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A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, June 10 (game #1233).

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

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

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

Quordle today (game #1234) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1234) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1234) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1234) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1234) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• R

• A

• F

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

Quordle today (game #1234) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1234, are…

• CRAVE
• ROOST
• ANGLE
• FLOOD

It’s a familiar frustration in Quordle, but one that also makes it a fun game, when you think you’ve got the right word and you excitedly tap it out only to be one letter out.

Such was the case for me today when I was dead certain that my final word would be BLOOD and completely overlooked any alternatives – such as FLOOD. Had this error come in my 9th go I might have been a little less upbeat about it!

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1234) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1234, are…

• DILLY
• GRASP
• MOLAR
• FILER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1233, Tuesday, 10 June: DECRY, CHEEK, FILET, EASEL
• Quordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVEL
• Quordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUME
• Quordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAP
• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO
• Quordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORST
• Quordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULE
• Quordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHID
• Quordle #1223, Saturday, 31 May: CRUMB, ELFIN, DRIER, QUITE
• Quordle #1222, Friday, 30 May: RAJAH, CAUSE, BLACK, ETUDE
• Quordle #1221, Thursday, 29 May: CRIER, DRAPE, STRUT, NEIGH
• Quordle #1220, Wednesday, 28 May: HELLO, BEADY, VIGIL, PURER
• Quordle #1219, Tuesday, 27 May: TWEET, RANGE, POPPY, RADAR
• Quordle #1218, Monday, 26 May: BLEAT, HOWDY, ASIDE, SCOOP
• Quordle #1217, Sunday, 25 May: OCEAN, AMBER, PIPER, GLEAN
• Quordle #1216, Saturday, 24 May: HUSKY, HEIST, FOGGY, POLAR
• Quordle #1215, Friday, 23 May: SHIRE, GIANT, AWAIT, CAPER
• Quordle #1214, Thursday, 22 May: LOSE, GLOVE, STINT, EXCEL

Keeping a major golf championship connected and secure is a unique technical challenge. Here's how Cisco's network solutions pull it off.

• United Natural Foods confirms cyberattack
• It said parts of its infrastructure were forced offline, and delays might occur
• No threat actors have assumed responsibility yet

United Natural Foods, North America’s largest wholesale distributor, has confirmed it suffered a cyberattack which forced it to pull parts of its IT infrastructure offline.

In a new 8-K form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it was working with third-party cybersecurity experts to assess and mitigate the damage.

The incident caused “temporary disruptions” to United Natural Foods’ business operations, it was further said, as the company works on assessing, mitigating, and remediating the incident with the help of third-party experts. The police were also notified of the attack.

Unknown culprits

“On June 5, 2025, United Natural Foods became aware of unauthorized activity on certain of its Information Technology (IT) systems,” the filing states.

“The company promptly activated its incident response plan and implemented containment measures, including proactively taking certain systems offline, which has temporarily impacted the company’s ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders.”

While other details were not shared, businesses usually take systems offline when they suffer a ransomware attack, as that is the best way to prevent additional devices from being encrypted. It also prevents the threat actors from exfiltrating sensitive files from the network, which is the standard practice with ransomware attackers these days.

“The company is continuing to work to restore its systems to safely bring them back online,” the document concludes. “The investigation to assess the impact and scope of the incident remains ongoing and is in its early stages.”

Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and supplies more than 30,000 retail locations across the US and Canada, United Natural Foods is the largest wholesale distributor of natural, organic, and conventional grocery products in North America, including being the main supplier for Amazon-owned Whole Foods.

No hacking groups have yet claimed responsibility for this attack.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The new integration is easy to activate
• It is available to all HubSpot users with a paid ChatGPT plan
• It is designed for go-to-market teams

HubSpot, one of the best CRM platforms, has just announced a new integration with ChatGPT, giving go-to-market teams a new tool capable of creating actionable insights, based on business-generated data. In a recent press release, HubSpot stated that the deep research connector is a “game-changer” that allows teams to apply “powerful, doctorate-level research and analysis to their own customer data and context.”

“The HubSpot connector is like having an extra analyst on the team, empowering sales reps to identify risks, opportunities, and next best actions,” said Colin Johnson, Senior Manager, CRM at Youth Enrichment Brands. “For a non-technical user, the fact that it’s easy to use and talks directly to my data is huge.”

To use the new integration, HubSpot users should navigate to ChatGPT and turn on the HubSpot deep research connector function. From there, they can select HubSpot as a data source, authenticate their account, and start asking questions. The company also says the deep research connector is “easy to trust”.

"Easy to trust"

“We built it to ensure users only see the CRM data they’re allowed to access in HubSpot. For example, individual sales reps will only see pipeline data for deals they own or manage. With the HubSpot deep research connector, customer data is not used for AI training in ChatGPT.”

The new offering will be available to all HubSpot customers across all tiers with a paid ChatGPT plan (EU: Team, Enterprise, and Edu; all other regions: Team, Enterprise, Pro, Plus, and Edu). The list of available languages can be found here.

Further explaining who the new integration is tailored for, HubSpot mentioned marketers (who can use the insights to launch automated workflows, for example), sales teams (who can find new opportunities), customer success teams (who can use the tool to drive retention), and support teams to handle spikes in support tickets.

Via Financial Times

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• Surfshark has unveiled "an industry-first technology" for greater VPN connection stability
• Surfshark Everlink works in the background to recover dropped VPN connections
• The provider also promises to reduce the risk of IP address exposure

Surfshark has just unveiled an "industry-first" patented technology designed to minimize the impact of lost VPN connections – but don't call it a VPN kill switch.

Surfshark Everlink comes as a "self-healing infrastructure," the provider explains to TechRadar, which works in the background to recover dropped VPN connections while reducing the risk of IP address exposure. The new technology is now available by default on the WireGuard protocol across all platforms.

"We wanted to improve this industry standard and take it to the next level – instead of killing the connection, we want users to stay securely connected and private," said Chief Technology Officer at Surfshark, Donatas Budvytis.

Surfshark Everlink: more privacy and convenience

Already one of the best VPN providers on the market, according to TechRadar's testing, Surfshark now promises to deliver even more stable and secure performance. Surfshark Everlink is indeed a technology designed to enhance what the provider considers the most critical VPN quality metric – connection stability.

"While other shiny metrics, such as the number of servers, might seem important, connection stability is something that truly makes the difference to the user experience,” explains Budvytis.

Put it simply, Everlink acts as an additional layer of security to help recover lost VPN connections.

This means that every time you connect to your Surfshark VPN service, you'll also connect to the Everlink infrastructure. The tool promises to revive your connections when they drop by reconfiguring the VPN tunnel without the need to disconnect and reconnect from the virtual private network (VPN).

"If the VPN is a tunnel that secures your traffic, imagine Surfshark Everlink as another one that secures that VPN tunnel. If one connection goes down, you're automatically switched to another, so you stay connected and secure,” said Budvytis.

This ability to self-heal lost VPN connections can also ensure a stable performance even when the provider undergoes some network maintenance. Everlink will simply route all traffic to the closest available server without any interruption to your experience.

Surfing safely just got smoother! We’ve launched Everlink — a new feature that keeps your VPN connection stable and your data safe, even when something goes wrong behind the scenes. Learn how it works (and why it matters) in our blog! https://t.co/QK8tixnOhDJune 10, 2025

Besides greater VPN connection stability, Surfshark Everlink also promises to boost the level of security and privacy protection.

As Budvytis explains, an unstable VPN connection isn't just an annoyance, but can also lead to IP address exposure, leaving users traceable and vulnerable.

He said: "For journalists, activists, whistleblowers and anyone who values online privacy, this can be a significant risk."

All of the most private and secure VPN services, however, already have a feature to minimize the risk of IP exposure – a VPN kill switch. This feature, as the name suggests, kills your device's internet access every time your connection drops.

Yet, Everlink seeks to prevent leaks while ensuring users are securely connected.

"Users can still choose to use the Kill Switch feature, but we wanted to offer something in addition to this," said Budvytis.

Surfshark Everlink was built on a patented technology (US11190491B1) and is now available by default on the WireGuard protocol across all platforms, including iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, and Linux VPN apps.

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• There's a new update rolling out now for the Sonos Ace headphones
• It brings the long-awaited TrueCinema feature, and TV Audio Swap can now support two Ace headphones
• Sonos also promises more natural calls and enhanced noise cancellation

Sonos is marking a year since the launch of the Sonos Ace – the first and long-anticipated pair of over-ear headphones from the company – with a significant software update that delivers on a much-anticipated feature set.

Rolling out now as a free update, the release introduces several new features and expands existing ones to help the Ace stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

Over-ear headphones are a crowded space, with major players like the newly launched Sony WH-1000XM6, and Sonos is leaning into what sets the Ace apart: deep integration with the company’s home audio ecosystem, particularly its soundbars.

In our review we called the Ace the best headphones for movie watching – and this update only enhances that capability. One of the headline improvements builds on TV Audio Swap, a feature that allows users to wirelessly send audio from a Sonos soundbar (like the Arc, Beam, or Ray) directly to the Ace.

With the update, this feature now supports two pairs of headphones simultaneously. That means two users can listen in sync via their own Ace headphones without disturbing anyone else in the room – it was one of the most-requested features from Sonos fans after the Ace's launch.

(Image credit: sonos)

Arguably even more exciting is the debut of TrueCinema for the Sonos Ace. This feature is designed to create a more immersive, spatial audio experience that feels less like headphone playback and more like full home theater sound.

Better yet, Sonos promises that the audio produced, well played back in the headphones, will be close to what you get from the soundbar setup for your own space. Working in tandem with TV Audio Swap, TrueCinema requires a Sonos Arc, Arc Ultra, Beam, or Ray connected to your TV, with the resulting experience delivering more natural, room-accurate sound.

Also included in the update are enhancements to active noise cancellation (ANC). Sonos is using onboard sensors to detect variables such as hair, hats, and glasses, which can affect the seal around the ear and therefore the effectiveness of noise canceling. The Ace headphones then make real-time adjustments to refine noise cancellation, based on testing across a diverse group of users.

Finally, Sonos is introducing SideTone, a feature that makes phone calls sound more natural when noise cancellation is enabled. With SideTone, you’ll hear a bit of your own voice fed back through the headphones, preventing the disorienting 'vacuum' effect that often accompanies full ANC during calls.

(Image credit: Sonos)

Altogether, these updates – TV Audio Swap for two, TrueCinema, enhanced ANC, and SideTone – mark a meaningful evolution for the Sonos Ace. With most of the serious app problems fixed and a new CEO at the helm, this update both rewards early adopters and could convince those who are still undecided to give the Ace a closer look. The Sonos Ace remain priced at $449 / £449 / AU$699.

The update begins rolling out today, June 10, and can be installed through the Sonos app on iOS or Android – just make sure your Ace headphones are connected via Bluetooth. I do hope it's a trend that Sonos continues with the Ace, eventually rolling out more features and introducing more products.

There is still a feature that Sonos fans want most, but that we haven't seen yet: support for them to act as a full speaker option within the Sonos multi-room ecosystem. Sonos told TechRadar at the Ace's launch that this could be technically possible, but it hasn't appeared yet.

It would be useful for people who have one of the best turntables or another music player as part of their Sonos system, because then you could listen to it on the Ace in high quality wirelessly. Perhaps that will be the next big upgrade.

You can read our full review of the Sonos Ace headphones, and we’ll be sharing hands-on impressions of TrueCinema as soon as we’ve tested it.

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• Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, has said that 007 First Light is "definitely not a reskin of Hitman" and will play differently to the stealth series
• The game will emphasize the action compared to Hitman's critical planning and stealth
• Abrak said 007 First Light will be the "ultimate Bond experience"

IO Interactive has said that 007 First Light is "definitely not a re-skin" of Hitman despite their similarities.

Speaking in a recent interview with IGN following the official reveal of the James Bond game, Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, said that First Light will have a different tone to the Hitman series.

"It is very, very important to get the humor right. In Denmark, we love dark humor and the silliness because it takes away from the seriousness of being an assassin," Abrak said.

"Bond is different. Bond, the humor is first of all very British. And the humor there is to support the energy and his personality, which is much more front and center. So I would say less silly. It's not flamingo disguises, as you said, but still entertaining."

Abrak continued, saying that 007 First Light "plays differently" from games in the Hitman series and is "emphasizing more action", compared to Hitman's critical planning and stealth gameplay.

"Like there are more linear parts where you have the spectacle moments and exotic vehicles. And then we also give space in Bond to open up a bit and breathe a bit," the CEO explained.

"It's less of an analytical mind, chess play, where you sit and meticulously plan. All the clockwork things in Hitman where if you do this or do this, where Bond is more impulsive, more reckless sometimes. It's more like he's just taking things and acting and handling it more as they arise."

It's hard not to compare the new James Bond game to Hitman. They're both agents, both games are third-person action games that take players around the globe to take on various missions. However, Abrak has promised that 007 First Light is not a copy-paste of Hitman and is the "ultimate Bond experience."

"So it's a different dynamism, because we want to make something that feels true for a Bond fantasy," Abrak explained. "So it's definitely not a reskin of a Hitman kind of thing, but I feel that people will see IO Interactive, that is a game made by Interactive, but they will also see that this game is something else. It's something that's true to what we are hopefully going to deliver 360, an ultimate Bond experience."

007 First Light is set to launch in 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.

The action game will follow a 26-year-old James Bond, played by actor Patrick Gibson, in a re-imagined origin story that led him to become MI6's best agent.

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I hope I can punch a Demogorgon in the mouth.

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Earfun Tune Pro: Two minute review

Budget audio brand Earfun has continued its foray into the over-ear headphone game with the Earfun Tune Pro, an affordable pair of over-ears which unfortunately don’t live up to Earfun’s usually-impressive track record. Some of the best cheap headphones I've tested, they are not.

Earfun’s first over-ears, the Wave Pro, were some of our top-rated affordable headphones, easily earning (for a while, at least) a place on our list of the best headphones you can buy. And they were always going to be a tough act to follow. The fact that they’re still available to buy now also makes them a big (and honestly, more viable) rival to the Tune Pro.

I won’t beat around the bush: the big problem with the headphones is that they just don’t sound good. Earfun’s typical ability to punch well above its weight somehow didn’t grace the new and rather ironically-named Tune Pro. The cans lack serious bass, endure frequent peaking that ruins percussion, and don’t offer much in the way of an organised, layered soundstage to let you appreciate the separation and detail of instruments.

You can’t expect Bose- or Sony-tier audio in cans that cost under $/£100 but there are plenty of budget headphones for the same price that outstrip the Tune Pro. So as you'll see as we get into the meat of this review, it's hard to recommend the cans.

I also found the Earfuns pretty uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. The pressure they exerted on my head grew noticeable after only a few hours of use. It’s not great and neither of these are concerns was something I experienced with the Wave Pro.

Why not go lower than 3 stars? Well, the Earfun magic is present in a few other areas. Take, for example, the battery life: these headphones will last a monumental 120 hours (with ANC turned off) before you’ll need to charge them. That’s five straight days of music before they need powering up and I don’t need to tell you how important a long battery life can be for certain subsets of users. There are very few headphones on the market that come even close to this score.

Earfun has also included its usual range of features on its app: multiple ANC modes (perhaps too many – more on this later), an in-depth equalizer and a feature that’s all too uncommon on headphones: a listening test to automatically create your own sound mix. This latter is a lovely little extra that lots of rivals don’t have.

While the audio quality lets things down big-time, I can see the admirable battery life and listening test drawing in some users who prefer functionality over sound quality. It’s just that those are more caveats than I usually have to add in an Earfun review – a brand I usually champion in the ‘cheap and cheerful’ stakes.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Specifications

Component

Value

Water resistant

N/A

Battery life (quoted)

120 hours (ANC off) 80 hours (ANC on)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Weight

289g

Driver

40mm + 10mm

Earfun Tune Pro review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Released in May 2025
• RRP of $89.99 / £79.99 (roughly AU$160)
• Already available at $69.99 / £59.99 (no AU sales)

The Earfun Tune Pro were announced in May 2025 for a retail price of $89.99 / £79.99 (roughly AU$160 though they're not on sale in Australia at the time of writing, unlike many other products from the company).

Don’t tell Amazon that though, because the retailer lists in multiple regions that the cans were released in September 2024. It offers them for the discounted price of $69.99 / £59.99 (at the time of writing) despite them being new.

However much you pay for them, the Earfun Tune Pro are clearly budget headphones. They’re the middle of Earfun’s three over-ear options, sitting equally between the more expensive Wave Pro and cheaper Wave Life.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Chunky cans with 3.5mm jack and physical buttons
• Uncomfortable for long play sessions
• No IP rating for waterproofing

As you can see from pictures, Earfun has kept things simple with the Tune Pro, playing close to the formula for over-ear headphones.

The cans weigh 289g and are made from plastic, so they don’t feel too heavy when you’re wearing them. That doesn’t mean they’re exactly comfortable though, and I could only listen for a few hours before needing to give my head a break.

The ear cups are quite thick, sticking from your head about 50% more than your average pair of over-ears (judging by the few pairs I had on hand). I don’t imagine this is to blame for the comfort issues but it does make the cans look imposing when you wear them.

Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Image credit: Future)

Earfun has ensured that the Tune Pro have some versatility in size as the band can be extended or retracted quite a distance (if you do have a larger head, check out our roundup feature of headphones with longer extendable arms) while the cups can be rotated around 100 degrees – and they also fold up if you want to put them in a bag.

Onto the buttons. On the right cup you’ve got a volume rocker, power button and 3.5mm headphone jack – yes, the Tune Pro supports wired audio – while the left earpiece has an ANC button and the USB-C charging port.

The buttons don’t stick out that far from the casework and so, despite little knobs to make them a bit more prominent, I still found them pretty hard to locate just with my fingers. Instead, I generally relied on my phone to change volume and ANC.

Earfun’s website makes no mention of any kind of IP rating for the Tune Pro so I’d recommend keeping them high and dry.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Incredbly battery life
• Range of ANC modes, all fine
• Equalizer with listening test

Earfun headphones always out-rep the competition in the features department and things are no different for the Tune Pro. The real highlight of these cans is the battery life, which according to Earfun stretches to an incredible 120 hours with ANC turned off and a still-admirable 80 hours with it turned on.

I can count on one hand the number of sets of headphones that beat or match that battery life, and it’s a vital figure for people who rarely get time to charge up their headphones for one reason or another. I would’ve loved cans like these when I last went travelling.

Next up, ANC is… present, I’ll say that much. It’s fine, but far from best-in-class and about what you’d expect for the price. It’s useful for covering up certain annoying background noises like a dishwasher in another room or distant traffic going past your house, but it won’t make your commute near-silent or ensure you can hear your music when vacuuming at home.

A few different ANC presets are available in the Earfun app. Default, which I take to be ‘off’, is Normal but there’s Ambient Sound to allow nearby noises through, Wind noise cancellation which is just designed for the infuriating sound of wind that always baffles headphone ANC, and lastly Comfort ANC and Strong ANC. I take these latter to be ‘medium’ and ‘high’ strengths to Normal’s ‘off’, but this is based purely on the icons in the app and nothing else.

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve complained in past reviews about Earfun’s array of ANC modes being a bit overwhelming. Why? Because it’s hard to know which mode you should be using at any one time, and it’s also a chore to open up the Earfun app to switch if you decide you want to (the ANC button on the cans only cycles through the first three options, not the two full-blooded ANC ones).

A few more features available through the the Earfun app include the ability to toggle low-latency modes for gaming or a wide-soundstage mode for movies and TV, and a way to change what the buttons on the ear cups do. However, the major one to note is an equalizer.

As with past Earfuns, the Tune Pro offers a wide range of EQ modes based on different genres of music or increasing or decreasing bass or treble. There are plenty of options and it’s worth playing around to find your perfect preset, though a 10-band custom EQ mode lets you create your own mix too. A brief test also creates a bespoke equalizer mix for you and I was pretty happy with the mix it created for me.

For call handling, the Earfun Tune Pro feature five mics (presumably per earpiece, although Earfun doesn't express this as such. But anything else would be odd) as well as an algorithm to clear up your voice when others hear you.

• Features score: 4/5

Earfun Tune Pro review: Sound performance

(Image credit: Future)

• 40mm + 10mm drivers
• Distorting sound, lacking bass
• Limited sound stage

Given the price you’re paying for the Tune Pro, you’re probably not expecting the most ear-pleasing audio in the world, and it’s a good thing to set your expectations low because these Earfun headphones don’t sound great, even for the money.

Specs-wise, the headphones pack both a 40mm and 10mm driver in each can which should ostensibly provide extra oomph in the bass department, but theory is a far cry from fact.

Perhaps the biggest issue, noticeable constantly, is the audio peaking through the treble, which crushes hi-hats into mere hisses and devolves powerful guitar lines into crunchy oblivion. At the other end of the frequency scale, the tuning here boosts the bass drum so much that it frequently overrides vocals. It’s hard to enjoy songs without percussion and detail through the mids to provide rhythm, and the Tune Pro don’t offer much of that.

You’re not getting much expansion or detail through the soundstage here either, with music presented as a somewhat homogenous mush instead of a collection of separate, distinct and layered instruments given enough room to be impactful. The confusing mix here also masks the detail and dynamic nuance in my music, while also sapping some of the charm and emotion from vocals. If you care about the musicality within your favorite songs, these sadly aren’t the cans for you.

If there’s anything to be said for the Earfun Tune Pro's audio quality, it’s that the max volume goes pretty loud, so you’re never going to struggle to hear songs even if you turn ANC off.

• Sound performance score: 2.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro: Value

(Image credit: Future)

Usually when qualifying the value of cheap headphones, I simply point to the price and say “yes”, but it’s not quite as easy as that for the Tune Pro.

While the headphones are admittedly very affordable, they’re not the only cheap headphones in existence, and others will get you more bang for your buck. That’s literal, with many other low-cost options getting you better audio quality.

The only other important factor is the feature set, which admittedly is pretty competitive on the Earfun Tune Pro. So if you aren’t that bothered about the sound and care more about longevity and the presence of an equalizer, these claw back some value points.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro review: scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

You get what you pay for, but you're not too far out of pocket for the Earfuns.

3.5/5

Design

The Tune Pro is a bit too big and bulky to be fully comfortable to wear, but it has 3.5mm.

3.5/5

Features

For budget cans, the feature set is solid. The battery life is laudable and the EQ (and its test) are too.

4/5

Sound

A range of issues with the audio quality makes it hard to award many points in this department.

2.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)Buy them if...

You need lots of battery power

With 120 hours in the tank, the Earfun Tune Pro are great headphones for people who can't find themselves to a charging point every day, or simply forget to do so regularly.

The EQ tuner sounds useful

A listening test is a mode we don't often see in budget headphones, so if you want a digital way of improving your music, this may be enough to sway you.

You need headphones that fold down

Not every pair of headphones on the market folds down to be easily transportable, and some are really hard to fit in a bag. Not these Earfuns!

Don't buy them if...

You care about audio quality

It's unfair to say that audio quality is the only important factor of a pair of headphones... but if you prioritise sound-per-pound value, skip these particular Earfuns.

You have a large noggin

People with small heads may not have the uncomfortable wear problem that I did, but if your cranium is medium or large sized, you'll struggle to listen to the Earfuns for a few hours.

Also consider

Component

Earfun Tune Pro

1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51

Earfun Wave Pro

Water resistant

NA

NA

NA

Battery life

120 hours (ANC off) 80 hours (ANC on)

100 hours (ANC off) 65 hours (ANC on)

80 hours (ANC off) 55 hours (ANC on)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

289g

246g

268g

Driver

40mm + 10mm

40mm

40mm

Earfun Wave Pro

Everything we wanted the Tune to be: these cheap headphones cost pretty good, feel more comfortable to wear and mostly match the Tune's feature set. The battery life isn't as good though.

Read our full Earfun Wave Pro review

1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 

The cans that displaced the Wave Pro as our top-rated budget headphones. The 1More have good sound and great ANC, with a battery life that's not much shorter than the Earfun. However there are a few build concerns.

Read our full 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 review

How I tested

(Image credit: Future)

I used the Earfun Tune Pro for three weeks in order to write this review, and some extra time during the writing process itself.

During testing I used the Earfun alongside a few devices, most frequently my Android smartphone via Bluetooth but sometimes an iPod Classic via 3.5mm. Listening was generally music but I also listened to some some spoken-word, games and TV shows too. Testing was done at home and around my neighborhood.

I've been testing audio products for TechRadar for over 6 years and currently test several headphones or earbuds each month. This has included many past Earfun products – including the slightly older Wave Pro.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: June 2025

The AI chatbot is out of commission for many users, along with the Sora video tool and the company's APIs.

Climate change is raising the risk of dangerous flooding, especially in coastal communities. For some towns on the Jersey Shore, the most practical solution is raising homes off the ground.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

Lowepro Tahoe BP 150: two-minute review

The temptation for most photographers is to carry as much gear as possible. After all, you don’t want to get caught without the right kit for the situation. Many of the best camera bags will let you do exactly that: pack your entire arsenal of lenses and accessories, so you’ll never miss a shot.

That’s not what the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is about. This is a neatly packaged backpack with just enough space for your shooting essentials, plus a handful of extras. That limited capacity means most enthusiasts will need to leave a couple of lenses at home. But the pay-off is a pack that majors in portability.

It’s also one that balances functionality with affordability. One of the cheapest Lowepro backpacks you can buy, the Tahoe BP 150 is a no-nonsense solution for toting a lean photography setup on your travels. Impressively for the money, it’s also one that comes with very few compromises.

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(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)Image 2 of 3

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(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The main compartment might be relatively modest, but clever division allows you to make the most of the available space. The top third is taken up by a zippered box pocket which is stitched in place, with a flexible base that can be moved using velcro tabs. So can the padded walls which structure the rest of the space.

Depending on what you shoot with, you’ll need to spend a bit of time playing with the position of these dividers to find a layout which best suits your setup. With some experimenting, you’ll discover that the Tahoe BP 150 can carry quite a lot more than you’d first expect, although a couple more of the small dividers would make the space even more versatile.

As it is, the bag can comfortably fit an APS-C mirrorless body with a prime lens attached, along with a telephoto and a standard zoom, plus a charger with room to spare. You could squeeze a pancake lens and a small flashgun in there, too. A larger DSLR body makes for more of an awkward fit, while enthusiasts with top-tier glass will find that the capacity soon evaporates.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

This might be a backpack for traveling light, but Lowepro has still put thought into optimizing it. There’s an SD card slot on the inside of the main flap, while the front panel is angled slightly to create a usable space in the secondary pocket. That’s where you’ll find a key clip, accessory slots and a tablet sleeve that’s just big enough to fit a 13-inch MacBook Air.

There’s also a solution for traveling with tripods. Elasticated mesh pockets sit on either side of the pack, together with clips for securing tripods in place. Realistically, the shallow depth of the pockets means you wouldn’t want to risk keeping anything taller than a mini-tripod on the outside of the Tahoe BP 150.

The only design blunder to speak of is the position of the tripod clips. These fasten across the zipper for the main compartment, which means you have to undo them every time you want to access your camera kit. This isn’t a quick-access pack at the best of times, with a fair bit of unzipping needed to get at your gear. Having clips in the mix quickly becomes frustrating.

Still, the LowePro Tahoe BP 150 is otherwise a camera bag that hits the sweet spot of practicality, price and protection. Despite its compact dimensions, the shell benefits from padding in all the right places. Granted, I wouldn’t want it chucked around on a baggage carousel, but I never felt that my gear was at risk while wearing it.

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(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The same goes for the straps and back panel. This is far from a technical pack and you don’t get the kind of support or adjustment found on the Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III, but there’s enough cushioning to make the Tahoe BP 150 comfortable to carry fully loaded on a journey.

From the zips to the seams, the whole thing feels durable. That’s not a surprise from Lowepro, but it’s a welcome fact for the price. And it’s all the more impressive when you consider that the Tahoe BP 150 weighs just 800g, making it one of the lightest camera bags you can buy.

The one thing missing is a rain cover. The backpack is water-resistant enough to shake off a summer shower, but it’s not fully waterproof. Then again, given how affordable it is, you could always buy a third-party rain cover if you’re worried about downpours.

If you want an unfussy backpack with minimal bloat and travel-friendly dimensions, it’s hard to go wrong with the LowePro Tahoe BP 150. Other camera bags might be bigger and more adaptable, but this one gets the basics right at the right price.

Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 review: price

The Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 has been available to buy since 2015. At launch, it was priced around $95 / £85 / AU$175. The backpack’s price has dropped several times over the last few years and it can now be found online for around $75 / £65 / AU$100.

A quick look at price tracking websites also confirms that the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is regularly discounted during sale events, such as Amazon Prime Day. It’s already a great-value camera bag, but if you want an even better deal, we suggest holding out in case it’s reduced again in the next seasonal sale.

The Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 is available in four color variations: blue (as tested here), black, red and green (which features urban camouflage pattern detailing).

Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 review: specs

External dimensions

27.5 x 21.7 x 40.3cm

Internal dimensions

25.5 x 12.8 x 36cm

Weight

800g

Total volume

11L

Carry-on friendly

Yes

Tablet sleeve

Yes

Waterproofing

Water-resistant

 Should I buy the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150? 

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)Buy it if...

You’re on a tight budget
Reasonably priced and often discounted, the Lowepro Tahoe 150 is the best-value camera bag you can buy. You won’t find a quality backpack with the same features for less.

You have a compact setup
Tidily designed with no wasted space, the Tahoe 150’s internal velcro dividers can be rearranged to fit an APS-C mirrorless camera body, plus a couple of lenses and accessories.

You travel with your camera
Padded straps make the Tahoe 150 a comfortable bag to carry. A lightweight build doesn’t add much to the load, while its compact dimensions meet most airline carry-on restrictions.

Don't buy it if...

You have a lot of gear
The Tahoe 150 is designed for traveling light. Photographers with a lot of gear will find its storage capacity too modest to fit their full setup, especially with larger lenses.

You use large tripods
Mesh pockets and securing clips mean you can stash mini tripods on the outside of the Tahoe BP 150, but this isn’t a practical solution for carrying full-size stands.

You shoot in all weathers
The Tahoe BP 150’s padded body has enough water-resistance to shield your gear from unexpected showers, but it’s not fully waterproof. You’ll need to look elsewhere for total protection.

Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 review: Also consider

Lowepro Tahoe 150

Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III

Mindshift Backlight 26L

External dimensions

27.5 x 21.7 x 40.3cm

27 x 22 x 50cm

29 x 51.5 x 20cm

Internal dimensions

25.5 x 12.8 x 36cm

26 x 13 x 48cm

26 x 49 x 15cm

Weight

800g

1500g

1800g

Total volume

11L

24L

26L

Carry-on friendly

Yes

Yes

Yes

Tablet sleeve

Yes

No

Yes

Waterproofing

Water-resistant

Rain cover

Rain cover

Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III
Another lightweight camera backpack from Lowepro, the PhotoSport BP 24L AW III is a premium solution for adventurous photographers. Technical straps and back support mean it’s comfortable to trek with. The padded insert has limited capacity, but packing space and a rain cover make it a good choice for expeditions.
Read more in our in-depth Lowepro PhotoSport BP 24L AW III review

Mindshift Backlight 26L
If you want a camera backpack with more capacity, the Mindshift Backlight 26L is a functional solution for toting your gear. Its main compartment has plenty of space, while a device sleeve, bottle pockets and nine liters of personal storage mean you don’t have to pack light for your trip.
Read more in our in-depth Mindshift Backlight 26L review

How I tested the Lowepro Tahoe 150

• Packed with a DSLR and two lenses, plus accessories
• Carried around daily for a fortnight
• Wore in all weather conditions

When testing the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150, my aim was to assess its real-world practicality for different photographers. That started with loading it up. To get an idea of its true capacity, I played around with fitting both APS-C and DSLR shooting setups into it. I re-arranged the internal dividers several times, to see what combinations of camera body, lenses and accessories it could take.

I also packed out the Tahoe BP 150 with as many accessories as possible, including a mini trip on the side and a laptop in the front sleeve. This was partly to see just how much gear it was realistically able to accommodate, but also to get a feel for how comfortable the bag was to carry when fully laden.

With that in mind, I walked with the Lowepro on my back every day for a few weeks. This first-hand experience gave me a genuine impression of what the Tahoe BP 150 is like to work and travel with, including how easy it is to access the various pockets and compartments on the move. I also wore the backpack in different weather conditions, to put its water-resistance to the test.

First reviewed June 2025

Consumers appear to care even less about mobile AI than they did last year, despite companies like Apple, Samsung and Google piling on new AI capabilities.

Looking for fast, competitively priced internet in Bloomington? We've got you covered.

• JBL reveals its new range of Dolby Atmos soundbars, the Bar MK2 series
• It's headlined by the flagship JBL Bar 1300MK2, an 11.1.4 channel soundbar
• Four other soundbars also feature in the range

JBL has announced its new range of Dolby Atmos soundbars, the Bar MK2 series, which features five models.

The flagship soundbar of the range is the JBL Bar 1300MK2 – successor to the JBL Bar 1300X, one of the best soundbars we've tested in recent years – an 11.1.4 channel soundbar with a dual eight-inch compact sub and detachable rear wireless speakers with Bluetooth functionality, totaling a whopping 2,470W max power output.

The other soundbars in the range include the JBL Bar1000MK2, JBL Bar 700MK2, JBL Bar 500MK2 and JBL Bar 300MK2.

Check out the grid below for each soundbar's channel configuration, power output and subwoofer and rear speaker inclusion:

Soundbar

Channel configuration

Total Power output

Subwoofer/rear speakers

JBL Bar 1300MK2

11.1.4

2,470W

Dual 8" compact subwoofer / 2 detachable wireless rear speakers with Bluetooth functionality

JBL Bar 1000MK2

7.1.4

960W

10" subwoofer/ 2 detachable wireless speakers

JBL Bar 700MK2

7.1

780W

10" subwoofer / 2 detachable wireless speakers

JBL Bar 500MK2

5.1

750W

10" subwoofer / no extra speakers

JBL Bar 300MK2

5.0

450W

No subwoofer or extra speakers

The JBL Bar range is set to launch first in June 2025 with the Bar 1000MK2, Bar 700Mk2, Bar 500MK2 and Bar 300MK2 released during this time and the flagship JBL Bar 1300MK2 set to launch later in the year in October 2025 in the US and September 2025 in the UK.

Pricing for the JBL Bar range is as follows – we don't yet have pricing for countries outside the US:

• JBL Bar 1300MK2: $1,699.95 / £1,299.99
• JBL Bar 1000MK2: $1,199 / £899.99
• JBL Bar 700MK2: $899 / £799.99
• JBL Bar 500MK2: $649 / £499.99
• JBL Bar 300MK2: $449 / £349.99

JBL Bar range: Features

The JBL Bar 1000MK2 will also feature detachable wireless speakers (Image credit: JBL )

Every soundbar in JBL's Bar MK2 range will come with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon Ready features. All but the Bar 300MK2 will support Amazon Music HD, although the Bar 300MK2 will support Samsung's SmartThings.

Every soundbar in the range will also support Dolby Atmos in some manner, with the flagship Bar 1300MK2 and Bar 1000MK2 supporting true Dolby Atmos, while the three step-down models will support virtual Dolby Atmos.

It's also worth noting that only the Bar 1300MK2 and Bar 1000MK2 will support DTS:X at launch. The other three will receive DTS: Virtual X later in the year via an update.

It was also confirmed that these soundbars will support Eclipsa Audio,

As for other technologies, all soundbars will support JBL's MultiBeam 3.0 tech, which is said to create an immersive, surround sound experience from a single soundbar. They will all support PureVoice 2.0 for enhanced dialogue and speech.

All of the soundbars are also compatible with the JBL One Platform, compatible with the JBL One app, for streaming of hi-res and spatial audio from compatible music services.

Putting flagship Dolby Atmos soundbars on notice?

The Samsung HW-Q990D (pictured) is one of our top picks for Dolby Atmos soundbars, but how will the JBL Bar 1300MK2 fare against it and its successor, the Samsung HW-Q990F? (Image credit: Future)

We've been spoilt for choice when it comes to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars in recent months. Both the Sonos Arc Ultra and Marshall Heston 120 have proved to be excellent all-in-one soundbars for under $1,000 / £1,000, earning 4-out-of-5 and 5-out-of-5-stars respectively in their reviews.

Last year, the Samsung HW-Q990D cemented itself as our favorite multi-box system solution thanks to its incredible power and immersive, nuanced sound – and we're looking forward to getting our hands on its successor, the Samsung HW-Q990F, very soon.

But, could the JBL Bar 1300MK2 and Bar 1000MK2 be about to put these soundbars on notice? In terms of features, both bars are jam packed with ready-made support for streaming services (although so are their rivals) but its the Bar 1300 MK2's detachable rear speakers that make it stand out: something we loved about its predecessor, the Bar 1300X when we reviewed it. It's a handy solution to keep your speaker setup neat when not in use.

The Bar 1000MK2 may be a little pricier than the Sonos Arc Ultra and the Marshall Heston 120 ($200 more to be precise) but it has the added benefit of an included subwoofer that's likely to give it an advantage in the bass department. In the UK, the Bar 1000MK2 is actually set to launch at £899.99, £100 cheaper than the Arc Ultra and Heston 120.

The JBL Bar 1300 MK2, priced at $1,699.99 / £1,299.99, looks set to launch at a similar price in the US but significantly cheaper in the UK than the Samsung HW-Q990F, which has dropped to $1,599.99 / £1,575.99 recently. The Bar 1300MK2 offers 2,470W of total power to the Q990F's 756W, which would actually put it more in line with the JBL Bar 1000MK2.

On paper, the JBL Bar's have all the potential of offering more power for the similar prices to a lot of rivals and if it can get the performance right, JBL could really shake up the Dolby Atmos soundbar market again.

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Yesterday's WWDC 2025 keynote delivered a long list of exciting new features for Apple fans, but one of the biggest was the reveal of iOS 26 and its new Liquid Glass design material.

The redesign is the biggest for iPhones since iOS 7 in 2013 and Apple announced tons of new features to go alongside its frosted-glass makeover. Naturally, this has all sparked a lot of opinions and online chatter – so we're here to guide you through it in this liveblog.

Whether you want to get a temperature check of how iOS 26 has gone down, find out how to try the iOS 26 developer beta, or just catch up on all of the new features coming to your iPhone later this year, we're here to keep you up to date on Apple's biggest iOS update for some time.

Welcome to our iOS 26 liveblog

(Image credit: Apple / Future)

Hello, Mark Wilson here (Managing Editor, News) and I'll be taking you through all of the reaction and news from yesterday's announcement of iOS 26.

There's a lot to take in – a new 'Liquid Glass' material for the iPhone's UI, plus a ton of new features across apps like Camera, CarPlay, Apple Music and even the Phone app.

We've also got an exclusive chat with Apple about Liquid Glass coming later, plus some hands-on first impressions. So if you want to know how your iPhone's going to change in the near feature, stay tuned.

What is Liquid Glass?

(Image credit: Apple)

Before I dive into the reaction to Liquid Glass, what is it? Rather than being specific to iOS 26, Liquid Glass is a digital, translucent material that Apple says "reflects and refracts its surroundings, while dynamically transforming to help bring greater focus to content".

In other words, it's a pretty design language that should make iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 all feel fresher, more cohesive and (hopefully) more intuitive. That's the theory, at least.

The name comes from the idea that it combines the optical qualities of glass (for example, magnifying some elements when you hover over them) with fluidity that sees menus morph and change like a T-1000. Sometimes, that looks great, but at others (at least from the early examples we've seen), it can also look a little muddled on certain background.

The small-but-useful iOS 26 upgrades

(Image credit: Apple)

We've already rounded up the headline features of iOS 26 – for a recap on those, check out our guide to the 5 biggest ones. But outside the redesign, new Phone app and some Apple Intelligence upgrades, there are also some smaller quality-of-life improvements.

Our roundup of the best unheralded iOS 26 features highlights the battery boosts, message filtering, new sleep-improving background sounds and improved flight features that are all coming to iPhones.

I somehow missed this, but iOS 26 will also give you reminders if your phone has a dirty camera lens. Personally, I think that sounds more useful than AI trying to write my emails, but we'll have to see how well it works in practice.

Finally, a simpler Camera app

(Image credit: Apple)

I've been waiting for Apple to streamline and tidy up its Camera app for years, and it's finally done it in iOS 26.

Rather than a confusing list of photo modes and settings at the base of the app, Apple is stripping it down to two: Video and Photo. You can then just swipe to see the relevant ones in each mode, like Cinematic and Slo-Mo for video.

The confusing row of icons for settings like Photographic Styles and Aspect Ratios has also been improved, with a new Liquid Glass (of course) pane below appearing when you swipe up. Having descriptions for each should make it far easier to use, too.

My only qualm is the lack of a Pro photo mode, but I guess Apple didn't want to kill third-party apps like Halide when it's given them so much praise.

(Image credit: Apple)The case for Liquid Glass

Thrilled to share the project we’ve been working on for the past year!Liquid Glass is a flexible material that constantly adapts to its size and environment, and lays the foundation for a unified design language across all our platforms. pic.twitter.com/VKGwUlUnIpJune 9, 2025

If you want to go deep on Liquid Glass, then it's worth watching Apple's developer talk on the concept– it delves into the minutiae of how it should work, in theory at least.

When you see it in this context, it does look very pretty – and a lot of its early observers are big fans. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, for example, noted that "this redesign is unbelievably cool", while early beta testers on X like @Sondesix(below) have noted the "satisfying" animations and visual effects.

Then again, getting this effect to work in all scenarios is clearly a challenge, and a number of videos show there some kinks to iron out for the public beta next month.

Let's ignore those readability concerns for a second.Look at these satisfying Liquid Glass animations & visual effects on iOS 26. pic.twitter.com/XsVKzxqWqEJune 9, 2025

The case against Liquid Glass

I am sorry apple fanboys but this is actually terrible and I think you know it pic.twitter.com/3dudRbxxjMJune 9, 2025

The early reactions to Liquid Glass certainly haven't all been positive. Several videos have popped up online showing how translucent widgets and menu overlays can start to look a bit messy and confusing on busy backgrounds.

While some of this can no doubt be put down to iOS 26 being a very early developer beta, former co-founder of The Verge Joshua Topolsky(above) noted that there are some legibility issues even in Apple's own slides that show the design material in action.

He's certainly not alone in seeing the potential for distraction in the transparent effects, with designer Andreas Storm (below) describing it as "very restless".

We'll be drawing our own conclusions from our hands-on soon, but it's fair to say that Liquid Glass hasn't drawn universal praise – with some deriding it as the spiritual successor to Aero from Windows 7, and others like TechRadar contributor Alex Blake concluding that that's actually a good thing.

It looks very restless tbh pic.twitter.com/alXKQNsvGtJune 9, 2025

A welcome CarPlay refreshImage 1 of 4

(Image credit: Apple)Image 2 of 4

(Image credit: Apple)Image 3 of 4

(Image credit: Apple)Image 4 of 4

(Image credit: Apple)

It's good to see that Apple isn't abandoning its standard CarPlay experience, despite the arrival of CarPlay Ultra.

Thanks to iOS 26, CarPlay is getting four welcome upgrades – and TechRadar's EVs correspondent Leon Poultney has rounded up all of the new CarPlay tricks, including a handy new compact view that gives you pop-up overlays for incoming calls.

It doesn't look quite as fancy as iOS 26, but all of the features should make CarPlay less distracting – which is ultimately the main aim of in-car infotainment design.

• Read more: Apple CarPlay just got 4 big free upgrades with iOS 26 – here's what you need to know

How to try the iOS 26 developer beta

(Image credit: Apple)

If you want to try iOS 26 for yourself, then the software is out now in developer beta.

Naturally, this is aimed at developers, so we wouldn't exactly recommend it. But it is also possible to enroll and try it as an 'individual'. A word of warning though: early developer betas have lots of issues and this one has been described as "the buggiest beta 1 in 12 years".

If you're prepared to take the risk, though, then just follow our guide on how to download the iOS 26 developer beta. And maybe try it on an older phone rather than your daily carry – it works on all models from the iPhone 11 onwards.

Looking for home internet? Here's where to start.

NPR asks Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, about the mobilization of U.S. Marines and deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt)