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Cloud gaming services are facing the same kinds of cost increases as other parts of the tech industry amid more demand for data center services.

• Boston officials released a report explaining why they won't use Flock cameras
• It reveals that Flock shared camera data despite saying it wouldn't
• Hackers also discovered that Flock cameras track more than just license plates

The Flock backlash might have taken a backseat to more recent tech news — namely, whether AI development needs to slow down before superintelligence wipes us out, or, on a lighter note, Apple’s first foldable iPhone — but the anti-surveillance crusade is continuing, with Boston officials and its police department announcing the city will not be relying on the service any longer.

This follows the publishing of a 2025 report which included details on a Flock pilot the city ran in 2025. According to the report, the city discovered Flock was sharing data with external law enforcement agencies — despite Flock’s agreement with Boston saying data sharing was to be turned off, and the company confirming this was the case.

In response, city officials and Boston's police department have committed to no longer using Flock cameras going forward. However, it’s worth noting this is not an absolute win for privacy advocates. Boston police department has already begun pilots with two of Flock's rivals: a Motorola trial began back in February, while an Axon pilot began in June, suggesting it might merely move to a different Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) service.

(Image credit: Flock)

This also comes as hackers have discovered precisely what Flock cameras track, and it’s not just license plates. Analyzing encrypted data, hackers found the cameras also detect people and bicycles — and they can also pick up and isolate specific bumper stickers.

The fact that the cameras are able to pick up and monitor so much more than some may have realized is worrying enough, but what’s extra concerning is that this data was recovered from a physical camera.

Hopefully Flock will solve this soon, but currently it means anyone with the right hacking skills could tear down a camera and access a chunk of the data stored inside the device — meaning you might not just need to worry about what officials can do with your data

(Image credit: Getty Images)Is there a right way to use ALPR?

For many, the answer to the question of if there’s a right way to use Flock or similar cameras is an emphatic no, but for advocates of the tech, there are sensible measures police departments could be using to minimize abuse.

Limiting automatic sharing of data to other agencies and restricting the police officers with access are a good starting point. They also argue that all Flock data requests should require case numbers to be attached, and for officers to provide a reason for each request.

Advocates argue this limits the likelihood that bad actors will be able to sneak a peek at Flock data, ensures that accessing ALPR information has a purpose, and creates checks and balances to prevent overreach from law enforcement agencies. As such, many agencies now deploy these methods.

However, some of these practices have been undermined by recent reports. Records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that many officers’ reasons for accessing the data include excuses like “LMAO,” “idk lol,” “TBD,” “Sexy,” and similar phrases. Others took to simply smashing their keyboards to fill the form with random letters.

(Image credit: Tony Webster - Flock Safety ALPR Camera)

What’s more, in an attempt to make it easier to fill in records but still keep data transparent, Flock introduced prepared options like “Traffic infraction,” though some argue this is a step backwards, as it means officers have even less need to articulate their reasoning for accessing ALPR data — and it really doesn’t help when one option is a generic “Other.”

The EFF reached out to several police departments, and it seems that some have been reprimanded, while others claim department policy has changed since the nonsense reasons were given.

However, even if these forms were filled in correctly, or seemingly correctly, they wouldn’t prevent privacy violations. They’d merely allow someone to possibly audit the data after the fact to spot misuse if the forms were investigated.

That’s why many are saying the best protection — besides pulling down ALPR cameras entirely — is to require a warrant for each search.

Though tearing the cameras down might simply be the best approach, especially after that example above, where it shows ALPR cams see a lot more than we might credit them for, and that some of a camera’s data can be accessed by hackers who know what they’re after.

We’ll need to wait and see how things develop, but Flock’s troubles don’t seem to be ending soon.

The new glasses would focus on audio capabilities and ditch the cameras, according to a news report.

• Advanced AI should be paused as regulators assess the potential damage
• Trump urged to discuss international agreement with Chinese President
• Current US government criticized for taking a light-touch approach

Bernie Sanders is working together with former White House strategist Steve Bannon in a bid to urge the governments to take more oversight over AI.

Job losses, a loss of control over advanced AI, biological warfare, rising energy prices and concentrated power among a few AI giants as just some of the arguments the two political figures are using in their broad argument for greater AI regulation, per Reuters reporting.

In particular, Sanders claims that tens of millions of jobs could be removed by AI, making it increasingly difficult for younger generations to get a job at all.

US government gets another nudge to regulate AI

Consequently, Trump is being urged to use an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to establish an international agreement to pause the development of advanced AI.

This aligns with separate legislation Sanders is pursuing, which calls for the permanent ban of artificial super intelligence, temporary pauses on other advanced AI, and the establishment of both a new federal AI regulator and further international agreements.

Bannon criticized the Trump administration for taking a light-touch approach to AI regulation, blaming it on close ties with (and the influence of) American tech giants. His approach also slightly differs from Sanders' in that Bannon is more vocal about blocking Chinese access to advanced American chips and other relevant hardware.

While attitudes are split virtually on a person-by-person basis, rather than a per-party basis, the current administration is generally seen as more pro-American innovation than anti-AI. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that slowing down US development would ultimately cause it to lose its competitive advantage over China.

However, while opinions are split, it's clear that artificial intelligence has become a major political discussion, and with US midterm elections just weeks away, all could be about to change.

Amazon has announced the dates for its second Prime Day sale, taking place on October 6 and 7 this year, and the retailer has also released early deals, including some of our top-rated models.

• Shop more early Prime Day deals

While tech prices have risen this past year because of the global RAM and component crises, TVs haven't been affected yet. That means you can find record-low prices on a range of best-selling models from brands like Samsung, LG, TCL, and Hisense.

Amazon's early Prime Day deals include impressive discounts on TechRadar's own best-rated TVs, like LG's 65-inch C5 OLED TV for $1,599.99 (was $2,699.99) and Samsung's 55-inch S90H OLED TV for $1,497.99 (was $1,997.99).

You can also find incredible prices on budget TVs, like Insignia's popular 50-inch 4K Fire TV for $179.99 and TCL's 65-inch QM6K Mini LED QLED TV for $664.79.

Shop more of Amazon's early Prime Day TV deals below and keep in mind that unlike Prime Day, today's discounts are for everyone - no Prime membership required.

Amazon's 9 best early Prime Day TV deals

40-inch 2-Series HD Fire TV: was $249.99 now $209.99
If you're looking for a cheap set for an extra bedroom, Amazon's best-selling 40-inch 2-Series HD smart TV is $209.99. While the Amazon 2-Series TV lacks 4K resolution, it offers smart capabilities through the Fire TV experience and Amazon Alexa, providing hands-free control.View Deal

50-inch F50 Series HD 4K Smart Fire TV: was $299.99 now $179.99
If you're looking for a budget TV, this 50-inch Insignia display is an incredible deal at just $179.99. The Insignia F50 Series TV features 4K HD resolution, DTS Studio Sound, smart capabilities with the Fire TV operating system, and a voice remote with hands-free Alexa, so you can use your voice to control your TV.View Deal

50-inch E6SR Series Hi-QLED 4K Roku TV: was $349.99 now $278.99
This is the first discount we've seen for Hisense's 2026 E6SR QLED Roku TV. The Hisense set features stunning brightness, gorgeous colors, rich contrast, and great gaming features, making this an all-around winner.View Deal

55-inch Select Series 4K QLED Smart TV: was $499.99 now $378
Amazon has Roku's best-selling 55-inch 4K QLED smart TV for $378. For that price, you get an impressive picture thanks to its 4K resolution and QLED display, plus an enhanced voice remote and Roku's excellent smart TV interface.View Deal

55-inch S90H OLED TV: was $1997.99 now $1497.99
The S90H is Samsung's mid-range OLED TV in its 2026 lineup. It supports 165Hz and features advanced AI upscaling, but it uses a slightly lower-end WRGB OLED panel. During our hands-on testing, we praised this model's anti-glare technology and overall picture quality. If you're looking for a strong alternative to the LG C6, this is a solid competitor. View Deal

65-inch C6 OLED TV: was $2699.99 now $1599.99
The LG C6 is the successor to our best-rated TV, LG's C5 OLED, and the 65-inch model is on sale for $1,599.99, thanks to a whopping $1,100 discount. The 2026 OLED TV delivers more accurate, brighter colors than the C5 with powerful contrast thanks to its new Alpha 11 AI processor. The C6 also includes impressive gaming features and LG's intuitive smart TV platform.

Read our full LG C6 reviewView Deal

65-inch U7 Mini-LED QLED TV: was $1499.99 now $847.99
This Hisense U7 Series delivers top TV tech for the money in a reasonably sized display, including a bright, vibrant QLED panel with excellent contrast and a high 165Hz refresh rate for smooth images. It will excel as a TV for watching sports, streaming all your favorite shows and movies, and playing the latest games.View Deal

75-inch Omni QLED 4K Fire TV: was $1199.99 now $1049.99
The latest Amazon Omni QLED is a brilliant budget TV that delivers solid picture quality and strong gaming features, including 4K 60Hz, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+, at an affordable price. This early Prime Day discount brings the 75-inch model to $1,049.99, which is an incredible price for a QLED display of this size.View Deal

65-inch QM6K Series Mini LED QLED TV: was $799.99 now $664.79
Here is an Amazon exclusive deal on a massive display. You can get TCL's 85-inch QM6K Series for $1,056.68, which is an incredible price for a TV of this size. A truly great budget mini-LED TV, the TCL QM6K delivers vibrant picture quality and solid gaming features for a price that won't break the bank.View Deal

• AMD is rumored to be working on its own version of DLSS 5
• A leaker says that the neural rendering tech will be launched with next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs
• That means we could be waiting until late 2027 or 2028 to see this debut, which might leave AMD lagging behind Nvidia considerably

AMD could be working on its own take on Nvidia's DLSS 5, and apparently this alternative attempt at neural rendering will be for its next-gen RDNA 5 graphics cards.

VideoCardz spotted that a known leaker in the GPU field, Kepler L2, posted on the Anandtech forum in a discussion around RDNA 5 speculation to say that: "AMD will have their own version of 'Neural Lighting' like DLSS5 next-gen."

Kepler then clarified that he didn't mean a version of Ray Reconstruction, but a take on DLSS 5 (neural rendering), and that next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs would be required because "this stuff is pretty heavy" (as in resource-intensive).

In a further post, Kepler elaborated: "There's a lot of issues with Nvidia's approach [with DLSS 5], but it's possible to have a version of this with minimal hallucinations and 'AI slop' look."

He then suggests a way that AMD could work its version to improve on DLSS 5, including giving the AI "direct access to 3D game data such as geometry, ray data, depth buffers, materials, etc so it doesn't have to guess and can accurately know how each object in a scene should interact with light."

Kepler's outline of a proposed alternative for AMD would have a separate model (AI) for lighting improvements, and another different model solely for the shading of complex surfaces. DLSS 5 bundles these together with its neural rendering system, and adds color-grading on top — to adopt what the AI judges as more natural colors — which Kepler advises that AMD should dispense with entirely.

Analysis: a race against time – or a chance to get it right?

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

I won't pretend to be able to critique what Kepler is suggesting as an alternative for AMD and the technical nuances therein, except to say that the idea is clearly to achieve a result that looks less like it's been 'messed' about with by AI and minimizes any 'slopification' therein — preserving more of the original artistic intent.

And that seems a laudable goal, of course, and it also brings up how AMD is in an interesting position here in lagging behind Nvidia with its graphics tech (which has, of course, been the case from the start, with FSR following DLSS — version 2.0 of Nvidia's upscaling tech was already in play, in fact, when FSR 1.0 arrived). Team Red can sit back for now and see how DLSS 5 plays out, as more games emerge that use it, and gauge the reaction of gamers, and forge its own neural rendering tech to tackle any perceived weaknesses.

The performance hit will be an obvious area to target, and if AMD can bring that down — it's substantial with DLSS 5 as it is now — that will obviously be a big win. That said, I'd expect Nvidia will be working with some haste to make DLSS 5 more performant, and as with DLSS 1, the tech will be improved considerably by the time Team Red has its own version out.

This is the other side of the equation here, where Nvidia could win out. With RDNA 5 GPUs not expected to arrive for at least a year, and quite possibly longer (the RAM crisis isn't helping), there's quite a lengthy timeframe on any AMD rival to DLSS 5. By the time it arrives, DLSS 5.5 may be in town with considerable improvements in tow. There's already been a notable turnaround in the perception of DLSS 5 with its official launch (compared to Nvidia's sneak preview earlier this year).

This is, of course, assuming AMD is indeed working on its own neural rendering technology, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't the case. For now, though, the word of a single leaker needs to be thoroughly seasoned, as ever, even though it's believable enough that Team Red would be aiming to use this on RDNA 5 graphics cards.

As Microsoft continues to reshape Game Pass, a new lineup of games is arriving for subscribers.

• UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD warn Iran is using Chosen Brick malware against dissidents and journalists
• Malware steals files, captures audio, grabs WhatsApp/Telegram data, and can wipe systems entirely
• Operatives rely on social engineering; agencies urge awareness, MFA, updates, and endpoint monitoring

Iranian hackers are targeting “enemies of the state”, both local and foreign, with advanced malware capable of spying on the victims and stealing their sensitive files, experts have warned.

This is according to a new security advisory, published jointly by the UK National Cyber Security Centre, the FBI, and the Netherlands’ General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), which noted how Iranian operatives would first do extensive research into their victims - dissidents, activists, and journalists - deemed a risk to the regime.

After learning as much about their targets as possible, they reach out via social media, either as someone the victims know, or as technical support for the platform they’re currently using, engaging in extended conversation until the victim lowers their guard. At one point, the attackers will try to share a piece of malware with the victims, tracked as Chosen Brick.

A thousand victims

This malware, designed primarily for the Windows platform, has a long list of capabilities, including enumerating running processes and system information, capturing screen content, enabling the microphone to capture audio content, capturing a copy of Telegram and WhatsApp data from web browsers, downloading additional files and malware, deleting files, stealing email content, and ultimately - wiping the entire computer system. The operatives communicate with the malware using Telegram, it was said.

“Iran almost certainly uses cyber activity to support the repression of individuals who are seen as a threat to the regime, such as dissidents, activists and journalists,” the three agencies said in the report. “In some cases, the Iranian intelligence services have plotted to kidnap or conduct lethal operations against individuals internationally, who they perceive as enemies of the regime.”

In the advisory, the three agencies said the best defense is to simply be more aware of social engineering. However, there are also a few technical mitigations that can help, including following NCSC advice on staying safe online, keeping all devices up-to-date (ideally through automatic updates), using antivirus software, and not disabling smart screen warnings on file downloads.

Finally, it would be wise to enable phishing-resistant MFA, make sure devices are managed with appropriate controls, turn on email scanning, deploy endpoint and network monitoring, and conduct a search for the IoCs.

Via The Register

Lawmakers are expressing broader willingness to regulate AI development, but the path forward may not be a quick one.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI)

The indictment says the defendants belong to a network that "is one arm of the Russian Federation's apparatus used to carry out external attacks" worldwide.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

From readiness, longevity and AI insights to blood tests and movement assessments, we covered everything about the Health app’s redesign.

Already, close to 100 lawmakers who started this Congress will not be around for the next one, according to an NPR analysis, driven by record-setting retirements and primary defeats.

(Image credit: Allison Robbert)

You can create documents, slides and design schemas all within the main Claude window now.

The New Yorker's Dexter Filkins says while Trump's son-in-law is a U.S. special envoy negotiating peace, he's also working on private business deals, raising billions in some of the same countries.

• CenterPoint Energy confirmed a cyberattack via exposed API, with customer data stolen
• Threat actor claims 7.49M files including IDs, SSNs, billing data, and transaction records
• Operations unaffected; investigation ongoing, regulators notified, customers to be informed

CenterPoint Energy has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and data theft, days after a criminal advertised the stolen files on an underground hacking forum.

CenterPoint Energy is a large US energy utility company that delivers electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. It employs roughly 8,800 people and operates around $48.3 billion in assets, as of June 2026.

Recently, a threat actor posted a new thread on a dark web forum, saying they stole 7.49 million CenterPoint files from a poorly secured API, The Register reports. They said that the data included customer names and contact details, billing data, move-in dates, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers (SSN).

Incurring expenses

No independent investigators have confirmed these claims just yet, and the company said it was investigating the matter. In a new 8-K document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 14, the company said that it “became aware of an online post by a third party claiming to have obtained a data set containing certain of the company’s customer information.”

It activated its incident response protocols and kicked off an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts.

“While the investigation remains ongoing, the company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the company’s customers through one of the company’s external facing systems,” the filing reads. “The company is continuing to work with third-party experts to determine the scope of customers and personal information affected by the incident and intends to notify affected customers and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.” The police and regulatory agencies have been notified.

While the attack did not impact CenterPoint’s operations, which continue as usual, it did incur certain expenses, the company concluded. It stressed that it will likely incur even more expenses as the investigation continues.

Via The Register

Vibe coding makes developing an app as simple as describing your idea. With barriers collapsed, it is easy to assume that app monetization is dead.

Stan Marchand disagrees. As CEO of Paris-based app publisher Rocapine, he has proved that vibe-coded apps can still generate real revenue – but only if builders focus on the 20% of app development that moves beyond the code and into human craft.

I spoke with Stan to unpack what separates a buyable product from an empty gimmick in 2026.

Vibe coding has made it easier than ever to build apps, but are these apps actually generating revenue?

Building is now the easy part. The scarce skills are insight, taste, and distribution.

A few are, but most aren't, and most often it's because people assume building a functioning app is the hard part. It isn't anymore.

Vibe coding has collapsed the cost of building an app to almost nothing. But 80% of the work can now be automated, and more than ever it's the remaining 20% left to humans that decides whether an app makes money: finding a value proposition that genuinely resonates, crafting a product with human taste, and telling its story efficiently.

The apps generating real revenue got those three things right. The flood of apps that look finished but never find a market got none of them. Building is now the easy part. The scarce skills are insight, taste, and distribution.

When assessing a vibe-coded MVP, which metrics and signals do you look for to separate a "buyable" app from a gimmick?

The code itself is not worth much.

What is worth something is whether the product resonates with real people. That is shown by asking two questions:

• Is it marketable? Can you reach users at a cost the business can support, or is the market already saturated by giants pushing the same promise?
• Will people pay? Once they've installed it, do they convert and stick? The KPIs that capture this are cost per install, conversion to paid, and early retention.

Put these questions together: that's ROAS- how much it costs to acquire a user versus how much that user is worth.

A rough prototype with a low cost per install and users who pay is a real business. A polished app with beautiful code and no one converting is a gimmick.

How does that evaluation process differ when assessing vibe-coded apps compared to traditional human-built apps?

We evaluate the 20% the builder added: the insight, the craft, the taste.

Less than you'd think.

Nobody writes code by hand anymore, so "vibe-coded" versus "human-built" is becoming a distinction without a difference.

What changes is where we spend our time. With vibe-coded apps, the code is cheap to rebuild, so we care less about its quality and more about whether the concept has proven resonance.

The risk isn't messy code, it's a product that exists because it was easy to make rather than because anyone needed it. AI gives everyone the same 80%. We evaluate the 20% the builder added: the insight, the craft, the taste.

AI-generated code can be messy. What steps must vibe coders take to ensure their app is legally compliant and structurally sound enough to pass due diligence?

Three things:

• Know your stack: which tools generated what, under which licenses, and whether any third-party code or assets carry restrictions. Undocumented AI code isn't a dealbreaker; undocumentable code is.
• Clean data practices from day one: privacy policy, user consent, App Store and Play compliance, and analytics you can actually export.
• Make your metrics verifiable: revenue through the stores, retention cohorts, acquisition costs. We've walked away from partnerships not because the code was AI-generated, but because nothing could be checked.

How should an app creator think about deciding whether a full acquisition, a publishing deal, or a revenue-share model is right for them?

Ask yourself what you actually want.

If you want the cash and to move on to the next idea, a full acquisition is clean. If you believe in the app and want to stay in the game, a publishing or revenue-share deal lets you keep upside while a partner brings what a solo builder rarely has: monetisation expertise, growth marketing budget, the infrastructure to scale.

The good news is that these paths aren't mutually exclusive. Unchaind, which we co-developed from scratch with a studio in Singapore under a publishing model, reached $1M ARR 16 days after launch. We ended up acquiring it later, once the developer wanted to move on to a new project.

Start with the model that fits where you are today; the exit can come when it makes sense for both sides.

What other tips would you give keen vibe coders who are looking to build and sell vibe-coded apps?

Fight AI slop relentlessly

Build for a niche you understand deeply, ship in weeks, and put a price on it immediately. Free users tell you nothing about resonance.

Then fight AI slop relentlessly: the generic wording, the template design patterns, the onboarding everyone recognises. Users spot it instantly, and it kills trust. Invest your time in the 20% that makes your product yours; the rest is a commodity.

And when you talk to a publisher, bring your cohort data, not your feature list.

• Volkswagen reveals all about the upcoming ID.3 GTI
• It’s the second model in the lineup to wear the marque’s famous badge
• Rear-wheel drive and its weight could deter the faithful

Volkswagen has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated ID.3 GTI, arguably the closest thing we will get to a fully electrified Golf GTI until the German marque decides to make one.

This is the second model in the lineup to wear the famous performance badge, after VW announced that the smaller ID. Polo would also be given the red-hot treatment.

Volkswagen says the ID.3 GTI will follow the ID. Polo GTI into production, with the former due to launch in the first quarter of 2027.

It’s also a sign that Volkswagen is getting more serious about this high-performance electric stuff, after pussyfooting around with the slightly warmer but very confusing GTX badging on earlier ID.3s and, perhaps most bizarre of all, the ID. Buzz.

But soon, customers will be able to get behind the wheel of an all-electric hatchback that boasts 240 kW (326 hp), 545 Nm (403 lb-ft) of torque and a 0-62 mph sprint time of just 5.6 seconds. As a show of defiance, the ID.3 GTI has one horsepower more than the previously most potent Golf GTI Edition 50.

But unlike any other GTI model in history, power from the single motor is delivered to the rear wheels, while engineers told Evo Magazine that they tweaked the software to prevent those rear tires from spinning up when the full force of the torque is unleashed, even with traction control deactivated.

(Image credit: Volkswagen)

Unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and 6 N, as well as the cheeky little Honda Super N, Volkswagen hasn’t decided to offer simulated gear shifts to increase driver engagement, but it has introduced fake engine noise into the cabin to crank up the sportiness.

While the exterior now comes in the famous Tornado Red GTI paint color and sports some bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels, the majority of the performance touches have been added inside the cabin, where tartan-style upholstery and a big GTI button on the steering wheel give the game away.

Volkswagen claims that despite the performance on tap, its ID.3 GTI will still manage 373 miles on a single charge, although peak charging speeds are capped at 183 kW, making it difficult to perform the sort of rapid, track-day battery top-ups that Hyundai’s high-performance EVs are capable of.

Analysis: A tough crowd to please

(Image credit: Volkswagen)

Volkswagen has more than 50 years of GTI history, and nearly all of those vehicles sporting the famous badge have been celebrated by fans, owners and journalists alike.

From the first Golf GTI in 1975 to the more recent Edition 50, they’ve all delivered scampering, front-wheel-drive thrills alongside Volkswagen’s comfort, build quality, usability and purposefully restrained styling. Fans can argue all day long about which iteration was the GOAT, but it’s generally agreed that they are all some of the best hot hatches ever made.

Attempting to transfer this badge into the electric era was always going to be a tough ask, as everything that made some of the best GTIs legendary is missing here.

According to Top Gear, the new ID.3 GTI weighs around two tons, which is a good 500kg heavier than even the weightiest ICE Golfs, while the decision to send power to the rear wheels will fundamentally alter the way this electric GTI behaves.

Couple this with the lack of synthesized (or real) gear shifting and other technological wizardry that makes Hyundai and Honda’s performance EVs feel more engaging, and what we are left with might be the fastest and most powerful ID.3, but is it really a true Golf GTI successor?

I’d love to be proven wrong, but I feel Volkswagen is going to have a tough time convincing petrolheads to ditch their Mark 7 Golf GTIs and climb into this.

• Volkswagen reveals all about the upcoming ID.3 GTI
• It’s the second model in the lineup to wear the marque’s famous badge
• Rear-wheel drive and its weight could deter the faithful

Volkswagen has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated ID.3 GTI, arguably the closest thing we will get to a fully electrified Golf GTI until the German marque decides to make one.

This is the second model in the lineup to wear the famous performance badge, after VW announced that the smaller ID. Polo would also be given the red-hot treatment.

Volkswagen says the ID.3 GTI will follow the ID. Polo GTI into production, with the former due to launch in the first quarter of 2027.

It’s also a sign that Volkswagen is getting more serious about this high-performance electric stuff, after pussyfooting around with the slightly warmer but very confusing GTX badging on earlier ID.3s and, perhaps most bizarre of all, the ID. Buzz.

But soon, customers will be able to get behind the wheel of an all-electric hatchback that boasts 240 kW (326 hp), 545 Nm (403 lb-ft) of torque and a 0-62 mph sprint time of just 5.6 seconds. As a show of defiance, the ID.3 GTI has one horsepower more than the previously most potent Golf GTI Edition 50.

But unlike any other GTI model in history, power from the single motor is delivered to the rear wheels, while engineers told Evo Magazine that they tweaked the software to prevent those rear tires from spinning up when the full force of the torque is unleashed, even with traction control deactivated.

(Image credit: Volkswagen)

Unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and 6 N, as well as the cheeky little Honda Super N, Volkswagen hasn’t decided to offer simulated gear shifts to increase driver engagement, but it has introduced fake engine noise into the cabin to crank up the sportiness.

While the exterior now comes in the famous Tornado Red GTI paint color and sports some bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels, the majority of the performance touches have been added inside the cabin, where tartan-style upholstery and a big GTI button on the steering wheel give the game away.

Volkswagen claims that despite the performance on tap, its ID.3 GTI will still manage 373 miles on a single charge, although peak charging speeds are capped at 183 kW, making it difficult to perform the sort of rapid, track-day battery top-ups that Hyundai’s high-performance EVs are capable of.

Analysis: A tough crowd to please

(Image credit: Volkswagen)

Volkswagen has more than 50 years of GTI history, and nearly all of those vehicles sporting the famous badge have been celebrated by fans, owners and journalists alike.

From the first Golf GTI in 1975 to the more recent Edition 50, they’ve all delivered scampering, front-wheel-drive thrills alongside Volkswagen’s comfort, build quality, usability and purposefully restrained styling. Fans can argue all day long about which iteration was the GOAT, but it’s generally agreed that they are all some of the best hot hatches ever made.

Attempting to transfer this badge into the electric era was always going to be a tough ask, as everything that made some of the best GTIs legendary is missing here.

According to Top Gear, the new ID.3 GTI weighs around two tons, which is a good 500kg heavier than even the weightiest ICE Golfs, while the decision to send power to the rear wheels will fundamentally alter the way this electric GTI behaves.

Couple this with the lack of synthesized (or real) gear shifting and other technological wizardry that makes Hyundai and Honda’s performance EVs feel more engaging, and what we are left with might be the fastest and most powerful ID.3, but is it really a true Golf GTI successor?

I’d love to be proven wrong, but I feel Volkswagen is going to have a tough time convincing petrolheads to ditch their Mark 7 Golf GTIs and climb into this.

• Instagram creator All Gear No Skill has used Dyson's CameraJet toothbrush to shoot street photos
• The $499.99 / £419.99 / AU$799 brush uses a 100k-pixel (0.1MP) camera to find the gaps between your teeth
• Shots were grabbed by screenshotting the live feed in the MyDyson app

You may have heard the phrase "the best camera is the one you have with you", but what if that's a toothbrush? Instagram creator All Gear No Skill (@allthegearnoskill) has taken Dyson's new CameraJet out of the bathroom and onto the streets, using its tiny built-in camera to capture a series of gloriously odd street photos.

Launched at the start of September, the CameraJet is Dyson's first foray into oral care, and it costs a jaw-clenching $499.99 / £419.99 / AU$799. Tucked just below the brush head is a 100k-pixel macro camera that feeds a machine learning system Dyson calls Gap Optical Targeting. It analyzes at 28fps to spot the gaps between your teeth, then fires a cone-shaped jet of mouth rinse at each one, so you're effectively flossing while you brush.

The same camera doubles as a dental endoscope, streaming a live view of your molars to the MyDyson app (which, as TechRadar writer Emily Peck found in her Dyson CameraJet review, can be a little more revealing than you might like).

Point, shoot, rinse, repeat

That live view is the key to "taking photos" with the toothbrush. Dyson says the CameraJet doesn't save images on the brush or in the cloud, and there's no capture button in the app, so the process is refreshingly low-tech. You point the brush head at your subject, watch the feed on your phone, and take a screenshot when the composition looks right. It's like a $500 / AU$800 remote viewfinder with bristles.

As you'd expect from a sensor designed to peer at incisors from a few millimeters away, the results won't have anyone trading in their Leica: the macro lens bends everything into a fisheye-style bubble, 100k pixels works out to a mere 0.1MP resolution, and the colors and white balance wander all over the place, lending the shots a strange, almost infrared look. For me, the photos instantly brought to mind the otherworldly, hallucinatory AI-driven image generation from a few years ago: think Will Smith eating spaghetti.

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The CameraJet surely won't be the last unlikely gadget to get this treatment, either, because cameras are turning up in all sorts of devices that have nothing to do with photography. Your car may have several for parking and driver assistance, robot vacuums use them to dodge kids' toys and charging cables, and some smart fridges and ovens will let you peek at what's inside via your phone. Not to mention robot lawn mowers and VR headsets.

Plenty of these offer a live feed in a companion app, so there's a house full of accidental point-and-shoots out there waiting for someone with a sense of humor. Personally, I can't wait for the first portrait series shot entirely on a fridge.

• Instagram creator All Gear No Skill has used Dyson's CameraJet toothbrush to shoot street photos
• The $499.99 / £419.99 / AU$799 brush uses a 100k-pixel (0.1MP) camera to find the gaps between your teeth
• Shots were grabbed by screenshotting the live feed in the MyDyson app

You may have heard the phrase "the best camera is the one you have with you", but what if that's a toothbrush? Instagram creator All Gear No Skill (@allthegearnoskill) has taken Dyson's new CameraJet out of the bathroom and onto the streets, using its tiny built-in camera to capture a series of gloriously odd street photos.

Launched at the start of September, the CameraJet is Dyson's first foray into oral care, and it costs a jaw-clenching $499.99 / £419.99 / AU$799. Tucked just below the brush head is a 100k-pixel macro camera that feeds a machine learning system Dyson calls Gap Optical Targeting. It analyzes at 28fps to spot the gaps between your teeth, then fires a cone-shaped jet of mouth rinse at each one, so you're effectively flossing while you brush.

The same camera doubles as a dental endoscope, streaming a live view of your molars to the MyDyson app (which, as TechRadar writer Emily Peck found in her Dyson CameraJet review, can be a little more revealing than you might like).

Point, shoot, rinse, repeat

That live view is the key to "taking photos" with the toothbrush. Dyson says the CameraJet doesn't save images on the brush or in the cloud, and there's no capture button in the app, so the process is refreshingly low-tech. You point the brush head at your subject, watch the feed on your phone, and take a screenshot when the composition looks right. It's like a $500 / AU$800 remote viewfinder with bristles.

As you'd expect from a sensor designed to peer at incisors from a few millimeters away, the results won't have anyone trading in their Leica: the macro lens bends everything into a fisheye-style bubble, 100k pixels works out to a mere 0.1MP resolution, and the colors and white balance wander all over the place, lending the shots a strange, almost infrared look. For me, the photos instantly brought to mind the otherworldly, hallucinatory AI-driven image generation from a few years ago: think Will Smith eating spaghetti.

A post shared by all gear no skill (@allthegearnoskill)

A photo posted by

The CameraJet surely won't be the last unlikely gadget to get this treatment, either, because cameras are turning up in all sorts of devices that have nothing to do with photography. Your car may have several for parking and driver assistance, robot vacuums use them to dodge kids' toys and charging cables, and some smart fridges and ovens will let you peek at what's inside via your phone. Not to mention robot lawn mowers and VR headsets.

Plenty of these offer a live feed in a companion app, so there's a house full of accidental point-and-shoots out there waiting for someone with a sense of humor. Personally, I can't wait for the first portrait series shot entirely on a fridge.