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Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: two-minute review

When I first set eyes on the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer, I saw it as a more advanced alternative to the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which are designed to sit on either side of your TV and add ambience to your home entertainment setup. The Wall Washer can certainly do that – and with more atmospheric results thanks to its wider projection area – but it can do a lot more, too.

Like the Light Bar, the Wall Washer is a discreet-looking device that's designed to be positioned with its light source shining against a wall, rather than into the room, producing a diffuse glow that (as the name suggests) washes your room with color. However, unlike the Play Light Bar, which can only show one color at a time, each Wall Washer contains three lights, stacked vertically, which overlap to form a smooth gradient.

As the video below shows, the three lights can also dim and brighten independently to create shimmering effects, which is a nice feature if you choose to use a single Wall Washer as a table lamp to set the mood as part of a larger Philips Hue lighting setup.

You can use the Wall Washer via Bluetooth, but to unlock all its features (and to justify its price), you'll also need a Philips Hue Bridge. This small hub device plugs into your router and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to create a mesh network that connects all of your Hue lights, switches, and cameras to one another, and to the internet.

Provided you have that, setting up your Wall Washer is straightforward. Just select the "Add" option within the Hue mobile app, scan the QR code on the base of your Wall Washer when prompted and then choose a room or zone for it (you'll be prompted to create an area if none already exist). If you have more than one Wall Washer, you'll need to add each one separately, but that takes only a few seconds.

You can add Wall Washers to any room or zone in the Philips Hue app, sync them with other lights, and apply scenes across them all (Image credit: Future)

Once that's done, you can change the color of each Wall Washer by choosing a shade from the app's color wheel. You can also apply a preset color scheme (known as a "scene") from the Hue library; create your own scene by picking colors or importing a picture; or apply an animated dynamic scene such as the shimmering purple effect above.

You can customize your Wall Washer by itself, or apply a scene to all the lights in a room or zone.

Despite its small size, the Wall Washer projects light a long way, and when it was positioned on a table, I found the color reached all the way to the ceiling. If you like the idea of a Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp, but don't have the space, the Wall Washer would be a good alternative for around the same price. Although there are only three lights in each Wall Washer, the color gradient is totally seamless, as you can see in the image at the top of this review.

As mentioned earlier, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer can also sync with your TV, extending the colors from the screen in the same way as a Philips Ambilight TV to create a more immersive viewing experience by effectively blurring the edges of the picture.

To do this, you'll need at least one Wall Washer, plus either a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, or a smart TV that's compatible with the Philips Hue Play Sync app. The app was initially only available for selected Samsung TVs, but in February 2025, Signify (Philips Hue's parent company) launched a version for LG sets as well.

The advantage of using the app is that there's less to setup, and you can use it to sync your Hue lights with content from your TV's native apps. If you use a Sync Box, you can only sync with content from HDMI sources.

Image 1 of 3

Colors are natural, and the gradient effect looks seamless when used with an HDMI Sync Box (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 3

There was very little lag when I used the Wall Washers with an HDMI Sync Box connected to a set-top box (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3

Even in daylight, the Wall Washer lights were effective (Image credit: Future)

As you can see in the video and images above, there's very little latency when using the Wall Washer lights with a Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box connected to a set-top box, and colors look natural rather than distracting. The lighting is effective, even in daylight, and the gradient means the Wall Washers create a more seamless look than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which can only average out the color on each side of your screen.

The main disadvantage of the Wall Washer compared to the Philips Hue Play Light Bar is that it only stands upright, and it isn't designed to be mounted horizontally. As such, it isn't well suited for use underneath your TV. You'll probably want at least two for a home entertainment setup (and possibly another for elsewhere in the room), which will be considerably more expensive.

If you have just one Wall Washer, it also works well as a wake-up light on your nightstand. The Hue app contains automations that are designed to wake you with a simulated sunrise, with the lamp gradually becoming brighter and the light becoming cooler, reaching full brightness by a set time. I'm very sensitive to light at night, and the Wall Washer is the first lamp I've found that doesn't shock me awake by increasing brightness abruptly. It's more like waking gradually as the sun comes through your tent on a camping trip.

At the end of the day, you can wind down with a sunset automation, which runs the same sequence in reverse. The video above shows the last 20 seconds of a five-minute sleep automation, during which the light color shifts from warm white to orange to red, while gradually decreasing in brightness.

Overall, it's the most versatile smart light I've tested to date, and although it certainly isn't cheap, there's no denying its performance, whichever room you're using it in.

• Performance: 5/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: price and availability

• Costs $219.99 / £169.99 for one, or $384.99 / £299.99 for two
• Not yet available in Australia
• Works best with Philips Hue Bridge

At the time of writing, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is available direct from the Philips Hue website in the US and UK, and from Amazon in the US. It isn't yet on sale in Australia, but FAQ pages on the Australian Philips Hue site indicate that its launch there is imminent.

A single Philips Hue Play Wall Washer has a list price of $219.99 / £169.99 (about AU$340), and if you're planning to use the lights on either side of your TV (as shown in some of the photos here), you can pick up a two-pack for $384.99 / £299.99 (about AU$600).

That makes it one of the most expensive Philips Hue lights around, but it's also the most versatile, serving as a filler light to add ambience, a backlight for your home entertainment system, and a wake-up light. Most Hue lights only fill one niche, so the Wall Washer's adaptability makes its price tag more palatable.

For comparison, the Philips Hue Play Light Bar has a list price of $89.99 / £64.99 / AU$129.95 each. If you're considering the Wall Washer as a wake-up lamp, the Philips Hue Twilight (which also has a front-facing LED for reading) costs $279 / £249 (about AU$430).

If you want to use the Wall Washers with your TV, you'll also need a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and Philips Hue Bridge, so factor these into your budget calculations if you don't already own them.

• Value score: 4/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: specifications

Wattage

60W

Maximum brightness

1,035 lumens

Colors

2,000-6,500K Hue White Colour Ambiance

Control options

Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant (via Philips Hue app)

Max lights per power supply

3

Connectivity

Zigbee/Bluetooth

Size (H x W)

6.2 x 3.6 inches / 15.7 x 9.1cm

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: design

Each Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is nearly cylindrical, and measures 6.2 inches / 15.7cm tall and 3.6 inches / 9.1cm in diameter. This is considerably shorter than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which stand at 11.5 inches / 29.2cm high; but the design of the Wall Washer and its improved LEDs means that it can throw light over a larger area.

The Wall Washer has an aluminum case (rather than plastic for the Play Light Bars), and has a smart-looking matte finish. It's available in black (shown here) or white, so you can pick an option that will blend well with your décor.

The back of the Wall Washer has a flat surface, and contains three Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance lights arranged vertically. That might not sound like much, but the lights overlap in such a way that they shine a super-smooth gradient onto your wall, with no banding whatsoever.

The Wall Washer contains three lights that overlap to create a smooth gradient (Image credit: Future)

This technology, called ColorCast, is the same used by the Philips Hue Twilight wake-up lamp – and like the Twilight, the Wall Washer can be dimmed to an extremely low level for use at night.

You can connect up to three Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights to a single power supply, although they're only sold in packs of one or two.

• Design score: 5/5

Should you buy the Philips Hue Play Wall WasherPhilips Hue Play Wall Washer: score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

One of the most expensive Philips Hue lights around, but also one of the most versatile.

4/5

Design

Small and discreet, with cleverly positioned overlapping LEDs that produce a super-smooth color gradient.

5/5

Performance

Easy to use, and works brilliantly whether adding ambience to your home cinema, serving as a fill light, or waking you up with a natural sunrise effect.

5/5

Buy it if

You already have some (or are planning to buy) other Philips Hue products

To get the most out of the Wall Washer you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge and possibly an HDMI Sync Box, so if you're not planning to build a whole Philips Hue setup then it's hard to justify the price of this lamp plus all the accessories.

You want a versatile smart light

Unlike some Philips Hue Play lights, the Wall Washer isn't just for use with your TV.

Don't buy it if

You want task lighting

This is a light for creating a mood, not for boosting visibility. If you want something similar for task lighting, take a look at the Philips Hue Twilight, which has the same ColorCast tech, but also has a front-facing reading light.

You want a statement piece

The Wall Washer can create a dramatic effect, but the device itself is designed to be discreet. If you want something that makes a statement, something like the Govee Table Light 2 might work better.

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is right for you, here are two other options to consider.

Philips Hue Play Light Bars

If you only want a light to add ambience to games and movies, the Play Light Bar is a much more affordable alternative. It doesn't project a gradient and it doesn't throw light as far, but if you catch it in a sale then you can pick up a pair for almost half the price of two Wall Washers.

Read our full Philips Hue Play Light Bar review

Philips Hue Signe Gradient Table Lamp

If you want an attractive light gradient for your walls but aren't interested in syncing it with your TV, this minimalist lamp is a more affordable option.

Read our full Philips Hue Signe Gradient Table Lamp review

How I tested the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer:

I connected the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer to my Philips Hue Bridge, and used it in various rooms in my house (alone, and as a pair). First I connected it to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, which was linked to a digital set-top box, and experimented with viewing different films and TV shows to assess color-matching and latency. The screengrabs above show content from TechRadar's YouTube channel for copyright reasons, but I tested the lights with a wide variety of media.

I also used a single Wall Washer as a fill light together with a pair of Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulbs in ceiling fixtures. I experimented with applying different scenes to all the lights in the room, and creating new ones.

Finally, I tested a single Wall Washer on my nightstand, using the Wake Up and Sleep automations to assess how smoothly the color and brightness of the light can change, and how dim it can become before switching off. I compared its performance to a purpose-made wake-up light.

For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

First reviewed July 2025.

• 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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Commentary: Apple may take a page out of Samsung's book and bring a thin design to its long-rumored foldable. It could be the innovation leap it so desperately needs.

Get your heart rate and fitness levels up with these go-to cardio exercises.

• 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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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is in Russia to discuss the war in Ukraine ahead of a deadline for peace. And, today marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which is facing new threats.

(Image credit: Gavril Grigorov/Pool)

This man in Mozambique is one of many who've received a cash sum with no strings attached. The Trump administration has criticized and curtailed the practice. Advocates are pushing back with evidence.

BitComet is a free torrenting client for PCs and mobile devices. It allows you to download videos, music, photos, and other files from across the web. BitComet is unique because it doesn’t support only the BitTorrent protocol. It can also download files using the HTTP and FTP protocols.

With a glut of torrenting platforms available, many people struggle to choose the best one for their needs. We’re reviewing BitComet to help you decide whether it’s an ideal choice. Our review centers on crucial factors, including its features, user-friendliness, and security.

BitComet: Versions and platforms

BitComet is available as a desktop or mobile app. The desktop app is compatible with the Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. The mobile app is compatible only with the Android operating system. Like most torrenting apps, it is incompatible with iOS.

Apple's iOS App Store has stringent requirements and is generally unfriendly to torrenting apps. Hence, most torrenting apps are incompatible with iOS.

You can download BitComet by heading to the website, clicking the “downloads” section, and choosing your relevant operating system. Downloading and installing the app takes little time and effort.

(Image credit: Future)BitComet: Features

BitComet is unique because it supports multiple file-sharing protocols (BitTorrent, HTTP, and FTP). You can download content indirectly via torrents or directly from an online source.

This platform supports long-term seeding, whereby any torrent file a user downloads is kept for an extended period. This makes it easy for other users on the network to access the file, ensuring faster download speeds across the torrenting network.

BitComet has a “torrent exchange” feature that allows users to obtain torrents directly from other BitComet users. This feature increases the availability of content on its torrenting network.

To download content via BitComet, you’ll first search for the relevant torrent from your favorite torrent site. For instance, if you want a specific audio track, you can search for the track and download the .torrent file on your PC. Then, you’ll upload this torrent to BitComet to begin the download. Alternatively, you can download a file by providing its torrent hash or Magnet URI.

BitComet supports the HTTP and FTP file transfer protocols, so you can also download a file by providing its HTTP URL. Unlike most rivals exclusively used for torrenting, we like that BitComet supports multiple download protocols.

To illustrate, we downloaded a (public domain) music .torrent file. The next step is clicking on BitComet’s torrent upload button, highlighted with a red arrow in the below image.

(Image credit: Future)

Click on this button, upload the file, and you’ll automatically create a new download task. Choose the file destination and click “Download Now” to begin downloading. Alternatively, you can click “Download Later” and schedule the download at a specific time.

BitComet shows your real-time download progress and speed. You can monitor all your pending or completed downloads from a single page. You’re free to pause or stop a pending download.

When testing BitComet, we observed swift download speeds, but yours can vary depending on how many seeders (for your specific torrent file) are present on the network. Seeders are users like you who have downloaded and shared a file with other BitComet users.

The more seeders available, the more bandwidth and the faster your download speed. The fewer the seeders on the network, the slower your download speed. Your network speed also contributes to how fast BitComet will download your torrent file.

If you download content via HTTP or FTP, you don't need to worry about seeders. In this case, your download speed primarily depends on your internet service provider (ISP).

Torrenting can consume significant bandwidth, especially when acting as a seeder for other BitComet users. To save bandwidth, BitComet lets users set maximum file upload speeds. You’ll never surpass this limit when uploading files for other users.

BitComet lets users set IP filters for security purposes. You can do that via denylists or allowlists. Denylists block specific IP addresses from sharing files with your device, usually the IPs known for spreading malware. With allowlists, you’ll permit only a specific set of IP addresses to share files with your device, and the others are automatically blocked.

BitComet: Interface and in-use

Intuitiveness is one of the main advantages we observed when testing BitComet. It has a simple interface that users can easily understand. All the functions are neatly arranged on the dashboard’s upper side. The upper-left corner hosts an array of buttons, including the torrent upload, start, stop, and delete buttons.

Every button has a fitting icon as opposed to plain text, making it easy to discover what you want. BitComet has a white background and bright colors to make icons noticeable. The navigation menu is easily accessible on a desktop or Android phone.

BitComet is compatible with the most popular desktop operating systems—macOS, Windows, and Linux—and the most popular mobile operating system (Android). It is highly accessible, though it lacks an iOS app for broader reasons.

BitComet: Security and privacy

Torrenting can expose you to security threats like malware. Hence, BitComet has sophisticated features to prevent users from falling victim to cyber threats. It automatically scans all files for viruses before downloading them. You'll be warned and prompted to cancel the download if a virus is detected.

This platform uses advanced encryption algorithms to prevent unauthorized parties from snooping on your torrenting activities. For heightened security, you can set BitComet always to encrypt outgoing connections and only accept encrypted incoming connections.

Though very secure, BitComet isn’t perfectly airtight. There’s always a risk of your torrenting activities getting leaked, so don’t use BitComet for illegal activities. TechRadar explicitly doesn’t endorse piracy.

BitComet: Final Verdict

BitComet is one of the best free torrenting solutions. It makes discovering and downloading content a cakewalk, thanks to its support of other protocols aside from BitTorrent. We recommend BitComet to anyone looking for a suitable torrenting solution.

We list the best free torrent client.

• 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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