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Built for professional makers, workshops, and small businesses, the xTool F2 Ultra industrial-grade desktop laser engraver is currently selling for $3,998.99 at Amazon, down from its $4,999 list price.

It features a powerful 60W MOPA (Master Oscillator Power Amplifier) fiber laser capable of deep engraving, 3D embossing, color engraving, and cutting metal up to 2mm thick. It also supports black marking on aluminum, laser cleaning, thin metal welding, and works with stainless steel, titanium, brass, gold, silver, and more.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the xTool F2 Ultra if...

This machine is designed for anyone producing custom products, industrial parts, jewelry, signage, or personalized gifts. It engraves at speeds up to 15,000mm/s, offers an 8.7 x 8.7-inch working area that can be expanded with an optional conveyor, and uses dual 48MP AI cameras to improve positioning accuracy to 0.2mm while automatically detecting materials and suggesting settings.

❌ Skip the xTool F2 Ultra if...

The F2 Ultra is far more machine than most hobbyists need. Its nearly $4,000 sale price remains a major investment, it requires space to operate safely, and as a Class 4 laser engraver it demands appropriate eye protection and safe working practices. If you only engrave occasionally or mainly work with wood and acrylic, a less powerful system may offer better value.

60W MOPA fiber laser engraver with speeds up to 15,000mm/s, dual 48MP AI cameras, 0.2mm positioning accuracy, 100-plus metal colors, 2mm metal cutting, 8.7 x 8.7-inch work area, expandable conveyor support.View Deal

Why we recommend it

Few desktop fiber laser engravers combine this level of power, speed, and automation. The ability to produce more than 100 consistent colors on metal, perform deep engraving and embossing, and streamline setup with AI-assisted cameras makes it a capable tool for businesses looking to increase productivity while keeping high-quality results.

In his review, our expert Alastair said: "The xTool F2 Ultra is far removed from many consumer-grade machines, with a high-end product-designed enclosure and streamlined user interface that make this one of the most powerful and easy-to-use machines of its type on the market."

Price Context & Historical Value

A $1,000 discount represents a solid saving on professional equipment, and the cheapest we've seen the xTool F2 Ultra selling for to date. It remains a premium purchase, but this price cut will make it considerably more accessible for professionals who were already planning to invest in a high-end fiber laser engraver.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This deal covers the single 60W MOPA fiber laser model only. Accessories including the automatic conveyor are sold separately, and you'll need suitable ventilation, a dedicated workspace, and proper laser safety precautions before putting this Class 4 engraver into regular use.

• Shop all craft cutting tools at Amazon

• SpaceXAI just launched a Grok add-in for Excel
• However OpenAI, Anthropic and others have already beaten Grok to it
• The latest Grok 4.5 model is said to be an Excel genius

SpaceXAI (formerly xAI) has launched Grok for Excel as an add-in which looks to put Grok's conversational AI abilities within a side panel to help with formulas, charts, analysis and more.

Although the add-in is technically free, it requires a paid account to use the features, with only SuperGrok, SuperGrok Heavy and Business/Enterprise plans capable of handling tasks within the add-in.

SpaceXAI also refers to the add-in as a 'free' Microsoft Marketplace tool, loosely implying its use is free despite current account limitations.

Grok now gets an Excel add-in, too

"Describe the outcome and Grok handles the syntax – averages, sorts, and fills land as normal edits in the formula bar," the company wrote in a post announcing the new tool.

Grok for Excel supports Excel 2019 or later on Mac as well as M365 versions and web versions, and joins similar Word, PowerPoint and Outlook add-ins. All the Office add-ins promise to interact with documents, understand data and draft new content, but there are no autonomous agentic features such as sending an email in Outlook.

Realistically, SpaceXAI is just the latest company to be acknowledging that individual sectors need role-specific support, with finance emerging as one of the priorities. OpenAI already has ChatGPT for Excel, Anthropic has Claude for Excel, and of course Microsoft has its own Copilot add-in for paid plans.

The news comes days after the company launched its latest Grok 4.5 model. "Grok Build is capable of building complex Excel models that involve research from the web, multi-sheet formula use, and even leaves stickies or notes behind for future reference," the company wrote.

SpaceXAI also praised the model's capabilities across Word and PowerPoint.

Before sending your college kid back to school, see how their tap water fares in this national ranking.

The former special counsel led two criminal investigations of President Trump and has been a frequent target of Trump's ire on social media.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb)

The Geekom IT13 provides solid desktop performance in a compact chassis. Usually priced at $599, it's currently down to $539.10 at Amazon. The mini PC is powered by a capable 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13600H processor with 12 cores, 16 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.8GHz.

It comes with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, Windows 11 Pro, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics, making it well equipped for productivity, creative work, and everyday computing.

Dual USB4 ports deliver transfer speeds up to 40Gbps and support external GPUs, while WiFi 6E, 2.5Gb Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.2, an SD card slot, and support for up to four displays provide plenty of flexibility for home and office setups.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Geekom IT13 Mini PC if...

The Geekom IT13's processor, RAM, and generous 1TB SSD provide more than enough power for productivity, multitasking, photo editing, coding, and light video editing, while the generous selection of ports and support for four displays make it a flexible choice for home or office use.

❌ Skip the Geekom IT13 Mini PC if...

You may want to look elsewhere if your main priority is GPU-intensive creative work or a spot of AAA gaming. The Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics are perfectly capable for everyday computing and lighter workloads, but a mini PC with dedicated graphics will be a better fit for more demanding tasks.

Powered by an Intel Core i5-13600H processor, the Geekom IT13 includes 16GB RAM, a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, dual USB4 ports, WiFi 6E, 2.5Gb Ethernet, Windows 11 Pro, and quad-display support.View Deal

Why we recommend it

The Geekom IT13 strikes an excellent balance between performance, connectivity, and upgradeability. Support for four displays, dual USB4 ports, fast networking, and expandable memory make it suitable for everything from home offices to content creation.

Durable construction, a compact footprint and a three-year warranty also helps it stand out from many rival mini PCs.

In his review of an earlier model, our mini PC expert Mark said, "This machine is excellent in providing an exceptionally flexible tool that can serve files from external storage, be a hardware firewall or do any job that involves external devices connected by USB or Thunderbolt."

Price Context & Historical Value

The 10% ($59.90) saving is modest rather than dramatic, but it's still a welcome reduction on a well-equipped mini PC with a strong feature set. It was $509 for a short period earlier this year, but it has been priced much, much higher in the past.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The Geekom IT13 relies on Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, so it isn't intended for demanding GPU-heavy workloads or AAA gaming. While it can comfortably handle everyday productivity and lighter creative applications, anyone needing high-end graphics performance should look at a system with a dedicated graphics card.

• Shop all mini PCs at Amazon

If you're looking for fast, dependable storage for a NAS or desktop computer, Seagate has you covered with a number of great brands. IronWolf is built for always-on network storage, while the BarraCuda is a terrific budget choice for everyday PCs.

The Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS hard drive is currently available for $235.99 at Newegg. Designed specifically for NAS systems, it combines 4TB of CMR storage with a 5400 RPM spindle speed, a generous 256MB cache, and SATA 6Gb/s connectivity.

AgileArray technology, rotational vibration sensors, and support for workloads of up to 180TB per year make it well suited to multi-bay NAS enclosures that stay powered on around the clock.

The 2TB Seagate BarraCuda hard drive costs $139.99, but you can get $10 off by applying coupon code EPF5424. The HDD spins at 7200 RPM, includes a 256MB cache, and offers SATA 6Gb/s connectivity.

Which HDD should you buy?

✅ Buy the 4TB IronWolf if...

If you run a NAS for backups, media streaming, or shared files, the IronWolf is the better investment. Features such as CMR recording, RAID-focused firmware, vibration protection, and three years of Rescue Data Recovery Services are all designed for continuous operation inside multi-drive systems.

See what our expert Mark thought about the larger 8TB model in his recent review.

✅ Buy the 2TB BarraCuda if...

The BarraCuda is aimed more at traditional desktop use rather than network storage, although it can be used in a NAS. Its faster 7200 RPM speed makes it a good choice for storing photos, videos, and large files, while keeping costs lower than high-capacity SSDs.

The IronWolf drive offers 4TB CMR storage, 5400 RPM performance, a 256MB cache, SATA 6Gb/s connectivity, rotational vibration sensors, and support for 24/7 operation.View Deal

The BarraCuda HDD delivers 2TB of storage, a 7200 RPM spindle speed, 256MB cache, SATA 6Gb/s connectivity, and energy-saving power modes for dependable everyday performance.View Deal

Why we recommend them

The IronWolf HDD is engineered specifically for NAS environments. It supports continuous 24/7 operation, includes health management features on compatible NAS platforms, and is designed to maintain reliable performance when several drives are working together.

The BarraCuda HDD focuses on versatility and offers plenty of capacity for everyday computing, a healthy 256MB cache, and dependable performance for general-purpose desktops, making it an easy recommendation if you simply need more space.

Take a look at our round up of the best NAS drives.

Price Context & Historical Value

The IronWolf's dedicated NAS features help justify its premium over standard desktop drives, especially if your data is stored in a RAID array or accessed throughout the day. The current price isn't the cheapest however. It was $169.99 at Newegg at the start of July and briefly dipped down to $154.99.

Meanwhile, the BarraCuda delivers excellent value for anyone looking to add affordable high-capacity storage without moving to a more expensive SSD. $129.99 is a good price, although in May it was available for $110, and in April it was just $89.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

These are mechanical hard drives, which makes them great for NAS purposes. Neither can match the speed of an NVMe SSD for booting Windows or launching demanding applications.

The IronWolf is intended for NAS systems, so many of its specialist features provide little benefit in a standard desktop PC. The BarraCuda is more versatile, but it lacks the workload rating and RAID optimizations, which is where the IronWolf shines.

• Shop all internal desktop hard drives at Newegg

Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7x is down to $1,411.24 at Best Buy, saving you $423.37 from its usual $1,834.61 price.

This premium 14.5-inch Copilot+ laptop combines Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor with a sharp high-resolution touchscreen, alongside 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 512GB SSD. Its 14.5-inch IPS touchscreen offers a crisp 2944 x 1840 resolution, while Windows 11 Pro provides business-ready features.

Weighing just 2.9 pounds, it's designed to easily slip into a backpack.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x if...

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is a solid choice if you want a lightweight premium notebook for office work, web browsing, video meetings, coding, and creative tasks. The high-resolution touchscreen, 16GB of memory, and Snapdragon X Elite processor make it well equipped for multitasking, while Windows 11 Pro adds extra flexibility for business tasks.

❌ Skip the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x if...

You may want to look elsewhere if you rely on software that still performs best on traditional x86 processors or need plenty of built-in storage. The integrated graphics are suited to everyday workloads rather than demanding gaming or professional 3D applications, and the 512GB SSD could fill up quickly if you work with large media files.

Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite 12-core processor, this laptop pairs 16GB LPDDR5X memory with a 512GB SSD, 14.5-inch 2944x1840 touchscreen, Windows 11 Pro, integrated graphics, backlit keyboard, weighing 2.9 pounds.View Deal

Why we recommend it

The Yoga Slim 7x balances performance, portability, and display quality in a slim premium chassis. The combination of a sharp 14.5-inch touchscreen, modern Snapdragon X Elite platform, 16GB of fast LPDDR5X memory, and a lightweight design makes it an attractive everyday laptop for anyone who spends long hours working away from a desk.

In his four and a half star review, our expert Isaiah said the Yoga Slim 7x was "a spectacular laptop built for AI using Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X CPU" and the OLED screen meant it was "one of the best-looking I've ever used". He was also impressed that the Slim 7x "truly can provide all-day battery life depending on your activity and screen brightness levels, keeping your charger stored away for a while."

Price Context & Historical Value

A saving of more than $420 makes this one of the more substantial discounts seen on a premium Copilot+ laptop with these specifications. Considering its premium display, Windows 11 Pro, and Snapdragon X Elite processor, the current price represents much better value than paying full retail.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This upgraded model is sold with a one-year warranty from Velztorm rather than Lenovo, and it doesn't include dedicated graphics or external display connectors. Those limitations are worth keeping in mind if your workload depends on high-end graphics performance or extensive wired connectivity.

It's also worth noting that there's a newer Gen 11 version of the Yoga Slim 7x with a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip. This model received a four star review from our expert Lewis.

• Shop all laptops at Best Buy

With the new school year approaching, it's the ideal time to check that your tech is up to the task. One area you may be looking at for an upgrade is your laptop, and fortunately, there are dozens of deals available in the back-to-school sales. So, I've taken a look and picked out 10 of the best laptop deals I'd recommend right now.

The biggest battle when it comes to bagging the best bargain is between these two options: the Dell XPS 13 or the MacBook Neo. With a student discount, both can be yours for $599.99, which is outstanding value for money for a pair of powerful and efficient laptops.

The choice, ultimately, comes down to whether you prefer a Windows or an Apple device, as I really don't think you can go wrong with either if you want a capable laptop for school, college, and general use.

Alternatively, if you have less (or more) to spend, then I've picked out several other options that are on sale and I think are worth buying in the back-to-school sales. There's everything from super-cheap Chromebooks for basic use starting at $159, to performance powerhouses that come with the extra juice you might need for more demanding or creative tasks such as coding, photo editing, or video editing.

Have a browse through all of my recommendations below, which I've chosen based on the opinions of our expert testers, my experience hunting down laptop deals for TechRadar, and exactly what you get for your cash.

Today's best back-to-school laptop sales

• Amazon: big savings on laptops
• Apple: up to $150 gift card
• Best Buy: up to $600 off laptops
• Dell: up to $900 off
• Lenovo: up to 33% off laptops & tablets
• Walmart: laptops from $199.99

10 of the best back-to-school laptop deals

Display - 13.4 inches
Processor - Intel Core 5
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 512GB

The Dell XPS 13 has regularly been one of our favorite laptops here at TechRadar, and this brand-new version continues that trend. With an Intel Core 5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, it has everything you need for solid all-around performance at work or college. Students can also save an extra $100, bringing the price down to a ridiculously low $599.99.View Deal

Display: 13 inches
Processor: A18 Pro
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB

The MacBook Neo just got a price bump, but students can get it cheaper again thanks to Apple's education discount. The latest MacBook packs a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and up to 16 hours of battery life, all for under $600, which is fantastic value. Discounts have been better in the past, but I think these will be rarer to see over the coming months and this price likely won't be beaten over Black Friday.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Snapdragon X
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

This is a solid discount on a modern laptop powered by one of the efficient Snapdragon X CPUs. As well as excellent levels of all-around performance, this device boasts a huge all-day battery life, so you won't need to worry about being attached to a charger at all times. There's even 512GB of SSD storage, which you don't often see in combination with those other strong performance components at this price point. This is an all-around excellent laptop for everyday, college and business use.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel i3
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 128GB

This version of the Acer Chromebook Plus offers a solid amount of power for the price. It includes 8GB of RAM and an Intel i3 processor, boosting performance, boot times and load times. Storage of 128GB is a bit underwhelming, but you do get a large and bright IPS display, and decent battery life of around 12 hours — that's more than enough to last a full working day. At a little under $350, it's a smart buy for school or college, or just as a home laptop for light use and everyday tasks.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

Here's one of the best deals on a modern, all-purpose, and well-rated laptop in Dell's latest sale. You can now get $550 off this machine, which features a powerful Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, a healthy 16GB of RAM, and a decent 512GB SSD. With all of those components, you'll have no issues with all of your everyday computing and work needs. And at 14 inches, it's an easily portable device, too. Altogether, it's an excellent value all-around option and a laptop we scored 4.5/5 in our review.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - AMD Ryzen AI 9
RAM - 32GB
Storage - 1TB

There's a massive $500 price cut on this powerful high-end laptop, which boasts an AMD Ryzen AI 9, a performance-boosting 32GB of RAM and a large 1TB SSD. This is a great pick for business and productivity needs, with enough power to multitask with ease and battery life that lasts a full day.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 5
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 256GB

If you want a flexible device that's just as easy to use for work and admin jobs as well as casual web browsing and streaming media, then this Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 14 is an excellent buy. It mainly features entry-to-mid-level components, but there's enough power to keep up with light daily use. Plus, you get the added benefit of a versatile 14-inch touchscreen, effectively giving you a laptop and tablet in one.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 7
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 1TB

This powerful and versatile HP OmniBook Flip offers impressive performance for the price, with powerful components such as a modern Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, a healthy 16GB of RAM to boost performance, and a decent 1TB SSD for storage. You can comfortably handle everyday tasks, demanding work, video calls, media streaming and more with this laptop, all with the option to flip it around to a 16-inch touchscreen tablet when needed, too.View Deal

Display - 13.6 inches
Processor - Apple M5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

Our reviewer called the newest MacBook Air M5 "the best ultraportable I've ever used" and awarded it 4.5-stars, so it's every bit as good as its already excellent predecessor. As well as the powerful and efficient M5 chip, the latest MacBook Air boasts a slick 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD as standard. Those are solid overall specs for all-around use, productivity, and creative tasks. This is the best offer we've seen since the recent price hike, too.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Celeron N4500
RAM - 4GB
Storage - 64GB

This HP Chromebook 14 is a basic device, but it's cheap, making it a great buy for light use such as general browsing and schoolwork. It also boasts full-day battery life thanks to the lean but perfectly functional Chrome OS from Google, meaning it's best suited for students or those always on the move. If you have around $200 to spend and need a cheap laptop, then it's one of the best options right now.View Deal

Engineering discipline in software development has been under the spotlight since AI started being used by devs to generate code, with many teams worried it’s causing unnecessary risk. Headlines have been full of cautionary tales about bugs created by hastily shipped code or senior executives taking vibe coding into their own hands.

Nevertheless, teams are finding ways to build trust in AI-generated code. Google’s 2025 DORA survey concluded that AI has an amplifying effect on organizations' processes - quality processes enhanced by AI lead to higher quality outputs, and more of them.

Our own research shows that most teams aren’t being haphazard with safeguards or accepting AI outputs at face value. Most teams are being more rigorous and giving their outputs the same scrutiny as the work of a teammate. That tells us a lot about how the best-performing teams are learning how to work with AI.

Seventy-six percent of enterprise teams are reviewing AI-generated work at least as rigorously as human-written work. Teams using AI to accelerate their work are seeing results from using proven engineering practices to ensure code is reviewed and tested sufficiently.

Rather than being inherently unstable, the rise of AI-generated code has emphasized that guardrails are the bedrock of consistently reliable software.

Treat AI as a virtual teammate

Teams treating AI-generated code as if it was produced by a human tells us something about how mature teams are using AI. The engineers using AI most effectively treat it as a virtual teammate. They stay in charge of the decisions and they use AI to accelerate the execution.

To make AI adoption an iterative process that improves over time, starting with low-stakes, repeatable tasks and applying stringent checks to outputs gives the tech a chance to work properly without expecting immediate results.

As MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory reported, AI coding’s widespread adoption doesn’t mean it can handle all aspects of large-scale software engineering by itself. Releasing to production is higher stakes than writing code, for example. Scrutiny from real humans is vital to prevent errors and hallucinations from impacting the business.

At this early stage of AI being used in workflows, it’s positive that 43% of teams are treating AI code like human-written code, with 33% applying even stricter checks. Even the best developers on a team aren’t above the processes and guardrails that guarantee reliable software deployment at speed. AI should be approached in the same way.

Trust in AI follows the risk curve

As with any new technology, introducing AI to the software lifecycle is a learning process. Our data shows trust in AI varies greatly depending on the stage of the software lifecycle, indicating that teams are building confidence with appropriate caution.

A pragmatic approach is being taken at the best-performing enterprises. Thought leaders from Gartner, Forrester and Google’s DORA team all highlight that organizations seeing success from AI-assisted development are strengthening their engineering controls and building up success over time.

This tallies with where AI is trusted to perform. The vast majority (82%) now use AI during the build stage, dropping to 58% at release where production risk is highest. Using AI primarily for earlier stages of software development is a rational step to make sure failures don’t impact the wider business.

This doesn’t betray a lack of confidence in the technology. Almost half (46%) of teams are confident in the performance of AI-generated code, indicating that its more cautious use in production is a measured business decision rather than skepticism.

Outputs are much easier to review and refine before the release stage. With many businesses still lacking full observability, teams often only hear about mistakes in live code once users notify them. Despite claims that software development could eventually be fully automated, teams are showing a clear awareness of where human oversight is essential.

Rather than making blanket judgments about AI’s capabilities, they are taking a more nuanced view, which bodes well for the future of AI-assisted software delivery.

Combine speed with discipline to win

There is continuity in how mature teams are making sure AI-generated code is fit for purpose, but it’s still having a seismic impact on the role of software engineers. When I speak with developers, their feedback is unanimous: the time AI saves is invaluable for focusing on neglected parts of their process.

AI moves the cognitive load from writing code and building configuration to reviewing and directing it. With time freed up, teams have more scope to prioritize observability, test coverage or disaster recovery scenarios - crucial elements of software hygiene that too often get overlooked.

AI adoption is increasing documentation quality according to the DORA report, suggesting that many teams are taking the opportunity to improve the broader engineering practices that support reliable software delivery.

As it takes on more of the mechanical aspects of software development, engineers become increasingly responsible for the work that matters most: validating outputs, understanding risk, and ensuring outputs align with business objectives. If someone asks “why did we build it this way?” it’s a problem if no one can answer the question without asking AI. Humans must be in the loop.

The organizations that benefit most from AI will not be those with more automation, they will be the ones that combine AI-driven speed with engineering discipline and a strict adherence to repeatable processes.

AI adoption is a DevOps challenge

The debate around AI-generated code often focuses on whether the technology can be trusted in DevOps. In most cases, teams have been building this trust iteratively without throwing away human judgment to get the best results.

As AI capabilities continue to improve, the gap between high-performing teams and everyone else is unlikely to be determined by access to the latest model.

The engineers and teams that will thrive are the ones who pair AI’s capabilities with their own judgement.

We list the 10 best vibe coding tools.

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

• Star Wars Zero Company will take 30-40 hours to beat the main campaign
• The game won't feature New Game Plus mode, romance systems, or branching story paths
• Post-launch content is also unconfirmed at this time

Bit Reactor has confirmed that Star Wars Zero Company will take up to 40 hours to finish, and it won't have a New Game Plus mode.

The single-player turn-based tactics game is one of my most anticipated titles of the year, and ahead of its launch next month, the studio has conducted a community Q&A to answer a long series of questions.

One of the first questions asked how long the campaign will be, and lead producer Caydence Funk has confirmed that "Depending on your difficulty level and experience with the strategy genre," it's estimated that it can take between 30 and 40 hours for the average player to beat.

It's also confirmed that the story will be linear with no romance systems or branching paths.

"While we are excited about pushing the genre forward with a more cinematic approach, this is still a turn-based tactics game at its heart where adept skill and strategy are needed to overcome tense combat challenges," Bit Reactor said. "That said, there are story moments that can alter based on who you have in your squad, but the overall story is a linear one from beginning to end."

Personally, 40 hours is the ideal length, and a linear story means I can experience everything the story without having to worry about missing out on additional storylines.

"As far as exploration goes, yes, you’ll have the ability to explore a section of some planets prior to engaging in turn-based combat on them," the studio added.

"This is a minor facet of the game that we feel adds a unique, immersive quality to Star Wars Zero Company. These small segments are a chance for you, as Hawks, to conduct the espionage that Zero Company excels at, and are main-story-only segments that can affect the subsequent combat by granting Intel and Advantage Points."

Unfortunately, the game won't launch with New Game Plus mode, so new playthroughs will have to be completely fresh, "but players will unlock certain customization options on subsequent playthroughs" through progress.

Zero Company is set during one of my favorite Star Wars eras, the Clone Wars, so I'm very excited to experience a new story during this time period.

We can expect battles across the galaxy with the Separatist Alliance, a team consisting of a Clone Trooper, a Mandalorian, a Jedi Padawan, an Umbaran sniper, and more, as well as the appearance of Anakin Skywalker.

Customization will also play a big role in the game, and while players can't have an entire team of Clone Troopers, Bit Reactor confirmed that you'll have access to Clone armor cosmetics with the ability to customize your team's armor from the start. Outfits don't impact gameplay, but Clone Trooper helmets will provide a voice modulation effect, which sounds neat!

Even cooler, The Clone Wars TV series voice actor Dee Bradley Baker will provide his iconic voice to the character Trick and additional Clone Troopers, but the full cast has yet to be announced.

As for additional content, good news, there are no plans for microtransactions to be added to the game; however, the "Arc Trooper" Armor Set is only part of the "Grand Army of the Republic" Cosmetic Pack for the Deluxe Edition, but players will still have access to other cosmetic options in the base game.

The game also won't have mod support, and "right now" post-launch content isn't confirmed because Bit Reactor is "focused on making the best game we can at launch."

Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S.

• Varonis Threat Labs uncovered Dolphin X, a powerful RAT with 329 features across 10 categories
• Its standout “AI Profiler” ranks victims by usage and sends summaries to attackers daily
• Malware is sold on the dark web via subscription tiers, starting at $80 per month

What if malware could talk to its operator and tell it which of the infected victims is worth paying attention to, and which not? A few years ago, this might have been science fiction but today, thanks to breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI), not only is it possible, it’s also already available on the black market.

Security researchers Varonis Threat Labs recently disclosed finding a rather revolutionary remote access trojan (RAT) called Dolphin X.

Even without advanced AI capabilities, the RAT is quite potent, acting as an infostealer, a Hidden Virtual Network Computing (HVNC), a DDoS botnet, or a loader. Just its infostealer capabilities are nothing short of impressive - it can target more than 300 applications to steal browser passwords, enterprise credentials, cryptocurrency wallet data, DevOps secrets, and different sensitive files, and it comes with 329 features split into 10 categories.

AI Profiler

However, the AI capability is the one that stunned the researchers. Called “AI Profiler”, the feature ranks victims by app usage, browsing history, and more, sending a daily summary to the attackers.

The malware is now being offered on the dark web, where other criminals can subscribe to one of three tiers. The basic tier costs $80 per month, while the top tier is around $230 per month. Lifetime subscription costs $1,140 for basic access, and goes up to $3,420 for the top tier.

"Dolphin X’s collection scope reaches well beyond browser passwords to SSH keys, cloud tokens, and DevOps credentials," Varonis said in its write-up. "On the wrong machine, a single infection could expose access to an entire production environment."

"Its use of AI is also interesting because it shows us how AI is being integrated into more cybercrime tooling."

• Live heart rate data will be free for Garmin Cirqa users
• Early testers noticed it had been put behind the Connect+ subscription
• The new tracker costs $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99

We've already put the newly unveiled Garmin Cirqa through an extensive hands-on testing session, and came away very impressed. However, there were complaints from those who had early access to the device that live heart rate data was locked behind a paywall.

Now Garmin is taking that negative feedback on board: as reported by seasoned tech reporter Ray Maker (via Android Police), live heart rate data will be available to every Cirqa user "in the coming days", with or without a Garmin Connect+ subscription.

The subscription, which applies across all of Garmin's wearables, has been the subject of much debate since it launched last year. For $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 a year, it gives you access to more metrics and more insights about the fitness data you're amassing.

Live heart rate readings aren't usually locked behind Connect+, so it's strange that Garmin initially made this the case with the Cirqa. Whatever the reasoning or confusion, the anomaly is now being dealt with, which is good news.

The rise of subscriptions

Good news update! Garmin will be making a change to Garmin Connect Mobile in the coming days, so you'll now be able to see Live HR from Cirqa during a workout (previously, you could only see workout Average HR unless you had Garmin Connect+). See...feedback works. Sometimes. :) https://t.co/q5qL8T4YhZJuly 22, 2026

If you're new to the Garmin Cirqa (and it was only announced a few days ago), it takes on the likes of the Whoop wearables and the Fitbit Air by giving you a capable, lightweight wrist tracker without the distraction (and battery drain) of a display.

Both the Cirqa and the Fitbit Air offer basic tracking features and functionality for free, with a pile of extras available if you sign up for a subscription. With Whoop bands, like the Whoop MG, a subscription is compulsory, otherwise it's pretty much useless — plans start at $199 / £169 / AU$299 per year.

As we've written about before, it's a sign of the times that so many tech devices, from smartwatches to security cameras, now come with monthly subscriptions attached — usually stealing away the best features for the device in question.

If you're tempted by a Garmin Cirqa and its display-free design, it's available for $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99 direct from Garmin, with availability from tomorrow, July 24 — and you will be able to record real time heart rate data, via the accompanying Garmin app.

Since Dutton Ranch season 2 was renewed a week before the season 1 finale, I assumed it would be a good few months — perhaps even until the end of 2026 — before we'd hear any solid updates from Paramount+ or its cast. But thanks to Variety's explosive interview with star Ed Harris, who plays vet Everett on the Yellowstone spinoff, I was wrong.

“Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do — and that I was one of the four main characters,” Harris said. “And that wasn’t really the case."

He continued: “I said, ‘I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,’ and they kind of went, ‘Oh'. I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in Season 2]. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.”

@varietymagazine

Ed Harris says he felt “misled” about his “inconsequential” role on “Dutton Ranch,” and that halfway through filming Season 1, he was telling his team to “get me the f--- out of here.” “Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do — and that I was one of the four main characters,” Harris said. “And that wasn’t really the case... I said, ‘I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,’ and they kind of went, ‘Oh.'” Harris explained that when he actually watched “Dutton Ranch,” he thought it was “pretty good,” and he felt his character was “relatively important to the story.” However, during filming, “it didn’t feel that way.” “I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in Season 2],” he says. “I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.”

♬ original sound - Variety

According to Variety, Harris explained that when he actually watched Dutton Ranch, he thought it was “pretty good,” and felt his character was “relatively important to the story.” However, during filming, “it didn’t feel that way.”

These potentially controversial comments are the ones making headlines, but for me — a self-proclaimed hardcore fan of the show — they aren't the most interesting takeaway from Harris' interview.

Not only are there heavy hints about when we're likely to see new episodes released, but the certainty of Harris' belief in season 2 indicates that a new showrunner has been found.

Dutton Ranch season 2 episodes will likely arrive in late 2027 as Harris confirms February 2027 filming schedule

Do a little bit of social media digging and you will find that there's more to the interview with Harris than the clip Variety has chosen to run with. Journalist Marc Malkin has posted the full footage to his Instagram, where Harris confirms that Dutton Ranch season 2 is due to begin filming in 2027.

I'll be honest with you: this is a lot later than I was expecting. However, it does confirm that we'll be seeing episodes in late 2027 (or slightly later, depending on if there are any other production hitches).

(Image credit: Paramount+)

Now let's examine what Harris allegedly knows about his season 2 character arc. For plans to already be so firmed up, this must mean that a new showrunner has been appointed to take over from Chad Feehan, who exited the show just weeks before the season 1 premiere.

This could easily have been a remark made by producers just to keep Harris happy enough to carry out his two-season contract with Dutton Ranch. But the fact that neither Paramount, nor Taylor Sheridan or 101 Studios chose not to comment on Harris' interview makes me feel hopeful that Sheridan has quietly resumed his position as showrunner.

Call it delusion if nothing else, as this is what I've always wanted to happen with the Yellowstone spinoff. But it's a smart move — with season 1 performing so well for Paramount+, everything needs to be perfect to keep up momentum. Annoyingly, it's likely that the showrunner won't be announced until season 2 begins production.

When the trio of Samsung Galaxy Z 8 foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 — arrive in consumers' hands in the coming weeks, they will be among the first mainstream handsets, aside from the Motorola Razr Fold, to feature silicon-carbon batteries. That's a big deal for the industry, but perhaps an even bigger deal with Samsung, which, a decade ago, had one of the biggest negative smartphone battery stories in a generation.

That was way back in 2016 when the Note 7, an otherwise excellent phablet (yes, that was a thing), occasionally blew up because of battery manufacturing imperfections. Ever since then, Samsung has not only had a perfect record; it's often been at pains to explain the lengths it goes to ensure smartphone battery stability and safety.

Now, as it introduces a relatively new and somewhat untested battery technology — silicon-carbon — Samsung is again making the effort to dive deep into the construction and chemistry of these new-fangled power sources to show just how much care and effort it's putting into the new tech, and into its new foldable phones.

What is silicon-carbon?

All three new Galaxy Foldables feature silicon-carbon battery technology (Image credit: Future)

Silicon-carbon is not a wholesale refashioning of lithium-ion battery technology. Instead, it replaces a key component of the battery makeup, swapping the negative electrode (graphite) for silicon-carbon. This material allows for higher density (more power in less space) and far faster charging speeds. It's part of the reason why Samsung can, despite not making the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra any thicker than the Z Fold 7 (it's actually 0.1mm thinner when unfolded), make the battery larger — it's now 5,000mAh.

With Samsung now having a solid decade of battery safety under its belt, perhaps no one is questioning the quality, let alone the safety, of this new battery technology. But Samsung clearly wants to shout about it, and has been sharing extensive details.

In a recent briefing ahead of the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London, Samsung executives walked us through a near-atomic-level chemistry class to explain how it's custom-building the silicon-carbon batteries to ensure they work as expected.

"With Samsung's highest standards, we carefully verified the silicon-carbon battery so that our users can trust it and use it with competence," said Samsung EVP Moon Sung-hoon.

As for what that means, Samsung told us it fully redesigned the cathode, separator, and anode, which means that, at an atomic level, Samsung is managing the chemical reaction inside the battery that delivers the power to your next Galaxy Z Fold device.

Samsung wouldn't share the exact amount of silicon-carbon that's in the batteries, but it did confirm that its new Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8 phones in every region would feature the new battery technology.

On coatings and voltage management

Even though we didn't learn the percentage of each battery element in the Galaxy Z8 phones, Samsung dove deep into the component construction, explaining that, in an effort to manage the reactivity of the silicon-carbon cells, it "innovated every single part of the battery system. This is why we call it the system level of innovation at battery."

A Samsung executive showed off a colorful illustration to detail all the work (sadly, I cannot share it with you here). But here's what I learned.

To the anode layer, Samsung's engineers added a micro-carbon coating, which offers protection to the layer without, thanks to carbon's natural pores, constricting it during charging and discharging,

On the cathode layer, they "injected additional atoms" to manage the naturally higher voltage and stability of the cells. To maintain that higher voltage, they added a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) that adds a "small coating to the anode cells". This also manages the cell reactivity.

Finally, for the chemical reaction that occurs in the battery, Samsung added a "hyperporosity separator," which has larger holes without reducing the stress or durability of the cell's separators, and therefore helps maintain stability.

While most of us non-chemical engineers might feel like we've just about wrapped our minds around this information, this is an unprecedented level of battery construction detail, which I don't think Samsung would have shared if not for its history with batteries.

For consumers, though, this may not matter as much as the fact that these are larger-capacity batteries in smaller frames that charge far faster than their predecessors — and that will feel like a win for most Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8 owners.

For our early impressions of all three new phones, check out our hands-on Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra preview, hands-on Galaxy Z Fold 8 preview, and hands-on Galaxy Z Flip 8 preview.

• Guardio Labs found CVE‑2026‑48294 in Adobe Acrobat Chrome extension, enabling cross‑site data disclosure
• Attackers could steal WhatsApp Web chats if victims opened malicious landing pages with extension active
• Adobe patched the flaw in version 26.7.2.0; update recommended for 314M extension users

If you have Adobe Acrobat’s extension for Chrome, and you like chatting through WhatsApp Web, there is a potential security vulnerability you might want to address.

Security researchers from Guardio Labs discovered a “universal cross-site scripting (UXSS)-class cross-origin data disclosure vulnerability”, which is another way of saying that a website could use the flaw to read the contents of a different website, loaded in a separate tab.

The vulnerability was found in the Adobe Acrobat Chrome extension and is now tracked as CVE-2026-48294. It was given a severity score of 7.4/10 (high), and affects versions 26.5.2.2 and earlier. Guardio Labs dubbed it “HermeticReader” because of what it exploits.

"Insultingly ordinary" setup

The extension comes with different integrations, such as Google Drive or, in this case - WhatsApp Web. The WhatsApp integration component, internally known as "Hermes" is where the bug was found.

In theory, an attacker could create a new landing page and share it with the victim via email, instant messaging, SEO poisoning, or other methods. If the victim 1) has the vulnerable version of the Adobe Acrobat Chrome extension installed; 2) has WhatsApp loaded in a separate tab; and 3) opens the malicious landing page, it could trigger the extension’s vulnerable code path and allow the attackers to access everything the victim has on their WhatsApp.

Some sources argue that threat actors could use this vulnerability to pull one-time passcodes delivered via WhatsApp.

"The setup is almost insultingly ordinary: an attacker-controlled page, dressed to look like the kind of page you land on via search results, marketing emails, etc.," Guardio Labs wrote in its analysis.

"The visitor, who already has the Adobe Acrobat extension installed, opens that page. The page wakes up a dormant engine inside the extension, reaches directly into WhatsApp Web. Seconds later, the rendered WhatsApp Web view - the chat list, contact names, messages, the profile name, the text of whatever conversation is open - the whole WhatsApp in the attacker's hands."

Adobe has since publicly acknowledged the issue and thanked Guardio Labs’ researchers for their help. It has also fixed the problem in version 26.7.2.0 that’s currently available for download. The extension has more than 314 million users.

Via The Hacker News

Prime Video just got a massive free upgrade that should be on your radar if you're interested in playing popular video games like Fallout 4, Fortnite, and EA Sports FC 26 on your TV at no extra cost.

From today, Amazon Prime subscribers using Fire TV devices in the US or UK will be able to access Amazon Luna titles from directly within the Prime Video app. Luna is the company's cloud gaming service, and lets you play entire games by streaming them directly to your device like you would a TV show or movie — simply pick what you want to play in the new games tab, connect your phone (or a compatible gamepad) to use as a controller, and you can dive straight in, with no download required.

You don't need to pay extra for this either, as a formidable library of games is already included with your Prime subscription. This includes a wide range of casual GameNight titles designed for playing with a group of family or friends (including an exclusive Angry Birds and digital versions of popular board games like Clue and Exploding Kittens), in addition to some more hardcore titles available on a rotating basis.

If you want even more games, you can upgrade to Luna Premium for an additional $9.99 / £8.99 per month.

Prime placement

The move comes as Amazon tries to get more eyes on its game streaming service, which many Prime subscribers don't even know they have access to.

"You could argue we're the largest paid gaming subscription in the world," Amazon GM of gaming Jeff Gattis laughs in a conversation ahead of today's reveal. "Problem is, not enough people know about it."

Although he argues that the service is "really easy to get to if you know where you're going," he reckons the decision to initially roll it out via a dedicated Luna website and app that you "have to actively seek out and go find" has inadvertently created too many "friction points" for otherwise potentially interested users.

"It's crazy how much value we're putting in to the Prime tier," he added. "The fact that we just had the World Cup, and the you could play FC 26 if you're a Prime member for essentially free is is amazing. But again, it's only as good as people's ability to know about it."

In addition to the prominent positioning of the new games tab, Amazon is currently working on brand awareness campaigns to help get the word out.

According to Gattis, Fire TV is also just the beginning of a wider rollout that might see the update coming to the Prime Video mobile app, and so be in front of even more eyes, in future. "The grander vision is to get it to everywhere Prime Video is, and so we're excited just for more people to discover the benefit," he teased.

Overall, he believes that all of this will help align Luna more closely with the core principles that make other Amazon services like its e-commerce offering so successful. "It's convenience," he adds, "and I think it's value. And when you think about Amazon, what are the things that it does well worldwide?"

Grace Farris' book brings readers behind the med school scenes — documenting anxiety over loans, bouts of impostor syndrome, friendships forged in stress, and the ever-impossible work-life balance.

• ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott calls for move from "AI chaos to AI discipline"
• Comments come after OpenAI model infiltrated Hugging Face
• McDermott says ServiceNow tools come with a "kill switch" to prevent such incidents

ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott has laid out why his company's AI offerings have an advantage over the competition, partly because of built-in controls which can cut off access when needed.

Speaking to CNBC, McDermott said ServiceNow's tools are helping businesses move “from AI chaos to AI discipline.”

“We have a kill switch that stops AI agents that go rogue, so those things don’t need to happen, and they wouldn’t happen when companies run ServiceNow,” McDermott said

Not going rogue

McDermott's comments come shortly after the much-publicized incident which saw an OpenAI model breach online repository Hugging Face.

The incident was part of an experiment from OpenAI as part of its testing of GPT‑5.6 Sol and an “even more capable pre-release model” to see how well they would perform on the ExploitGym benchmark.

Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf has called the event "a wake-up call", telling the BBC it, "will be one of the most common types of cyber attacks we see", adding that most firms are not aware that the "game has changed".

Many large software firms have experienced some disquiet over their increasing use of AI, however McDermott dismissed concerns this growing AI competition could affect ServiceNow retaining customers.

“If you look at the terms of our contracts, they’ve actually gotten longer,” McDermott said, noting that greater AI adoption should actually increase demand for tools such as those provided by ServiceNow.

“There’s going to be more AI. There’s going to be more incidents, and all these things drive more and more volume to ServiceNow,” he said.

The news came as ServiceNow reported its latest earnings, with subscription revenues of $3,877 million in Q2 2026, representing 24.5% year-over-year growth and 23% in constant currency

The U.S. has signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. And, the independent autopsy results of Nolan Wells fuel more questions surrounding his cause of death.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)

Medical workers in a Nairobi clinic used an AI tool to check their work. A new study evaluates the result.

(Image credit: Patrick Meinhardt/AFP)