designed to automate complex data pipelines by allowing engineers to describe tasks and then autonomously building and executing workflows. A separate Spanner Migration Agent will simplify migrating from legacy databases like MySQL to Spanner, eliminating hours of tedious administrative work.

Data scientists will benefit from an agent that automatically performs exploratory data analysis, data cleaning, feature engineering and ML predictions, offering step-by-step reasoning and collaborative feedback, while business users and analysts will get to use two separate agents designed to answer questions about data and interpret code with visualisations and explanations, meaning that non-technical users can perform advanced analytics.

Finally, Gemini CLI GitHub Actions will automate pull requests, tests, reviews and implementation for developers.

"The true potential of the agentic shift is realized when developers not only use existing agents, but also extend and connect them to their own intelligent systems, creating a broader network," Ahmad explained.

With its new agents, Google Cloud hopes to lower the barrier of entry into advanced data analytics, "eras[ing] the line between operational and analytical worlds."

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• One of Alien: Earth's antagonists isn't based on tech bros like Elon Musk
• The actor behind the character didn't seek inspiration from real-world examples
• He let series creator Noah Hawley's writing do the talking

One of Alien: Earth's stars has denied that specific examples of real-life tech bros inspired the duplicitous character he portrays in the FX TV Original.

Speaking to TechRadar, Samuel Blenkin, who plays Boy Kavalier in the sci-fi horror franchise's first-ever TV project, said he simply relied on how the character had been written.

For the uninitiated: Boy Kavalier is the 20-something CEO and founder of Prodigy Corporation. One of five megacorporations that essentially rule planet Earth in the Alien universe, Prodigy is at the forefront of unlocking human immortality via its Hybrid program – an experimental procedure that transfers the consciousness of a human child into an artificial adult body.

However, not long after Prodigy successfully creates six Hybrids, the USCSS Maginot – a deep-space research vessel owned by Weyland-Yutani, one of Prodigy's rivals and the Alien franchise's most famous multinational – crashes into Prodigy City. Upon discovering that the Maginot was transporting five dangerous alien lifeforms, including one of the franchise's iconic Xenomorphs, to Weyland-Yutani, Kavalier takes ownership of the potentially lethal extra-terrestrials for experimental purposes.

Alien: Earth introduces four new life-threatening organisms to the sci-fi horror franchise's universe (Image credit: FX Networks)

Anyone who's seen an Alien movie – or even a Jurassic Park one – knows that playing with things you don't fully understand is a recipe for disaster. Regardless of the consequences, though, the arrogant and so-called 'boy genius' Kavalier is hell-bent on unearthing the bioweapons' secrets in the Hulu and Disney+ TV Original.

If Kavalier's self-important and rebellious personality seems familiar, it might be that you're reminded of supposed 'tech revolutionaries' who, like Kavalier, claim their technological advancements are for humanity's benefit in spite of concerns about their use.

Need examples? How about the uncanny valley nature of Elon Musk's Tesla Bots, which some observers have likened to the Terminators from the James Cameron-created dystopian sci-fi franchise? What about artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, such as ChatGPT, that use the OpenAI software co-created by Sam Altman? Or, take a look at Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's all-consuming quest to make the Metaverse a real thing.

No, Alien: Earth's Samuel Blenkin didn't base Boy Kavalier on Elon Musk (Image credit: Getty Images)

For what it's worth, Blenkin rejected – or, rather, strongly sidestepped – the notion that any or all of the above, or any other tech guru, influenced his portrayal of Kavalier.

Nevertheless, he also indicated that projects penned by series creator Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) are often a commentary on people who've been in the public eye for the last few years, and/or the ever-changing nature of our own world. In Blenkin's view, then, it's possible that characters in the franchise's inaugural TV show might be crudely influenced by certain individuals who exist right now.

"I think that Noah did such a good job of painting a vivid character," Blenkin told me. "Like all of Noah's characters, they clearly have strands of the stuff that we're facing today and what's resonant right now.

"But what I love is that he [Kavalier] has very specific mannerisms and obsessions," Blenkin continued. "[He has] this Peter Pan obsession, he never wear shoes or socks, he has a little ball he throws about, his attention span is lacking, and he has an obsession with childhood and childhood innocence equating with the kind of genius [he is] and seeing himself as a boy who never grew up.

"He's able to break rules and not be held to the same account as an adult with that kind of morality," he added. "Everything that was written about him was so vivid on the page, so I kind of let the rest of the character threads take care of themselves."

Alien: Earth launches with a two-episode premiere on Hulu (US) on August 12 and Disney+ (internationally) on August 13. Before it arrives, read my review of Alien: Earth or get the lowdown on the series our dedicated guide on Alien: Earth.

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• BMW has launched an espresso machine built around a motorcycle engine
• The Big Coffee Boxer is hand-made, with a dual boiler and rotary pump
• It costs €7,900 (about $9,100 / £6,900 / AU$14,000), and only 80 will be made

If your usual morning coffee isn't giving you the same boost it used to and your wallet is weighing you down, BMW has just launched the espresso machine for you. The Big Coffee Boxer, made in collaboration with the coffee experts at ECM Manufacture, is built using a BMW R 18 Big Boxer motorcycle engine – and it'll certainly be a conversation-starter.

In terms of specs, the Big Coffee Boxer is up there with the best espresso machines. It features dual boilers, meaning you can pull a shot of espresso and steam milk at the same time, and professional-grade steam and hot water valves.

There's no color touchscreen here. Instead, the Boxer has two pressure dials (one for each boiler) and a discreet shot counter to help you see when it's time to backflush the machine, which is essential to remove residue and keep your coffee tasting as good as possible.

There's optional pre-infusion (a process that gently pre-soaks the ground coffee before applying the full brewing pressure), you can choose from three brewing temperatures, and use either a refillable water tank or a direct water supply if you're not opposed to a spot of plumbing.

Here's the catch

(Image credit: BMW, ECM)

Naturally, none of this comes cheap. Breville's new Oracle Dual Boiler raised eyebrows last week when it launched with a price tag of AU$4,499 (about $3,000 / £2,200), but the Boxer makes that look positively affordable as each BMW-branded espresso machine will set you back €7,900 (about $9,100 / £6,900 / AU$14,000).

To put that into context, if you currently pay $4 every day for a takeout coffee, it'll take you about six years and three months to offset the cost of the Boxer (not including the beans). You'll have to decide quickly, too, because only 80 of the machines will be made.

If that's a little outside your budget, take a look at our roundups of the best coffee makers and best bean-to-cup coffee machines, all of which are somewhat more affordable (if not as stylish).

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Wix website builder review (2025)

Wix is a giant in the website builder industry. Its marketing campaigns across all mainstream media have made it a household name. While some services give you only a few templates, Wix has more than 500.

Pros

• Limited free plan
• Vast library of templates has something for every business type
• Huge number of professional features
• Easy to use
• Extensive ecommerce tools can build a feature-packed web store
• Excellent image features
• Hundreds of apps connect you to many other platforms and services

Cons

• Above average prices
• Can’t change a template once you’ve chosen it
• Only 2GB storage with the cheapest plan
• Email not included as standard (it’s a paid extra)

Squarespace website builder review (2025)

If you've been keeping an eye out for easy-to-use, all-in-one solutions to create a stunning website, you've surely stumbled upon Squarespace website builder somewhere along the line.

Pros

• Built-in email marketing
• Essential ecommerce features with most plans
• Lots of lovely, mobile-responsive templates
• Free trial with no credit card info required
• Helpful link in bio tool
• Free SSL certificate
• Helpful 24/7 customer support and well-supplied knowledgebase
• A solid set of features

Cons

• No free plan
• No telephone support
• Low level of customization

If you are looking for a simple solution to build a great website there are countless options out there. However, with many of the best website builders offering similar features, tools, and price points, it can be hard to know which one is the best option for you.

Wix and Squarespace are two of the market-leading website builders. They provide everything you need to create professional websites without coding skills - including website hosting, ecommerce features, easy-to-use interfaces, and more.

They even offer similar starting prices with Wix premium plans starting at $17/mo (or less with our Wix promo codes) and Squarespace coming in ever-so-slightly lower with its entry level plan starting at $16/mo (or less with our Squarespace promo codes).

Yet they do differ in many areas including tools, design flexibility, templates, and what you get with each plan. If you're looking to pick one over the other, our detailed guide will walk you through the highs and lows of each so you can make the right choice. Let's dig in.

Wix vs Squarespace: A detailed breakdown

Feature

Wix

Squarespace

Starting price

$17.00/month

$16.00/month

Free plan

Yes

No

Templates

900+ templates across multiple categories

180+ templates across 19 categories

Editor type

Highly flexible drag-and-drop editor with unstructured placement

Structured editor with Fluid Engine (grid-based drag-and-drop)

AI website builder

Wix AI - creates websites based on questions

Blueprint AI - generates sites based on brand personality and preferences

Storage

Starting at 500MB (varies by plan)

Unlimited on all plans

Mobile optimization

Dedicated mobile editor

Automatically responsive templates

Ecommerce features

Product management, point of sale, shipping options, abandoned cart recovery, advanced booking system

Product management, bookings, shipping options, point of sale, abandoned cart recovery

Payment gateways

80+ payment options

Limited payment options

Marketing tools

Email builder, newsletters, email campaigns, Facebook ads integration

Email templates, newsletters, campaigns, direct Instagram/Facebook sales

SEO tools

Meta titles/descriptions, URL customization, Google Search integration, canonical tags, image optimization, site inspection

Meta titles/descriptions, custom URLs, image alt text, Google Search Console integration, canonical tags

Analytics

Traffic monitoring, visitor behavior tracking, revenue reports, personalized suggestions, customer insights

Traffic monitoring, engagement tracking, sales statistics, Google Analytics integration, Purchase Funnel

App marketplace

500+ apps and integrations

35+ extensions

Blogging

Basic blogging features

Advanced blogging with monetization options

Customer support

Live chat, phone support (premium), knowledge center

Email support, knowledge base, community forum

Security

SSL certificates, DDoS protection, firewall

SSL certificates, DDoS protection, firewall

Design flexibility

Highly customizable with pixel-perfect positioning

More structured with focus on professional design

Multilingual support

Available through Wix Multilingual app

Requires third-party integration (WeGlot)

Forum feature

Available through Wix Forum app

Requires third-party integration

Live chat feature

Available through Wix Live Chat app

Requires third-party integration

Custom fonts

Direct upload in editor

Requires CSS code

Scheduling tools

Built-in booking system

Acuity Scheduling ($16/month)

Free domain

Yes (1st year)

Yes (1st year)

Content creation AI

AI tools for product descriptions, image generation

AI tools for product descriptions, email content, blog posts

Wix vs Squarespace: Features

Both Wix and Squarespace have strong features in 2025, but each shines in different ways. Wix boasts a huge template library with over 900 designs. In contrast, Squarespace has around 180 curated templates. Wix's app marketplace is much larger with over 500 integrations, while Squarespace has about 35 extensions. For ecommerce, Wix supports over 80 payment gateways and offers features like pre-order tracking and tax automation. Squarespace includes ecommerce in all plans but has fewer payment options.

Both platforms also use AI technology. Wix provides dedicated tools including product descriptions, image generation and editing, section editor, and even an AI marketing assistant. Squarespace offers AI for product descriptions, email content, and blog posts.

Squarespace's BluePrint AI helps build websites based on brand personality and preferences. Wix AI creates sites based on user questions in a chatbot interface. Squarespace generally has better blogging features with monetization options, but, Wix excels in business tools and customization.

The best choice depends on your needs. Squarespace suits users who value design quality and blogging features, plus it offers ecommerce in all plans. Wix is better for those wanting flexibility, extensive app integrations, and more business tools.

Wix vs Squarespace: Ease of use

Wix and Squarespace are both easy to use for non-programmers without coding experience, but the learning curve still varies.

Wix features a simple drag-and-drop editor. Users can place elements anywhere on the page. This allows for pixel-perfect positioning, ideal for beginners who want total customization. Wix also offers two editing options: the original editor for small businesses and creators and Wix Studio for agencies needing top-notch design tools.

Squarespace is user-friendly too, but its editing system is more structured. The Fluid Engine, introduced in July 2022, allows drag-and-drop within a grid area. This design offers fewer constraints than the Classic Editor but still maintains some order. Users get consistent and professional results but at the cost of creative freedom. It takes more clicks to achieve the same results as Wix, plus you must manually save changes.

Overall, Wix wins for ease of use, especially for beginners who want creative freedom. Its user-friendly interface, automatic saving, and strong backup system enhance accessibility. Squarespace may suit those who prefer structure and consistency, as its limitations help avoid design errors while ensuring a polished look.

Wix vs Squarespace: Support

Wix provides many support options, including live chat and phone support in over ten languages. However, priority phone support requires a Business Elite subscription. Support is available from Monday to Friday, depending on the language. Wix also has a Knowledge Center with tutorials and guides. For Wix Studio subscribers, the Wix Studio Academy offers hundreds of short courses to help users maximize features.

Squarespace takes a different approach to customer support. It doesn't offer phone support. Instead, you have the option to use 24/7 human chat support, hire third-party experts, or participate in the community forum where users can ask for advice. It also provides documentation and tutorials. But unlike Wix, Squarespace's live chat support system relies on human support agents, not AI.

Wix offers more responsive support that's easier to avail. But, Squarespace stands apart with its strictly human-first support system. While the former offers more accessible, diverse, and affordable options, Squarespace is the better choice for users who need constant access to experts who can troubleshoot complex issues.

Wix vs Squarespace: Pricing and plans

Plan

/mo (paid monthly)

/mo (paid annually)

/mo (paid every 2-years)

/mo (paid every 3-years)

Free

$0

$0

$0

$0

Lite

$24

$17

$14

$12

Core

$36

$29

$24

$21

Business

$43

$36

$29

$26

Business Elite

$172

$159

$121

$110

Wix offers a free plan and four paid tiers. The Light plan starts at $17/month, up from the previous $16. The Core plan costs $29/month, the Business plan is $36/month, and the Business Elite plan is $159/month. Wix's entry-level plans are cheaper than Squarespace's. However, the Light plan lacks ecommerce features, which begin with the Core plan.

Plan

Monthly cost (paid monthly)

Monthly cost (paid annually)

Personal

$25

$16

Business

$36

$23

Commerce (Basic)

$40

$28

Commerce (Advanced)

$72

$52

Squarespace does not have a free plan. It offers four paid options with annual discounts. The Personal plan starts at $16/month (billed annually). The Business plan is $23/month, while Commerce Basic (Plus) is $39/month, and Commerce Advanced is $99/month. All Squarespace plans include ecommerce capabilities, making it easy for users to sell products online. Squarespace also offers unlimited storage on all plans. In contrast, Wix's storage ranges from 2GB on the Light plan to unlimited on the Business Elite plan.

For value comparison, Wix gives more resources and features at similar price points, especially for business and ecommerce. However, Squarespace offers better value for users focused on ecommerce, as those features are included in all plans. Your best choice depends on your needs. Wix is more affordable for entry-level sites and offers more features at higher tiers. Squarespace provides robust ecommerce capabilities from the start.

Expert insight Wix vs Squarespace: Final verdict

After comparing Wix and Squarespace in detail, we think that both platforms have unique strengths for different users. Wix shines with its easy drag-and-drop editor, wide template library, large app marketplace, and responsive customer support. Its flexible design options and AI tools are great for those who want creative freedom and customization. With a free plan and lower prices, Wix is also more accessible for beginners and budget-friendly users.

Squarespace, on the other hand, lacks a free plan and phone support but stands out with its sleek templates and structured design. This approach ensures consistent, high-quality results. All Squarespace plans include ecommerce features, making it a better choice for users who want to sell products online from the start. Squarespace also offers excellent blogging tools, unlimited storage, and better site performance.

The best choice depends on your needs.

Choose Wix if you want maximum design flexibility, lots of app integrations, and lower costs. Go for Squarespace if you prioritize professional design, structured editing, better performance, and all-in-one ecommerce features. For most beginners and small businesses seeking value and ease of use, Wix is the more versatile option. In contrast, design-focused professionals and ecommerce businesses may prefer Squarespace.

Wix vs Squarespace: FAQsCan I change my website template after I've started building my website?

Squarespace allows you to switch your template at any time. Your website content will automatically be transferred into the new design, although it will likely need some editing to make sure it still fits and flows well. Wix doesn’t let you switch templates once you have published your site. If you want to use a new template after this, you will need to build your website from scratch.

Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper?

Both website builders have similar entry level plans with similar prices with Wix starting at $17/mo and Squarespace starting at $16/mo. As you move up the pricing tiers, the gap starts to widen, with Squarespace remaining the cheaper of the two, but Wix offering access to more tools and resources. Wix’s most expensive (Business Elite) plan works out at $159/mo (paid annually), compared to Squarespace’s most expensive plan that comes in at $99/mo.

• Microsoft engineers are committed to making WinUI open source
• But first it needs to be separated from proprietary Windows code
• GitHub will become WinUI's home for the community

Microsoft has confirmed WinUI will become, "truly open source", however deep entanglements with proprietary Windows code could put this goal a long way off yet.

Windows UI Library (WinUI) is a user interface framework for building modern, fluid and responsive user interfaces on Windows, which works with Win32, .NET and C++ apps.

However, while the project lacks a specific end date, Lead Software Engineer Beth Pan did share more details about Microsoft's phased plans in a GitHub post.

WinUI is on a road to become fully open source

"While we’re not ready to commit to a specific end date for completing all milestones, we are actively working toward it," Pan wrote.

The four phases of Microsoft's plan begin with more frequent syncing of internal commits to GitHub, starting post-WASDK 1.8 which is set for an August 2025 release.

From there on, Microsoft will allow external developers to clone and build the repo with full setup docs, after which third-party developers will be permitted to contribute and run tests.

The final stage will see GitHub become the "primary place for development, issue tracking, and community engagement."

However, because so much of the codebase touches proprietary Windows layers, Microsoft is planning a gradual and deliberate transition to separate what can be open-sourced.

"Our current focus is on foundational work that unlocks value for contributors and increase transparency," Pan added.

A separate GitHub project board has been established for the community to collaborate with Microsoft going forward.

Community responses have been generally positive and supportive, with many expressing their satisfaction that the project lives on with Microsoft's support.

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