Developer Sandfall Interactive has released a new Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 update that adds a bunch of quality-of-life improvements, and most notably, a Battle Retry option.
"We’re SUPER excited to bring you the Battle Retry option in this update, which has been one of our most requested QoL additions!" the developer said in the Version 1.4.0 patch notes.
Instead of requiring players to reload their save after defeat, this new feature will now appear in a pop-up window, allowing them to quickly retry the battle.
In addition, the update has implemented frame generation and low latency on compatible NVIDIA and Intel GPUs, for smoother gameplay and lower input lag, but Sandfall is still working on adding AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR).
"We are still exploring support for FSR, but we need more time to work on it. Stay tuned for more updates on that in a future patch!" Sandfall said.
Among a host of bug fixes, visual improvements, and other quality-of-life changes, players will now find that the Pictos menu will clearly display the Lumina cost of each ability for better battle planning.
Another neat addition includes an autoplay feature for dialogues outside cutscenes, which can be toggled in the settings and during dialogues. You can check out the full patch notes below.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Version 1.4.0 Patch notesPerformance and Visuals
Quality of Life Improvements
Accessibility
Combat
Misc
Achievements
Environmental Polish
If you are a fan of old sitcoms, you’ll know it’s the 40th anniversary of NBC’s The Golden Girls, and to celebrate, Hulu is now streaming all seven seasons (finally). Running from 1985-1992, the hit comedy told the story of four middle-aged women living together in Miami, which was basically the coastal precursor to Sex and the City. It wiped the floor with its competition at the Emmys for seven years in a row, and even if you’ve only seen a few minutes of it, it’s easy to see why its 95% fan Rotten Tomatoes rating from the critics has been earned.
I’m sure you’re thinking that it’s better to spend your free time catching up with other Hulu shows like The Bear, Only Murders in the Building and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but I’m here to convince you otherwise. Sure, all of these shows (and many more) are among the best Hulu shows available to stream at the moment, but there’s going to be so much time available to revel in them. You never know when something is going to be snatched away from one of the best streaming services, so take the opportunity to become a Golden Girls aficionado while you can.
Why am I hardballing this so much? Having watched many, many TV shows in my time, I firmly believe that The Golden Girls is the only one in existence to truly be both ahead of its time and timeless. Where so many shows are now afraid to take risks and speak their minds, my awesome foursome went where many still don’t dare to go. Still not convinced? Let me break it down for you.
The Golden Girls is Hulu’s best streamable show of all time, don’t even fight meLet’s set the scene. Beautifully sarcastic Dorothy (Bea Arthur), sexual free spirit Blanche (Rue McClanahan), naive yet lovable Rose (Betty White) and Dorothy’s no-nonsense mother Sophia (Estelle Getty) all find themselves in a Miami house share as they enter their “middle age”. As their friendship deepens, the women see each other through all of life's ups and downs, resulting in some of the best comedic writing and timing ever committed to screen. There’s also the banging theme tune shown above too, which is another all-timer contender.
If you’re not familiar with our casts’ names, they were each heavy hitters in the comedic TV space before teaming up for The Golden Girls, and you’ll most definitely know White from films like The Proposal, You Again and the English dub of Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo.
The fact our leading ladies have a fair bit of life experience between them, the range for storylines was endless. While this sometimes explored inappropriate affairs, love triangles, health scares and gossip over a cheesecake, they also took on many social issues. They tackled HIV at the height of the AIDS crisis, LGBTQ+ relationships, interracial marriage, disability, and antisemitism with outcomes that have aged better than most of what we see on screen now. There is so much heart in the humor here, and the care for its craft really shows.
On top of this, the bond between Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche in particular is the kind of friendship you dream of having growing up. None of them should technically get along on paper, and there’s no chance they would have crossed paths if it wasn’t for the fact they needed somewhere to live. But as life has a habit of doing, what’s meant for you won’t pass you by, with the trio proving that living is a beautiful yet complicated thing. They can be caring, but also give as good as they get (nobody wants to be at the receiving end of a Dorothy zinger).
I first found the show when I was around 11 years old, and I still know all of the words by heart as well as any YouTube compilation video. The Golden Girls undoubtedly shaped my view of how I saw the world, and alongside helping me to be unarguably hilarious, I think it made sure I was empathetic to what someone else might be experiencing. Many people are marginalised by life, but they don’t have to be disrespected. If an 1980s sitcom can remind us of that better than many big influences in life, why wouldn’t you watch it?
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(Image credit: Delil souleiman/AFP)
If you've ever wished you could hold your smart TV in your hand and roll it around the room as well as stick it on the wall or sit it on a nearby surface, then LG's StanbyME 2 could be just what you're looking for. The newly updated StanByME is a very different kind of TV from the rest of the LG range: it's a TV that thinks it's a tablet, or maybe it's a tablet that thinks it's a TV.
Let's start with the normal bit first. The StanbyME 2 is a 27-inch smart TV with a 60Hz refresh rate and a QHD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 with AI picture optimization.
You can use it like a normal TV, but it can do much more. Pop it off the stand and you can watch wirelessly for up to four hours, which is better than you get from most of the best portable projectors that have batteries.
If you sit it on your lap, you can take advantage of a 27-inch touchscreen to draw or play games. Or you can hang it on the wall and use it as a picture frame (or just watch TV from there). Or you can roll it around on its heavyweight wheeled stand.
There are three TVs in this photo. How many did you spot? (Image credit: LG)LG StanbyMe 2: key features and pricingThe StanbyME is a webOS TV with all the usual smart features for accessing the best streaming services, and it also has USB-C and HDMI inputs – plus there's AirPlay and Google Cast so you can use it as a display for other devices. It works in both portrait and landscape mode, and it has both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support with "virtual 9.1.2 surround sound".
You can even recharge it from a power bank if there's enough juice: external recharging needs a 65W power supply, which lots of the best power banks can offer now.
I could actually see myself using this: 27 inches is the same size as my much-missed massive iMac, and that size is a really good display upgrade from a laptop. Being able to use it as an TV in a bedroom or kitchen to amuse the kids is a great feature, since you can then just hide it away afterwards. ,
The voice recognition could be especially useful for the kitchen, for when you're cooking and have messy hands. I'd describe it as 'transportable' rather than fully portable, though: at 9.5lbs without the stand, it's pretty hefty.
It should be fairly future-proof: LG promises software updates for up to five years.
The downside, which you've probably noted, is the price. Not only is the StanByME 2 quite expensive, but it's much more expensive than the first generation StanByMe TV. The StanByME 2 is $300 more than the previous model, taking the sticker price to a pretty hefty $1,299 – the same as an Apple iMac M3, and that's got a computer inside it as well.
The StanByMe is available now in the US and will launch in the UK, Germany, France and Spain in August 2025. Pricing for those countries hasn't been announced just yet.
You might also likeMany parents want to keep track of their children’s whereabouts, particularly if they’re visiting an unfamiliar location, but that’s not always an easy thing to do. Now a new range of sneakers from Skechers offers a novel solution: each pair contains a hidden compartment designed to house an Apple AirTag tracker.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen AirTags hidden in a set of footwear, but the difference here is that the Find My Skechers line is designed specifically for kids. Each pair comes with a small cutout in the heel made to store an AirTag – to access it, you just lift the insole and the webbed liner underneath it. This reveals a screw-shut AirTag holder that conceals the tracker, and Skechers says your child won’t feel it while wearing the shoes.
Once the AirTag is in place, you can track its location using Apple’s Find My app. The idea is that the hidden compartment will protect the AirTag without interfering with its wireless capabilities.
The Find My Skechers sneakers are available in a range of sizes and designs. They’re also machine washable, although we’d recommend removing the AirTag before you toss these shoes in with your laundry.
Better protection(Image credit: Skechers)Knowing your child’s location is obviously an important concern for a lot of parents, and there are devices that let you clip an AirTag or other tracker to your child before they leave the house. But there’s always the possibility that these products could be damaged or tampered with by the child.
Skechers’ new sneakers could avoid that by burying the AirTag inside the shoe itself, making it tougher for the child to get to and offering better protection from the elements. They also lack any branding that would hint that there’s an AirTag inside them, enabling the wearer to blend in and avoid the gaze of people who might target them based on the AirTag connection.
But the question remains over whether Find My Skechers are a good idea. From a quick survey of TechRadar writers who are raising kids of their own, the point was made that toddlers and young children are likely to grow out of these shoes quickly. At $52 to $58 a pop, that’s a cost that quickly adds up when you need to buy new ones every six months.
As well as that, kids at the older end of the target market might have phones of their own anyway, which can be used to track their location. That means there are question marks over how necessary Skechers sneakers are, at least for some parents.
Find My Skechers start at $52 per pair, and are available for both toddlers and young children. We’ll have to see how effective they are, but they're likely to turn parents’ heads one way or another.
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(Image credit: Dhiraj Singh)
We're seeing plenty of leaks and rumors in the run up to the official unveiling of the Google Pixel 10 series, which is happening on Wednesday, August 20. The latest leaks to reach us cover pricing and on-sale availability, and it's good news in both cases.
First up, Android Headlines has apparently got hold of some inside information on pricing. From these figures, the starting prices will apparently be $799 (Pixel 10), $999 (Pixel 10 Pro), $1,199 (Pixel 10 Pro XL), and $1,799 (Pixel 10 Pro Fold).
Those are the same as we saw for the Google Pixel 9 phones, except for the Pixel 10 Pro XL – but it seems that the cheapest version of that phone will have 256GB of storage this year, rather than 128GB, which means it does match the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
In other regions, that would mean the Pixel 10 will likely cost £799 / AU$1,349, while the Pixel 10 Pro should set you back £999 / AU$1,699. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, meanwhile, should again cost £1,799 / AU $2,699.
We heard a couple of weeks ago that Pixel pricing would stay the same, but we only had prices in euros. An earlier leak from April suggested certain models might cost more or less, but this latest information points to price freezes across the board.
When can you buy one?Google has already shown off the Google Pixel 10 Pro (Image credit: Google)With a Made by Google event in the calendar for August, Google itself has already given us a glimpse of one of the phones we can expect to see – but it hasn't revealed when these handsets are actually going to be available to buy.
According to a source speaking to GSMArena, the Pixel 10 phones will be available to preorder the same day, August 20. There might be some variation between the different models though, which was the case last year.
Other recent rumors have suggested the Pixel 10 series is going to be the first set of Android phones to introduce MagSafe-style wireless charging, while we've also seen multiple unofficial renders hinting at the designs of these devices.
It's not just the Pixel 10 phones we're expecting to see at the August 20 event either. It looks very likely that we'll also be getting the Google Pixel Watch 4 and the Google Pixel Buds 2a – and we will of course be covering the event live.
You might also likeMicrosoft has confirmed plans to invest over $30 billion in capital expenditures next quarter alone, making it the most expensive quarter for the company to date.
If Microsoft follows through, it would mark a 24% increase over its most recent financial quarter, during which the company allocated $24.2 billion to capital spending.
Although more than half went to long-lived assets with more than 15 years' monetization potential, most of the remainder was dedicated purely to CPUs and GPUs for growing AI workloads, highlighting not only the scale of the potential, but how much interest Microsoft has, when it has the budget to allocate billions to AI.
Microsoft spending bigMicrosoft's spending spree forms part of a race to expand AI and cloud capacity as it continues to battle it out with Amazon (currently the world's most popular cloud provider) and Google Cloud.
In terms of fiscal performance, the company's FY25 Q4 saw an 18% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, to $76.4 billion.
Among its most lucrative businesses, unsurprisingly, were cloud-related products. Microsoft 365 Commercial and Consumer cloud revenue climbed 18% and 20% each, with Intelligent Cloud revenue up 26% to $29.9 billion and revenue for Azure and other cloud services up a staggering 39%.
Even though businesses everywhere want to stay on top of the AI curve, Microsoft wasn't able to impress so much with PC shipments. Windows OEM and Devices revenue only saw a 3% rise.
"Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," CEO Satya Nadella explained.
CFO Amy Hood explained that, even though Microsoft Cloud gross margin had dropped two percentage points to 68%, performance was better than anticipated thanks to "continued efficiency gains."
You might also likeThe Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a hit, at least compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and every Fold that came before. Samsung says the “Galaxy Z Fold7 received the most preorders in Z Fold history in the U.S,” even though this is the most expensive phone I’ve ever seen at retail, with a $1,999 starting price. I’m not sure what spurred this interest in foldables, but I’m on board and hoping Samsung uses this momentum to push forward with a big Galaxy tri-fold next year.
It wasn’t just the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that was popular among early adopters. Samsung also says its Galaxy Z Flip 7 has been selling briskly, and the two models together combined achieved more than a 25% increase in preorders versus last year’s Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 costs about the same as last year’s Z Flip 6, depending on your region, but it comes with a much larger cover display, a sticking point that held previous Galaxy Z Flip phones back. The phone also uses a Samsung Exynos 2500 processor, instead of the bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset found in the rest of Samsung’s flagship phones.
(Image credit: Future / Cas Kulk)Samsung says that preorders from mobile carriers in the US saw an even greater jump, with advanced sales up 60% over last year’s models. Right now, AT&T will give you a Galaxy Z Fold 7 for 55% off the full price if you pay for it on a 36-month payment plan. That means you’ll pay $25 per month until 2028 if you want to buy this big foldable. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is available for free from all three major US carriers, with a new contract agreement.
How the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is better (and worse) than the Z Fold 6It’s mindblowing that the expensive Galaxy Z Fold 7 is beating its predecessor so handily in early sales. Samsung says the Z Fold 7 is outpacing the Z Fold 6 by nearly 50% since it landed on store shelves on July 25.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 offers the same 200MP camera sensor as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, one of our favorite camera phones. That bridges the camera divide that has separated foldable phones from flat phones, and finally makes the Galaxy Z Fold a serious contender among the best phones you can buy.
Even the coralred Galaxy Z Flip 7 is selling well, according to Samsung (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)The Galaxy Z Fold 7 also gives up the S Pen, a surprisingly anti-Ultra move by Samsung, but perhaps the right call. Previous Galaxy Z Fold phones could use a special version of the Samsung stylus, but it had to be the Z Fold edition of the S Pen or else it could scratch the delicate folding display inside.
I’ve reviewed and extensively used just about every Samsung Galaxy foldable phone for the past four years, and I’m rooting for the success of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 because, frankly, Samsung finally listened to me (and its customers).
After years of awkward designs and a cover display that looked more like a narrow bowling lane than a smartphone screen, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 design is a triumph. It looks and feels like a typical, compact smartphone when it’s closed, but it gives you an iPad mini-sized screen when it’s open.
Samsung's success is because of... me? (and also all the other customers)The older Galaxy Z Fold 5 was too narrow (Image credit: Future)Samsung likewise attributes its success to listening to me (and its customers). Samsung VP Drew Blackard says, “we’ve addressed consumer feedback year after year and have arrived at the kind of experience you can’t get on any other device.” I’m guessing that feedback included 'why is my phone so heavy' and 'why does the cover screen look so weird,' because those are the big improvements this year versus last.
Or maybe it’s just time for foldable phones to have their moment. Let’s be real – AI features aren’t selling smartphones. Phone makers have needed a new hook to get people interested. It seemed like foldable displays could be that hook, but buyers hesitated, likely because they were afraid the phones weren’t durable, or weren’t worth the premium price tag.
The price has climbed higher, but so has the durability rating. Samsung’s IP48 rating means the phone still can’t handle dust and fine particles, but it’s totally water-resistant for a dip in the pool.
And the phone may be more durable than Samsung lets on. I’m not a fan of Jerry Rig Everything on YouTube – I question his unscientific testing and claims – but his inability to destroy or even crack the screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is one of the most compelling teardown videos I’ve seen. He bends the phone backward, and not only does it NOT crack – it doesn’t break at all! The inner display looks perfectly normal after his abuse.
Time for Samsung to unleash the foldable beastGreat job, Samsung! Now do one of these. (Image credit: Future)Now I want to see Samsung unlock its foldable potential. I’ve been skeptical of Samsung’s foldables, mainly due to uncorrected mistakes – the narrow front screen on the Z Fold line and the small, useless cover display on the Z Flip phones. Those mistakes are gone, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that sales are higher than ever.
Samsung should launch its triple-folding phone as soon as possible. There have been rumors that Samsung has a Huawei Mate XT competitor in the works, and now is a great time to show the full force of Samsung’s design power. I would love to see Samsung capitalize on the Z Fold 7’s popularity and show up next July with a new Samsung G Fold, the rumored name for the triple-screen foldable.
It will cost a fortune, probably twice as much as today’s Z Fold 7. It will also be spectacular, with Samsung’s latest thin design and best-in-class productivity software. Maybe if it’s good enough, it will put an end to all of the fervor over AI features and get people excited about new hardware and phone designs again.
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The Federal Reserve voted yesterday to keep interest rates steady, despite the president calling for lower rates. And, Texas Republicans proposed a new redistricting map.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)
Torrenting clients give users access to a deluge of content. Unsurprisingly, one of the most popular free torrent clients is aptly named Deluge. It’s a free and open-source torrenting client that’s a favorite for many.
I decided to test Deluge to see whether it’s better than other clients I’ve used. My test centered on its features, performance, user-friendliness, and security, among other crucial factors. Read on to learn my opinion about choosing Deluge as a torrenting client.
Deluge: VersionsExtensive PC compatibility is one of the first things that stood out about Deluge. Its official downloads page listed apps for macOS, Windows, and various Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora.
However, I was disappointed that Deluge lacked an Android app. Many free and open-source software tools have Android apps, which I cherish using to control downloads remotely on my PC. Given Apple's unfriendliness to torrenting apps, I didn’t expect an iOS app. No torrenting app I’ve reviewed is directly compatible with iOS.
Deluge: FeaturesDeluge might not be as popular as rival torrenting clients like Vuze, but it packs many features that give it a competitive edge. I liked that Deluge can be easily customized with plugins that provide extra functionalities. For instance, I used the Notifications plugin to get notified via email about completed downloads.
Like most torrent clients, Deluge lets you add a .torrent file and download the corresponding content. This file contains the metadata of the movie, audio, software package, or any other content you want to download. When added to Deluge, it extracts the metadata and downloads the required content.
Unlike some torrenting clients I’ve tested, Deluge doesn’t offer a built-in way to find .torrent files. Instead, you’ll get them yourself from external sources. Some torrenting clients have built-in search engines to make finding these torrents easier, but not Deluge.
If you don’t have the torrent file for the content you want to download, you can provide a magnet link or an info hash. Both contain the same metadata as a .torrent file, so Deluge can still extract the data and download the corresponding content.
Deluge is ad-free, a feature I appreciate after testing some torrenting clients. Some free clients had ads covering large parts of my screen, often for dodgy products. However, despite being free, Deluge doesn’t include ads for monetization. It’s an open-source tool maintained by a team of volunteer developers.
(Image credit: Future)One major benefit of using Deluge as a torrenting client is its sophisticated encryption software. It uses techniques like Protocol Encryption and Message Stream Encryption to prevent unauthorized third parties from spying on your torrenting activities.
For further security, I turned on a VPN before downloading torrents via Deluge, and you should, too. A VPN routes your traffic through a secure remote server, preventing your ISP and other third-parties from monitoring your downloads. People often run into issues with their ISPs because of torrenting, so a VPN is crucial for protecting yourself.
I liked that Deluge provided both a graphical and command-line interface. The graphical interface is the easiest to use, with a minimalistic feel and neatly arranged elements. Yet, I sometimes enjoy feeling like a nerd and using the command-line interface to control my torrenting activities.
The command line lets users connect with Deluge remotely. Normally, I use Android apps for remote connections, but Deluge doesn’t have this feature. I got some solace because I could control my Deluge torrenting activities from another PC. For example, you can be at work and controlling torrenting activities on your home PC. This way, you avoid any issues concerning torrenting on your office network.
When you download any torrent on Deluge, you automatically become a seeder uploading the same torrent for other users. Torrenting is made possible by users acting as file seeders for each other. The more seeders available for a torrent, the faster the download speed.
The thought of constantly uploading files made me wary of my bandwidth consumption, but then I remembered that most torrenting clients let users limit file upload speeds to conserve bandwidth. Deluge makes this process easy, allowing users to limit their upload speeds and the number of simultaneous connections.
Deluge is a feature-rich torrenting client I enjoyed using. It doesn’t have every feature I wanted, but having its existing features for free is a boon.
(Image credit: Deluge)Deluge: Interface and in-useWith my experience testing numerous torrenting clients, I can attest that Deluge has one of the best user interfaces. It’s not overtly modern, like some torrenting clients that feel overdesigned, and it’s also not too old school, like some torrenting clients that looked designed in the 1990s.
Deluge’s interface strikes the right balance between form and function. You can access it via a graphical interface, command line, or web interface. The web and graphical interfaces look very similar. The command line interface can get complicated, but it’s meant for technically adept users who prefer that mode. An average person can quickly become familiar with graphical or web interfaces.
Deluge: SecurityDeluge has the standard encryption features of torrenting clients. It encrypts your activities to prevent unauthorized access, but relying on your torrenting client’s security is enough. I always turn on a VPN to provide an extra security layer when downloading torrents.
I ran Deluge through software scanning tools, and the results were clean. Deluge isn’t known to host malware and hasn’t had any history of negligent security practices. My only issue is that Deluge lacks a built-in anti-virus scanning tool for torrents. I had to rely on another tool to scan torrents for malware, unlike some torrenting clients with built-in scanners.
Deluge: Final verdictI appreciate Deluge’s user-friendliness, feature richness, and the ability to add plugins for more functionalities. It’s a lightweight app that’s easy to use on any PC, and I’ll recommend it to anyone seeking a reliable torrenting client.
Apple's macOS Tahoe 26 is now on the horizon, slated for release later this year. However, Apple isn't quite done with macOS Sequoia, and it's just released an important update for Mac users.
As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple has released macOS Sequoia 15.6, a new update with an important bug fix. This resolves an issue with Finder and Apple Configurator's inability to restore devices from DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode, which could result in a bricked device if unsuccessful.
Users would need to specifically enter DFU mode (which serves as an alternative to recovery mode for device restoration) for this to occur. While users who aren't planning on using DFU may still be safe on Sequoia 15.5 (and older), it's better to eliminate the chance of bricking a device entirely by updating to Sequoia 15.6.
This could be one of the last updates of Sequoia we see before it eventually bows out to Tahoe 26, which promises a variety of improvements to the macOS experience – it's already available in public beta, and it looks set to be ideal for multitaskers and gamers.
With new tools like MetalFX Frame Interpolation, a Game Overlay, and an upgraded Game Porting Tool kit, macOS Tahoe 26 is another step in the right direction for Apple and its gaming support.
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)Analysis: macOS Tahoe 26's features are making me wish I had an M-series MacBook...Having only used Intel-powered MacBooks, I've been debating a potential switch from Windows laptops to M-series MacBooks for a while now – and the arrival of macOS Tahoe 26 looks like the perfect time for it.
I'm a big gamer (if that wasn't clear enough already), and I'm not opposed to spending a hefty sum when a laptop can provide exceptional performance in productivity and multitasking, alongside gaming. Yes, gaming laptops exist, but MacBooks using the latest M-series chips look like the ideal answer due to their power efficiency.
I'm growing tired of Windows for gaming, and I'd rather use SteamOS for its console-like UI and better game performance – but using Discord for streaming to friends on SteamOS' game mode, isn't a simple task. Until that's addressed, I'll stick to SteamOS/Bazzite for handhelds exclusively.
As for gaming on a laptop, macOS is becoming a more appealing operating system after each update, especially with a growing game library with titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil 4 remake on Macs. Apple is continuously proving that gaming is on its radar, and it might just convince me to join the party.
You might also like...Sometimes when testing some of the best earbuds (and sets that don't make it into that group), it feels like products can easily be broken down into three categories: buds trying to rival AirPods, buds trying to rival the AirPods Pro, and buds which are clearly doing their own thing. The Denon AH-C840NCW can easily be filed into the middle category.
These are the siblings to the Denon AH-C500W, buds listed straight in the former category, but the set you're reading about here come with a key difference: these buds come with silicon ear tips, and noise cancellation to boot. That’s what gets them bumped from the first category to the second.
Denon is a high-end audio company based in Japan that has made a respectable name for itself with home audio, AV systems and speakers, and while it’s also no stranger to personal audio (like headphones and earbuds – see also the PerL Pro), this clearly also isn’t its bread-and-butter diet. Case in point: the AH-C840NCW are perfectly fine earbuds that certainly are a viable option given Apple’s expensive earbuds… but they don’t quite match all the other AirPods Pro alternatives on the market.
The Denon AH-C840NCW hark a lot closer to Apple’s options than most rivals, and that’s most obvious in the design department. There’s no denying that these are doppelgangers – Denongangers if you will – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Denon has aped the well-respected build and these lightweight buds are easy on the ear, even if the tips let the side down a bit.
In audio quality too, these buds are inoffensive. The audio mix is fairly neutral-sounding, skewing slightly towards bass but otherwise offering an easy-to-like (though hard to truly love) quality to songs.
So far, so AirPods Pro, and that isn’t necessarily a flaw – the buds undercut Apple’s premium buds by a meaty margin. But Denon isn’t the only company trying to offer prospective earbuds buyers a Pro option on a non-Pro budget, with so many alternatives at this price point that my word count forbids me from listing even a fraction of them.
It’s the feature set that lets the AH-C840NCW down. Despite some impressive active noise cancellation there’s an overall dearth of extra functionality, and a few stumbles within what’s actually there. This is the area that most often than not defines the best earbuds you can buy, and so I struggle to find a unique selling point for the Denon.
I generally enjoyed listening to the Denon AH-C840NCW during my testing, but that’s not the same as recommending them to buy with your own money. Their myriad rivals typically have a lot more to offer, so they’re only worth buying if you’re looking for buds that match the AirPods Pro exactly, instead of beating them in any way.
Denon AH-C840NCW review: Price and release date(Image credit: Future)The Denon AH-C840NCW were announced in released in April, alongside the AH-C500W which are similar but slightly cheaper and miss ANC.
You can buy the AH-C840NCW for £149 (around $200, AU$300) so they’re mid-ranged in price. I couldn’t find them on sale in Australia or the US, but Denon does offer earbuds in those countries (especially in the US, which saw the AH-C500W and AH-C830NCW) so a launch in those regions is possible.
Judging at least by the UK price, that’s about an 8% price hike on the last-gen model but a 50% higher price than the non-ANC siblings.
I have to point out that, writing three months after the buds’ release, it’s pretty easy to find them discounted. Not by a huge amount, but by 10%-15% depending on which color you want, which is still worth bearing in mind.
Denon AH-C840NCW review: SpecsDrivers
12mm
Active noise cancellation
Yes
Battery life (ANC off)
10 hours (buds) 35 hours (case)
Weight
5.1g (buds) 54g (case)
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.3
Waterproofing
IPX4
Denon AH-C840NCW review: Features(Image credit: Future)Unlike their siblings, the Denon AH-C840NCW offer ANC, which I think is what the ‘NC’ in the name refers to. I wasn’t expecting much – why would the company skip ANC on that other product if it had anything worthwhile up its sleeves – but was pleasantly surprised by what this model offered.
The AH-C840NCW’s noise cancellation is meaty, wiping out annoying background noises without a trace. The app also offers you a Transparency mode which seemed to work slightly differently from others: instead of scanning for important noises to filter in to your ears (such as voices and important, twig-snapping-in-the-woods treble sounds), I got the impression it was just a weaker ANC. I could be wrong about this, but things felt quieter in Denon’s Transparency mode than in equivalents I’ve tested.
Talking about the app, it’s simply called 'Headphones', but you can find it in the Play Store or App Store by searching Denon’s name. As well as changing ANC modes, it lets you customize the touch controls, monitor the buds’ connections (multi-point pairing allows for two concurrent pairs), turn on LE Audio, change the wear detect to only apply for one earbud and monitor battery levels.
Finally, there’s an equalizer, which is only a 5-band one and doesn’t offer presets. If you’re used to customizing your own earbuds' sound, you might find this one just a little restrictive.
Battery life hits 7 hours with ANC turned on or 10 hours with it off, figures which can go up to 24 or 35 respectively when you factor in the case. The battery life is ever so slightly above average and my own testing roughly matched Denon’s stats provided.
This might be one of the shortest ‘Features’ sections I’ve ever written in a review, because the Denon don’t offer much in the way of useful features beyond the basics. That’s a shame because it’s in the feature set that (headphone) boys become (headphone) men, and with rivals offering plenty of extra modes and functions, it affects the competitiveness of the AH-C840NCW.
By referring to the Denon AH-C840NCW as ‘AirPods Pro lookalikes’, I’ve probably conjured certain images of stem-toting earbuds with silicon tips and slight tilts. This description doesn’t necessarily denote AirPods – the world of wireless earbuds is much more varied than that, with buds of different shapes and sizes – but in this case it’s totally right. You’ve seen the pictures, you knew where this sentence was going.
The buds weigh 5.1g so they’re nice and light, and as that description suggests, they’re made up fo a stem that says ‘Denon’, a round body and a tip which protrudes at a slight angle. You can buy the buds in black or white (which also applies to the case) but the design is identical.
Hidden somewhere is a touch control, which you can customize in the app to change volume, play or pause music, and so on. I say ‘somewhere’ because I never quite figured out where to tap to trigger it – usually tapping the top of the stem worked but occasionally I’d accidentally press it while readjusting the buds in my ear, when my fingers were nowhere near the top.
On that topic, I did have to readjust the buds quite frequently in my ear; never when sitting around at home, but when running with the buds (ill advised; these aren’t running earbuds), when walking with them, or when working out at the gym (sit ups is the ultimate fit test!). I even tested different tip sizes in the box (there are four, not counting the ones on the buds by default) and this didn’t help – I’m going to point the finger at the material used in the tip, for not offering enough friction.
If you’re not going on walks and constantly having to readjust the earbuds, they’re pleasant to wear, with the light build ensuring you never get earache from long periods of listening. The buds also have an IPX4 rating which protects them from splashes of water, but not a serious drenching.
Equally lightweight and portable is the AH-C840NCW’s case, which is nice and small at 58 x 21.3 x 25.4mm and light at 54g. Something bijou like this is easy to slip into trouser pockets without it bulging out, or hide it on your desk when you’re charging it up via its USB-C port.
Denon has fit the AH-C840NCW with a 12mm driver. That’s the same piece of kit that its sibling saw but with the eartips ensuring surrounding sound doesn’t leak in, the buds sound a lot better.
The AH-C840NCW have a gently warm sound profile that emphasizes bass just a little, but it's so slight that it won’t put off people who prefer a more neutral sound. Bass is scooping and well-defined, but treble is also is also crystal-clear and sharp.
I’d have liked to see a more pronounced, expansive and layered soundstage, as the buds seemed to lose instruments and harmonies that weren’t prominent, but they’re fairly detailed where it counts in vocals, drums and keys.
The maximum volume isn’t too high though. It’s fine for everyday listening when you’re at home or in an office, but if I wanted to hear music well over traffic, or get some extra oomph for an energetic song on a run, I found myself continually pressing my phone’s volume up button – and it didn't really help.
Compared to the Apple AirPods Pro, I’m willing to say that the Denon AH-C840NCW offer decent value for money. They undercut the big name buds without cutting down on the quality too much.
However, when you consider some of the other options on the market at this price, you realize you could still be getting a lot more for your money. Rivals within a similar $/£/AU$ range offer hardier designs, wider feature sets or better audio quality, and usually a combination of all three.
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Above-average ANC and slightly above-average battery life compensate for a basic feature set.
3.5/5
Design
They're light but not wholly reliable in the ear.
3.5/5
Sound quality
Music sounds detailed and a tad warm but it's still not perfect, and lacks energy.
4/5
Value
They don't pull in front of rivals enough to offer a genuine value proposition.
3.5/5
Buy them if…You want AirPods-similar design
If you’ve seen the AirPods and want a similar-looking pair of earbuds, these certainly are options, as they’re some of the closest Doppelgangers we’ve seen so far.
You need decent noise cancellation
While it’s not the tippy-top bubble-of-silence performance I’ve ever heard, the active noise cancellation offered by the AH-C840NCW is robust, removing all but the most persistent background sounds.
You need a slender carry case
Some earbuds carry cases can sit in your pocket like a boulder. Denon wouldn’t be seen with anything like that, though, and the AH-C840NCW’s holder is lovely and slender.View Deal
You like customizing your audio
While the Denon does have a 5-band equalizer, that’s not much control over your music for audiophiles. There aren’t any presets, and no option for toggling higher-resolution audio should you want to stream it.
You rely on transparency mode
If you like toggling this and thus hearing what’s going on around you, I wouldn’t recommend the Denons. The transparency mode here sounded to me like weaker noise cancellation (yes, odd), and doesn’t let in much surrounding sound.
You’re sporty
Some eartip-toting buds are reliable for gym workouts, cycling or running. Not the Denon, as I found they’d slip out of my ears even on walks.View Deal
Denon AH-C840NCW
OnePlus Buds 4
Skullcandy Method 360
Nothing Ear
Drivers
12mm
11mm woofer + 6mm tweeter
12mm
11mm
Active noise cancellation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Battery life
10 hours (buds) 35 hours (case)
11 hours (buds); 45 hours (case)
11 hours (earbuds), 29 hours (total)
5.2 hours (buds) 24 hours (case)
Weight
5.1g (buds) 54g (case)
4.73g (buds); 40g (case)
11g (buds) 77g (case)
4.62g (buds) 51.9g (case)
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3
Waterproofing
IPX4
IP55
IPX4
IP54
OnePlus Buds 4
A very recent competitor, the OnePlus Buds 4 have the best noise cancellation I’ve tested in earbuds at this price point. They sell at the same price as the Denon and offer a much more bass-heavy sound profile.
See our full OnePlus Buds 4 review
Skullcandy Method 360
Another bassy option is the Skullcandy Method 360. Ignore the ludicrous case size; these have solid in-ear design, a fun and funky sound profile and a long-lasting battery. Again, these go for roughly the same price as the Denon. Our review is incoming…
Nothing Ear
Finally – and yes, for the same price as the AH-C840NCW, although they’re a bit older and more prone to price cuts – we’ve got Nothing’s most recent top-end earbuds. These have a really impressive feature set and I loved the sound profile, but be warned for an awful battery life.
See our full Nothing Ear reviewView Deal
How I tested the Denon AH-C840NCWMy testing period for the AH-C840NCW earbuds was two weeks long, and it came straight after I wrote the Denon AH-C500W review, so I got to test the siblings back-to-back.
I paired the Denon with my Android smartphone for the whole testing period and tested apps like Spotify, YouTube, Netflix and certain games. Testing was done at home, around my neighborhood (on runs and on walks), on public transport, at my office and at the gym.
I've been reviewing audio products for TechRadar for years now, including products made by many of Denon's rivals and all three competitors mentioned above.
Microsoft has shared a new milestone for Xbox Game Pass, which attained "nearly $5 billion" in revenue for the first time over the last year.
This achievement was announced as part of the company's FY25 Q4 earnings report detailing the results of the last 12 months (ending June 30, 2025), where CEO Satya Nadella also revealed that Microsoft has 500 million monthly active users across gaming platforms and devices.
“We are now the top publisher on both Xbox and PlayStation this quarter,” said Nadella. "...Game Pass annual revenue was nearly $5 billion for the first time" (via The Verge).
Overall, Xbox gaming revenue was up by 10% year-over-year, and Xbox content and services revenue, which includes Game Pass and first-party titles, is up by 13% this quarter.
This 13% increase could be attributed to Xbox's multi-platform push, which recently saw Xbox-exclusive games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 come to PS5.
Microsoft didn't share the latest subscriber numbers for the service, so there's no way to know if there has been an increase or decrease in members from 34 million players, which the company revealed in February 2024.
Xbox hardware revenue, however, is down 22% this quarter, which could be a consequence of Microsoft increasing the price of its Xbox Series consoles and accessories earlier this year.
Along with hardware price hikes, Microsoft also announced in May that some first-party titles will also be increased to $80 to match the cost of Nintendo Switch 2 games.
However, this plan may be subject to change as the company has since lowered the price of both The Outer Worlds 2 and Borderlands 4.
You might also like...As governments and private companies around the world announce huge AI infrastructure plans, Meta has become the latest to announce a major spending spree.
In its most recent quarterly financial results, the company announced an expansion of spending to around $66-$72 billion - more than doubling its spending on data centres and servers.
“We expect that developing leading AI infrastructure will be a core advantage in developing the best AI models and product experiences, so we expect to ramp our investments significantly in 2026 to support that work,” Susan Li, Meta CFO, said during the company’s earnings call.
Costly infrastructureThe move comes shortly after Meta’s shares jumped more than 10%, thanks largely to advertising business success, where AI-driven ad creation tools allow users to generate video ads from images, helping prompt better conversion rates.
Meta says it expects a similar jump in spending onwards in 2026, as the firm looks to “aggressively [pursue] opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of [its] artificial intelligence efforts and business operations.”
Meta isn’t alone, as Microsoft has also announced plans to spend billions on AI, announcing over $30 billion capital investment as it expands AI capacity in a bid to keep up with the likes of Amazon - which itself is set to spend up to $111 billion in 2025, with the majority going towards tech and infrastructure.
This infrastructure, primarily referring to data centres and large servers, is costly in more ways than one. It would be disingenuous to talk about data centre spending without mentioning the enormous environmental costs associated with the infrastructure.
Data centres consume massive amounts of energy and water - depleting local water sources and putting huge strain on already labored energy grids.
Local communities are being hit hard by nearby data centre constructions - with data centres in Texas using 463 million gallons of water, as residents are instructed to take shorter showers to offset the usage.
In Georgia, residents living in proximity to Meta’s own data centre, can no longer drink their water, with taps running dry thanks to added sediment in local wells. The cost of municipal water has skyrocketed, and the county water commission may face a shortage.
Via: TechCrunch
You might also likeEpson today announced the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 4K 3LCD Laser Projector. The new lower-cost entry in the company’s Pro Cinema projector lineup is making its debut this week at the Audio Advice Live show, which takes place August 1-3, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Priced at $3,999 (around £2,995 / AU$6,135), the Epson LS9000 provides a more affordable alternative to the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 ($5,999), currently the top pick in our best projectors guide. Like that model, the new LS9000 is a 4K 3LCD model with HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG support. It also uses a laser light source rated for 20,000 hours and has a motorized lens with powered zoom, focus, and +/- 96% vertical and up to +/- 24% horizontal lens shift.
With 2,200 lumens of white (ISO rated) and color (IDMS rated) brightness, the LS9000 isn’t as powerful as the LS12000, which is rated for 2,700 lumens of white brightness. But like that model, it features 4K 120Hz support on its dual HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming (eARC and ARC are also supported).
Epson’s ZX Picture Processor performs real-time frame interpolation and picture enhancement on the LS9000, which also features a powered lens cover that slides into place when the projector is powered off. A memory zoom option lets you use the projector with ultra-wide 2.35:1 screens, and it also supports third-party anamorphic lenses for use with the same.
A cheaper Pro Series? We’ll take itImage 1 of 3The new LS9000 is the entry-level model in Epson's Pro Cinema projector lineup (Image credit: Epson)Image 2 of 3A powered lens cover slides into place when the LS9000 is powered off (Image credit: Epson)Image 3 of 3Connections include two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support (Image credit: Epson)At CEDIA Expo 2024, Epson debuted the Epson Q-Series, a trio of 4K laser projectors aimed at the high-end residential market. What distinguished these from other Epson projectors was the Q-Series’ high brightness specifications, starting at 3,300 lumens for the QB1000, with up to 10,000 lumens for the flagship Epson QL7000.
Such high light output makes the Q-Series a perfect option for open-format media rooms or living rooms, where some degree of ambient lighting is preferred.
With 2,200 lumens of brightness, the new LS9000 is aimed more at traditional dark-room home theaters, where the projector’s two-speed Dynamic Contrast adjustment will allow it to project crisp 4K movies with powerful contrast (Epson’s contrast ratio specs cite over 2.5 million to one).
The LS9000’s dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support also make it a great option for gaming with next-gen consoles or PCs. And at $3,999, Epson’s latest is a more reasonably priced gaming projector than other models in its lineup, and it’s also one that should capably do double duty for movies.
You might also likeMany adults over age 50 either have no retirement savings or worry they won't be able to support themselves during their post-working years. If that's you, NPR wants to hear your story.
(Image credit: Charles Krupa)