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AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT: One-minute review

Having missed the initial AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT review cycle earlier this month for logistical reasons, I wanted to do more with this review than just try to play catch-up with my peers who got to review the 16GB card prior to launch.

Fortunately, doing this post-launch meant that I was able to get my hands on both 16GB and 8GB versions of the RX 9060 XT for a single review, and I'm honestly glad I waited.

Both AMD RX 9060 XT cards bring a compelling value, with the 8GB version starting at $299.99 / £269.99 / AU$569 and the 16GB versions starting at $349.99 / £329.99 / AU$689. This puts it roughly in the middle of the price pack for the best cheap graphics cards of the current generation.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Spec-wise, the only difference between the two cards is really the amount of GDDR6 video memory available, either 16GB or 8GB.

This matters, as that extra 8GB VRAM does improve the performance of the RX 9060 XT (and even makes modest 4K gaming possible), but the difference between the two isn't so large that it overrides any consideration of the additional cost.

However, Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RTX 5060 (an 8GB card) offer better performance vis-à-vis the RX 9060 XT 16GB and RX 9060 XT 8GB, respectively. In the case of the RTX 5060, there's no difference in price with the RX 9060 XT 8GB, so that is a much tougher call between the two for reasons I'll dig into in a bit.

On the other hand, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB offers better performance over the RX 9060 XT 16GB, but not so much better that it justifies the much higher price.

In the end, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB strikes the best balance of price and performance in this class, making it easy to recommend as the best graphics card in this segment for most people, and both are two of the best AMD graphics cards the company's ever put out.

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• How much is it? $299.99 / £269.99 / AU$569 for 8GB, $349.99 / £329.99 / AU$689 for 16GB
• When can you get it? Now
• Where is it available? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT starts at $299.99 / £269.99 / AU$569 for the 8GB version, with the 16GB version starting at $349.99 / £329.99 / AU$689.

There's a much more direct comparison between the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB and the RX 9060 XT 16GB, as both are very comparable spec-wise. In that regard, the RX 9060 XT is a slight price increase over the RX 7600 XT (about $20 in the US), but it's not really large enough to ding its score.

The RX 7600 XT and RX 7600 are very similar, but there are differences beyond just their memory pools, so the RX 9060 XT is not quite as comparable to the RX 7600, meaning even though the RX 9060 XT is slightly more expensive (about $30 in the US), it's much more reasonable given the comparably faster clock speeds.

The RX 9060 XT 8GB is one of the cheapest graphics cards on the market right now, and unlike many others out there, it's easy enough to find at its MSRPView Deal

The RX 9060 XT 16GB is easily the best graphics card you can get this generation under $400, and with 16GB VRAM, it comes with a solid bit of future-proofing built into it.View Deal

Nvidia's competing cards, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RTX 5060, are more expensive ($429 / £419.99 / AU$799 for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB) or about the same price or slightly more expensive ($299 / £269.99 / AU$599) for the RTX 5060.

Neither RX 9060 XT version has an AMD reference card, so you'll need to buy one from a third-party manufacturer, such as Asus, Gigabyte, or XFX.

The same is true for Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060, though, so it's hard to knock the 9060 XT cards too hard for this, especially as we've seen fairly wide availability of MSRP cards for sale online that you can actually buy.

Fortunately, we also haven't seen any real stock shortages of the RX 9060 XT cards, so finding stock at MSRP is fairly easy right now.

• Value: 4.5 / 5

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT: Specs

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• PCIe 5.0
• 16GB and 8GB VRAM

AMD RX 9060 XT Specs

RX 9060 XT (16GB)

RX 9060 XT (8GB)

Process Node

TSMC N4P

TSMC N4P

Transistor Count (Billion)

29.7

29.7

Compute Units

32

32

Shaders

2,048

2,048

Ray Accelerators

32

32

AI/Matrix Processors

64

64

Render Output Units

64

64

Cache (MB)

32

32

Base Clock (MHz)

1,700

1,700

Boost Clock (MHz)

3,130

3,130

Memory Clock (MHz)

2,518

2,518

Memory Type

GDDR6

GDDR6

Memory Pool (GB)

16

8

Memory Interface (bits)

128

128

Effective Memory Speed (Gbps)

20.1

20.1

Memory Bandwidth (GB/s)

322.3

322.3

PCIe Interface

5.0 x16

5.0 x16

TGP (W)

160

150

Recommended PSU (W)

450

700

Power Connector

1 x 8-pin

1 x 8-pin

Both versions of the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT have effectively identical specs, other than different memory pools and the slightly higher TDP for the 16GB version to account for powering the additional memory.

Otherwise, they use the exact same GPU die with identical clock speeds, so your decision between the two is really about whether that 8GB of additional GDDR6 VRAM is worth the extra investment.

The number of compute units, ROPs, and available cache on the RX 9060 XT is unchanged over the RX 7600 XT and RX 7600, so the RX 9060 XT is effectively an upgraded version of those cards using the new RDNA 4 architecture and faster game and memory clock speeds.

There's also the issue of whether 8GB is enough for a modern graphics card, even at a sub-$300 price point. Given the performance I found while testing, an 8GB card can perform well right now, even at 1440p, on many games, so long as you don't go anywhere near ray tracing. How much longer will that be the case? It's hard to say, but 8GB cards are already starting to struggle, so even a 10GB card would have been better, much less a 12GB version for the lower-end 9060 XT.

Add to this AMD's maddening decision to stick with a 128-bit memory bus for these cards, which unnecessarily constrains memory bandwidth and inevitably limits the potential performance of the RX 9060 XT. This alone knocks some points off, because if the Intel Arc B570 can use a 160-bit memory bus, there's no reason why AMD or Nvidia continue to do so on their 60-class cards.

That simple widening of the bus could noticeably improve gaming frame rates, and it's something neither AMD nor Nvidia has been able to explain to me beyond vaguely gesturing at cost constraints. If Intel can afford a 160-bit bus, so can AMD, and it makes me wonder how much better these cards might have otherwise been.

OK, end of rant.

• Specs & features: 3.5 / 5

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT: Design

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• No AMD reference card
• Good for SFF cases

There is no AMD reference cards for either of the RX 9060 XT versions, so the design of the card you get will depend on the manufacturer.

The two cards I tested, the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB and the Asus Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB, are both fairly slender and compact cards.

Neither have any RGB lighting, so if you're looking for something with more bling, other cards can definitely offer that.

Also, there are some cards from some manufacturers that use triple-fan designs, which seems overkill to me, but if you want a bigger-looking card for a specific build, you'll definitely have that option.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT: Performance

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Big difference between 16GB and 8GB versions
• RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RTX 5060 offer slightly better performance than the two RX 9060 XT cards

A note on my data

The charts shown below offer the most recent data I have for the cards tested for this review. They may change over time as more card results are added and cards are retested. The 'average of all cards tested' includes cards not shown in these charts for readability purposes.

As far as performance goes, there's a lot to like about both AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT cards, from their modest power draw to their solid 1440p gaming performance.

It's not all positive though, as there are several points where Nvidia's competing cards outperform AMD's latest offerings, making the final assessment much closer than I initially thought it would be when I began testing these cards.

Across synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9060 XT and RTX 5060 Ti are more or less tied across resolutions, with Nvidia's card only edging out AMD's in ray tracing performance. The RX 9060 XT 16GB is only about 15% slower than the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB in synthetic ray tracing performance. While this is expected, it's not as wide as it's been in previous generations.

The RX 9060 XT 8GB, meanwhile, outperforms the RTX 5060 in 1080p (about 4% better), in 1440p (about 10% better), and in 4K (about 10% better), though the RTX 5060 does hold a slight lead in ray-tracing performance (about 3%).

In creative benchmarks, the RX 9060 XT cards are largely competitive against Nvidia's GPUs in everything but 3D model rendering. Unfortunately, I can't say more about this since Blender Benchmark wasn't able to run on either RX 9060 XT card, so I can't say how they'd fare against the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB.

The RTX 5060, interestingly enough, couldn't run Blender Benchmark either, so this will have to be an issue I'll investigate further and update my results once I have them, but given that Blender Benchmark Cycles renderer is optimized for Nvidia CUDA (as is nearly all 3D modeling software), I am very confident that the RX 9060 XT cards aren't going to be competitive on this workload, it's really just a matter of how far behind the RX 9060 XT cards land in the end.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Creative workloads aren't what AMD Radeon cards are most known for, though. PC gaming is where these cards really compete, and in this regard, the RX 9060 XT 8GB comes in about 4% slower than the RTX 5060 in 1080p overall, while the RX 9060 XT 16GB comes up about 9% slower than the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB at 1080p overall.

Gen-on-gen, though, the RX 9060 XT 16GB outperforms the RX 7600 XT by about 44% at 1080p, overall, while the RX 9060 XT 8GB similarly comes in about 46% faster than the RX 7600 at 1080p overall.

At 1440p, the story is similar for the RX 9060 XT, with it coming in about 9% slower than the RTX 5060 Ti, overall. For the RX 9060 XT 8GB, the gap widens a bit as it comes in about 8% slower than the RTX 5060, overall.

At 1440p, the gen-on-gen performance improvement is even greater, with the RX 9060 XT 16GB outperforming the RX 7600 XT by about 53% overall, while the RX 9060 XT 8GB outperforms the RX 7600 by a massive 62.5% overall.

In terms of power consumption, the peak power consumption of the RX 9060 XT cards are in line with where the RTX 5060 Ti lands and slightly above the listed TDP for the two cards. The RTX 5060, meanwhile, comes in a good bit lower at peak, in my tests.

Temperature, meanwhile, will largely depend on the model card you end up buying, as they will all have different cooling systems. That said, the Sapphire Pulse RX 9060 XT 16GB stayed a few degrees cooler than the Asus Dual RX 9060 XT 8GB in my tests, buy your mileage may vary.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

In the end, the RX 9060 XT cards kept things pretty close to their respective competition from Nvidia, though couldn't quite overtake them, even considering that I didn't factor Blender Benchmark's results into the final creative score for any of the cards tested, given that I wasn't able to run it on three of the cards in question.

Had those tests run successfully and been factored into the final scores, the two Nvidia cards would have pulled further ahead, most likely.

But would they have pulled far enough ahead to justify buying them? In the case of the RX 9060 XT 8GB, the RTX 5060 simply offers you a better value given that both can be purchased for MSRP right now, but if you don't want to give Nvidia your money, you're not really losing anything by going with the RX 9060 XT 8GB instead.

For the RX 9060 XT 16GB, though, it comes within just a few points of the RTX 5060 Ti at a much lower price, making it the one I'd recommend to anyone shopping for a GPU in this price range.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT?

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Scorecard

Category

Notes

Score

Value

Both RX 9060 XT cards offer great value for their price.

4.5 / 5

Specs & features

While the 16GB option for the RX 9060 XT is great, 8GB is just too little for a modern GPU.

3.5 / 5

Design

Since there's no AMD reference card for either version of the RX 9060 XT, your design will vary depending on which card you get. The ones I tested were fine, but nothing spectacular.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Both RX 9060 XT versions are capable cards with fantastic gen-on-gen performance, though Nvidia's competing offerings edge them out slightly.

4.5 / 5

Final score

While both RX 9060 XT cards don't quite overtake Nvidia's competing cards, they offer a very compelling value for gamers, especially those who are getting tired of what Nvidia has been offering lately.

4 / 5

Buy the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT if...

You want excellent 1080p gaming
If you're still gaming at 1080p, these cards are fantastic.

You're making the move to 1440p gaming
If you just got a new 1440p gaming monitor and want to upgrade your GPU to handle the higher resolution, both of these cards are solid picks for 1440p.

You don't want to spend a fortune
While $300-350 isn't cheap, for graphics cards with this kind of performance, they're both excellent values.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best possible performance
While the RX 9060 XT cards performed very well, Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RTX 5060 are still the better GPUs if you want the best performance.

You want to game at 4K
The RX 9060 XT 16GB can play some titles at 4K without ray tracing, largely thanks to upscaling, though it definitely struggles. The RX 9060 XT 8GB can only game at this resolution with some pretty heavy compromises.

You can afford to get the AMD RX 9070
If you have some room in your budget, moving up to the RX 9070 is definitely recommended if you want a more future-proofed gaming rig.

How I tested the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT

• I spent about three weeks with the RX 9060 XT 16GB and 8GB versions
• I used my complete GPU testing suite to analyze the card's performance
• I tested the card in everyday, gaming, creative, and AI workload usage

Test System Specs

Here are the specs on the system I used for testing:

Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite WiFi 7 ICE
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
CPU Cooler: Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
SSD: Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
Case: Praxis Wetbench

I spent about three weeks with both RX 9060 XT cards, using my standard suite of benchmark tests with industry standard tools like 3DMark, PassMark, PugetBench for Creators, and more.

For gaming, I use built-in benchmark tools in games like Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024.

I also used both cards for about a week each as the GPU in my own PC at home where I used it for work, content creation, and gaming outside of formal testing.

• Originally reviewed June 2025

Whether it's during my time testing TVs at TechRadar or back in my AV retail days, one aspect of TVs I like to explore thoroughly is the smart TV platform, also known as the Operating System (OS).

The best TVs not only deliver great picture and sound quality (although great TV sound is a bit rarer), but they also make the viewing experience smooth, responsive and user-friendly.

Over the past few years, LG’s webOS smart TV platform has delivered the best user experience. In comparison, other smart TV platforms such as Google TV, Roku, and Fire TV all come up short, and the same has been true of Samsung’s own Tizen smart TV platform – until now.

In our recent reviews of the Samsung S95F and 65-inch Samsung S90F OLED TVs, and the Samsung QN90F mini-LED TV, the Tizen smart TV platform scored four and a half out of five stars in the smart TV category. Previously, the maximum I would give Tizen was four stars.

What has changed in the latest version that makes it so much better?

The best features

The Samsung Gaming Hub (pictured on the Samsung S95F) is one of Tizen's best features (Image credit: Future)

One of the best features in Samsung’s Tizen interface is the Gaming Hub. A portal dedicated to all things gaming, the Gaming Hub features a wide range of cloud-based apps such as Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now and Luna. It also has access to recommended Twitch streams and can detect your console when it's connected, working as a launch page. Gaming Hub is one of the major reasons why Samsung TVs always feature in our list of the best gaming TVs.

A more recent Tizen addition that seems to be inspired by LG’s webOS is the quick menu. Previously, accessing the settings on Samsung TVs was a long-winded process, but with the new quick menu overlay, accessing picture and sound modes, and the brightness setting is incredibly easy. Tizen 9.0 (the 2025 version) also remembers your most recent and frequently accessed settings and puts them at the top of the quick menu – useful if you regularly change one setting (I found I changed Dynamic Tone Mapping often while in Filmmaker Mode).

Samsung's new quick menu screen overlay gives you easy access to some settings (Image credit: Future)

The Tizen homescreen is split into three sections: For You, Live and Apps. For You now hosts more AI-based recommendations based on your viewing history, and I found these to be largely accurate. Samsung has also introduced profiles, where individual recommendations can be made for each user – another feature found in LG’s webOS platform that was first introduced in 2024.

Samsung TVs have a mode (called Art on LED, QLED and mini-LED sets, Ambient on OLED sets) where pictures can be displayed instead of showing a blank screen when in standby mode. There’s also a new subscription-based Art Store option that lets you “stream” paintings from famous museums, a feature that was previously limited to Samsung The Frame TVs.

Finally, Tizen provides access to not only the best streaming services but also thousands of hours of free TV shows and movies via its Samsung TV Plus hub, which is similar to the LG Channels feature on LG TVs.

Searching for settings

Some more advanced settings are unfortunately hidden away and can be tricky to find (Image credit: Future)

Tizen 9.0 may be the best version of Samsung’s smart TV platform I’ve used so far, but it’s still not perfect. One common criticism in TechRadar’s recent Samsung TV reviews involves the difficulty in accessing certain settings.

Although the quick menu mentioned above is a welcome feature, some settings are buried under a layer of menus, making them hard to find. For example, something as basic as Noise Reduction is found by going to Settings>All Settings> Picture Settings>Picture Clarity Settings>Noise Reduction, and this process involves scrolling down through multiple menus.

This deep nesting of settings makes life difficult for those who like to experiment with their TVs. And while Samsung provides a wide range of picture settings for viewers to customize the picture, Samsung could have made these easier to access.

Final thoughts

(Image credit: Future)

Tizen may not be a perfect smart TV platform, but for years, it was trailing behind LG’s webOS. Although webOS is still my top pick for a smart TV platform, it’s great to see just how much Tizen has improved in this latest version.

For Samsung TV owners with an older version of Tizen, fear not: Samsung’s commitment to seven years of software updates for older models gives your old TV extended life. And having tested this latest version, I can say that Tizen 9.0 is the best one yet.

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• Insurance giant AFLAC confirms it has been hit with a cyberattack
• The attack looks to have been by notorious Scattered Spider group
• Increasingly infamous group targeted multiple UK retailers earlier in 2025

AFLAC (American Family Life Assurance Company), has confirmed in a statement it has suffered a cyber ‘incident’ in which hackers intruded into its network.

AFLAC, the largest supplemental insurance provider in the US, says it was able to stop the intrusion ‘within hours’ and systems were not affected by ransomware.

Whilst AFLAC hasn’t confirmed the source of the breach or who was behind it, the breach exhibits all the signs of a Scattered Spider attack.

Save up to 68% on identity theft protection for TechRadar readers!

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A wider campaign

The name Scattered Spider will sound familiar to lots of readers, especially given that the group is allegedly behind major and disruptive breaches of UK retailers Marks and Spencer and Co-op, as well as luxury department store Harrods.

Google recently warned the group was aiming its sights on US firms, and urged the US insurance sector to be on high alert for social engineering and credential stuffing attacks.

Insurance companies are particularly at risk as they hold vast amounts of personal data and turn huge profits which can be exploited for ransom.

“This attack, like many insurance companies are currently experiencing, was caused by a sophisticated cybercrime group. This was part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry,” AFLAC’s statement stated.

“The potentially impacted files contain claims information, health information, social security numbers, and/or other personal information, related to customers, beneficiaries, employees, agents, and other individuals in our U.S. business. We remain committed to caring for and supporting our customers.”

Anyone who uses any services hit by this group (or affected by any data breach) should be very wary of any unexpected communications, looking out for social engineering attacks, and should check out the best identity theft protection software to keep safe.

AFLAC is also offering 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for customers who contact their hotline following the breach.

Via BleepingComputer

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• M&S and Co-op hacks publicly defined as a single attack - and could cost more than £400 million

• Apparent DJI Mini 5 Pro prototype spotted and snapped by mountain biker
• Serial leaker says trusted source has signalled 7 August 2025 launch date
• New ultralight drone will reportedly come with LiDAR sensors

Drone lovers, prepare for lift-off: the release of the long-rumored DJI Mavic 5 Pro could be imminent, according to one serial leaker.

The replacement for the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which we rate as the best-in-class ultralight drone, is due to get its official launch on 7 August 2025, if serial drone blogger Jesper Ellens is to believed. Writing at DroneXL, Ellens reports that a (reliable) contact has messaged him sharing the date. He also says that, while he usually prefers to wait for more corroboration before posting a rumor like this, this source has never been wrong before.

If true, the date is a mere seven weeks away – weeks in which we expect further news and rumors about the DJI Mini 5 Pro will trickle out. We also suspect we’ll get more photos of the drone in the wild – such as one new captured by a Chinese mountain biker who claims he simply came across a prototype of the drone in a park.

The image was shared by another serial drone leaker, @MauroTandoi, and while it’s of pretty poor quality, it appears to show a small folding drone with larger front-facing sensors (see below).

#djimini5pro #dji #mini5pro pic.twitter.com/4RCeZC82adJune 20, 2025

This fits in well with early rumors about the Mini 5 Pro from last year; back in December 2024, Jesper Ellens (yes, we did say he was a serial leaker) claimed it would come with LiDAR sensors, as well as vented motors.

LiDAR, which would greatly enhance the drone’s obstacle avoidance system, particularly in low light conditions, has recently started appearing on higher end DJI drones such as the DJI Air 3S and DJI Mavic 4 Pro, so we would not at all be surprised to see it on an upcoming DJI Mini 5 Pro.

Vented motors, meanwhile, could result in stronger flight performance: higher air speed, better wind resistance and even longer battery life.

Other upgrades to come?

The DJI Mini 4 Pro weighs under 250g, a key part of its appeal that we strongly expect the DJI Mini 5 Pro to retain – regardless of any upgrades DJI has implemented. (Image credit: DJI)

LiDAR and vented motor upgrades alone might well be enough to convince people to upgrade to the Mini 5 Pro from a Mini 4 Pro, but we have also heard speculation about a larger 1-inch sensor for the camera (the Mini 4 Pro has a 1/1.3-inch sensor), which could really get people excited – especially if DJI keeps the weight under the all-important 250g mark.

In the UK, EU and USA, drones of 250g and above are subject to more rules, regulations and restrictions, so ultralight models such as DJI’s Mini range fulfil an important role – provided they keep their total take-off weight under that figure.

Stay tuned for more DJI Mini 5 rumors in the coming weeks.

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• Samsung India to launch 'core' Galaxy Buds on June 27
• An Amazon India listing spilled the beans on the release date
• But it's unclear whether the US will get them on Friday – or anyone else

Samsung's marketing strategy for its Galaxy Buds Core and/or Galaxy Buds 3 FE (which would bypass any Buds 2 FE variant entirely, despite being the first and only successors to the Galaxy Buds FE) has been somewhat… eccentric.

And now, instead of two sets of earbuds, just one has been teased by Samsung's Indian arm – but not by the tech giant's US or UK subdivisions.

And although Samsung India's post on X (below) doesn't expressly state 'Here are the Galaxy Buds Core, ladies n gents!' the tagline 'Let the music move you to the core' is fairly telling… and if you click through to an Amazon listing, you also get to know that sales start on June 27 for buyers based in India.

Brace yourself! The music is about to hit harder. Feel every note, every drop, every beat – louder, clearer, deeper. Dropping soon!Notify me: https://t.co/65SB0Nqwuz#Samsung pic.twitter.com/0Vm7DIvJR6June 21, 2025

Will the US / UK and Australia also get the Galaxy Buds Core on June 27?

Short answer: it's impossible to say – again, this particular release (or pair of releases) from Samsung has been rather hard to follow.

Less than two weeks ago, two unannounced sets of Samsung Galaxy earbuds were revealed in an APK teardown of the latest Galaxy Buds Controller app (Wear OS version, v1.0.08.38 – thank you for your hard work there, Android Authority) and neither of them was the expected Buds 2 FE.

Back in April though, Galaxy Buds Core certification filings were spotted in the US (FCC) and India (BIS) as the successors to the Buds FE – so perhaps it's best to think of the lineup thus: the Buds Core take the spot of the Buds 2 FE, and the Buds 3 FE occupy a place, er, after that.

And we're not done: as spotted by Android Authority, the team over at Gadgets360 spotted a Buds Core listing on Samsung’s official UAE website, which does suggest a global rollout on June 27, even if the US is being fashionably late to the launch party.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds series hasn't seen a new product since the stemmed Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which arrived in summer 2024 (although they did get some much-needed updates in March 2025). So, it's high time for some fresh iterations – and in case you haven't spotted it, the Buds 3 Pro are heavily discounted right now, which often signals products that are about to be superseded.

What's the main upgrade we can expect over the Buds FE? Some have suggested Wi-Fi support (I'll believe it when I see it) but I think we can definitely expect an uptick in stamina. The original Buds FE boasted a relatively humble 6 hours with ANC on and I'm sure Samsung is looking to level that up to stay relevant, even in the $99 / £99 space.

Anyway, not long to wait now…

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• Iranian authorities are pushing citizens to use a domestic messaging app to communicate with their families outside the country
• A security audit found Bale Messenger wasn't safe; it lacks E2EE protection and shares sensitive users data with the app server
• Iran has been experiencing a near-total internet blackout since June 18, 2025, impacting citizens' ability to communicate and access information

As Iran enters the fifth day of a near-total communication blackout, officials are reportedly encouraging citizens to turn to a domestic messaging app to stay in touch with their families outside the country.

Fars News Agency – which is managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – shared a tweet on Friday, June 20, saying that foreign users, as well as locals, can now use the Bale app to communicate with relatives and friends during the internet outage.

There's a problem, though: security researchers have previously flagged Bale (or Baleh) Messenger as a state surveillance tool. Not only did they find that it lacked end-to-end encryption protections, but that it also has censorship and surveillance capabilities.

The risks of Bale Messenger

(Image credit: Future)

Reportedly developed by a company with ties to the National Bank of Iran, Bale (which means Yes in Persian) is an instant messaging application that includes voice-over-IP features, a social media platform, and even banking services.

Bale claims to use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to ensure users chats remain private.

According to data coming from the Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Bale had 16.5 million monthly active users as of May 2023.

Considering its growing popularity, security researchers at the Open Technology Fund decided to verify the claims of Bale and two other Iranian messaging apps (Eitaa and Rubika) with a security audit. The tests were carried out in December 2023 and October 2024 and uncovered several privacy and security vulnerabilities.

Do you know?

(Image credit: Kenneth Cheung/via Getty Images)

Iranian authorities enforced heavy internet restrictions against popular Western apps following the country's 2022 massive protests. This has likely led to a spike in usage of Bale and other Iran-developed applications.

For starters, auditors confirmed that all three apps employed different forms of client-server encryption, but none had E2EE protections enabled, despite government claims.

Specifically Bale was found using "one form of encryption that could be easily reversed in the context of encrypting a user’s credit card data" according to the audit.

All apps could reportedly exchange messages with each other, too, through a backend process called Message Exchange Bus (MXB), which auditors confirmed was a state-owned service.

This meant that the app server "could potentially view plaintext messages due to the lack of E2EE in any of the apps".

Researchers also found evidence of "unexpected transmission of private data".

Crucially, when users click on URLs shared via messages, they appear to be redirected to the application’s backend server.

"This would effectively allow the servers to monitor which websites are viewed by users within the app," researchers explained, deeming the tactic "a mechanism for censorship and surveillance".

The Bale app was also found to share users location data with the app server during authentication.

What experts are saying

Researchers at the Open Technology Fund concluded their security audit by suggesting opting for more secure messaging apps that actually employ E2EE. These include Signal (which also offers anti-censorship proxy servers), Session, and Wire.

Iranian Information Security Analyst and women’s rights advocate Azam Jangrevi also raised concerns following Friday's statement from the Iranian authorities.

Iran's regime has cut internet access, leaving millions disconnected from loved ones abroad. Officials push the "Baleh" app,long flagged by activists as insecure and a tool for state surveillance. #InternetFreedom #Iran #war #IranIsraelConflict pic.twitter.com/3mbuTogCdsJune 20, 2025

Jangrevi told TechRadar: "The app, tied to the National Bank of Iran, has raised red flags due to potential spyware embedded within its code. Key concerns include unauthorized surveillance, remote device access, and metadata collection especially targeting individuals with political or social influence.

"With those risks, analysts urge citizens to avoid Baleh for sensitive communication. Instead, they suggest turning to encrypted services like Signal or WhatsApp (via secure VPNs), though connection quality varies."

Iran's internet blackout

(Image credit: NetBlocks)

Iran has been suffering a near-total internet blackout since June 18, 2025, impacting citizens' ability to communicate and access information.

Internet connectivity was briefly restored on Saturday (June 21) "when residents could exchange messages with the outside world," internet watchdog NetBlocks reported, before collapsing again in the evening.

The latest data from Sunday (see image above) shows that the country remains largely "offline."

"At 72 hours, diminished telecoms continue to impact the public's ability to stay informed and in touch with loved ones," NetBlocks noted.

It's in this context that Iranians were also asked to delete WhatsApp from their smartphones, with officials fearing the app may be used as a source of strategic information for its opponent in the current conflict.

A series of government-imposed restrictions also began on June 13 and sparked a surge of VPN demand across Iran that reached peaks of over 700% increase.

Authorities, however, appear to be targeting VPN usage with some of the best VPN apps now reportedly not working at all times.

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Los Colchoneros need a win against the Brazilian Group B leaders to progress.

• Desktop shipments to enterprises are up 22%, accounting for 17% of enterprise PC sales, report claims
• Consumers on the whole are less keen to upgrade, with just a 9% rise
• The market could slow down or even contract again next year

With the official Windows 10 end of life set for just a few months away, businesses are ramping up their purchasing of new devices in anticipation of boosting support not just for Windows 11, but for future OSs as well.

The latest figures from industry analyst at Context (via The Register) illustrate a 22% year-over-year rise in desktop shipments to enterprise customers during April and May 2025, largely driven by refresh cycles and the looming end of support for Windows 10.

Interestingly, it found companies have been buying many more desktops than portable devices, which ties in with industry trends across the tech sector of widespread return-to-office mandates.

PC shipments rising as Windows 10 end of life nears

"Their share of total PC revenues in early Q2 reached nearly 17%, the highest level in Context's two-year reporting period," Context senior analyst Marie Christine Pygott explained.

"This reflects both a long-overdue refresh cycle in commercial environments and the typical spike in demand ahead of major OS support deadlines."

The trends broadly reflect similar changes seen by Canalys, another firm that tasks itself with monitoring device shipments, among other metrics.

During the first four months of 2025, overall PC shipments were up 9% on average, with desktops up 8% compared with 10% for notebooks. Those metrics account for all PC shipments, though – not just enterprise customers.

Principal Analyst Ishan Dutt explained Microsoft's decision to pull the plug from Windows 10 isn't the only influencing factor over increased sales – ongoing trade war-induced tariffs and widespread economic uncertainty has seen both customers and suppliers aim to acquire new tech before prices increase.

"This preemptive strategy allowed manufacturers and the channel to stock up ahead of potential cost increases, boosting sell-in shipments despite otherwise stable end-user demand," Dutt added.

Windows 10 had remained highly popular for months, with many customers happy with their existing hardware and others limited from upgrading due to software and licensing restrictions. Windows 11 (43%) adoption still hasn't overtaken the number of Windows 10 installs (53%), but the gap has closed considerably in the space of a year (via Statcounter).

However, looking ahead, IDC predicts contraction in the global PC market due to the stabilization brought on by widespread Windows 11 migration.

"Expectations of worsening macroeconomic conditions around the world and in the US characterized by upward pressures on prices and degrading consumer sentiment," IDC Worldwide PC Trackers Research VP Jean Philippe Bouchard added.

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The European champions look to bounce back from a shock defeat at Lumen Field.

The Arm-based Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is small, lightweight and primed to run AI tasks all day long.

• 'Motors' WordPress theme vulnerability leaves accounts open to takeover attacks
• Widespread attacks were observed from June 7 onwards
• A patch is available in version 5.6.68, so update now

A popular premium WordPress theme, has been exploited by hackers thanks to a critical privilege escalation flaw tracked as CVE-2025-4322.

Attackers are able to exploit the vulnerability in the 'Motors' theme to hijack administrator accounts, taking full control of sites to change details, inject false details and spread malicious payloads.

Developed by StylemixThemes and a popular pick among automotive websites, nearly 22,500 sales of the theme have been logged on EnvatoMarket.

'Motors' WordPress theme has been hijacked

The vulnerability had first been discovered on May 2, 2025, with a patch later released with version 5.6.68 on May 14, meaning that up-to-date accounts should be protected from potential account takeovers. Versions up to 5.6.67 are affected by the CVE, with Wordfence reporting on the details on May 19.

"This is due to the theme not properly validating a user's identity prior to updating their password," Wordfence explained.

"This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change arbitrary user passwords, including those of administrators, and leverage that to gain access to their account."

Although the patch has already been released, accounts that are still running older versions are at risk of takeover, with attacks seen to have started on May 20. By June 7, researchers were observing wide-scale attacks – Wordfence has now blocked more than 23,000 attack attempts.

Wordfence also disclosed a number of key IP addresses seen to be attacking sites – many making thousands of attempts each.

"One obvious sign of infection is if a site’s administrator is unable to log in with the correct password as it may have been changed as a result of this vulnerability," the researchers explained.

The biggest change users of the 'Motors' theme can do is to update to version 5.6.68, closing the vulnerability to attackers and securing their accounts from takeovers.

Via BleepingComputer

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The service kicked off as scheduled aboard Tesla's Model Y vehicles, with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee to ride.

As a resident Reviews Writer here at TechRadar, I’ve tested some truly phenomenal gadgets and gizmos, ranging from the best headphones on the planet through to the best Bluetooth speakers. But despite how many impressive products I see, there’s the occasional stand-out release, and the Samsung HW-Q800D soundbar was certainly one of them.

With roaring bass output, awesome Dolby Atmos effects and an abundance of smart features, I was delighted with the soundbar’s talents, awarding it four-and-a-half stars in my Samsung HW-Q800D review.

But recently, I decided it was time for a change and traded my multi-box Samsung set-up for an all-in-one alternative. Why? Well… I’ll reveal that in a moment. But the soundbar in question is the Marshall Heston 120, which packs room-swallowing bass, stellar spatial audio effects and jaw-dropping beauty into one standalone bar.

Still, was it really worth dropping my 360W setup with a rumbling sub for a 150W one-box rival? Yes, yes it was. So, let’s uncover why that’s the case…

The Marshall Heston 120 is a true work of art (Image credit: Future)The noisy neighbor… was me all along

I live in an apartment, and not one that's on the ground floor. And look, I love booming bass as much as anyone… more than most, in fact – but the raw might of the HW-Q800D sometimes felt like overkill for my neighbors.

When watching movies at night – especially those with imposing, bass-heavy scores – I would be hurrying to switch Night mode on through the Samsung Smart Things app. And even then, I sometimes would have to dial down the sub manually, to ensure I wasn’t rousing my lower-floor neighbors from deep slumber.

So, if like me, you live in an apartment complex, especially if you’re in a smaller-sized room and not on the ground floor – a big sub might not be the best move for you.

Since switching to the Marshall Heston 120, I’ve found that night-time viewing is a lot more seamless and worry-free. Yes, the Heston 120 produces incredibly impressive low-frequency audio for an all-in-one bar, but I’m not getting the same floor-shaking rumble that the Q800D dished out.

And if bass power is still a little much, I can still simply switch on Night Mode and adjust the level to ‘high’ in the revamped Marshall app. Easy as you like.

Even if you live in a detached property or don’t have to worry about neighbors for whatever reason, I’d still highly recommend the Marshall Heston 120, though. For most, it will already have enough power to make movie nights that bit more memorable.

But it also has an RCA port, enabling you to connect the soundbar up to any external wired sub. I tried hooking the Heston 120 up to a mega sub from Q Acoustics recently, and the results were mindblowing.

There’ll also be a compatible subwoofer arriving directly from Marshall in the future, dubbed the Heston Sub 200. So if you have the capacity for a multi-box setup, I’m sure this will make your viewing experiences incredibly immersive too.

Here's the Marshall Heston 120 hooked up to the mammoth Q Acoustics Q Sub120, a 600W, 50lbs (22.7kg), 12-inch (30.5cm) beast of a subwoofer! (Image credit: Future)If looks could kill…

OK, so I’m a lot less worried about noise complaints now, but there was something else that really drew me to the Marshall Heston 120. And that’s its incredibly charming retro design, which hooked me from the second I laid eyes on it.

I attended the unveiling of the Heston 120 at Marshall’s Stockholm HQ and I was told that the team was incredibly keen to make its first ever soundbar stand out among a homogenous market filled with hulking black bars. And this is exactly what they did.

The Heston 120 is, to be fair, a hulking black bar. But it's not just that – it has Marshall’s amp-making heritage in its DNA, rocking a wraparound speaker grille, three knurled metal control dials, and a golden Marshall logo positioned right in the center. Golden details and classy red LEDs top off a beautifully crafted product that’s eye-catching, yet classy.

I don’t mind the look of the Samsung HW-Q800D at all. It's got a solid, angular build that screams durability. But in all honesty, it's slightly chunky and lacks the finesse of the Heston 120. If you want your soundbar to be a statement piece as well as a source of sensational cinematic sound, Marshall’s one and only soundbar is a cut above.

I love the gold details on the Marshall Heston 120, they really radiate a sense of luxury (Image credit: Future)A musical maestro, right at the heart of my living room

I’ve spoken a lot about design elements that make the Heston 120 a better fit for my living space, but something I wanted to touch on is performance – specifically, musical performance.

When I tested the Samsung HW-Q800D, I was impressed, overall, with its handling of music. I was treated to excellent depth for dark bass hits, solid instrument separation, and rich mids to boot. But the Heston 120 took things to a new level.

Marshall's soundbar whipped up an incredibly expansive, wide impression when I listened to tunes via Tidal Connect. With Atmos music, guitars sounded as if they were coming from the corners of my room, vocals were pushed forward and percussion danced across the width of the bar.

But stereo music really wowed me, with the Heston 120 offering trouble-free channel separation, subtle detailing and plenty of breathing room for each instrument to express itself as intended.

If want to open yourself up to the best musical experience a soundbar can supply, the Heston 120 is a no-brainer pick. A sidenote to that is you’re even able to connect one of the best record players up to the soundbar via RCA (as long as it has a phono stage built-in) – pretty cool!

Real footage of me switching to Wi-Fi mode before experiencing the Heston 120's mesmerizing musical talents (Image credit: Future)A final note

So, there you have it, the Marshall Heston 120 is the soundbar for me. It suits my living space, it's a real work of art and it has the performance – especially music-wise – to keep me more than satisfied.

But I want to hammer one thing home – the Samsung HW-Q800D is still an excellent multi-box soundbar. I mean, it’s our overall pick for best Dolby Atmos soundbar for good reason!

It might not be optimal for my small apartment, but if you’ve got the right setup, I highly recommend it. Especially as it can be found on sale quite regularly now – as low as £549 in the UK. That’s a considerable chunk less than the Marshall Heston 120, which has a list price of $999 / £899 / AU$1,799.

So, will you be grabbing the Marshall Heston 120? What’s your setup like? I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights in the comments, so please let me know!

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A livestream promised more images of deep space from the new observatory.

There are 20% more homes for sale this May — but it hasn't been enough to pull buyers off the sidelines amid high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty.

(Image credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

• Microsoft has released its 2025 Repsonsible AI Transparency Report
• It outlines its plans to build and maintain responsible AI models
• New regulations are coming in regarding the use of AI, and Microsoft wants to be ready

With AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) increasingly used in many parts of modern life, the trustworthiness and security of these models has become an important consideration for businesses such as Microsoft.

The company has moved to outline its approach to the future of AI in its 2025 Responsible AI Transparency Report, laying out how it sees the future of the technology evolving in years to come.

Just as we have seen AI more broadly adopted by businesses, we have also seen a wave of regulations around the world that aim to establish the safe and responsible use of AI tools and the implementation of AI governance policies that help companies manage the risks associated with AI use.

A hands on approach

In the report, the second following an initial launch in May 2024, Microsoft lays out how it has made significant investments into responsible AI tools, policies, and practices.

These include expanded risk management and mitigation for, "modalities beyond text—like images, audio, and video—and additional support for agentic systems," as well as taking a "proactive, layered approach" to new regulations such as the EU’s AI Act, supplying customers with materials and resources to empower them to be ready and compliant with incoming requirements.

Consistent risk management, oversight, reviewing, and red-teaming of AI and generative AI releases come alongside continued research and development to ‘inform our understanding of sociotechnical issues related to the latest advancements in AI’, with the company's AI Frontiers Lab helping Microsoft, "push the frontier of what AI systems can do in terms of capability, efficiency, and safety."

As AI advances, Microsoft says plans to build more adaptable tools and practices and invest into systems of risk management in order to, "provide tools and practices for the most common risks across deployment scenarios".

That’s not all though, as Microsoft also plans to deepen its work regarding incoming regulations by supporting effective governance across the AI supply chain.

It says it is also working internally and externally to, "clarify roles and expectations", as well as continuing with research into, "AI risk measurement and evaluation and the tooling to operationalize it at scale", sharing advancements with its wider ecosystem to support safer norms and standards.

"Our report highlights new developments related to how we build and deploy AI systems responsibly, how we support our customers and the broader ecosystem, and how we learn and evolve," noted Teresa Hutson, CVP, Trusted Technology Group and Natasha Crampton, Chief Responsible AI Officer.

"We look forward to hearing your feedback on the progress we have made and opportunities to collaborate on all that is still left to do. Together, we can advance AI governance efficiently and effectively, fostering trust in AI systems at a pace that matches the opportunities ahead."

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As its name suggests, AdGuard is best known for its ad-blocker services. However, the organization has also expanded into other security and privacy services, including VPN and DNS services.

Its latest offer, still in beta at the time of writing, is AdGuard Mail, which provides security by offering email aliases and temporary email addresses – so you can keep your mail email addresses and services protected.

Aliases and temporary email addresses can be helpful in a wide variety of scenarios. You might want to sign up for a service or trial to acquire a discount code without signing up for spam, or you could just want to avoid subjecting your mail email address to the risk of phishing attacks or data breaches.

You may need temporary addresses for testing during software development, accessing a webinar or accessing services you don’t fully trust.

AdGuard Mail: Plans and pricing 

At the moment, AdGuard Mail is completely free – which instantly places this product ahead of many competitors.

Bear in mind that AdGuard says that Mail is free “for now”. Given that users have to pay for AdGuard’s other products, we’d expect AdGuard Mail to become a paid product once it leaves beta testing. Indeed, AdGuard’s FAQ says they plan to add paid features and customization options in the future.

Happily, AdGuard’s other products offer competitive pricing, so we’re not concerned about AdGuard Mail having extortionate pricing once it does leave beta.

For instance, the central AdGuard ad-blocking product costs $2.51/£1.99 per month if you pay annually, the VPN’s monthly costs are similar if you stick to an annual deal, and the DNS service has a basic free service.

AdGuard Mail: Features

AdGuard’s concentration on aliases and temporary email addresses gives users several privacy and security benefits.

By using an alias instead of your personal email address, you can avoid using anything identifiable if you want to send or receive messages. Instead, any emails sent to your aliases are then forwarded to their linked mailboxes, providing a layer of protection between you and the sender.

If you use temporary email addresses instead, you can avoid sharing your details and subscribing to any unwanted spam or services.

Ultimately, AdGuard’s aliases are ideal for ongoing communication without using your real addresses, and temporary emails are better for short-term activities.

This helps you avoid spam, phishing attacks, data breaches and privacy issues because you won’t have to use your own email address.

This approach differs from many other secure email providers, which give users their own, permanent email address, but AdGuard still promises robust security.

AdGuard cannot access your messages when using AdGuard Mail, and AdGuard uses secure SMTP connections whenever possible to protect your emails from unauthorized access.

The firm inspects email and website content before they’re loaded to check for any threats – and does so without retaining any information about the content. AdGuard’s thorough filtering protects you from fraudulent websites and websites that are known to distribute malware, and the firm’s filters are updated regularly – so you’re protected from the latest threats.

AdGuard’s reliance on aliases and temporary addresses protects your personal addresses, and that’s not the only area where AdGuard Mail impresses.

Once created, any emails forwarded from your alias are marked in your email client with a special header, so you can easily see AdGuard’s emails. Multiple aliases can be used for single email addresses, and multiple recipients can receive emails from single aliases.

Attachments are also supported for aliases, although temporary email addresses do not currently support attachments. Also consider that you can’t reply to emails forwarded by your aliases – to send replies, you will need to reveal your email address.

Ultimately, AdGuard’s method is simple and effective: use aliases to add a layer of protection so you can enjoy ongoing communication without compromising your email address – and use temporary emails to enjoy the same protection in short-term scenarios.

Of course, it must be noted that AdGuard Mail is markedly different from other secure email providers. This is a secure forwarding service rather than an actual email client, where you can create your own address and access a new, fully featured inbox.

That’s not necessarily bad, though, especially if you want to keep using your primary email address while adding extra protection. And if you combine AdGuard Mail with AdGuard’s other services, like its ad-blocking, VPN, or DNS, you can build a robust and versatile security package.

AdGuard Mail: Interface and in-use

(Image credit: AdGuard Mail)

AdGuard Mail excels thanks to its simplicity and versatility. It’s available as a desktop app for Windows and Mac, as an Android and iOS app, and it can also be accessed using a web interface.

If you want to create a temporary email address for one-time use, you can also just use AdGuard’s website to make and then copy a new address. Once you’ve used it to register for a service or input into a registration form, the reply will actually appear in a temporary inbox that’s right there on the same website. It’s a very clever service.

(Image credit: AdGuard Mail)

No matter what platform you use, AdGuard Mail is straightforward. Open the app for the first time, and it’ll guide you through the main features and launch a simple Wizard dialog that will help you create your first alias.

To create more, it’s just a matter of opening a panel, picking a random address and choosing its forwarding address. You can tag your aliases to make organization more manageable and add a description so you don’t forget its intended use.

(Image credit: AdGuard Mail)

The app includes an option for adding more recipients, a basic inbox for accessing emails sent to your temporary addresses, and a settings menu where you can choose Light or Dark modes, block senders and customize how the app functions on your system.

(Image credit: AdGuard Mail)AdGuard Mail: Support

Right now, the support options for AdGuard are basic – no surprise given its beta status. Most support queries can be answered by browsing the FAQ section, and users can email AdGuard’s support address to access help.

There’s also a web form where users can give feedback about AdGuard Mail, with options for suggesting features and reporting bugs.

AdGuard also maintains active Telegram, Reddit and GitHub communities if you’d like to talk to other service users or troubleshoot using these methods.

AdGuard Mail: The competition

AdGuard Mail has no shortage of competition when it comes to email aliases. Many secure email providers offer this as part of their broader service, like Mailbox.org, Soverin and several others.

Those are paid providers, though, and, at the moment, AdGuard Mail is free – and judging by AdGuard’s pricing elsewhere, it’ll still be a very affordable product in the future, too.

One of the only secure mail rivals that offers aliasing using a free account is Proton, which includes ten aliases in its free product alongside a new email address and 5GB of cloud storage. So, while you do have to maintain a whole new email account, it’s arguably a better deal.

If you just want email aliasing, consider Apple’s Hide My Email feature, Firefox Relay, or even DuckDuckGo Email Protection.

AdGuard Mail: Final verdict

There are plenty of other services beyond AdGuard Mail that offer email aliasing and temporary email addresses.

That said, AdGuard is currently free, it works very well for both aliasing and temporary emails, and it’s certainly worth using – even more if you’re already a keen user of other AdGuard products.

Now more than ever, employers are turning to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies in the workplace, largely due to employees showing interest in saying goodbye to their company-issued phones and leadership looking to increase security measures and cut costs. BYOD adoption rates are increasing year-over-year, with a recent survey finding 67 percent of companies had implemented BYOD policies, up from 51 percent the year prior.

Given the growing interest from organizations and employees looking to transition to the BYOD model, it is critical to understand why this switch is beneficial and the steps companies can take to set them up for success and ensure proper security and privacy measures are implemented.

Making the switch to BYOD: start with “why” & build A plan

Just like any other planning facet of a business, setting up a mobile communications strategy should be based on the company’s “why.” What are the primary reasons this workforce should (or shouldn’t) utilize a BYOD model? Is it productivity, security, better client interactions - or all of the above? Depending on, industry, category, and the size of the company, this “why” can take on many forms.

For instance, a company operating in a highly regulated industry, such as financial services or healthcare, will find it imperative to be able to capture calls and texts for compliance purposes. Another company may instead prioritize data privacy in its phone policy both for the company, itself, and its customers. Either way, having a strong mobile communications strategy, with a BYOD policy in place, is critical.

Companies on the other end of the BYOD spectrum, such as those that rely on a transient, 1099 workforce, will need a solution that allows them to assign business numbers to freelance or contract workers. For organizations looking to cut costs while increasing productivity, companies can look into options such as putting a second, dedicated business identity on employees’ phones to provide a distinct separation of work and personal communications.

No matter which of these examples might fit an organization's business model, it is important to determine the “why” upfront before making a decision on whether or not to utilize a BYOD model.

From there, before putting a BYOD policy into practice, companies should develop an implementation plan, starting with legal and human resources teams collaborating on a phone use policy. Among the many issues to be considered is whether employees will be compensated for the use of their personal phones, typically done in the form of a monthly stipend.

Encouraging employee adoption

While many employees have expressed interest in having a BYOD policy in place, some businesses are still facing difficulties getting their workforce to embrace employee adoption due to employee concerns surrounding data privacy, IT complexities, and execution roadblocks.

Implementing third-party software applications can address many of these concerns, but companies should be cautious of applications that enable secure communications on employee-owned devices. Rather, companies should try utilizing apps that make a distinct separation of work and personal communications. Employees are more likely to engage with a BYOD model if they know their personal data isn’t being monitored or recorded by their employer.

Other strategies for encouraging quick and compliant BYOD adoption:

• Emphasize the benefits of BYOD to employees in rollout communications. Nobody likes to carry a second phone and that alone can often be the driving force for staff engagement.
• If the BYOD policy leverages specific apps, make sure there is adequate training from the start. Additional follow-up training is also useful to assure continued use.
• Implement from the top down. When employees see that leadership is compliant with the new policy, it will encourage other employees to follow suit.

Laying the groundwork for real results

Understanding the “why” for implementing a BYOD policy, selecting an option that works for an organization’s specific needs, and properly encouraging employee adoption, will ultimately result in tangible benefits for both the employer and its employees.

Here are just some of the benefits businesses can realize by switching to a BYOD model:

1. Cost savings: Without the need to buy extra phones or manage another device plan, companies can greatly reduce their hardware and mobile service costs.
2. Convenience: Employees no longer have to carry two devices instead of one. Rather, they can keep work and personal communications separate on the same phone.
3. Security & compliance: Third party applications can offer enterprise-grade security features that support communication compliance (e.g., for financial or legal sectors) with automatic call and text recording, archiving, and monitoring.

In short, a BYOD model, combined with a third party application can give you the benefits of a second phone without the hassle or cost—especially appealing for professionals who need to stay compliant or businesses managing mobile fleets.

We've featured the best business tablet.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, June 23 (game #1246).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1247) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1247) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

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

Quordle today (game #1247) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. Two of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1247) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1247) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• Q

• S

• A

• F

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

Quordle today (game #1247) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1247, are…

• QUALM
• SQUIB
• AXIAL
• FLACK

Today's Quordle was a slightly trickier one for me, with my opening three guesses giving me only three letters for each part of the board.

I started with the top left, where I had three greens to go on in the format -AUL-; BAULK seemed a good option.

That was wrong, but it gave me a B for the top right and K for the bottom right, and that was enough for me to find FLACK and then SQUIB.

The Q in SQUIB then led to QUALM in top left, leaving just the bottom left – which by this stage could only be AXIAL. A tough bunch of words today, for sure.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1247) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1247, are…

• FRESH
• CLOVE
• USURP
• REIGN

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1246, Monday, 23 June: PIXEL, FJORD, STEAL, EXIST
• Quordle #1245, Sunday, 22 June: WREST, CRAZE, PAPAL, SCION
• Quordle #1244, Saturday, 21 June: BUDDY, GROUT, BEGIN, MADAM
• Quordle #1243, Friday, 20 June: BRAID, DULLY, HASTE, LURID
• Quordle #1242, Thursday, 19 June: BRUSH, ISLET, FRUIT, PRIVY
• Quordle #1241, Wednesday, 18 June: MEDIA, SHARK, GUPPY, MOURN
• Quordle #1240, Tuesday, 17 June: LEAPT, PRISM, ADMIN, WHINE
• Quordle #1239, Monday, 16 June: RETRY, SCALD, DINGO, FEIGN
• Quordle #1238, Sunday, 15 June: SHOCK, STEIN, BROIL, COVEN
• Quordle #1237, Saturday, 14 June: STICK, FERRY, THESE, IONIC
• Quordle #1236, Friday, 13 June: REPEL, LARGE, SNIDE, CARRY
• Quordle #1235, Thursday, 12 June: SCANT, BATCH, UNDER, PARSE
• Quordle #1234, Wednesday, 11 June: CRAVE, ROOST, ANGLE, FLOOD
• Quordle #1233, Tuesday, 10 June: DECRY, CHEEK, FILET, EASEL
• Quordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVEL
• Quordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUME
• Quordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAP
• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, June 23 (game #743).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

NYT Connections today (game #744) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SOLID
• POD
• CAST
• STUDIO
• PLANE
• STERN
• HULL
• FIRM
• TITLE
• LINE
• TOUGH
• SHELL
• HUSK
• DIRECTOR
• POINT
• RIGID

NYT Connections today (game #744) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Severe, behaviourally
• GREEN: Outer layer
• BLUE: Screen listings
• PURPLE: Geometric stages of being

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #744) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: STRICT
• GREEN: BOTANICAL COVERINGS
• BLUE: SEEN IN OPENING CREDITS
• PURPLE: OBJECTS IN 0-, 1-, 2- AND 3-DIMENSIONAL SPACE

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

NYT Connections today (game #744) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #744, are…

• YELLOW: STRICT FIRM, RIGID, STERN, TOUGH
• GREEN: BOTANICAL COVERINGS HULL, HUSK, POD, SHELL
• BLUE: SEEN IN OPENING CREDITS CAST, DIRECTOR, STUDIO, TITLE
• PURPLE: OBJECTS IN 0-, 1-, 2- AND 3-DIMENSIONAL SPACE LINE, PLANE, POINT, SOLID

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 2 mistakes

Although I made a couple of mistakes here, this wasn't a particularly difficult Connections puzzle compared to some.

If you didn't know which color each group was in, you wouldn't necessarily be able to predict which would be yellow and which purple – none were really difficult.

So, how did I make two errors? Simply because the answers for yellow, STRICT, overlapped with a few words from other groups. The eventual solutions were FIRM, RIGID, STERN and TOUGH – but SOLID seemed like it could go with the first couple of those, while STERN and HULL could also have been part of a boat-based grouping.

Anyway, I got there in the end.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, June 23, game #743)

• YELLOW: KINDS OF JEANS BOYFRIEND, FLARE, MOM, SKINNY
• GREEN: FICTION CATEGORIES HISTORICAL, LITERARY, SPECULATIVE, YOUNG ADULT
• BLUE: WORDS IN HEMINGWAY TITLES BELL, FAREWELL, OLD MAN, SUN
• PURPLE: ___ GLASS GLASSWARE COCKTAIL, COLLINS, OLD FASHIONED, SHOT

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.