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• Samsung is reportedly giving up on small-screen foldables
• That means the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be the last in the series
• It's a credible claim, but if enough people vote with their wallet perhaps the Flip line can still be saved

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a superb phone, achieving 4.5 stars in our review. But despite its excellence, Samsung might be giving up on this clamshell series after the Galaxy Z Flip 8 launches.

This is according to reputable leaker @UniverseIce, who stated on X that “the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is likely to be Samsung's last small folding product.”

They didn’t say why that might be, but we can take a guess. For one thing, while the Flip line used to be Samsung’s most popular foldable phone series, there’s evidence that this trend could be starting to change. For example, FN News reported that in South Korea at least, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 received more pre-orders than the Z Flip 7.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is likely to be Samsung's last small folding product. pic.twitter.com/9zN4nNRLT2July 9, 2026

So there could be a growing appetite for large-screen book-style foldables, which makes sense given that larger conventional phones tend to outsell compact models. And with the book-style iPhone Ultra reportedly launching this year, the appetite for that style of foldable is only likely to grow.

Plus, arguably one of the main selling points of the Z Flip line was that it provided a relatively affordable way to get a foldable phone, but with rising memory costs that might cease to be the case.

And on top of all that, Samsung is reportedly launching a shorter, wider book-style foldable this year alongside its conventional successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, with this new form factor being bigger than a Flip but still smaller than the company’s current large-screen foldables. So Samsung might see this as something that fans of smaller phones could buy instead of a new Flip.

A phone that would be missed

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

While this claim from @UniverseIce is believable, I certainly hope they’re wrong. Despite all the reservations above, the Flip is still an appealing line of fofldables.

They’re extremely compact when folded shut, which is sure to appeal to some people, and even with rising memory prices they’re likely to remain cheaper than book-style foldables. So it would be a shame for choice and variety if they disappeared.

Still, it’s likely that Samsung will be looking at sales of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 and the new wider Galaxy Z Fold before making any final decisions, so if the former does particularly well or the latter struggles, there’s still hope for a Galaxy Z Flip 9.

In other words, if it’s something you’d like to see then you should vote with your wallet this year and give Samsung’s upcoming clamshell device some love.

For the last three years I’ve been imploring anyone who will listen to assuage the AI Fear Economy and the AI Doomonomics messaging that dominates our current AI news cycle.

The sleepwalkers among us and the ones that stand to financially benefit from the FOBO (Fear of Becoming Obsolete) will continue the walking dead path but many experts are finally disagreeing with the narrative that I have been spearheading for over three years now.

I’ve spent countless hours proving AIs limitations in numerous podcasts, interviews and keynotes along with my “AI Exposed” series. I really cannot find the “off” button for exposing the truth.

If you use AI every day, you know the foundational flaws of the transformer-based generative LLM kingdom.

You see the mistakes, errors, forgetfulness, hallucinations, sycophancy, recency bias, kindergarten math fails, regression to the mean, the waiter problem, no real memory, no real world experience, no determinism, no thinking, no cognition, no sense of time, no real context (environmental, cognitive bias, natural behaviors, awareness, etc.), no uniqueness, no native ethics, no agency, no intelligence (really), no accountability, no “strawberry”. Need more?

AI was never built to do the things the industry is asking it to do. Current LLMs are word predictors. They are the trillion dollar equivalent to an autocomplete on acid. Nothing more.

Workforce Extinction is what the economy is selling but Human+AI empowerment is what will be our final state. We just have to get through the current AI dystopia superbubble burst first unfortunately - which might take a bit more time than we would all like. Remember ATMs? Did they replace bank tellers? No. Remember the corner grocery store? Did Amazon eliminate them after buying Whole Foods in 2017, almost 10 years ago? No.

So how can AI be employed today in partnership with Humans to make them superpowerful?

Human: “This is my 6th meeting today. I’m exhausted.”

AI: “I’ve got your back.”

The bane of our existence, I know certainly mine. I am not talking about the nice small talk or the social and connective tissue that creates strong bonds and trust and loyalty (all of which AI cannot replicate today in the slightest), but the mechanical and mundane meetings that litter our week, every week.

Look at your calendar right now and identify next week’s meetings. Are they “ideation” or “decision making” meetings? The dreaded “Sync” meetings? Or the “Stand-ups”? All of these can be augmented if not completely replaced by AI in a powerful synchronicity that solves the “cold start” problem, immediately empowering you to make sound decisions collectively and collaboratively without you being physically present. After all, ideation is all about tapping into the potentiality of an outcome given all the relevant and contextual facts and information.

The implicit and invisible cognitive biases that humans bring to every meeting every day hold us back. Scour your historical consciousness and you will find thoughts such as “I don’t like this guy, so all his opinions are garbage,” or “I am just going to follow what the boss says,” without really understanding everything. Human gut, instinct, impulse, habits are all driving us unconsciously, invisibly. Unfortunately you are not in control of the productivity wheel.

Human decision-making is unique and infinitely complex

How you see the world, your behavior and decision-making is all unique and infinitely complex, but all patterned by high dimensional mathematics (a.k.a. AI). Synergizing your unique perspectives, ideation and problem solving with an artificial knowledge system like AI can produce incredible results in quality, accuracy and speed resulting in incredible “AI assisted” performance.

We see this confluence every day inside the company and with our customers by building group decisions automatically with each human voice being a part of the discussion to determine the best outcome. Consensus and collaboration without the human in the mix but in their unique voice through their unique prism and in synchronous cognitive sequence allows for easy ownership and accountability, at incredible speed.

And the final kicker that no one is seeing? What are you going to do when Claude or ChatGPT make a bad decision or make an error in judgment? Are you going to fire them? Write them up in Workday? Dock their pay? Good luck. It will never happen. Only humans can be held accountable.

And don’t even get me started on the Token Tsunamis happening right now. Left uncontrolled, companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars beyond their annual budgets on AI coding and all for what? Where’s the ROI? And the prices for these models are only going higher. The small companies will be priced out very soon.

HUMANS+AI > AI

Luckily the solution is right in front of our noses: the mirror. At the end of the day, AI is only a tool. And a rather crappy tool that needs duct tape (RAG and vector databases), bailing wire (MCP and Frameworks and Agents), bubble gum (guardrails and governance), spittle (memory and state management) and Elmer’s wood glue (evaluation and synthetic testing) just to get a mostly correct answer to the question: “Who is the current US president?” on an offline local model.

All this scaffolding is in place today because the core LLM sucks at all the above. More tokens. More Token Typhoons.

AI today (at best) is Artificial Knowledge that can absolutely be leveraged by smart people and senior staff to produce high quality decision making and actioning. Do not get discouraged, but instead learn how to leverage it. Dive deep and differentiate yourself. Only through leveraging a good tool (like a skill saw) can you frame a house.

The “AI Antidote”

Interpersonal friction and endless alignment meetings are keeping your team from doing their best work. I make it my mission to unblock your team's highest potential, using our AI and turn ideas into decisions in minutes. My team and I harness AI for the betterment of humans to prevent workforce extinction. For now…

We've listed the best video conferencing software.

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

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

Proton VPN Free is undoubtedly among the best free VPNs available. Offering a broad spectrum of compatibility across devices, impressive speeds, and unlimited bandwidth, it would be easy for anyone looking for a free VPN to get started using Proton VPN Free.

That said, its apps aren't the simplest, you're limited to only one connected device at a time, and you can't choose which of its 10 available locations you connect to. Plus, our testing found some concerning throttling indicators which could make Proton VPN Free one to avoid should you be looking for a free streaming VPN or torrenting VPN.

Features

Proton VPN Free does exactly what a VPN needs to do and little else. Included in the free plan is your VPN connection, a kill switch, all of Proton VPN's protocols, and the ability to customise your app icon, in case you find yourself in a region with VPN restrictions.

Following recent updates, the app now offers 10 free servers and the company are developing a new, in-house VPN architecture that could lead to significant improvements in the future.

In our testing, we found no reason to be concerned about the kill switch. It was easy enough to set up, though it does require the VPN to be set as an 'always-on VPN' on Android devices.

Upgrading to a paid Proton VPN plan unlocks a plethora of further capabilities for the VPN.

For starters, NetShield, Proton VPN's ad, tracker, and malware blocking software. You can also access Proton VPN's Secure Core server network, which is its equivalent of multi-hop, use Proton for P2P downloading and file sharing, gain one-click access to Tor, split-tunnel your VPN traffic, and unlock Proton VPN's full suite of customization options.

These customisation options range from custom DNS to LAN connections, and even specific NAT types, plus you can set up specific profiles with tailored settings. Something to note is that while Proton VPN Free does allow you to create these fully customized profiles, you can only use them once you upgrade to a paid plan.

Features score: 4/10

Server Network

Proton VPN Free highlights one of the often overlooked benefits of paid VPNs, the ability to choose the server location you need, rather than simply being provided with one.

Proton VPN Free offers 10 server locations: the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Poland and Canada.

However, you do not get to choose which of these servers you connect to; instead, you are auto-connected to the fastest server available to you, which, more often than not, is the closest.

While not a big concern, should you plan to use Proton VPN Free just to secure your online traffic, it does limit Proton VPN Free's capabilities as a streaming VPN. Plus, you're likely guaranteed to have speed limitations if you're not close to any of the servers.

Choosing Proton VPN's paid version drastically increases the offering. Upping the countries available to a whopping 148, and, more importantly, you gain the ability to choose the exact location you want to connect to.

Server network score: 5/10

Apps

Despite being free, Proton VPN Free offers a good selection of apps. Free plan users can access Proton VPN on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, and Chromebooks.

The biggest omission from this list that you'd be able to access should you choose Proton VPN's paid plan is Apple TV. While all other expected streaming devices work with the free plan, Apple TV users will be prompted to upgrade rather than be able to use the free service.

Proton VPN recently underwent a refresh of many of its apps, leading to a new, sleek design across platforms such as Windows, iOS, and Android. (Image credit: Future)

Generally, however, the spread of compatibility available is impressive. What's more, each of Proton VPN Free's apps closely resembles each other, and features that might be hidden on smaller screen devices, such as mobiles, are easily accessible should you be looking to use Proton VPN free on your tablet or computer.

Apps score: 8/10

Ease of use

Proton VPN across both its paid and free plans is not the simplest VPN to look at, though this doesn't make it trouble to use, even if beginners might need a touch more time.

What must be said, though, is that while Proton VPN Free isn't the simplest to look at, it is arguably the best free VPN to look at for sheer aesthetics. Its dark purple theme, partnered with a simple enough map interface, makes for extremely pleasant viewing, even if all you can do with the free plan is click the connect button before you set about your browsing elsewhere.

FutureFuture

Setting up Proton VPN Free is appreciably simple. Most notably, you're not instantly pushed to make a paid plan account from the outset, unlike many free VPNs. Instead, should you need to sign up, you simply create your account by clicking the button on the login menu, and after going through the steps and signing in, you're greeted with the usual home screen, and a bar telling you what you're missing out on by not having the paid plan. No hidden free plan signup, no trial you need to navigate, just quick access to the free service, and easy ways to upgrade should you choose to.

Once in, there are only two buttons you need to worry about: connect, which you're greeted with on the main screen, and your kill switch. As mentioned already, given the lack of server choice, the connect button does everything for you once clicked, connecting you to the fastest server in a matter of seconds. Your kill switch can be found quickly via the settings tab on mobile phones and tablets, or via the kill switch icon on computers.

Ease of use score: 8/10

Speed and performance

Proton VPN Free is, without doubt, one of the quickest free VPNs available. In terms of speeds, Proton VPN free achieved a maximum of 1009 Mbps, which is by no means slow. These kinds of speeds would comfortably allow you to stream, game, or browse without any major issues.

That said, testing on an Android device saw our speeds when connected to the VPN halve when compared to what we saw without a VPN connection using either WiFi or a mobile data connection.

A bigger concern we found was evidence of substantial speed throttling after a certain amount of data was used. In testing, after using 3-4GB of data, we saw our speeds drop to only around 5 Mbps, which, while fine for browsing or emails, would leave you struggling should you wish to stream or download on your VPN connection.

Given the lack of server choice, it's unlikely you'd choose Proton VPN Free for streaming anyway, but this should definitely come into consideration. Should you be looking for a fast and simple solution to day-to-day internet needs, Proton VPN Free is a seriously strong option.

Speed and performance score: 7/10

Unblocking

Testing Proton VPN's ability to unblock content isn't a simple feat because, as we've mentioned, you don't get to choose the location you connect to.

This means seeing the full scope of Proton VPN Free's capabilities isn't possible from one testing location. What we can say is that we were flawlessly able to access Dutch streaming services, including Disney+, Netflix, and Prime Video.

When we managed to connect to Canada, we could unblock Netflix but failed to unblock Prime Video and Disney+.

Although we cannot guarantee the same levels of success in other regions, our testing of Proton VPN's paid plan suggests you should have similar success. This is because the paid plan was able to comfortably unblock most of the streaming services we tested in all 149 regions, including Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, 10Play, 9Now, and more.

It did struggle with Prime Video more regularly, though this is something we've seen across many VPNs in our latest round of testing.

Unblocking score: 5/10

Privacy and security

Despite not being able to access Proton's full suite of security features with Proton VPN Free, you have no reason to feel as though your data is at any risk, thanks to how the service has been set up.

First and foremost, Proton VPN is constantly proving that it not only doesn't store your data, but also that it has no vulnerabilities that may put your online privacy at risk. An independent audit by Securitum across August and September 2025 marked the 4th consecutive year in which Proton has proven its claims, and while, at the time of writing, we've yet to see an audit in 2025, we expect this to continue.

When using Proton VPN Free, you can use any of its various secure VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and its proprietary Stealth protocol. Both WireGuard and OpenVPN have long been common in the VPN industry, and both have been proven countless times to be secure and reliable protocols.

WireGuard uses its traditional ChaCha20 encryption with Proton VPN, while Proton VPN's OpenVPN deployment uses AES-256, another impressively secure encryption method.

In January 2026, Proton announced it was removing support for OpenVPN configuration files that were downloaded before September 2023. Users of the official app are unaffected. However, people running manual setups on routers, Linux terminals, or third-party clients must refresh their credentials.

Stealth, Proton VPN's proprietary protocol, is an obfuscated version of WireGuard that runs over TLS. This makes your browsing data look like normal encrypted browsing data to anyone who might analyze your traffic to spot VPN usage. For most, this is a bonus that won't be entirely necessary, but should you be tackling enterprise rule-based firewalls or DPI-based firewalls, this protocol may prove to have better luck.

Key things missing from Proton VPN Free include Proton VPN's equivalent of multihop, called Secure Core, as well as its NetShield ad, malware, and tracking blocker, and any kind of split tunneling.

While missing out on split-tunneling and multihop is unfortunate, we'd usually recommend running an external ad and malware blocker alongside a VPN anyway, so NetShield doesn't prove as big a loss.

Privacy and security score: 8/10

Track record

Given Proton's wide suite of security tools and privacy-first claims, it attracts a great deal of attention and scrutiny online. Luckily, for the most part, it has proven to be flawless. An instance in 2019 where Proton Mail was forced to log a climate activist's IP after a law enforcement request proves to be the only mark on an otherwise problem-free record across its product range.

Swiss law works differently for VPN providers. VPN providers cannot be compelled to carry out bulk surveillance by either Swiss or foreign law enforcement. This makes Proton VPN much less vulnerable to requests that might put privacy at risk. At an individual account level, Proton VPN does need to comply with legally valid cases brought by the Swiss court, even if made by foreign entities. However, Switzerland has no ties to the EU, US, or NATO intelligence sharing pacts, and often doesn't recognize requests from countries with a poor judicial reputation.

Switzerland's privacy laws have been under review during the past 12 months, raising concerns that privacy protections may be undermined should certain provisions come into force. However, companies – including Proton – have pushed back on the proposals and, at the time of writing, no significant changes have been introduced.

Track record score: 9/10

Customer Support

Proton VPN's customer support options are more limited than most, especially on its free plan.

Should you encounter any issues while using the free plan, you can either use its support site to browse articles that may help you fix your issue, or you can use a contact email address to get some form of support from a human, depending on your issue.

In practice, Proton VPN's support articles are impressively helpful, and there's more than enough of them to cover most issues you face, and while it can be slow to contact a human via email, it's at least a viable alternative should you run into any issues not covered.

The biggest omission for Proton VPN Free customers is no live support functionalities. Even paid Proton VPN customers aren't quite able to access 24/7 support, but the lack of any kind of live chat does mean beginners could be left in the cold if struggling to find the support they need early on in their time using a VPN.

Customer support score: 7/10

Pricing and plans

Proton VPN Free does lack a fair amount compared to what a paid Proton VPN plan can offer, but that doesn't mean it isn't a supremely capable free VPN, depending on your needs.

By choosing to upgrade to Proton VPN's paid option, you can access:

• 19,000+ servers across 149 countries – plus the ability to choose which server you connect to!
• Servers capable of speeds up to 10 Gbps with VPN Accelerator
• Netshield ad, malware, and tracker blocking
• Secure Core (multihop) connections
• P2P downloading and file sharing
• 10 simultaneous connections
• The Tor network within your regular browser
• Split tunneling
• VPN Profiles
• Advanced VPN customisation settings

Given Proton VPN starts from $3.59 per month, that is a lot to include in that cost. While it's not as cheap as Surfshark or NordVPN, its paid plan also proved to be capable of speeds which matched the very fastest VPNs throughout, and it also proved flawless at unblocking streaming services.

So, while Proton VPN Free is a great free VPN choice to secure your day-to-day online activities, upgrading to a paid plan could prove to be extremely beneficial depending on what you want to achieve with your VPN.

Pricing and plans score: 9/10

Should you use Proton VPN Free?

If you are looking for a free VPN to protect you while you’re out and about, working overseas, or on holiday, and you’re worried about privacy when you’re connected to public Wi-Fi or someone else’s network, Proton VPN Free is without doubt a good choice for you.

While it doesn’t have much in the way of extra features, you can install it on your device, connect to the VPN, and then pretty much forget all about it. With speeds that will comfortably handle most tasks, an easy-enough interface, and a simple setup process, it's a breeze to get connected in a matter of minutes without being pressed into upgrading to its paid option.

Overall score: 70/100

Alternatives

NordVPN – from $3.49 per month
The best VPN overall
NordVPN ranks as our best VPN overall, making it a superb alternative to any VPN, especially a free one such as Proton VPN Free. Comparing NordVPN to Proton VPN's paid plan, you get more countries, even if only one, equally impressive speeds, clocking in over 1200 Mbps, and a whole host of features, including Threat Protection Pro and Meshnet, all for a price cheaper than Proton VPN. View Deal

Surfshark – from $2.49 per month
The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest)
Surfshark is the best cheap VPN out there, at only $1.99 per month for two years. Add to that impressive features such as Alternative ID, Surfshark Search, and Antivirus, and you can find yourself a complete security package for a matter of dollars with little difficulty.View Deal

ExpressVPN - from $2.49 per month
A beginner-friendly VPN package
ExpressVPN is without doubt one of the most secure VPN providers. It’s a more expensive VPN than almost any other VPN provider, but in return, you access a high-speed server network that spans 113 countries. Plus, it offers one of the easiest interfaces we've tested, across almost any device you can think of, even if you only get 10-14 simultaneous connections to use at once.View Deal

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

• AI data center power consumption will soon exceed the consumption of conventional data centers
• Global data center power consumption has risen by 26% since 2025
• In the US, AI data centers account for 36% of all data center power consumption

Data centers built to add capacity for AI will soon consume more power than conventional data center hardware. Consuming 175 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2026, predictions take that number to 258 TWh in 2027 - at which AI-optimized data centers will pass conventional data centers for consumption.

Compared to 2025, AI data center power consumption has increased by around 84%.These are the findings of a Gartner forecast that also predicts AI optimized servers to account for 31% of data center power consumption in 2026.

This level of consumption, combined with an excess in electricity demand compared to production, will be the main constraint on future AI expansion, Gartner predicts. But data center consumption as a whole is expected to be 565 TWh in 2026, a 26% increase year over year.

Consumption on the rise, but capacity is slow to expand

When it comes to global consumption, the US accounts for 36% or around 204 TWh of the full 565 TWh of global demand. Within that slice of US demand, AI data centers account for one third, with expected consumption for 2026 to be around 68 TWh.

"Surging demand for compute-intensive AI workloads is driving unprecedented data center power growth, while AI capacity is now constrained by power availability, making data center power security the new battle ground for scaling and protecting margins in the global AI race," said Gartner's Direct Analyst Linglan Wang.

By 2030, Garter predicts that supply will be unable to meet demand once consumption passes the 1,200 TWh mark.

In order to address this constraint, Wang suggested that business leaders and infrastructure providers should focus on upgrading the efficiency of power grids and the hardware that draws the most power such as cooling systems.

A recent Google Cloud report further suggested that to address the rising cost of power consumption, businesses should move from running AI models on a centralized cloud to edge deployments, where the efficiency of these systems is increased with the added benefit of avoiding a global outage of services if the centralized cloud system fails.

But these levels of consumption increase will hardly help to cool the rising anti-data center sentiment in the US, which—when combined with hardware and power production shortages—has seen nearly half of all data centers in 2026 delayed or cancelled.

Via Tom’s Hardware

• Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 were just ported to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
• Aside from an upgraded picture quality, they seem otherwise identical to the original versions
• Some fans are convinced that they just don't feel right, however

Yesterday, Activision treated us to the surprise release of not one, but two Call of Duty ports. You can now buy the original Black Ops and its acclaimed follow-up, Black Ops 2, on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 for the very first time.

They upgrade the resolution of both games on these newer consoles (a substantial step up from the 608p native picture quality of the backwards compatible versions available on Xbox) but otherwise seem almost identical to their original incarnations.

Even some big features that many fans thought would be cut, like Black Ops 2's infamous emblem creator, are present and accounted for.

I picked up copies of the two games immediately with my own cash (there's currently an irresistible 50% discount on them if you have PS Plus) and spent the best part of yesterday evening playing on my PS5. Aside from the crisper picture quality, they're just as I remember.

I replayed the original versions of both games pretty recently too, via second-hand physical copies that I bought for my Xbox Series X to refresh my knowledge of both games ahead of the Black Ops 7 launch — this latest entry is a Black Ops 2 sequel, after all.

Some fans aren't as impressed, though, and argue that the games just don't feel right.

"Black Ops 1 PS5 has a serious controller input lag issue that needs to be adressed [sic] and fixed" argued one poster on r/callofduty. "It surely wasn’t this bad on PS3".

"Sounds like the original launch" another fan replied, with someone else chiming in: "The golden days" and a tongue-in-cheek sobbing emoji.

"BO1 always felt hard to aim in even in the old days compared to BO2. Pretty sure this is normal" added someone else.

Another post similarly reckons that "The responsiveness is terrible. I distinctly remember the original Black Ops 1 feeling way crisper than this". The top comment agrees, complaining that "I’m losing every gun fight because my gun doesn’t fire in time".

Although everything feels fine to me, there's definitely a chance that those playing specific resolutions, on specific TVs, or with features like VRR enabled might be having a much worse experience. I expect some patches will be released in the coming weeks if these claims hold water.

A printer is an absolute staple of the student set-up. The trick is finding one that a) doesn't take years to print a single page and b) offers good value for money. And this is why I always recommend ink tank printers for college and university students.

I've specifically chosen tank printers like the EcoTank, Smart Tank, and MegaTank lines because almost every one you buy comes with a generous amount of bottled ink in the box that can last for your entire time at college or university (and ink is cheaper to buy if you do need to top up). So, you won't need to blow your student loan on expensive inkjet cartridges like I had to!

Our senior printer editor has extensively tested the best home printers and the best ink tank printers - and based on those reviews, I've hand-picked the 6 top cartridge-free printers for students that performed brilliantly for text and phot printing, as well as offering value for money. For each one, click View details to see our review notes and how they fit into student life.

One quick note: because printers often have different model names in the US and UK, they may appear differently here (I know, it frustrates me too). However, I've made sure the links will take you to the identical unit for your region.

My top back-to-school ink tank printers

Epson EcoTank ET-2400

Why it's good for students. It's one of the cheapest ink tank printers around, and it's the one I use on a regular basis. It's an all-in-one for printing, scanning, and copying. Print-outs are good across both text and photos, it's compact, and it's quick enough for most. For me, it ticks all the boxes for general use.

HP Smart Tank 7001

Why it's good for students. We found this HP printer printed quickly, efficiently, with good results across black-and-white and color text documents, while photos feel fresh and vibrant. It features HP's Self-Heal Wi-Fi and automatic two-sided printing.

Read our full review

Pros

• Neat design
• Bluetooth simplifies setup
• HP Smart for desktop
• Plentiful inbox ink

Cons

• Flimsy build quality
• Small display
• Feeble paper handling
• No NFC or USB Host

Canon Pixma G3270

Why it's good for students. A superb budget ink tank printer from Canon here for those that just want a reliable, compact all-in-one without worrying about unnecessary features like automatic two-sided printing, front-loading, and other terribly exciting extras like that.

Read our full review

Pros

• Cheap for a MegaTank
• Affordable ink
• Broad paper compatibility
• Lots of inbox ink

Cons

• Manual duplex only
• No front paper drawer
• Limited paper capacity
• No ADF, or USB Host port

Brother DCP-T780DW

Why it's good for students. Brother's ink tank printer delivered excellent results during our tests. It really shines when it comes to color documents and photographs, where colors popped off the page, and it showed exceptionally detailed resolution.

Read our full review

Pros

• Low running cost
• Versatile paper handling
• Detailed print quality
• Lots of inbox ink

Cons

• Small tanks and bottles
• Bottles do not re-seal
• Only 4 paper presets
• No touchscreen or fax

Epson EcoTank ET-4950

Why it's good for students. Arguably the best of the best right now for the price, we struggled to think of a similarly priced ink tank printer that offered so much ink and so many features. As you'd expect from an EcoTank, it delivered a strong performance across the board.

Read our full review

Pros

• Auto-duplex scan
• Low running cost
• 3 years' ink in the box
• User-friendly design

Cons

• No USB Host port or NFC
• No multi-purpose tray
• No Bluetooth
• Cannot scan heavy paper

Canon PIXMA G620

Why it's good for students. It might not be packed with features and it's certainly not the fastest, but for photo printing, this model from Canon excels thanks to six ink tanks offering bright, vibrant results.

Read our full review

Pros

• Six-ink color printing
• Cheap to run
• Lots of inbox ink
• Wide paper compatibility

Cons

• No auto duplex
• No main paper drawer
• Small 2-line display
• Low paper capacity

How we test printers for student life

All our printers are put through our unique standardized test, which lets us compare the speed, quality, and functionality against the others. This test covers every aspect of a student's printing needs.

To check performance, we use a uniform stack of test cards, text documents, and photos, and a range of paper sizes and types. If the manual says you can print on envelopes, labels, or t-shirts, we put that claim to the test, too. We're looking for crisp fonts and vibrant colors without smudging, smearing, or feathering.

We use a ten-page mixed text and color document to measure print speeds. We never take the manufacturer's word for this, and while they are usually accurate to be fair, we always time it ourselves. So, if you've got a deadline looming, you'll have a pretty good idea if your printer can get the print-outs in time.

Total cost and overall value are a core part of our review process. And this is specifically why we recommend ink tank printers for students. While they're a little more expensive than traditional, cartridge-based inkjets, they deliver better performance and they're cheaper to run for the duration of your course. Bottled ink is a lot more affordable than an inkjet cartridge, and with the amount you get in the box, it can last most of your time at college or university anyway.

Netflix has proved that it has a knack for producing solid original content, from Stranger Things and Squid Game to Bridgerton, but now the platform is again diversifying into new content areas — and its reputation as one of the best streaming services is starting to slip for me.

Starting on August 3, the platform will be adding video content from a number of popular online outlets including Buzzfeed, Conde Nast, and Variety, spanning topics such as lifestyle, food and drink, fashion, and entertainment. Basically, all the video series you can already find on YouTube will be coming to Netflix.

Netflix says subscribers will be able to stream “some of [their] favorite videos from around the Internet without having to leave Netflix,” as the service puts it — with videos ranging from short two-minute watches, to in-depth 20-minute content. The videos will be available to viewers in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand first.

When the new content lands on the platform, you’ll have another way to watch popular internet video series like Variety’s Lie Detector Test and Architectural Digest’s Walking Tour without having to leave the Netflix app.

The Netflix Originals graveyard is growing

Netflix axed its sci-fi series The Boroughs after just one season (Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix clearly wants to diversify beyond its usual film and TV show offerings. Recently, the service announced its Clips short-form video feed, which is clearly borrowed from TikTok and Instagram Reels. It’s also investing in video podcasts, looking to capture a slice of a market that’s already catered to by Spotify and other services.

I understand that viewing habits are shifting, but Netflix’s attempts at moving into new content feels like a Katy Perry album release, with the streaming giant trying to chase trends for the sake of keeping up appearances, when it should be focussing its time and resources on producing quality original content.

That brings me to the ‘two season problem’.

Netflix has an awful habit of pulling its original shows, even if subscribers love them, after just one or two seasons. The platform just canceled The Boroughs after one season despite it receiving rave reviews — and Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers were attached to the project, so a second season was widely expected.

According to the platform, this decision was taken due to production costs (sci-fi is expensive to produce), but somehow Netflix still manages to find enough money to pump into reality shows that receive nowhere near as much critical acclaim as its axed shows get, and which, I’d argue no one really wants.

Although spin-off show Squid Game: The Challenge climbed the Netflix charts, the roaring success of the original TV series helped it massively. But, as our streaming writer Jasmine Valentine says in her two-star review, the second season was “nowhere near as good as its first”. Between this and the pure cringe-fest that was Floor is Lava, you’d think Netflix would’ve learned its lesson — apparently not.

Compared to Netflix, Apple TV is one of the few streaming services that keeps the fire of its original shows burning (Image credit: Apple Tv Plus)

Instead, it’s continued to churn out one reality show after the next. I couldn’t make it past the first 20 minutes of Age of Attraction, and now my favorite childhood movie is about to have the magic sucked out of it thanks to a new Wonka-themed reality show.

I’m not the only one who thinks this, my colleague and streaming writer Lucy Buglass is on the same page, telling me “Netflix’s decision to host content from other platforms has been met with criticism, and there’s a good reason for that. Many beloved Netflix shows have been axed by the streaming service, and in 2024 Netflix canceled these 9 shows despite many of them performing well with both critics and audiences.

“When you compare Netflix to other streaming services, it’s shocking how quick they are to abandon their shows. Competitor Apple TV has a lot of faith in its original programming from sci-fi hit Severance, to horror comedy Widow’s Bay, and the moreish drama Margo’s Got Money Troubles. All of these shows have been renewed for new seasons in the future, which is welcome news for loyal fans.

“I’m concerned that Netflix keeps neglecting some great-quality shows in favor of hosting content we can already get elsewhere. Time and time again, TV fans are not getting a satisfying finale because storylines are cut off abruptly after being axed. This only discourages people from watching new shows if they’re going to be left on a permanent cliffhanger.”

Competing against YouTube is going to be quite a challenge for Netflix, and it makes me wonder if it'll be successful in luring more viewers in its direction. But for the time being, I wish it would just focus on quality of quantity.

Knockoff works by filtering out brands you probably don't want to buy from anyway.

The X by Xreal A01 Plus edge out the TCL RayNeo Air 4 Pro in my early tests, and are lighter, too.

It's nearly time for another episode of House of the Dragon season 3 to take flight. And, after last week's Rhaenyra-focused entry, you can expect to see more of the show's wider ensemble when its fourth chapter drops in a few days' time.

"But, when will that be?", I hear you ask. Fear not, dear reader, because I've sent a raven to HBO Towers to learn when the Game of Thrones prequel's next installment will air. Don't delay, then — find out below when it'll premiere where you live.

What time can I watch House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4?

House of the Dragon's next episode will debut at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Sunday, July 12 in North and South America.

There's no need for viewers in other territories to throw a Rhaenyra-style tantrum over when they can see it, either, because it'll drop everywhere else on Monday, July 13. Read on to learn the exact time that it'll arrive in your region of the world:

• US — Sunday, July 12 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Sunday, July 12 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Monday, July13 at 2am BST
• India — Monday, July 13 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Monday, July 13 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Monday, July 13 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Monday, July 13 at 1pm NZST

What channel or platform can I watch House of the Dragon season 3 on?

Did he think I would not discover it? pic.twitter.com/V6dDqp075cJuly 6, 2026

Like its predecessors, the high-fantasy series' next episode will come out on HBO Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services, where it's available.

Live in a country that the Warner-owned platform is yet to come to, or don't have an active HBO Max subscription? Don't worry, there are other cable networks, streamers, and TV channels you can watch House of the Dragon 3's fourth chapter on:

• US — HBO and HBO Max
• Canada — Crave
• UK — HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, and Now TV
• India — JioHotstar
• Singapore — HBO Max
• Australia — HBO Max
• New Zealand — HBO Max

What is the full release schedule for House of the Dragon season 3?

Alicent and Rhaenyra will continue to play their own mini Dance of the Dragons in this week's episode (Image credit: Ollie Upton/HBO)

After this week's entry, we'll be midway through this season. That means only four episodes remain before the HBO TV Original departs our screens ahead of its fourth and likely final season.

Unsurprisingly, this season's remaining episodes will air every Sunday in the Americas and every Monday everywhere else — you can read the list below to remind yourself of each one's release date:

• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4— July 12/13
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 — July 19/20
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 — July 26/27
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7 — August 2/3
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 — August 9/10

• Ads for fake air conditioners are plaguing Facebook and YouTube
• These appliances promise high performance features and claim to be ground-breaking
• UK advertising regulator warns you should be sceptical and report them

The UK is having its share of sweltering heatwaves this summer and there’s never been a bigger demand for the best fans and air conditioners — but that's also come with a wave of fake air conditioning adverts.

Adverts for portable air conditioners allegedly ‘designed by former NASA engineers’ that can cool down a room ‘in less than 90 seconds’ are being pushed to consumers across the likes Facebook and YouTube. Portable air conditioners have been going out of stock pretty much everywhere — more recently Meaco’s Cirro lineup — so appliances from trusted brands are becoming a lot harder to come by as the UK is gripped by high temperatures

The advertised air conditioners claim to pack a punch all while having affordable prices, ranging between £70-£120 according to the BBC. Additionally, these product listings often feature fake customer reviews with overwhelmingly positive comments on performance features.

Civil engineer and content creator, Stuart Matthews, is just one online persona that’s raising awareness; “if it sounds too good to be true, it’s not ‘probably’ a scam these days, it definitely is a scam,” he shared in a YouTube video.

In one of his most recent unboxing videos, Matthews purchased one of the cheap air coolers, taking it apart bit by bit to give a closer look at the inner workings of these appliances — and they don’t work in the same way as proper air conditioners.

Here's how to spot a fake

The product he showcased was sold as a ‘mini portable air cooler’ with a small water tank that can ‘chill quite a sizable room by a number of degrees very quickly’. Once he took the machine apart, Matthews found what he described as ‘cardboard fins’ that essentially soak up water from the tank, which the fan blows air through at a very weak speed — all of which he forked out £70 for, when he thinks it’s worth no more than £5.

With high demand, users in need will often take the first appliance that’s put in front of them, giving companies more room to scam, and now the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is officially warning you. But if you’re finding it difficult to tell the difference between legitimate and misleading adverts, the regulator has issued a few tips.

As mentioned, one of the biggest things to note is the overuse of positive reviews and comments that report life-changing results, so if an advert claims a small fan can cool a room in a very short space of time, be sceptical.

Just with the advert shown in Matthews’ video, you should also be wary of lengthy backstories and bold claims, i.e. “an ingenious invention that’s disrupting the £5 billion air conditioning industry” — a bold claim for a product that no one has heard of.

Additionally, a majority of the adverts seem to be AI-generated, with inconsistencies such as spelling and grammar errors, which you should also keep an eye out for. If you think you’ve run into a fake air conditioner advert, you can file a report on the ASA website.

Google has unveiled AI transparency tags for ads.

AI mental health tools may support journaling, reflection and routine guidance, but current evidence does not support using them as replacements for licensed therapists. HR and IT leaders need product-specific evidence, strict data controls and reliable human escalation before deployment.

The post Can AI Replace Therapists? What HR and IT Leaders Need to Know appeared first on TechRepublic.

Fighting between the U.S. and Iran appears to have paused after two days of clashing amid a shaky ceasefire. And, a look at what life is like inside Israel's expanding zone of control in Gaza.

(Image credit: Majid Saeedi)

From clunky spreadsheets to modern project tools, I've tried it all. Here's the Gantt chart software worth switching to.

The post Best Gantt Chart Software in 2026: 8 Tools I Trust the Most appeared first on TechRepublic.

OpenAI has doubled its top bio bounty to $50,000 for researchers who can develop a universal jailbreak against its biological safety challenge. The ongoing private program begins with GPT-5.6 and keeps GPT-5.5 in scope through July 27, 2026.

The post OpenAI Raises Bio Bounty to $50,000 for Universal Jailbreaks appeared first on TechRepublic.

A newly announced ban on smartphones for government workers, police and military personnel is spilling over into healthcare and educational facilities. Ordinary citizens worry they'll be next.

(Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP)

• McAfee flags “Silent Swap,” a malicious Chromium extension disguised as Google Notes that secretly hijacks crypto transactions
• It works as a clipboard jacker, swapping copied wallet addresses with attacker‑controlled ones so victims unknowingly send funds to criminals
• Researchers advise always cross‑checking full wallet strings before sending, as attackers can craft lookalike addresses differing only in a few characters

Researchers have found yet another extension for Chromium-based browsers that is designed solely to steal people’s hard-earned cryptocurrency.

A report from McAfee has sounded the alarm on Silent Swap, a piece of malware hiding inside a benign-looking Google Notes extension.

Victims who stumble upon and download it (most likely through phishing, social engineering, or shady forums and websites), will get an extension that, on the surface, works as intended. It shows a small window where the victim can type a note and save it. They can color-code the notes and search through saved ones. However, this was only made to hide the program’s true intentions, which are to steal cryptocurrency.

Hijacking the clipboard

Silent Swap works like a typical clipboard jacker. It monitors the clipboard for strings that look like a crypto wallet - seemingly random strings of 26 to 42 alphanumeric characters.

When it spots one, it replaces it with a different one belonging to the attacker, so when the victim pastes the address into the wallet to send the funds, they are actually sending them to the address belonging to the attackers.

This works because crypto wallets are almost impossible to memorize, and too risky to type in from a piece of paper or a different document, forcing users to rely on copying and pasting.

Once the victim sends the funds, they are almost certainly irretrievably gone. Only if the funds are being sent from a centralized exchange (like Coinbase, for example), and if the victim spots the attack fast enough, can they ask the exchange’s support to freeze the transaction. In all other cases, once the money is sent, it’s gone.

The best way to defend against these attacks is to cross-reference the strings before hitting send. Some people would only check the first and last few characters, but security researchers don’t recommend it, because some clipboard jackers can generate addresses that only differ in a few characters.

Garmin Forerunner 170: One minute review

The Garmin Forerunner 170 and 170 Music sit nicely between the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 70 and more expensive 570 and 970 duo, the latter of which features on our best Garmin watches guide. As such, both Music and non-Music versions are a bit of a halfway house; not quite cheap enough to be picked up on a whim by budget-conscious consumers, nor expensive enough to be stuffed with top-quality premium features.

However, it is stuffed with plenty of robust fitness features that will suit any active exerciser, especially runners. Sebastian Sawe, who who broke the world record by running a marathon under two hours in London, was toting a Garmin Forerunner 55 — Garmin’s cheapest, most stripped-back running watch.

What you’re paying for here is the Garmin Forerunner 70 — an excellent smartwatch on the cheaper end, and the successor to the popular Garmin Forerunner 55 — with additional smartwatch features attached. These include Garmin Pay, a virtual wallet which lets you pay with cards held on-watch, and the Smart Notifications feature, which allows you to view and manage alerts from a paired smartphone. The Forerunner 170 Music adds an extra 4GB of music storage.

If you’re largely uninterested in these features and you just want an excellent training tool, I’d get the Garmin Forerunner 70 instead, as it’s the best value of the three newcomers overall. But the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music does allow you to hit that Saturday morning parkrun, pay for your coffee, and jog home with headphones in — all without using your phone at all. It’s incredibly convenient, but not a package everyone will need or want.

Still, during my testing I found the watch good to use, comfortable to sleep in, and accurate against testing units like my Polar H10 heart rate monitor. Our writer Michael Sawh found the same with the Garmin Forerunner 70. You can read my full thoughts on the 170 Music below, but whichever watch you choose, you’ll be in good hands.

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70

Garmin Forerunner 170

Garmin Forerunner 170 Music

Price

$249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399

$299 / £259.99 / AU$479

$349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549

Dimensions

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

Weight

40g

41g

41g

Case/bezel

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Display

AMOLED 390 x 390px

AMOLED 390 x 390px

AMOLED 390 x 390px

GPS

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou

GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo

Battery life

Up to 13 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 16 hours

Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours

Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours (6.5 with music)

Connection

Bluetooth, ANT+

Bluetooth, ANT+

Bluetooth, ANT+

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Price and availability

• Garmin Forerunner 170: $299 / £259.99 / AU$479
• Garmin Forerunner 170 Music: $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549
• Garmin Forerunner 70: $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399

The Garmin Forerunner 170 without music storage costs $299 / £259.99 / AU$479.

The Garmin Forerunner 170 Music, the upgrade with 4GB internal memory for music storage, costs $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549. The Forerunner 70, which doesn’t have the 170’s smartwatch features such as Garmin Pay and Smart Notifications, is cheaper at $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399.

We’re zeroing in on the Garmin Forerunner 170 today, and I think the watch is generally good value for money compared to some of the seriously expensive premium Garmins in the lineup, but perhaps not compared to the 70, which is $100 / £80 / AU$150 cheaper for a very similar watch. If you don’t want Garmin Pay or notifications, you’re better off saving your cash and getting the 70.

None of the Garmins have a particularly wide feature set compared to watches from Apple and Samsung at a similar price point, but their batteries last far longer — up to 10 days for the 170 — and their workout credentials are fantastic. This ensures you can get multiple battery-sucking GPS workouts in each week while still retaining enough smartwatch functionality to matter, all without needing a charge for ages. Each Garmin watch is durable too.

I’d say it’s generally a good value prospect, even if it does edge into the expensive end with the 170 Music.

• Score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Iterates on existing Forerunner design
• Surprisingly dull AMOLED screen
• Elevate V4 heart rate sensor

The Garmin Forerunner 170 looks very much like every other Forerunner, but if this is your first Garmin that won’t mean much. It’s got a five-button configuration — up, down, light, start, stop or select, and back (or lap). You can use these, a touchscreen, or a combination of the two to navigate the watch, which is ideal if you’re wearing gloves.

It comes in a single size, with a 42.6mm screen, and its packing an AMOLED display rather than the duller digital-watch-style memory-in-pixel screen of older watches, but it’s not particularly bright even at full power. It comes with a silicon two-tone strap, and on the back it has one of Garmin’s older heart rate sensors, the Elevate V4. More expensive watches get the more accurate V5, but the V4 has been included here presumably to keep the cost down.

It’s very light, with a listed weight of 41g, and feels like less than that in the hand. A light watch is great for running and collecting wellness info as it’s easy to wear, and this checks the boxes.

Those familiar with Garmin products will be happy to know no liberties have been taken with the design of Garmin’s established software, either on-watch or in the Garmin Connect app. I think it’s the perfect mix of stripped-down and information-heavy, although there are a lot of menus to lose yourself in. The buttons make it fairly intuitive to navigate around for old hands. It’s a tried and tested design, that doesn’t break the mold in any significant way.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Advanced running dynamics
• Limited smart notifications functionality
• 170 Music offers mp3 and streaming downloads

Plenty of running features abound here. As the name suggests, Garmin’s included its advanced running dynamics tools such as running power (a measure of your total running effort using motion data as well as heart rate), along with advanced statistics such as stride and cadence data after your run. During workouts, you can set up routes in Garmin Connect with virtual pacers to keep you on time.

You also get the usual health stuff, such as heart rate and sleep score, 80 workout modes (although not all have dedicated metrics or GPS enabled) and reports in the morning and evening that provide information about your training along with the weather and a motivational quote. The Garmin Forerunner 170 gets Smart Notifications, which allow you to answer some tests with simple replies and the Garmin Pay functionality which acts as a virtual wallet like Apple Pay.

The 170 Music’s 4GB of storage allows you to upload tunes directly onto the watch, including by saving playlists from the likes of Spotify. Even without the dedicated Music model, you can listen on apps like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music and so on through your phone, and control music on the watch there. The Garmin Connect IQ store has dedicated widgets for these services, along with thousands of other apps from a mixture of big-name brands and enthusiastic amateurs.

Otherwise, what’s missing? I wasn’t expecting full-color maps at this price, just the breadcrumb navigation and route direction common on most Garmin watches without maps, so I don’t feel like the feature is missing, as such.

However, to justify the price increase from the 70 to the 170 Music, I think it needs more hardware features. A microphone like the Garmin Forerunner 570, and the ability to take calls on watch and use Garmin’s simple voice assistant, would better separate it. As is, most people who want dedicated smartwatch features will just get one of the best Apple Watches or best Samsung watches instead.

• Features score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Accurate against a heart rate monitor
• GPS works well against an Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Comfortable and easy to wear day-to-day

I checked the Garmin’s heart rate accuracy against an electrical chest-mounted Polar H10 heart rate monitor — the gold standard of heart rate accuracy — during a 25-minute treadmill test, and was very pleased to report that despite the older sensor, both average and maximum heart rate were within 1-4bpm of the heart rate monitor; a very acceptable margin for error and not a statistically significant one.

GPS was accurate compared to my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and battery life was representative of its claims, with total drain taking just over a week with multiple GPS workouts completed. I feel as though the ‘up to 10 days’ listed battery life is reflective of reality.

Being lighter and smaller than many Garmins I’ve tested, it’s comfortable to wear every day and fine to sleep in.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Scorecard

(Image credit: Future)

Category

Comment

Score

Value

It’s not barnstorming value compared to the 70, but unlikely to disappoint.

4/5

Design

Builds on the solid existing Forerunner design with little iteration.

4/5

Features

Rich training insights and smartwatch features.

4/5

Performance

Solid performance against industry standards and contemporaries.

4.5/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You’re a runner

The Garmin Forerunner 170 series shines when your favorite pastime is running in any form.

You want smartwatch features

Garmin Pay and Notifications make it a useful tool outside of workouts.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

The Garmin Forerunner 70 does almost everything you need, for less.

You’re looking for premium performance

Rugged metal bezels, the Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, and full-color maps are the province of pricier Garmins.

Also consider

Coros Pace 4

A worthy alternative training tool, the Coros Pace 4 is a fantastic watch.

Read our full review

Garmin Forerunner 70

A better value option if you don't want the 170/Music's smart features.

Read our full review

How I tested

I wore the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music for over a week, draining the battery down and using as many of its features as possible. I ran and used it for strength and yoga sessions, tested its smart features, and pitted it against multiple competitor devices, including a chest strap heart rate monitor.

Garmin Forerunner 170: One minute review

The Garmin Forerunner 170 and 170 Music sit nicely between the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 70 and more expensive 570 and 970 duo, the latter of which features on our best Garmin watches guide. As such, both Music and non-Music versions are a bit of a halfway house; not quite cheap enough to be picked up on a whim by budget-conscious consumers, nor expensive enough to be stuffed with top-quality premium features.

However, it is stuffed with plenty of robust fitness features that will suit any active exerciser, especially runners. Sebastian Sawe, who who broke the world record by running a marathon under two hours in London, was toting a Garmin Forerunner 55 — Garmin’s cheapest, most stripped-back running watch.

What you’re paying for here is the Garmin Forerunner 70 — an excellent smartwatch on the cheaper end, and the successor to the popular Garmin Forerunner 55 — with additional smartwatch features attached. These include Garmin Pay, a virtual wallet which lets you pay with cards held on-watch, and the Smart Notifications feature, which allows you to view and manage alerts from a paired smartphone. The Forerunner 170 Music adds an extra 4GB of music storage.

If you’re largely uninterested in these features and you just want an excellent training tool, I’d get the Garmin Forerunner 70 instead, as it’s the best value of the three newcomers overall. But the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music does allow you to hit that Saturday morning parkrun, pay for your coffee, and jog home with headphones in — all without using your phone at all. It’s incredibly convenient, but not a package everyone will need or want.

Still, during my testing I found the watch good to use, comfortable to sleep in, and accurate against testing units like my Polar H10 heart rate monitor. Our writer Michael Sawh found the same with the Garmin Forerunner 70. You can read my full thoughts on the 170 Music below, but whichever watch you choose, you’ll be in good hands.

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70

Garmin Forerunner 170

Garmin Forerunner 170 Music

Price

$249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399

$299 / £259.99 / AU$479

$349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549

Dimensions

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm

Weight

40g

41g

41g

Case/bezel

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Display

AMOLED 390 x 390px

AMOLED 390 x 390px

AMOLED 390 x 390px

GPS

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou

GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo

Battery life

Up to 13 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 16 hours

Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours

Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours (6.5 with music)

Connection

Bluetooth, ANT+

Bluetooth, ANT+

Bluetooth, ANT+

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Price and availability

• Garmin Forerunner 170: $299 / £259.99 / AU$479
• Garmin Forerunner 170 Music: $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549
• Garmin Forerunner 70: $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399

The Garmin Forerunner 170 without music storage costs $299 / £259.99 / AU$479.

The Garmin Forerunner 170 Music, the upgrade with 4GB internal memory for music storage, costs $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549. The Forerunner 70, which doesn’t have the 170’s smartwatch features such as Garmin Pay and Smart Notifications, is cheaper at $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399.

We’re zeroing in on the Garmin Forerunner 170 today, and I think the watch is generally good value for money compared to some of the seriously expensive premium Garmins in the lineup, but perhaps not compared to the 70, which is $100 / £80 / AU$150 cheaper for a very similar watch. If you don’t want Garmin Pay or notifications, you’re better off saving your cash and getting the 70.

None of the Garmins have a particularly wide feature set compared to watches from Apple and Samsung at a similar price point, but their batteries last far longer — up to 10 days for the 170 — and their workout credentials are fantastic. This ensures you can get multiple battery-sucking GPS workouts in each week while still retaining enough smartwatch functionality to matter, all without needing a charge for ages. Each Garmin watch is durable too.

I’d say it’s generally a good value prospect, even if it does edge into the expensive end with the 170 Music.

• Score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Iterates on existing Forerunner design
• Surprisingly dull AMOLED screen
• Elevate V4 heart rate sensor

The Garmin Forerunner 170 looks very much like every other Forerunner, but if this is your first Garmin that won’t mean much. It’s got a five-button configuration — up, down, light, start, stop or select, and back (or lap). You can use these, a touchscreen, or a combination of the two to navigate the watch, which is ideal if you’re wearing gloves.

It comes in a single size, with a 42.6mm screen, and its packing an AMOLED display rather than the duller digital-watch-style memory-in-pixel screen of older watches, but it’s not particularly bright even at full power. It comes with a silicon two-tone strap, and on the back it has one of Garmin’s older heart rate sensors, the Elevate V4. More expensive watches get the more accurate V5, but the V4 has been included here presumably to keep the cost down.

It’s very light, with a listed weight of 41g, and feels like less than that in the hand. A light watch is great for running and collecting wellness info as it’s easy to wear, and this checks the boxes.

Those familiar with Garmin products will be happy to know no liberties have been taken with the design of Garmin’s established software, either on-watch or in the Garmin Connect app. I think it’s the perfect mix of stripped-down and information-heavy, although there are a lot of menus to lose yourself in. The buttons make it fairly intuitive to navigate around for old hands. It’s a tried and tested design, that doesn’t break the mold in any significant way.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Advanced running dynamics
• Limited smart notifications functionality
• 170 Music offers mp3 and streaming downloads

Plenty of running features abound here. As the name suggests, Garmin’s included its advanced running dynamics tools such as running power (a measure of your total running effort using motion data as well as heart rate), along with advanced statistics such as stride and cadence data after your run. During workouts, you can set up routes in Garmin Connect with virtual pacers to keep you on time.

You also get the usual health stuff, such as heart rate and sleep score, 80 workout modes (although not all have dedicated metrics or GPS enabled) and reports in the morning and evening that provide information about your training along with the weather and a motivational quote. The Garmin Forerunner 170 gets Smart Notifications, which allow you to answer some tests with simple replies and the Garmin Pay functionality which acts as a virtual wallet like Apple Pay.

The 170 Music’s 4GB of storage allows you to upload tunes directly onto the watch, including by saving playlists from the likes of Spotify. Even without the dedicated Music model, you can listen on apps like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music and so on through your phone, and control music on the watch there. The Garmin Connect IQ store has dedicated widgets for these services, along with thousands of other apps from a mixture of big-name brands and enthusiastic amateurs.

Otherwise, what’s missing? I wasn’t expecting full-color maps at this price, just the breadcrumb navigation and route direction common on most Garmin watches without maps, so I don’t feel like the feature is missing, as such.

However, to justify the price increase from the 70 to the 170 Music, I think it needs more hardware features. A microphone like the Garmin Forerunner 570, and the ability to take calls on watch and use Garmin’s simple voice assistant, would better separate it. As is, most people who want dedicated smartwatch features will just get one of the best Apple Watches or best Samsung watches instead.

• Features score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Accurate against a heart rate monitor
• GPS works well against an Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Comfortable and easy to wear day-to-day

I checked the Garmin’s heart rate accuracy against an electrical chest-mounted Polar H10 heart rate monitor — the gold standard of heart rate accuracy — during a 25-minute treadmill test, and was very pleased to report that despite the older sensor, both average and maximum heart rate were within 1-4bpm of the heart rate monitor; a very acceptable margin for error and not a statistically significant one.

GPS was accurate compared to my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and battery life was representative of its claims, with total drain taking just over a week with multiple GPS workouts completed. I feel as though the ‘up to 10 days’ listed battery life is reflective of reality.

Being lighter and smaller than many Garmins I’ve tested, it’s comfortable to wear every day and fine to sleep in.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Scorecard

(Image credit: Future)

Category

Comment

Score

Value

It’s not barnstorming value compared to the 70, but unlikely to disappoint.

4/5

Design

Builds on the solid existing Forerunner design with little iteration.

4/5

Features

Rich training insights and smartwatch features.

4/5

Performance

Solid performance against industry standards and contemporaries.

4.5/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You’re a runner

The Garmin Forerunner 170 series shines when your favorite pastime is running in any form.

You want smartwatch features

Garmin Pay and Notifications make it a useful tool outside of workouts.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

The Garmin Forerunner 70 does almost everything you need, for less.

You’re looking for premium performance

Rugged metal bezels, the Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, and full-color maps are the province of pricier Garmins.

Also consider

Coros Pace 4

A worthy alternative training tool, the Coros Pace 4 is a fantastic watch.

Read our full review

Garmin Forerunner 70

A better value option if you don't want the 170/Music's smart features.

Read our full review

How I tested

I wore the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music for over a week, draining the battery down and using as many of its features as possible. I ran and used it for strength and yoga sessions, tested its smart features, and pitted it against multiple competitor devices, including a chest strap heart rate monitor.