This week was Meta Connect, with the social media and now AI-focused tech giant announcing a lot of new tech (mostly smart and VR glasses).

We also tried the new Beats headphones and got our first look at Google’s long-awaited answer to Apple’s MacBook.

To catch up on all of this, and more, scroll down to read the latest edition of our ICYMI roundup.

7. Disney+ hiked it prices

Another month, another streaming price hike. This time, it’s Disney+ and Hulu each getting a price increase in the US, by different amounts depending on the tier.

The good news, however, is that the price of the ad-supported bundle that includes both Disney+ and Hulu isn’t going up, and the same goes for the ad-supported triple bundle that includes those two plus ESPN. Premium bundles that are ad-free are going up, though.

Will the price rise in other territories too? Australia just had one, and there’s no announcement in the UK yet, but other sources say one is coming in October. It feels like there’s just no break from price rises these days…

• Read more: Disney argues it still offers value for money as it freezes the price on three of its streaming bundles

6. A GTA 6 Collection box was announced

This week, Rockstar Games announced the Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection. It costs £349 / $399, comes with exclusive merchandise, and will land on November 19 (the same day as the game's release).

Crucially, you don't get a copy of GTA VI in the bundle. You will, however, get a cute Macca the Gator figure, sunglasses, a crossbody bag, and plenty more goodies.

Only you can decide if it's worth the high asking price, and it certainly could be for a mega fan, though you may want to act fast if you want one, as we imagine GTA VI merch will sell out, especially as launch day approaches.

• Read more: GTA 6 gets a 'Vice City Collection' box set for super-fans

5. Beats launched comfortable headphones

Beats finally announced its next-generation, entirely new over-ear headphones this week. The Beats 360 won't be replacing the Studio Pro – those are now more affordable, though – and they look distinctly different with a thinner, lighter build that is customizable.

Yes, there are four main colors for the Beats 360, but you can also buy 'performance knit' or 'ultra-plush' earcups and swap them out as you please. Since the Beats 360 are sweat- and water-resistant, you can go from a workout to the office by swapping earcups.

Audio quality is strong here too, thanks to a redesigned stack in each earcup, and you can expect over 30 hours of battery life with a listening mode enabled. And, true to other Beats products, a custom chip inside lets these work seamlessly with both iOS and Android.

• Read more: Beats 360 are one of the most comfortable, best-sounding headphones I've ever worn

4. Amazfit dropped a solar-powered smartwatch

In a world where smartwatches share the same features and similar specs, it's always nice to see something innovative. In this instance, it's the Amazfit T-Rex line.

Solar charging isn't new, but this line brings it to an AMOLED watch for the first time with the T-Rex Dual Solar; as the name implies, it can charge from sunlight on both sides.

In normal conditions, the watch packs up to 25 days of battery life, extended up to 35 days in optimal solar conditions, and 41 hours of use in 'accurate GPS mode' which are some impressive stats. Unusually for Amazfit, it's also very expensive, priced at $649.99 in the US. Other regions' pricing is TBC, but that's around £500 / AU$900.

• Read more: Amazfit's new solar-powered AMOLED smartwatch aims to rival Garmin's legendary battery life

3. Google launched a MacBook rival

What do you get when you mix Android with Chrome OS? It’s a question we’ve pondered for years, but only recently did Google confirm it was working on systems featuring a new mashup platform: Googlebooks. The platform? It’s called GooglebooksOS, naturally.

Now, we have the products of that union: systems from Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Dell, and HP. On the outside, they’re indistinguishable from Windows systems, but we opened them all and found a very different platform that somehow mixes Android’s power with the approachability of ChromeOS. This means these systems have a real relationship with the Android phone in your hand, but are also perfectly capable of running apps on the desktop, just like a Mac or PC.

Oh, and these are priced like premium laptops, not Chromebooks.

• Read more: I tried Google's new answer to the MacBook that combines ChromeOS with Android

2. Meta Connect 2026 happened

The annual Meta event kicked off this week, and we got a look at a suite of brand-new Meta AI wearables.

The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 glasses were announced with slightly better specs than what came before and a higher price tag, though it seems many still see the camera glasses as creepy perv glasses.

Perhaps that’s why we also got Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses. They boast most of the same great tech, but have a longer battery life a more lightweight design and no cameras — so people can’t spy on you with these.

There was also a new Lisa (from BlackPink) collab design, and something very different: the Muse Charm. Essentially an AI Tamagotchi (at least in the design), the Charm lets you interact with your Muse AI agent, though we’ll have to wait and see if this is just another Rabbit R1 or the Humane AI Pin flop.

• Read more: Meta just announced an AI Tamagotchi — this is Muse Charm

1. Meta launched VR Glasses

Meta didn’t just showcase Ray-Ban smart glasses at Connect this year; it also debuted a brand new VR headset — or we should say VR Glasses.

They boast an ultra-slim and lightweight design enabled by a puck that houses not only the battery but also all of the headset’s compute power. In practical terms, this means the headset itself is only around 100g, or one fifth the weight of a Meta Quest 3.

We’ve taken the headset for a whirl and been wildly impressed with the comfort of the design, its dazzling micro-OLED displays, and its overall performance for a respectable $1,299 price tag (other regions pricing TBC).

• Read more: I’ve worn Meta’s VR Glasses and they’re coming to eat the Apple Vision Pro’s lunch

I'm technically on holiday today, but the crossword cannot stop for anything, so here's another entry in our weekly puzzler.

Don't worry, it's all been prepped ahead of time, so I'm not spending my break coming up with clues. Expect another mix of recent news and general tech trivia in this week's puzzle, which I hope will add a brief bit of fun to your Friday as you challenge for the top of the leaderboard.

Right, I'm off to the coast to enjoy this last bit of sun we're likely to get here in the UK before autumn/fall truly sets in. I'll probably end up doing a crossword or two!

When it comes to personal robots, Mondo's Beni camera robot might be the perfect mix of cute and utility, with an emphasis on cute.

As soon as I laid eyes on the pint-sized, two-wheeled bot, I was smitten. It darted quickly from place to place and, as Beni turned its square head in my direction and 'looked' at me with its two large and luminous eyes, I felt it peering into my lonely soul. Finally, a robot companion that wouldn't terrify me with grabby, slow-moving hands, or crowd me with uncanny valley legs and torsos.

Unveiled a few months ago by Mondo Robotics and set to arrive in consumer hands in October, the self-balancing Mondo Beni was initially intended as a child's toy, but it had features — in particular a 4K 60fps camera that can follow you around — that appealed to creators. So Mondo pivoted, and now the $799 rolling robot is marketed as "your first camera robot".

In addition to the camera, which can also shoot 1080p 120fps slow motion, Beni features a pair of sensor cameras that provide a 150-degree field of view for tracking and obstacle avoidance. I watched as Beni's handlers used the iOS app to select subjects for Beni to track, and then Beni followed them around like a very obedient puppy dog. One Mondo exec described Beni as "a ground drone".

Beni is surprisingly resilient. When someone kicked the robot over, it instantly righted itself back onto its two rubber wheels as it shook its blocky head and made a little noise.

Programming cuteness

One of the things that makes Beni so darn cute is all the canned (Beni does not learn) animations and audio. It has about a dozen of each, and they give the little white and orange bot a distinct personality. There's a sort of programmed indomitable spirit; nothing can keep Beni down or stop it.

It can effortlessly jump (up to 10 inches), flip, and backflip. For now, those moves are triggered either via the app or a wearable remote control with a super-easy-to-use joystick. Mondo would eventually like Beni to jump over obstacles as it sees them.

I used the intuitive wearable remote to drive Beni and, with a press, make the little robot flip. There's also a big red button to stop Beni or, with long presses, have it squat down or stand back up.

Beni starts with 32GB of onboard storage for collecting video of you as it tracks you on a walk or run (up to 17.9mph), or as it follows your pet around (assuming the pet doesn't attack it or run away in horror). There's also a built-in microSD card slot for additional storage.

You can take good-length walks or runs with Beni, because it runs (or rolls) for an hour and a half on a charge. There's a removable battery pack on the back with light indicators to show you Beni's life… er… juice level.

Beni ships with a pair of relatively smooth rubber wheels, but you can buy the combo pack and get some accessories, including knobbier off-road wheels that are better equipped to handle dirt roads and hills.

Beni arrives ready for you

One of the things I like about Beni is that it's not like a robot kit. The wheels, for instance, are easy to pop on and off, and nothing about Beni looks like it was made from an old Erector Set.

And, for better or worse, there is no dev kit. This is in contrast to the equally cute Pollen Robotics Microduck, another white and orange bipedal robot that can hang out with you (and use roller skates), but it's a bit more DIY than SMF (So Much Fun). Where Beni looks polished, the $399 Microduck looks a little more hand-built.

Beni can hear and follow some simple commands. The animations — a head turn here, a shake there — help it look like it's actually listening to you.

Beni's innate adorability might help overcome the obvious privacy concerns. After all, the robot is no taller than an average chihuahua, and its camera is at ground level. To film you as it goes, Beni will be looking up. This might make some people around you uncomfortable.

Maybe keep Beni to your solitary walks or runs, or make sure everyone around you knows that those cute Beni eyes are an indication that it might be filming.

I picked Beni up and found it surprisingly hefty, about the weight of an overfed puppy. It's cute to watch but not at all cuddly to hold. In fact, company execs told me that while there are lots of warnings about picking up Beni, the robot has no way of knowing if your fingers gets caught in, say, one of the joints. It might be best to keep Beni away from small children.

All this capability, power, and cuteness comes at a price. Beni starts at $799 in the US (it will ship to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, but pricing for those regions has not been set) and starts shipping in October. It's not the ultimate robot, but Beni has the potential to captivate on looks and capability alone.

• A new approach could catch 90% of potentially convertible wave energy
• It's based on a array of dozens of connected buoys, designed to handle different types of waves
• Further research is needed to test its viability

There's potentially a lot of clean, renewable energy locked up in waves, but the challenge is getting it converted into power in a viable way. Now researchers from Germany and Australia have come up with a potential method for capturing way more of the energy produced by the undulating oceans.

The solution (via Interesting Engineering) is big buoys, and lots of them. In simulation models, the researchers showed that a fixed array of 60 connected buoys — with some described as being as large as small houses — could convert 90% of potential ocean wave energy, even with significant variability in wave direction.

These buoys would be like flat drums on the surface of the water, connected to spring and generator units on the seabed. Crucially, each one would be individually tuned to match a certain wave rhythm — what's known as the 'resonance frequency' of the buoy, where the maximum amount of power can be produced.

"It's similar to a child on a swing," says Professor Malte Peter, from the University of Augsburg (via Google Translate). "Only if the support comes at the right moment will the child swing higher and higher over time. Similarly, the waves must arrive at the buoy at the appropriate intervals so that its pendulum motion is as strong as possible."

Dealing with unpredictability

Waves are typically rather unpredictable: if a large wave hits a buoy that's already on the up from a previous wave, a lot of the energy is missed. Add in the effects from neighboring buoys deflecting waves and influencing each other's movement, and you can understand the challenge in capturing all of this energy.

The larger arrays proposed by the team here act as a sort of sieve system. Even if a wave gets 'missed' by one buoy, it will hit another that's better tuned to it, meaning very little energy is lost. The researchers detail careful adjustments to buoy positions and resonance to achieve the results.

It's not a completely new idea, and borrows thinking from other fields of science. Some of the same researchers previously came up with a more basic model of the buoy farm, but only in 2D — in their new paper, they've extended into three dimensions, increased the size of the array, and adapted it to a greater variety of wave directions.

All that said, this remains theoretical, and hasn't been tested yet. The team notes that while each individual buoy could power "several hundred households" in this system, installing and maintaining the equipment is going to be expensive, and field tests and further research will need to happen first.

• Researchers report a new upgrade for lithium-ion
• Added graphitic carbon nitride can boost capacity
• It would mean higher power delivery for longer

With so many modern-day devices dependent on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, scientists are hard at work trying to figure out ways of improving the tech — and a team from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has just announced a significant breakthrough.

As reported by The Korea Times, the KRICT researchers have succeeded in boosting the power delivery capacity of lithium-ion battery chemistry by adding a small amount of a material called graphitic carbon nitride to the cathode end of the battery.

When a battery is charging, the lithium ions get pushed out of the cathode, through an electrolyte material, to the anode at the other end. When the battery is in use, the ions flow back in the other direction.

One potential way of storing more energy in a battery of the same physical size and weight is to make the cathode thicker, but there's a problem: this also makes it harder for the lithium ions to move and deliver all of the energy held in the battery. The new innovation that was successfully tested here could solve that problem.

Capacity boosting

The researchers have reported some impressive numbers from their tests, though the tech is still at an early stage. Adding the graphitic carbon nitride to the cathode resulted in a 166% increase in capacity during high-rate discharge, and an increase in power density of up to 2.85 times.

Those figures don't mean a bigger capacity in mAh terms, but delivering more of a charge under heavy load, and for longer. In lithium-ion batteries, using a lot of energy quickly reduces how much total capacity you'll get from the battery compared to if you used the same amount of energy but more slowly.

In an EV, for example, this would mean that the vehicle could accelerate harder and sustain that high performance for longer without impacting total range as much. It would allow home batteries to better sustain their capacity if you use them with appliances that drain a lot of energy quickly, such as washing machines.

But smaller applications can benefit from it as well — drones can draw a lot of power suddenly to life themselves, or gaming and workstation laptops might suddenly draw a lot of power depending on the workload — they'd all benefit from tech that handles the power flow's effect on capacity better.

The tech could, in turn, result in batteries with thicker cathodes that do give you more mAh capacity in the same space, the researchers say — but that wasn't tested in this study. The next challenge is to try and scale up and expand the technology.

According to KRICT President Shin Seok-min, this alternative approach to lithium-ion batteries could potentially be used across electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and robotics — so it's very broadly applicable, especially for devices and systems that can take batteries that are physically larger.

• Hackers took down a Flock camera and extracted a copy of its storage drive
• There, they were able to acess 1.6 million images and 27,000 videos taken over 21 days, despite claims that the encryption system should prevent this
• Morale is reportedly so low at Flock that many workers are ready to quit

Another day, another Flock controversy. As if things couldn’t get any worse for the embattled maker of automatic license plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, hackers have just managed to extract 1.6 million images and 27,000 video clips from one of its systems — something Flock has previously claimed should be impossible.

According to a report from 404 Media, members of a hacker collective named stegan0gram took down a Flock camera and managed to make a “near-complete copy” of its stored data.

When they did that, they found a treasure trove of privacy-compromising information and shared it with both 404 Media and the Distributed Denial of Secrets nonprofit, who then sent it on to Wired.

The report from 404 Media identified around 50,200 vehicles in Flock’s media files. The storage contained approximately 1.6 million images and more than 27,000 video clips taken over the course of 21 days. Older logs were either overwritten or inaccessible.

Perhaps more concerning, Flock’s cameras were able to detect people as well as vehicles and license plates, raising serious questions about how well the privacy of innocent members of the public is being protected. That said, 404 Media found no evidence of any kind of facial recognition being put to use.

The hackers said that they discovered two partitions when they accessed the Flock camera’s Android operating system. Inside one labeled “media,” they found a decryption key that unlocked a storage area housing the vast collection of images and video clips.

That all goes against public statements from Flock. The company has previously claimed that images and videos are only briefly stored on the device after being sent to Flock’s servers, and that no decryption keys were stored on the devices.

But with the hackers discovering stored media going back many weeks, plus the means to decrypt it, it appears that Flock’s statement might be inaccurate.

‘The writing is on the wall’

As you can probably imagine given the near-constant barrage of negative press Flock has been facing in recent weeks, its own employees are reportedly starting to feel the strain. And with morale through the floor, many are seeking to leave the company.

Wired has reported that Flock recently opened up a voluntary separation program for employees that would offer a “generous” severance package to anyone who seeks a way out of the firm. The scheme is open until October 2, with decisions being announced on October 9.

And according to “people familiar with the program but not authorized to discuss it publicly” cited by Wired, morale is so low at Flock that “a significant number of the startup’s roughly 1,500 employees may try to depart.”

That backs up comments from Flock’s own CEO, who said on the All-In podcast in August that “internal moral” has been the biggest casualty amid escalating hostility to the company’s devices.

For many Flock workers, the severance offer is likely to come at a good time. As one apparently disgruntled employee told Wired, “When you see enough of the vandalism [aimed at Flock cameras], you know the writing is on the wall.”

This week was a little quieter than last in the tech news space — if you ignore the hullabaloo caused by various AI companies that their models might one day kill us all if regulation doesn’t arrive.

A bit heavier than an Apple iPhone event, but important nonetheless.

To catch up on that and this week’s lighter (but still essential and biggest) tech news stories, scroll down for our ICYMI recaps and links to the full articles. But before you read about the news, you might want to try your hand at our quiz to see how much you remember of last week's ICYMI roundup.

7. We interviewed John Ternus

You've just been named CEO of one of the world’s most important tech companies; what runs through your mind? I asked John Ternus that question to his face, and his answer was perfect. It was all part of a wide-ranging interview we conducted with our friends over at Tom’s Guide. Lots of good bits about what innovation means at Apple and why the Cupertino giant is finally making a foldable.

• Read the full story: 'I don't think we ever lost innovation': New Apple CEO John Ternus defends Apple's track record

6. Google Live Translate went offline

Arguably the best Google Translate tool is its Live feature — which lets you converse with someone in your respective native tongue, and each sees a real-time translation of what the other has said.

It can break down the language barrier, if you have an internet connection, that is, though that is changing.

Google has started rolling out an offline mode for Live Translate. There are some limitations — it only supports translation from English to French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, and Swedish — and it’s only coming to the Google Pixel 11 series, Pixel 10 line, and Pixel 9 series.

• Read the full story: Google's new offline Live Translate tool looks like my new vacation essential

5. Canon launched the EOS R8 Mark II

Canon has debuted the EOS R8 Mark II, with a design that supposedly takes its cues from decades-old analog SLR cameras — there's a slight resemblance, but we'd argue that Canon's design department could have been given a bit more latitude.

Nonetheless, the second-generation model introduces useful upgrades over the original EOS R8, for a price that could tempt Canon enthusiasts who want powerful features but who don't need the tough build quality, high-spec displays, or long-lasting battery life of the EOS R6 series.

• Read the full hands-on review: I tried Canon's new-look EOS R8 Mark II

4. We tried the Snap Specs

A decade on from Snap’s first Spectacles launch (back when it was still Snapchat), we’ve tried the next evolution in its wearable tech: full-on AR glasses, and they’re incredible.

They’re still quite chunky, and the demo wasn’t without its quirks, but they were fun to use and comfortable to wear.

You can currently pre-order the Snap Specs for an eye-watering $2,195 (around £1,640 / AU$3,090) with a $200 deposit.

• Read the full story: I tried out Snap Specs, the social platform's chunky AR smart glasses

3. We reviewed Apple's tech

We reviewed all of Apple’s new tech, and yet again we were impressed.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max take last year’s Pro reinvention and refine it in all the right places — but the cameras are where Apple has made the biggest leap, with a variable aperture and finally useful Pro controls.

Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 might look and be priced similarly to what came before, but the big difference is the battery — with a promised up to 50 hours in normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode.

The Apple Watch 12 feels fresh with a new health-sensing system, a new SoC under the hood to power some new features, and a good bit of AI on top of what we knew was coming with watchOS 27.

• Read our iPhone 18 Pro review
• Read our Apple Watch 12 review
• Read our Apple Watch Ultra 4 review

2. iOS 27 gave our iPhones a huge upgrade

This week Apple gave millions of iPhones their biggest software upgrade this year. iOS 27 rolled out (if you haven’t got it yet, check General > Software Update), and it includes Siri AI — a new version of the voice assistant that is, finally, good.

Like all major iOS updates, there are lots of smaller quality-of-life upgrades that we’re enjoying too. These include the ability to make Shortcuts with natural language, a neat ‘Reframe’ feature for Photos, and the long-awaited option to set alarm volumes separately from your main ringtone. We’d highly recommend downloading iOS 27 now if you haven’t already.

• Read the full story: I've been using iOS 27 for 3 months already — these are the 5 best features arriving on your iPhone today

1. We debated AI slowdown

In a move that’s managed to draw in commentary from Donald Trump, JD Vance, and pretty much every major news organization on the planet, some of the biggest names in AI — including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Elon Musk — are calling for the development of frontier models to slow down while stronger safeguards are introduced.

They argue that increasingly capable, autonomous AI could escape human control, attack critical infrastructure or help bad actors create catastrophic weapons. Proposed protections include independent evaluators inside AI companies, international safety standards, government oversight, “kill switches” and restrictions on releasing especially powerful models.

Donald Trump rejects these concerns as a “hoax”, arguing that slowing development would damage the US economy and hand China an advantage in the global AI race. That means global consensus on how AI regulation should work is unlikely to arrive anytime soon. Until then, we better hope our new AI overlords are as bad at reaching a global consensus as us.

• Read the full story: 5 things you need to know about Trump's AI regulation battle

We dropped a five-star review of the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max this week, so it's a good time if you're an Apple fan and are looking to upgrade to a new device. As exciting as those phones might be, though, it feels like all eyes are on the iPhone Duo, as we enter an era where foldable phones might actually be quite good now.

You know what all of that extra screen real estate will be good for as well? Crosswords! A seamless segue.

• China's UBTech has revealed its new robot factory
• The facility can produce 10,000 androids a year
• It uses many autonomous robots in the production process

Forget AI agents and ChatGPT, fully autonomous robots are the next high-tech frontier, with companies across the globe racing to perfect their android creations. And Chinese firm UBTech has taken a big step in that direction with its new smart factory that can produce 10,000 robots a year — and it might change manufacturing forever.

The factory is the first of its kind in the world, according to the Seoul Economic Daily. It’s located in Liuzhou, in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and is focused on producing UBTech’s Walker S and Cruzr robot series.

And the factory itself makes heavy use of humanoid robots and driverless vehicles, perhaps providing a glimpse of the future of production and manufacturing. Cruzr Y1 and Cruzr S2 androids unload materials and stack, load and transport them, while collaborative robots take part in the final assembly process that finalizes each product. These final-stage robots work in tandem with human operators and include autonomous vehicles and rotating workbenches.

In a separate development, UBTech says it has launched “the industry’s first fully automated three-dimensional warehouse,” according to the Seoul Economic Daily. This can store 112 robots in 65 square meters of space, supposedly utilizing 50% more space than a facility with similar floor space.

Expanding capacity

UBTech said it has been able to create its robot factory thanks to the strong supply chain that exists in China.

According to UBTech vice president Fang Jianxin, “This foundation is rooted in the many engineers, scientists and application scenarios China has accumulated over the past 10 to 20 years, which has formed a very strong supply chain base, manufacturing capability and research and development capacity.”

China has been ramping up its robot production in recent years, with the National Bureau of Statistics of China noting that output hit 98,677 units in July, an increase of 30.2% on the previous year. And 635,056 robots were created between January 2026 and July 2026, an uptick of 28.5% year on year.

We’ve seen similar stories of robots building robots before, such as when 1X published a video detailing its production process, while Chinese firm Agibot has also seen its robot production undergo rapid expansion in recent times.

Agibot today claimed its A3 Ultra robot is "moving from mass production into real-world deployment", posting a video on X showing it working in "hotels, auto dealerships, supermarkets and metro inspection scenarios, with more deployments underway".

And with UBTech’s factory paving the way in terms of robot creation, it might not be long before autonomous factories start expanding across the world.

• Scientists have developed solar panels that can work up to 10 meters underwater
• The panels can capture up to 324 mWh of energy at that depth
• Each device is expected to last up to five and a half years at a time

A lot of devices are deployed underwater for research and exploration purposes, but powering them all can prove to be difficult, especially if they’re under the waves for a considerable period of time. A new scientific paper, however, has shown that solar panels can be successfully used at depths of up to 10 meters, potentially presenting a new way to keep underwater tech powered up and ready for action.

The paper was published in the Joule periodical and accompanied by a press release explaining its advances. The research was conducted by a team of scientists from Yunnan University in China, who said that a series of solar cells placed 32 feet (10 meters) below the water’s surface in the South China Sea were able to collect enough energy to power up a set of lithium-ion batteries in two hours.

The cells were made from lead halide perovskite with a polymer called polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride added into the mix. This additive helped to enhance the effectiveness of the panels.

According to Wen-Hua Zhang of Yunnan University, “Very few studies have been reported on underwater solar cells, and all of them are focused on very shallow water depths of only two meters or less, a scenario far from catering for requirements of practical application.”

“This work presents the first functional validation of submerged solar cells practically operating at a water depth of up to about 10 meters, greatly broadening their application scope,” Zhang added. The researchers stated that each cell could be deployed for around five and a half years at a time.

The panels captured 1,416 milliwatt-hours (mWh) of electricity at a depth of two meters. This decreased to 752 mWh at six meters and 324 mWh at ten meters. During separate lab testing, the solar panels had a power conversion efficiency of just under 35%.

Paving the way

The idea behind this research is that underwater solar panels could be used to power devices such as sensors, cameras, communications systems, and more.

Many of these objects are stationary for much of the time, so nearby solar cells could help keep them topped up and working without necessarily requiring extensive human intervention.

One question that remains unanswered is how exactly solar panels like this would interact with their environment. For example, it’s likely that they would accumulate biomatter that could hinder their operation, potentially requiring regular cleaning in order to remain fully functional. After all, the sunlight that will power these cells could also promote the growth of plants and animals — a process known as biofouling.

Still, the research seems to have potential. As the authors noted, “This work paves the way for the practical deployment of perovskite photovoltaics in underwater environments, offering a promising route toward self-sustained marine energy systems and autonomous underwater devices.”

• 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.

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

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.

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.

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Fitness & Home Tech categories.

These include smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart gym equipment, air fryers, smart lighting and home security. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• All categories
• Phones & Cameras
• Computing & Gaming
• TV & Audio

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our TV, Streaming and Audio categories.

These include soundbars, projectors, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and earbuds, as well as televisions and streaming services. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• All categories
• Phones & Cameras
• Computing & Gaming
• Fitness & Home Tech

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Computing and Gaming categories.

These include laptops, PC gaming peripherals, console accessories, monitors, gaming services and more. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• All categories
• Phones & Cameras
• TV & Audio
• Fitness & Home Tech

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Phones and Cameras categories.

These include tablets, ereaders, drones and more, as well as various phones and cameras awards. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• All categories
• Computing & Gaming
• TV & Audio
• Fitness & Home Tech

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, ranging from phones to drones, TVs to ereaders, Bluetooth speakers to air fryers.

In for survey below, you can vote in every one of the our categories — but don't worry if you want to just vote in the areas you most care about, we've got you covered. Just below are links to vote in limited areas only, so you don't have to go through all the questions.

The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

• Phones & Cameras
• Computing & Gaming
• TV & Audio
• Fitness & Home Tech

Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

How many products will do the double? We'll be so curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

• US President Donald Trump says he supports Flock’s license plate cameras
• Most Americans oppose the installation of the devices, a survey suggests
• Several police officers have been arrested after abusing Flock tech

Flock’s automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras are continuing to hit the headlines, with the latest controversy being a series of arrests of police officers who were found to be misusing the tech for nefarious purposes. Yet some supportive comments from US President Donald Trump about Flock's cameras and a major new survey show the tech continues to be divisive, rather than unanimously rejected.

After an investigation by USA Today, at least three police officers have been arrested and a fourth was fired after the news outlet “alleged widespread Flock misuse,” which included repeatedly searching for and tracking individual vehicles that were not involved in any criminal activity.

However, it hasn't all been bad news for Flock this week. One significant supporter of the tech appears to be US President Donald Trump — when asked for his opinion on Flock aboard Air Force One, Trump responded that “I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement,” while adding that some people “think it’s an infringement.”

When a reporter suggested that Flock cameras “help catch a lot of criminals,” Trump said “I like them". A new survey, conducted for conducted for Reuters by the global market research and consultant firm Ipsos, also shows that while Flock cameras are broadly unpopular among the American public, there are some differences based on political persuasions.

Strong opposition to Flock

The Reuters survey polled 1,167 adults across the US and found that 47% of those questioned were opposed to the use of Flock cameras in their communities, while 38% were in favor. The remaining 16% said they were unsure.

The majority of Democrats and independents were against the cameras, as were almost all age groups, both male and female respondents, and both those with and without a college degree. However, Republicans and people aged 55 or above came out in favor of the use of Flock.

As for the police officer investigations, USA Today said they've led to at least 22 police officers being “arrested, fired, put on leave or placed under investigation” after they were found to have abused their access to Flock technology.

As a result of one officer in Columbus, Ohio being fired for searching for a single license plate 272 times without adequate reason, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said that the city will pause its use of Flock cameras “Until I can report out to the people of Columbus that this isn’t a more widespread issue, that this really is just one person or a few people misusing and abusing this technology.”

This week, Apple announced its iPhone 18 Pro and something entirely new: the first iPhone foldable in the incredible iPhone Duo.

There was plenty more to catch up on this week, including not one but two Nintendo Directs, and an LG privacy scandal.

To catch up on all this and more, scroll down. But before you read about the news, you might want to try your hand at our quiz on the biggest events of the week.

7. LG TVs were in the privacy doghouse again

LG isn’t exactly a stranger to privacy storms, and it found itself in the middle of another big one this week thanks to a new report that made some big accusations about its TVs.

An investigation by Gamers Nexus and independent security researchers claimed that LG TVs can capture audio even when the screens are off and also monitor your entire home. These findings didn’t exactly sit well with clips of LG executives pitching to advertisers by saying “we own the glass” in reference to its TVs.

LG hit back at the claims, telling us in a statement that “the claims made in the recently published video are not true”. Still, the accusations may leave a bad taste for some, particularly as they come a month after claims (also refuted by LG) that its monitors were installing adware on PCs.

• Read the full story: 'It's extremely creepy': LG TVs collect far more data on you than you'd expect, says new report — but LG hits back, saying the claims made 'are not true'

6. A new ‘brain wearable’ arrived to track our stress

What if you could track your brain and thoughts in the same way that fitness trackers log your heart rate? That’s what a new wave of wearables is promising — and another ‘brain pattern monitor’ arrived this week, before quickly selling out its first batch.

The Atlas 1.0 sits behind your ear and tracks things like your attention span, stress levels and energy burn. In theory, the benefit of understanding these brain patterns is that the Atlas can then connect them to certain triggers — for example, revealing that social media is actually stressing you out rather than relaxing you.

We haven’t tried out this particular brain wearable yet, but our Senior Fitness & Wearables Editor Matt Evans did electrocute his own vagus nerve for a week with Nurosym’s gadget, so we’d certainly be up for the challenge when the Atlas 1.0 is back in stock.

• Read the full story: The Atlas 1.0 Pioneer Edition is a $499 brain scanner that sits behind your ear to measure your stress, attention span and energy — and the first batch has just sold out

5. Sonos debuted an Ultra soundbar

Matt Bolton got to hear the new and upgraded Sonos Beam Ultra soundbar, which sits above the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) in Sonos’ range, but is more affordable than the Sonos Arc Ultra. It promises a 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos sound system from nine built-in speakers, including two upfiring speakers, that’s much bigger, wider and more immersive than Sonos’ existing small soundbar… and based on Matt’s experience so far, it comfortably delivers.

Matt said the way the sound is disconnected from the soundbar is seriously impressive for such a compact box, with sound effects coming from way over at the sides of the room, and voices coming through really clearly, and emanating from the screen, not the box. The bass handling was great as well, despite the lack of a dedicated sub. Is this now the ultimate small soundbar option?

• Read the full story: I heard the Sonos Beam Ultra, and it delivers the most impressive Dolby Atmos sound I've experienced from a compact soundbar

4. Nintendo doubled up Directs

Nintendo treated us to not one, but two Direct livestreams this week — and both caused quite a stir.

The first was devoted to the Legend of Zelda series’s 40th anniversary and gave us our first real look at the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake. Unfortunately, its visuals were immediately divisive, with some online commenters comparing the more “realistic” direction to Nvidia’s widely mocked DLSS 5.

On a more positive note, a new Nintendo Switch 2 model inspired by the franchise was also revealed, and it already seems like it’s going to be a big hit with pre-orders flying off digital shelves.

The second Direct came one day later and focused on more general Switch and Switch 2 software news. Major announcements included the reveal of a new Metroid game, tantalizingly titled Metroid Ravenous, and free updates for Star Fox and Mario Kart World that introduce new content delighting fans.

• Read the full story: Everything announced at Nintendo Direct — from a new 2D Metroid game to a surprise Mario Kart World update, and massive Kirby reveal

3. Apple announced more than iPhones

Apple’s iPhones may have taken center stage, but some other gadgets also featured in its showcase: two new Apple Watches and the AirPods 5.

Apple’s earbuds were a fairly standard affair. The company promises better noise cancellation, a more comfortable fit, and the premium pair that comes with a wireless charging case also boasts on-AirPods volume controls — because, of course, a standard feature on other wireless earbuds is sold at a markup.

As for the Watches (Series 12 and Ultra 4), any upgrades were overshadowed by some new Siri tools. Conversation rewind will let you read a recap of the last 15 seconds of conversation, and it’s being billed as useful accessibility for folks who are hard of hearing. Meanwhile, Siri Recaps will see your Watch listen in on your day’s conversations to create a recap at the very end of the key details you heard in a quick summary. Apple has promised there are plenty of privacy protections, and that no recordings are stored, but it has some worried the ongoing wearable privacy debate is going in the wrong direction.

Read the full story: Thanks to Siri Recaps, your Apple Watch is always listening as you go about your day

2. Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro landed

The iPhone 18 Pro boasts many of the expected changes we’ve come to expect: an improved (A20 Pro) chipset, enhanced AI capabilities, a longer 36-hour battery life, and a few new color options (Silver returns, but it also comes in Black, Glacier, and Burgundy).

Our favorite new feature, however, is the arrival of variable aperture. Most phones boast a set aperture size, which determines how much light the lens can receive, and it usually has to compromise between maximizing nighttime quality (which wants a more open aperture) and depth of field (which wants a more closed aperture). Software trickery can help, but Apple’s mechanical approach means your iPhone 18 Pro can automatically swap to the setting that’s best for the current conditions and your photo needs — and pros can also manually control the setting if they want.

As expected based on leaks, but perhaps surprising to the non-Apple-obsessed, there was no iPhone 18. Instead, all of Apple’s older iPhone 17-series devices got a price hike.

• Read the full story: I just tried the iPhone 18 Pro — and Apple gave me two surprisingly good reasons to upgrade

1. We unfolded the iPhone Duo

Let’s round things off with a tech story you definitely didn’t miss this week: the debut of Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo.

Originally thought to be called the iPhone Ultra, the Duo boasts a similar passport-style shape to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, but it’s a distinct foldable product in a few key ways. Two of its corners are rounded, meaning the phone’s 7.6-inch inner screen unfolds into an almost iPad mini-like shape; Apple opted to use Touch ID rather than Face ID, so there’s no visible inner-display camera; it sports a Galaxy-beating IP68 durability rating; and there’s a gorgeous open and close animation that passes across the screen when you’re switching between folded and unfolded states.

Of course, there are question marks. The Duo only packs two rear cameras; it’s both thicker and heavier than the Z Fold 8; and, of course, it’s the most expensive iPhone ever released. But, in recent memory, it’s hard to think of a more hype-inducing consumer tech product than this. We’ve been hands-on with the iPhone Duo, and our full review is coming soon.

• Read the full story: I just touched the iPhone Duo and Apple just solved the foldable crease problem in the most wonderfully basic way

What a busy week it's been in the world of tech! While we all thought Apple would dominate the news cycle with its new lineup of smartwatches, earbuds, and phones (including its first-ever foldable), it was Nintendo and Rockstar who proved to be even more popular with preorders for its upcoming hardware.

I won't say more, as it'll spoil the puzzle below, so I'll just leave you to it. Enjoy!

So, yes, it's been a good week for fans of Zelda and Grand Theft Auto who love to grow their collection of related tech and memorabilia. I've spent most of my week with the gaming team helping them (and you) hunt down the latest stock and availability. If you we're trying to get any of the hardware, I hope you were able to — it was a bit chaotic.

It reminded me of my days around the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X when we desperately searching for any consoles to buy. It was a nightmare at the time, but looking back, it was so satisfying learning when and how each retailer restocked, and finally finding consoles for friends or people that had been searching for ages.

It is less fun that the experience of buying almost anything like this online now is generally unpleasant. So much refreshing and queueing, and so many last-minute error messages that make the whole thing ten times more stressful than it really needs to be.

And then when you see super-inflated listing at three times the price on eBay you just feel so deflated. Hopefully our coverage was able to get these limited edition controllers and consoles into the hands of real fans — and you can enjoy them fully when they arrive later this year.

• Part of Flock's software interface has been made public
• There are various AI-powered search tools available to police officers
• The system includes warnings about potential mistakes

Flock is battling a growing backlash against its network of license plate readers and cameras — with some 120,000 or so installed across the US — amid questions over how the technology can be misused and the privacy implications for citizens.

Now reporters at Wired have managed to reverse engineer part of the Flock software interface based on the code that's delivered to police officers in a browser, giving the public an unprecedented insight into how this system actually works.

There are search tools for vehicle types, colors, and features for example, and a 'free form' query option that can look for pretty much anything passing through the video frame — although this needs a full video camera, not a license plate reader.

Wired also found an "AI-powered watch list" tool, where part of a city can be marked for continuous surveillance via video camera until a person fitting a specific description is spotted. This could be something as simple as "person wearing scrubs" for example.

'You are responsible'

While there are warnings on the Flock software that AI can make mistakes, much as there are at the bottom of Gemini and ChatGPT conversations, there's no real way of spotting inaccurate information or judging how inaccurate it might be.

Officers do have the option rank search results based on how relevant and accurate they are, feedback data which is then used to refine the results page further. Meanwhile, there are blocks on some search terms, including those related to race, ethnicity, and religion.

"You are responsible for your searches and agree not to use the tool in illegal, harmful, or abusive ways," runs the agreement screen that appears before the Flock software is accessed. "All queries and metadata are recorded for security and auditing purposes."

Flock has been responding to concerns over the misuse of its network — by limiting the time data is held on file for, for example. However, it has more to do to convince both state authorities and the public that its systems are only deployed for legitimate uses.

• A new study analyzes the impact of a 2025 solar storm
• GPS systems were knocked off course by up to 10 meters (33 feet)
• Experts are working on better modeling and prediction

You may not think about it, but Earth is under a constant bombardment of solar radiation shooting through space. While our planet's magnetic field does an excellent job of blocking it, sometimes concentrated bursts of radiation known as solar flares are strong enough to interfere with our ground infrastructure via secondary magnetic field ripples.

Writing in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers from the US have documented the damage done by a solar 'superstorm' that erupted from the Sun on November 11, 2025. It hit the maximum level on the scale used to measure these storms, causing an unprecedented level of disruption in Earth's upper atmosphere (the ionosphere).

The storm's effects were also unusually widespread, the researchers report, stretching coast to coast across the US for hours. It threw GPS positioning systems off by as much as 10 meters (33 feet) in some areas, and interrupted satellite communications.

Given that GPS errors of just 1-2 meters (3.3-6.6 feet) can cause "catastrophic issues for precision agriculture and autonomous vehicles", the researchers state, this is serious interference. However, the study doesn't go into any specific detail of incidents with self-driving cars or farming machinery.

Potential damage and harms

The researchers are mainly concerned with the scientific aspects of the storm, but do point out that if the event had happened during the main farming season months, the damage could have been much worse. A May 2024 solar storm was estimated to have cost the US agriculture industry around $500 million (£386 million / AU$695 million).

For people, the risk of direct health harms is minimal – though if you're in an airplane and up close to the ionosphere, you might expect to experience bursts of radiation that are equivalent to several X-ray scans. On the plus side, these incidents come with vibrant auroras across the northern and southern poles.

As we can't shut down the Sun, the best way to protect our infrastructure and tech systems from these storms is to improve scientific prediction models, and upgrade hardware protections, which is what the study team emphasizes.

"The results underscore the importance of accurate understanding of various space weather phenomena to enhance our predictive capabilities through coordinated observations and physics-based modeling and ultimately reducing disruptions to RF applications during space weather events," write the researchers.

At TechRadar this weekend we've got one eye on the best Labor Day sales that you can pick up — with big discounts on offer on tech and so much more — and another eye on the week that just finished, which was as hectic as most weeks in technology tend to be.

We had a host of new products on show at the IFA 2026 tech event in Berlin, OpenAI dropping its best ChatGPT model yet and declaring the age of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and Dyson bringing out its first toothbrush. Oh, and we also made time to review the Pixel 11 Pro and have an exclusive chat with Sonos CEO Tom Conrad.

You'll find all that and more in our ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) round-up below — our pick of the best tech headlines on our pages over the past week. Enjoy catching up!

7. The 'Lake America' saga hit Google and Apple

The Trump administration has decided that Lake Ontario on the US-Canada border should be called Lake America, after some 400 years or so (and a few trade spats with Canada). Google Maps and eventually Apple Maps went along with the change, stressing that it was just their policy to use government data — but MapQuest has been standing firm so far.

While Canadians still see 'Lake Ontario' on their maps, and international maps users see both names together, the acquiescence of the mapping companies hasn't gone down well with commenters online. "Beyond ridiculous" and "braindead" are just a couple of the comments left in a Reddit thread on the name change rolled out in Google Maps.

• Read the full story: 'Beyond ridiculous': if you're seeing Lake Ontario renamed as Lake America on Google Maps, here's why

6. IKEA revealed its first smart radiator thermostat

IKEA has made a concerted effort to push out simple, affordable, reliable smart home gear in recent months, and the Liljebagge is the latest in the series to appear. It fastens to your radiator and can be used to control its temperature independently, either through a connected phone app or via the buttons placed on the actual thermostat itself.

With Matter and Thread support, this looks like another appealing gadget from IKEA, though we don't yet know about international availability and pricing. Hopefully this device goes on sale worldwide before too long — and we'd like to see IKEA continue to compete with the big names in tech when it comes to sensibly priced smart home kit.

• Read the full story: IKEA launches its first smart radiator thermostat, with Matter support and an impressively affordable price

5. We reviewed the Google Pixel 11 Pro

TechRadar's Jason Cipriani has spent a week testing out the new Pixel 11 Pro from Google, and he's ready to share his thoughts: his in-depth review covers the core specs and pricing of the phone, and its design, display quality, performance, software, cameras, and battery life. You'll be hard pushed to find a more thorough review anywhere else on the web.

You'll have to click through to get the final verdict, but phrases like "enticing to potential iPhone converts" and "truly magical" (in regard to one specific AI feature) give you an idea of the way the review leans. It's now been a decade since Google switched the Nexus branding for the Pixel branding, and all of that experience is starting to really show.

• Read the full story: I spent a week with the Google Pixel 11 Pro, and I think Google has perfected the Pixel formula

4. Sonos exclusively talked to us about its new Ultra products

Sonos CEO Tom Conrad is the man in charge of trying to turn the company's fortunes around after the software debacles of the last couple of years, and he was kind enough to give his time to TechRadar for an exclusive chat about new hardware and a new AI-infused 'operating system' that runs seamlessly across all the products in the Sonos portfolio.

There are new Ace Ultra headphones and a new Beam Ultra soundbar to talk about, and based on early impressions, it seems as though Sonos is getting back to what it does best — making high-end audio equipment that's as good as anything else you'll find on the premium market. Find out what Conrad has to say about his first year in charge below.

• Read the full story: Exclusive: Sonos CEO Tom Conrad explains why the new Sonos Ace Ultra headphones can achieve what fans wanted the first Ace to do, why its new Ultra soundbar is small, and the AI features of the company's new 'operating system'

3. We reviewed Dyson’s 'game-changing' toothbrush

Dyson just entered the smart toothbrush category, and it's not messing about: the Dyson CameraJet offers deep teeth cleaning, liquid flossing, and oral hygiene guidance in a complete package. There's even a camera on board this toothbrush, so you can get feedback on how well (or otherwise) you're managing to clear the grime from your mouth.

We've already given the Dyson CameraJet toothbrush the in-depth TechRadar review treatment, so we can tell you honestly whether it's worth your while picking up this (rather expensive) gadget and sticking it in your mouth — read on to find out why we described it as a "a unique and effective solution" for keeping your precious teeth in top shape.

• Read the full story: Dyson CameraJet review: This game-changing toothbrush offers liquid flossing, precision-brushing and a camera that doubles as a dental endoscope — I tried it for a week

2. We went to IFA 2026 and picked our favorite gadgets

There's always so much great tech to see at the IFA 2026 tech show that takes place every year in Berlin. To help cut through the thousands of brands and products being exhibited to the very best gadgets, we've put together a list of our favorite reveals. You'll find projectors, exoskeletons, e-readers, AI recorders, laptops, tablets, and more listed here.

While a lot of these listed products won't be available to buy for a month or three, they give us plenty to look forward to for the rest of the year, and act as indicators of where the technology industry is going next. In summary, everything is getting smarter, thinner, and lighter, and there's never been a better time to be a fan of cutting-edge technology.

• Read the full story: IFA 2026 'Best in Show' awards: our 25 favorite reveals at the Berlin tech expo, from somersaulting robots to modular solar batteries for renters

1. OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra and said 'welcome to the AGI era'

OpenAI has announced the new GPT-6 Astra model for ChatGPT, and it comes with a lot of hype attached. According to the company, this is a "significant step forward" for AI, which is now reaching an "extremely capable" stage that apparently can't be fully understood. At the same time, OpenAI's president Greg Brockman is saying "welcome to the AGI era".

AGI is a reference to Artificial General Intelligence, a point at which AI gets smarter than humans and can do just about everything better than we can — although there's plenty of debate around the definition. Our take? We perhaps need to be more cautious about developing these AI models if it means a high risk of them escaping our control.

• Read the full story: GPT-6 is here, but what if we just said 'no thanks' to Astra, a model so powerful that we may never fully understand it

Due to a combination of a Gamescom trip, illness, and holiday, I'm sorry that there wasn't a crossword last week. I'm here to get things back on schedule now, though, with another of our regular little brainteasers. Enjoy!

This should be a fairly easy one to get things going again. Hopefully my setting skills haven't got too rusty in the last couple of weeks!

I did have a good time going back to Gamescom for the first time in about eight years to see something that's included in this week's puzzle — no spoilers if you're reading this first.

Outside of maybe Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, which got a much bigger reveal and an all-important release date announcement this week instead of at Gamescom, it felt like a fairly quiet event in terms of big news. Perhaps everyone is still nervous about being in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto 6, which is also getting the classic limited-edition DualSense treatment ahead of release.

Anyway, I best stop before I disappear into a rabbit hole of gaming yet again. Enjoy the puzzle!

IFA, Berlin's huge annual tech expo, is where some of the biggest tech firms unveil their latest innovations — and this year is one of the strongest we've seen in a long time for interesting new releases.

IFA is a great place to find fascinating new gadgets and devices, ranging from next-gen AR glasses to self-driving personal mobility vehicles, and from weird new kitchen appliances to armies of humanoid robots.

We've chosen the top products from those that were nominated for our IFA 2026 'Best in Show' awards to produce this list of our 25 winners, based on how innovative they are, how well they serve their intended use, and the degree to which we think they'll influence their area of the tech market.

There were many more products that we really liked, of course, but we had to be ruthless — here are our top picks from IFA 2026.

Anker Soundcore Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro

The best technology delivers real-world benefits, and what could be more beneficial than a good night's sleep? The Soundcore Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro use in-ear PPG optical sensors to monitor your heartrate, which is more accurate than other optical tracking methods thanks to the rich capillaries and stable position of your ear canal. That monitoring delivers data to the smart-screen, phone-free SleepHub charging case.

The Sleep Earbuds Pro feature passive isolation as well as 30dB active noise cancelling, and the case-based snore monitoring system detects and masks the sound of your partner snoring using its built-in sounds. Despite the addition of multiple new components the housing is thinner than previous generations, and even more comfortable for side sleepers.

Anker's BioSync dynamic audio system monitors relaxation in real time, dynamically adjusting the audio content and structure to help you find the most effective sleep sounds. Sleep earbuds are something that can truly improve your health and happiness by improving your sleep, and these look like a really smart upgrade.

Agibot A3

Agibot is doing some amazing things with humanoid robots, and the full-sized Agibot A3 combines multiple capabilities in a lightweight, extremely dynamic model: if you're assembling a robot dance troupe or planning a big exhibition, the A3's the bot to buy.

The A3 weighs just 55kg, has a power-to-weight ratio of 0.218kW/kg, and delivers up to 12kW of instant peak power, enabling it to somersault. Its battery runs for up to 10 hours and is hot-swappable in seconds, so it's great for applications where it needs to last all day. It'll happily fit in an SUV for travel, too.

In addition to voice and app control, the A3 delivers industry-first touch sensing that adds physical interaction to its controls. It also has a 360-degree multi-array mic system for accurate voice recognition, even in noisy environments.

One of the most exciting features of the A3 is its large-scale swarm co-ordination, which uses precise UWB positioning to enable performances by up to 100 individual robots. That makes it possible to create very complex, high-impact performances for big events, as well as enabling multiple units to work smartly in environments such as factories or warehouses. The awareness and the uptime make this a great new approach to robotics.

Hypershell X Ultra S

The Hypershell X Ultra S exoskeleton helped mountaineer Adriana Brownlee in -30C temperatures on Mount Everest, supported athlete Aurélien Fontenoy's 4,037km Route 66 journey while recovering from injury, and is currently being trialed by search and rescue organizations worldwide.

Before Hypershell, exoskeletons cost $100,000 and above; the same capabilities are now available to consumers for less than $2,000, in a device weighing under 2kg.

The X Ultra S is an end-to-end AI motion-control system that uses an AI model to transform raw sensor data directly into motor torque, enabling faster response, smoother adaptation, and more natural human-machine synchronization.

There are 12 active modes, including walking, cycling and running, and a new Gentle Assist mode for older adults and users with short or shuffling strides. Fitness Mode adds resistance, turning a walk into a workout.

But it's the price that won us over here — this could be a game changer for getting people with limited mobility out and doing more things that they love, from hiking to just visiting the local stores.

JMGO IRIS Ultra Max

The IRIS Ultra Max is one of the world’s first true 4K 120Hz flagship smart projectors, delivering native 4K (rather than pixel-shifted) at 120Hz from input to output, all from its very compact case.

The Ultra Max's dual iris system has 6+9 blades, the highest count in its class, which promises to improve stray light suppression by 11.34% for a more accurate picture, while delivering class-leading contrast, with a quoted ration of 10,000:1. The MALC 6.0 Triple-Laser Engine delivers an impressive 6,500 ISO lumens of brightness, making it more visible in more lighting conditions, and with a promised ability to recreate 110% of the BT.2020 color space, with an astounding color accuracy of delta-E of 0.7, meaning it's truly capable of pro-level color range and accuracy.

The IRIS Ultra Max also introduces an industry-first 3-in-1 Optical System that integrates 0.88–1.7:1 Optical Zoom, Four-Way Lens Shift (V ±130%, H ±53%), and an AI-Powered Gimbal (360° H, 150° V) into a unified projection architecture. This makes it more more flexible than traditional projectors to positioning, because it has so many different options for correcting its picture. It gives small home theater setups top-tier performance without compromise.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

Designed for vloggers and movie-makers alike, the Osmo Pocket 4P is the world’s first dual-lens pocket gimbal camera. It delivers cinema-grade imaging in a pocket-friendly form, and features DJI's Academy Award-winning Ronin stabilization.

The main lens is a wide-angle 20mm equivalent with an f/2.0 aperture, and a new 1-inch CMOS sensor that offers 17 stops of dynamic range and over one billion colors via DJI's new 10-bit D-Log 2 color profile.

That's supplemented with a 60mm medium-tele portrait lens, which gives you 3x optical zoom and up to 12x digital zoom. Its f/1.8 aperture is particularly good for creating bokeh effects by compressing the background and pulling it closer to the subject.

The Osmo Pocket 4P also features the latest version of DJI's ActiveTrack, which uses AI algorithms to maintain tracking lock at up to 12x zoom. It can actively track up to eight people, framing groups and centering anyone new who steps into the field of view.

RayNeo GT Max AR Glasses

The RayNeo GT Max AR Glasses are the world's first AR glasses to support Dolby Vision playback as part of creating a virtual cinema experience. They deliver up to 1,200 nits of perceived brightness, a 120Hz refresh rate, and real-time SDR to HDR conversion for super-clear images, too. Their optical system is 29% thinner and lighter than traditional designs, and delivers an industry-leading 59-degree field of view.

One of our favorite features is the adjustable virtual screen sizes, with a choice of 227 inches, 267 inches or 307 inches. That's clever: the tighter size is ideal for spreadsheets and productivity apps if you're using them as a display for a phone or laptop, while the larger sizes deliver immersive gaming and video.

Steady, Pinned and Follow modes enable you to anchor the screen or have it move with you, and 3DoF spatial tracking maintains the screen position without straining your eyes, and keeps subtitles, taskbars and image edges within the viewing area as you move. These look like the most advanced way to take a screen with you everywhere, and they could be indispensable for long flights.

TCL P80 Ultra

If you spend as much time on your phone as we do, you'll be blown away by the screen of the TCL P80 Ultra. It's the first phone to integrate NXTPAPER eye-comfort technology, with a 1.5K sharp AMOLED display for reflection-free reading even in bright sunlight, and a button that instantly turns your P80 Ultra into an e-reader with paper-like viewing.

The P80 Ultra has nano-etched anti-glare glass, eliminating surface reflections without reducing brightness. It also features circular polarized light technology, which changes the light output to more closely replicate the characteristics of natural light, and flicker-free dimming.

The camera's pretty special too. It's a 50MP 3x periscope telephoto lens with a 50MP 1/1.56-inch large-format sensor, capturing more light per pixel than smaller sensors and enabling 6x lossless zoom. Image stabilization eliminates motion blur in photos and video, and TCL's MuseFilm filters promise cinematic-quality images. But it's the groundbreaking display that really won us over — a lot of people will find it much kinder on the eyes.

Lenovo ThinkBook 14x Gen 2

Lenovo's ultra-light laptop makes even ultraportables look positively porky: at just 2.18lbs / 990g and just 12.9mm thick it's one of the lightest and thinnest laptops around, making it ideal for business travelers and students alike — especially if you opt for the backlit keyboard, which is really helpful in dimly lit rooms and airplanes.

Lenovo has somehow managed to give the ThinkBook 14x the super-thin treatment without sacrificing connectivity, so in addition to its Wi-Fi 7 it features two 10Gbps USB-C ports, two 5Gbps USB-A ports and an HDMI 2.1 port, so there's no need to haul a hub around with you. It also has a spare M.2 slot that enables you to expand its storage, which makes this a solid long-term investment.

The ThinkBook 14x Gen 2 is also one of the most customizable ultraportables, powered by Intel Core 7 (Series 3) processors and with display options including vivid OLED and touchscreen LCD. It's good-looking too, with a choice of metallic finishes including Luna Gray, Celestial White, Mystic Violet and Veil Blue.

EarFun Wave Pro X

EarFun's headphones consistently deliver premium performance without the premium price tag, and the Wave Pro X are the brand's best yet. They feature a patented dual-driver system that places a 40mm diamond-like carbon driver and a 10mm liquid crystal polymer driver on a precisely aligned axis, creating a more natural and detailed sound than you typically get from multi-driver designs.

The Wave Pro X feature an 8-mic AI system that continuously optimizes the hybrid ANC system, even in wired AUX mode, and the Qualcomm QCC3095 chipset delivers Bluetooth 6.0, aptX Lossless, LDAC, USB Audio and Auracast. Add AI translation and up to 90 hours of battery life to the mix and you've got a truly excellent pair of headphones — EarFun has been working on these for a long time, and even delayed them in order to get the tuning just right.

Urevo CyberPad 3

The CyberPad 3 is a home/office treadmill that's designed differently to traditional models. Its WalkFree Adaptive Speed Control uses pressure sensors built into the running board, which detect your stepping motion to automatically start and stop operation; when you're walking or running it takes data from the motor to calculate speed adjustments in real time.

Its multi-user support is smart too, capturing raw weight and stride-rate data to generate a structured user profile that's directly linked to the speed-control algorithm.

The support structure is made from Q235 steel with a side frame of die-cast aluminum, and it utilizes a redesigned transmission path to deliver an exceptionally compact construction: the ultra-slim body is under 11cm thick. Despite its small size it features a 15% incline-lift mechanism and a 42cm running belt, with its size based on analysis of human shoulder widths.

Plaud One

Plaud One is a wearable AI companion that combines three key features that are usually separate: wearable conversation capture, context that builds across day-to-day conversations, and AI that can analyze data and take appropriate action. It can capture online meetings, and face-to-face discussions and phone calls, and it has built-in eSIM and 4G LTE for phone-free operation.

What makes Plaud One different is that it understands context. Instead of treating each recording as a standalone transcript, it can retain context across multiple discussions — so a conversation from one meeting can be connected to a later conversation or call.

That understanding enables the Plaud Agent to help you take action, identifying next steps and completing tasks across tools such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack.

Minisforum MS-S1 Max-P495

The MS-S1 Max-P495 delivers large-model AI computing from an exceptionally small footprint with a very high specification. It combines AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 with up to 192GB of unified memory to run 128B+ LLMs locally, delivering up to 126 TOPS, and its unified memory architecture eliminates VRAM bottlenecks while also reducing latency.

That power is cooled by a high-performance thermal solution featuring a copper base, six heat pipes, dual fans and phase-change cooling, and it's encased in a fully scalable design, with a slide-out chassis for easy upgrading and a rack-ready form factor.

With 4x PCIe expansion, dual 10Gb Ethernet, dual 40Gbps USB4 v2, Wi-Fi 7, and a built-in 320W PSU, the MS-S1 Max-P495 delivers future-proof power for desktop systems and scalable AI clusters alike — it's a mind-blowing beast made to meet a new kind of research and development need.

XPPen Magic Pro 13

XPPen's Magic Pro 13 is a mobile drawing pad designed for creative pros, featuring an industry-first hardware-level drawing display mode that delivers low latency, native color output and higher bandwidth video transmission over a simple one-cable connection, giving you a paper-like experience with 16K pressure sensitivity and cursor hover support.

It's the first drawing pad in its category to come with dual-USB support, enabling you to benefit from a high-speed data connection while charging your Magic Pro 13.

The Magic Pro 13 features the new Shelf digital asset management system and XPPen's Canvas software, designed to deliver a simple and intuitive sketching experience for capturing ideas when inspiration strikes. And for creatives on the move it offers two thermal management modes, balancing performance and energy efficiency based on different creative scenarios.

Strutt ev1c

Strutt's ev1c reimagines the power chair with three major advancements: Strutt's evSense sensing array, a quad-drive drivetrain, and a modular, connected design.

eVSense uses two LiDARs, 10 time-of-flight sensors, six ultrasonics and two cameras to create 3D maps in real time, powering the Co-Pilot collision avoidance for people, pets, and edges, and the Auto-Pilot, which enables you to select on-screen destinations, or use LLM-powered voice commands such as "Take me to the kitchen" — basically it's a self-driving personal mobility vehicle.

The drivetrain features four-wheel independent suspension, ABS, active steering, and an integrated electronic stability program (ESP), safely managing 13-degree slopes, cobblestones and rough terrain without slippage or tipping. And when it's time to travel, it breaks down into five modules for easy trunk storage. It looks like a genuine move forward for this kind of mobility device.

xTool M2 Color Craft Laser

The xTool M2 is the first desktop machine to combine full-color CMYK printing, laser engraving and laser cutting into one enclosed Class 1 system, delivering a full print-then-cut workflow. Simply print your full-color design onto a piece of wood, leather or acrylic, and the xTool M2 Color Craft Laser cuts or engraves the exact contour with camera-guided precision. And there's a built-in air-assist pump, an industry first for a semiconductor laser, that keeps cut edges clean by reducing carbonization and yellowing.

Having these three capabilities in a single device is a huge power-up: instead of having to print on one machine and engrave or cut on another, you can turn your raw idea into a finished, professional-looking product in a single operation. It's ideal for stickers, labels, signage, personalized gifts, and small-batch products — you could start a whole business with this one device. And because it's an enclosed system, it's also very safe.

Perlegear AX1 Smart Adaptive Mount

The Perlegear AX1 Smart Adaptive Mount answers an interesting question: what if your TV mount was as smart as your TV? The AX1 is an AI-powered, motorized TV mount that can automatically adjust the height of your TV to different viewing positions, so for example you might have it low for solo TV watching, but raised for watching sports with friends, or for following an on-screen fitness app or motion-based game.

The AX1 is controllable via gesture commands, its mobile app, via remote control, or via Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri. It can distinguish between single- and multi-person viewing, with the latter calculating the best screen height for the group, and it's capable of moving a 200-pound / 90kg TV up to 15.7 inches / 400mm vertically, with real-time obstacle detection that stops and reverses the move if the path is blocked.

Speediance Gym Monster 3

The brilliantly named Gym Monster 3 delivers serious strength training for home workouts, combining the experience of a Smith machine, barbell, dumbbells, cable machine, rowing machine, pulley system, and squat rack into one streamlined setup with up to 200lbs / 90kg of intelligent digital resistance.

Twin 800W direct-drive motors deliver smooth, consistent resistance through every rep, and it's adjustable in one-pound / 0.45kg increments, so you can progress at your own pace, rather than make big jumps you might not be ready for.

The Gym Monster 3 is controlled via a clever Bluetooth Ring Control that enables you to make adjustments without stepping away or breaking your flow, and it features four dedicated training modes: Standard, Chain, Eccentric, and Fixed Speed. It also features a built-in AI coach that can guide you from your first session onwards.

Midea GreenApex Dishwasher

The humble dishwasher hasn't changed much since Josephine Cochrane's 1886 invention went electric in the late 1920s and gained spray arms in the 1950s. But the Midea GreenApex is very different from traditional grease-busters. It's a dual heat-pump system that uses a single coordinated heat pump platform to deliver washing, rapid drying, and dry storage in a single appliance.

The GreenApex is 50% more energy efficient than conventional dishwashers, delivers 30-minute rapid drying and 168 hours of dry storage without continued system operation, and offers gentle heat-pump drying at around 45°C, so you don't need to worry about high temperatures damaging more delicate items. It feels like a major leap forward for an appliance type that doesn't often have the phrase 'cutting-edge' associated with it.

Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra

The Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra Security Camera features an innovative, decoupled dual-lens tracking system in which the individual lenses operate fully independently of one another. Unlike in other dual-lens or hybrid zoom security cameras, the two lenses here are not mechanically linked, so the fixed 130-degree 4K wide-angle lens never moves, while the telephoto camera is free to rotate anywhere, including to cover areas outside the field of view of the main lens.

This means that when the 4K camera's on-device AI spots a person, vehicle or animal, it triggers the pan-tilt camera to lock onto and follow that subject even after they exit the wide camera's field of view — but you don't lose any recording from the wide camera's view during that time.

You can also use the wide-angle view to redirect the pan-tilt camera to a particular location by simply tapping that point in the live camera view, or have the wide camera and the pan-tilt camera monitoring two distinct locations, such as your driveway and a side gate.

Navimow H510 Pro

The Navimow H510 Pro features four key innovations: precise edge finishing, zero-turn steering, adaptive mowing intelligence, and 3D modelling.

Rather than edging with a trimmer line, which can be noisy and cause minor damage, the H510 Pro has an extendable robot arm that performs zero-gap edging quietly and safely — it's the most interesting and smart version of this technology that we've seen.

The all-wheel-drive system protects your turf too, with a zero-steering system that avoids dragging the wheels across the grass during lateral turns. And the Adaptive Mowing Intelligence feature analyzes grass growth patterns to determine the optimal mowing frequency, using the 1/3 cutting rule to preserve lawn health.

With 3D terrain modeling rather than the industry-standard 2D, and a sensor array including infrared as well as LiDAR and vision for low-light reliability, and triple-sensor avoidance to protect wildlife, the H510 is a smart solution for even the most challenging lawns.

DJI Romo 2 Series

The Romo 2 Series is a robot vacuum that won't be defeated by obstacles such as deep rugs, sliding door tracks and other barriers. That's because it has robotic legs that can step over obstacles as high as 4cm, and double-step thresholds up to an impressive 8.5cm.

It also features a built-in LiDAR-guided ultra-wide-swing robotic arm to extend the mop's reach, and its powerful suction system features an automatically lowering plate that forms a semi-seal on carpet for better extraction of dust and allergens.

The Romo 2 Series also benefits from the tech of DJI's flagship drones, with a Structured Light-Speckle projector and dual fish-eye vision sensors for full 3D depth perception. It can detect items such as cables and training pads as thin as 2mm, and its AI can distinguish between debris and liquid, as well as deal with transparent obstacles such as glass doors and mirrors.

Acer Vero 16

With so many laptops sacrificing easy maintenance and repairability for super-skinny styling, the Acer Vero 16 is a breath of fresh air. While it doesn't skimp on style or power — it's highly portable, delivers up to 180 platform TOPS with an Intel Core Ultra X9 processor 388H, and can be configured with a stunning 16-inch 3K OLED display — it's made with longevity in mind.

A tool-free latch provides easy access to the Vero's innards, and the battery and SSD are replaceable, while the system is designed to support the next two generations of processors if you want to upgrade. Fully 70% of the chassis consists of a blend of PCR (post-consumer recycled) and bio-based oyster shell material, and it meets US military standards for toughness. This is a laptop that's built to last, in a way that's rare to see — and very welcome.

Asus ProArt GR1X

The Asus ProArt GR1X is tiny, measuring just 150 x 150 x 51mm. But there's nothing small about its specification. Designed for advanced content creation and local AI workflows, it delivers data center-class compute inside a mini PC, removing the need to run LLMs remotely while eliminating cloud latency, cost, and IP protection concerns for pro creators.

The ProArt GR1X features the groundbreaking Nvidia RTX Spark 'superchip', which means you get a 20-core Grace CPU and a 6,144-core Blackwell GPU, delivering up to one petaflop of FP4 AI inference performance. With up to 128GB of LPDDR5X unified memory at 9,400MHz, it enables you to run up to 120B-parameter LLMs locally, and render entire 3D scenes on-device in Windows 11.

That kind of power demands highly efficient cooling, and Asus has developed an advanced precision-cooling system that delivers 1.6x more efficient thermal coverage than standard compact systems. Asus also solved the challenge of metal-enclosure signal attenuation by embedding the Wi-Fi 7 antennas behind a glass-like signal-transparent material. It's quite the design coup, and an impressive showcase for Nvidia's new elite chip.

EcoFlow STREAM 5000 / STREAM AC 5000

The EcoFlow Stream series is a plug-and-play modular system for residential solar energy generation and storage that's designed to be renter- and apartment-friendly. It can add battery storage and smart power-management to existing solar PV installations, as well as being employed to create a new home system from scratch.

The Stream Series features EcoFlow's Oasis 3.0 home energy management system, which understands dynamic energy tariffs, keeps an eye on the weather forecast, and continuously analyzes your home energy needs to optimize generation, storage and consumption.

That means you can give the EcoBot AI agent instructions such as "I need my car charged by 7am tomorrow at the lowest possible cost" and it will implement the necessary steps, or have your energy schedules reconfigured automatically when you have visitors or other instances of increased demand.

From October the EcoFlow Stream series will also get a new feature: Local Mode, which gives you uninterrupted operation and local app control even if there are cloud or connectivity outages. It's a very powerful (no pun intended) system that's been designed with the real world in mind.

Tapo D260

The Tapo D260 wired/wireless security camera is a video doorbell that delivers all the benefits of high-spec security without the potential downsides: it stores facial recognition data locally to protect privacy, and no features are locked behind a subscription. It's advanced, yet totally cost-free once you buy it.

It has 4K resolution, a wide 180-degree field of view to cover the entire doorway, and delivers sharp detail in subjects up to 30 feet away.

The D260 features multiple intelligent detection and recognition features, including radar as well as the obligatory infrared motion sensor. These enable it to discount false alerts from things such as moving branches or passing headlights, while on-device AI can recognize people, packages, vehicles, and animals.

If you wish, you can opt in to build a library of family and friends using facial recognition, and there's even a voice changer to disguise your voice when speaking to unfamiliar callers. In a world where people are sick of subscriptions, this offers a great security upgrade without the monthly fee.

We're a bunch of gadget obsessives here at TechRadar, so we appreciate that your phone's home screen is premium real estate. But if you're a TechRadar reader, you're going to want to find room on that home screen for our new app.

That's right, TechRadar now has an app! We've been working hard to bring you a new way to enjoy our content, with useful features that will enable you to enjoy a more personalized experience.

These new features have been designed to make it easy for you to stay up to date when you're on the go, from finding new ways to discover stories to letting you save articles to read later.

We'll be looking to add more features as we grow, so don't be shy about telling us what you think about the TechRadar app, which you can do by emailing the team, or by leaving us a comment below.

How to download the TechRadar app

You can find us in the App Store and Google Play simply by searching 'TechRadar'. Look for our distinctive pink radar logo and you'll know it's the right app.

The best part? It's completely FREE to download, though you'll need a free account to read unlimited articles — you can only read five articles without signing in. To unlock the full experience, you can create a free account directly in the app.

By creating an account, you'll also automatically unlock membership and become an official TechRadar Insider, giving you the ability to comment on articles, vote in polls, play quizzes and more.

Prefer a cleaner experience? You can subscribe to our ad-free version for $1.99 / £1.99 a month or $19.99 / £19.99 annually — it's a great way to support our work.

New useful features to explore

• Save articles to your bookmarks to easily read later
• Personalize your feed to follow the topics you’re most interested in
• Find what you’re looking for fast with a search tool
• Turn on push notifications to stay updated with breaking tech news

Now that you're all set up, you should have full access to the TechRadar app, which is essentially everything you love about our site available in app form, and with new features.

The home page works just as it does on our site, showing the latest news and features across across our main categories, including phones, computing, cameras, and streaming.

Want a tailored experience? You can simply toggle from 'All News' to 'My Feed' on the home page, and select your interests to start curating your own bespoke news feed.

You can also bookmark articles to read later by clicking the bookmark symbol at the top of an article, and you'll be able to find your articles in a new 'Saved List' in the app.

Expect to receive the same push notifications in the app as on our site if you enable them on your device, allowing you to stay updated on breaking tech news as it happens.

There's also a new search tool, and a discover feed that lets you filter articles by type and date range to find the coverage you're most interested in — handy, right?

We're still working on new features, and have a few ideas for even more up our sleeves, so if you have any feedback or suggestions, let us know in the comments below.

• Roland has a new digital piano that has built-in Wi-Fi integration
• It's also launching a new music-learning app, Piano Sphere, with teaching techniques and real-time feedback
• As well as Wi-Fi, the piano has an upgraded speaker system with more accurate responsiveness

Music company Roland is taking a massive step with its latest project that’s pretty much unprecedented in the world of digital instruments — it's launching a portable piano with built-in Wi-Fi support.

The $750 (roughly £750/ AU$1,149) FP-40 digital piano was unveiled today (September 1), coming in two finishes (black or white) with Bluetooth Audio/ MIDI and USB-C connectivity. Though this isn’t new for digital instruments — many leading piano manufacturers make the most of Bluetooth — Wi-Fi integration is unheard of.

While that’s essentially the selling point, the FP-40 packs a punch with additional features like Roland’s Piano Reality Sound Engine, a technology that augments the finer details and tone of an acoustic piano. As for the keyboard, Roland uses weighted hammer-action keys, on top of the triple-sensor tech it uses to ensure faster responsiveness when playing notes.

Just like your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, the FP-40 piano connects to your home Wi-Fi like any other device, and it will receive regular software updates. But there's a reason why Roland has designed the new sound tool this way — it’s to spotlight its new learning software.

Alongside the launch of its Wi-Fi-powered piano, Roland is launching Piano Sphere, an app developed by Skoove that offers teaching techniques to help you improve your musical craft, whether you’re a casual player or you’re picking up the reins again.

Similar to learning apps like Duolingo, Piano Sphere is packed with ‘personalized guidance, real-time feedback, and a rich library of high-quality content to keep you playing’, as mentioned on the Roland site. In addition to this, you’ll also be getting step-by-step lessons and even custom learning plans based on your current level.

The only thing is that you’ll need a phone or tablet to view a lot of the software’s insights, for example, tracking progress by viewing streaks and reward badges, but outside of that, the piano itself has some handy features.

The FP-40’s flagship Piano Sphere button lights up to give you feedback as you play away, and thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity, the piano automatically records playing history even when the Piano Sphere app isn’t open. On top of that, you won’t need to pay extra for a Piano Sphere subscription.

From the get-go, you’ll have basic access to 100 copyright-free songs spanning everything from classical compositions to pop music bangers. If you feel that you’re ready to take the next step in mastering your skill, there’s an option to upgrade your Piano Sphere experience, which opens the doors to a library of over 1,000 songs and lessons.

Obviously, learning app integration with modern instruments isn’t a new thing — previous models allow you to pair third-party apps via Bluetooth — but the FP-40’s built-in Wi-Fi will result in a much smoother experience. Not only that, it could be a hint at the direction Roland plans to take its future musical innovations.

Lithium-ion batteries are one of the most successful technologies ever invented, and now span everything from smartphones to power stations — but the technology is not without its flaws and limitations, and scientists are now busy trying to figure out which type of next-gen battery will take over next.

One of the big safety risks with lithium-ion is thermal runaway, causing overheating and fires, and some future battery technologies are focusing on this in particular. One of the leading contenders, sodium-ion, just passed a major safety test at Hyundai, while this battery type is also showing lots of promise overall.

Here's what you need to know about the recent breakthrough we've seen with sodium-ion technology, what its benefits are more broadly, and how it might eventually overtake lithium-ion as the default battery chemistry of choice.

Hyundai, Unigrid, and the thermal runway

We know that lithium-ion batteries are a fire risk, and that's specifically where a US start-up called Unigrid is directing its attention. The company has developed a type of sodium-ion battery, using sodium chromium oxide (NCO) cell chemistry, which has just been given the safety seal of approval by South Korean giant Hyundai.

According to Unigrid (via Interesting Engineering), the batteries have now achieved "critical technology validation milestones" after being put to the test by Hyundai's technical evaluation program. Stringent safety experiments were completed with no fire and no thermal propagation (where fire spreads between batteries, an important consideration in factories and industrial use).

What's more, the sodium-ion NCO batteries showed "minimal capacity degradation" after sustained continuous cycling, while the units also held up under a wide range of temperatures: from -20C to 60C (that's -4F to 140F). This is only one set of tests in a limited number of scenarios, but the tech has passed with an excellent grade.

The key change here is given away in the name: sodium ions rather than lithium ions are shuttling between the positive electrode (cathode) and negative electrode (anode). Both battery technologies have actually been around for about the same length of time, but the superior energy density of lithium-ion is why it's won out in recent years. Now sodium-ion is increasingly being looked at again.

As well as potentially improved safety from a thermal runaway perspective, another key difference is that sodium is much more abundant and widely available than lithium is. That's becoming a more important consideration as the planet creaks under increasing environmental strain, and it means the raw materials are more affordable (though the overall cost of sodium-ion batteries remains higher than lithium-ion for now).

There's still a lot of work to do, as a 2026 review published in the Journals of Materials Chemistry A points out. The energy density problem remains, for example, which makes sodium-ion a more viable option for large-scale energy storage, rather than the batteries we've got inside our phones and tablets.

The future of sodium-ion

With all of that in mind, the thinking is that sodium-ion is more likely to exist alongside lithium-ion, at least in the shorter term. While the new batteries like those developed by Unigrid have plenty of potential, there are also plenty of challenges that need addressing.

As reported in Nature, the world's largest battery manufacturer CATL has announced that it'll start mass producing sodium-ion batteries before the end of 2026. The Chinese manufacturer says it has deals in place with both a car maker and a provider of energy-storage stations for electricity grids.

However, the sodium-ion ingredient mix is different in the CATL batteries: it's using a sodium-ion technology known as Prussian white, which is potentially cheaper to make, easier to manufacture at scale, and longer-lasting, though there are questions over the energy density of these batteries.

The good news is that rapid progress is being made in the areas where sodium-ion batteries still fall short. Researchers are looking closely at the different mixtures and chemical combinations that might work best for this — and some scientists have even floated the idea of removing the fixed anode materials in the battery altogether (so rechargeable batteries would work more like disposable batteries).

There are a lot of variables involved, from the stability of the world economy to the power demands that AI data centers continue to put on global energy networks, but we can expect to hear about plenty more breakthroughs with sodium-ion battery technology in the coming years.

"Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a compelling alternative to lithium-ion systems, particularly for stationary storage and cost-sensitive mobility applications," writes Abu Faizal Abdul Salam et al in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A. "Continued efforts in materials research, standardization of testing methodologies, and real-world validation are pivotal to accelerate their path toward commercialization."

This week, Nokia launched new retro phones, and we got an extended look at GTA 6.

To catch up on all of this and plenty more, scroll down for our recap of the week’s biggest tech news stories.

And if you want to test your memory of last week’s news, try our quiz and see if you can get full marks.

7. Nokia debuted new retro phones

The original Nokia may be gone, but its spirit lives on under its new HDM Global owner — and this week we welcomed the new Nokia 300 Charge, a dumbphone that’s brimming with handy features.

There are no touchscreens or apps here, which potential buyers will consider a good thing. But the 300 Charge does have a handy power bank mode, which lets you charge up other gadgets via its USB-C port. If you want an emergency camping phone, it also has a “high-power” LED flashlight.

Sadly, there’s no international pricing for the 300 Charge yet, but it is showing on HMD’s global website — so we will hopefully see this practical, anti-doomscrolling phone get a worldwide launch.

• Read the full story: Nokia’s latest retro feature phone comes with a super-bright flashlight and built-in power bank

6. We went to Gamescom

This week we’ve been at Gamescom, and it was a treat.

There was the unusual batch of conferences like Gamescom Opening Night Live and the Future Games Show which showcased exciting new games and updates like our very first look at the highly anticipated The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past DLC.

We saw some incredible new hardware like a ridiculously fast 1100Hz OLED monitor, and the goofy IKEA x Xbox collection — plus so much more.

• Read the full story: Everything announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026

5. Meta settled its $1.4 trillion case

Meta has reached a settlement in a landmark social media trial that could have seen it pay out the company’s entire market cap had it lost. The case, which was brought by several states’ Attorneys General, alleged that Meta’s products were designed to addict teens and may have caused them mental harm.

Without admitting any wrongdoing or fault, Meta will instead pay a more modest $18 billion, and has agreed to several self-imposed restrictions such as hiding likes on teens’ profiles, an optional algorithm-free feed, and a two-hour daily time limit (cumulative across Instagram and Facebook) — though this limit would drop to one hour if TikTok, Snap and YouTube also agree to self-regulate.

Some aren’t convinced this is anything more than another slap on the wrist, but perhaps this effort will finally curtail our social media addiction epidemic.

• Read the full story: Meta settles its alleged social media harm case for $18B

4. The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro launched

It’s been a big week for Garmin fans and anyone who likes gloriously powerful adventure watches. Two new Garmin flagships, the Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro, arrived for hiking duty — and we’ve already taken the latter out on a 12 km trip in the French Alps.

Garmin’s Fenix 8 was already packed with features, but its successor brings some meaningful upgrades. One standout is ‘Garmin Epic’, which helpfully combines your stats across big trips like multi-day backpacking excursions. We also like the Fenix 9 Pro’s new green light for boosting our camping night vision. For an in-depth debrief, check out our hands-on review below.

• Read the full story: I wore the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro on a 12km hike and run in the French Alps

3. We watched GTA 6’s Extended Look

Gamers, we ate good this week as, on top of Gamescom, we also got the Extended Look at Grand Theft Auto6, and any complaints about the Netflix debut washed (mostly) away as we saw the game in the fullest glory we’ve seen thus far.

Explosive action, intense car chases, character swapping, beautiful lighting, an expansive map, tense story moments, and the return of the six-star rating.

Not everyone was impressed, but there are always haters online. For most, GTA 6 looks like the best yet, and it can’t come soon enough.

• Read the full story: Grand Theft Auto 6's 'Extended Look' on Netflix is now live

2. Apple announced a new Mac Mini

Back in 2024, Apple revived the Mac mini with a sportier, more compact design and an M4 chip. And this week it came back for generation two.

Apple stuck with the same chassis that doesn’t skimp on ports, but upgraded the internals with either the M6, which is Apple’s first 2nm chip, or the M5 Pro for those who need an even more substantial setup.

The downside? The Mac mini with M6 starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,449 for 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM — that's a $100 increase in the US over the current price of the M4 model — while the M5 Pro starts at $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 with 512GB of storage and 24GB of RAM.

• Read the full story: Apple’s new Mac mini looks the same, but the M6 inside brings a major performance boost

1. Apple invited us to ‘Surprise and Shine’

The most eagerly anticipated Apple Event of the year — if not in recent years — finally has a day, September 9, and a time, 10AM PST. This is the moment when we will watch freshly minted CEO John Ternus run his first Apple keynote and, we think, finally meet the iPhone Ultra, a.k.a. the folding iPhone.

That’ll probably be the event’s “one more thing,” but there will be so many other things like new iPhone 18 Pro phones, a new HomePod mini, an updated Apple TV box, Apple Watch Series 12, and so much more. It’s set to be a jam-packed event. We’ll have a team on the ground and back at TechRadar home base covering it all on Wednesday. Buckle in!

• Read the full story: Apple reveals when to tune into its September event and teases what’s coming

Finding gifts for a dad who wants nothing can be surprisingly difficult. If he already buys the things he needs, says he doesn't want any more stuff or is simply hard to shop for, another novelty mug or gadget destined for a drawer probably isn't the answer.

For Father's Day, I've focused on useful tech that earns its place: things that solve an everyday annoyance, upgrade something Dad already uses or make one of his hobbies a little better. That could be anything from a compact charger or tracker to better headphones, coffee gear or fitness tech.

I've also kept the list practical rather than filling it with products just because they look giftable. As much as possible, the recommendations are gear TechRadar has tested or recommended, along with options that are on sale, so offer particularly good value right now.

The picks cover a mix of budgets and interests, including a few easy last-minute options, so there should be something here whether Dad needs a small upgrade or you want to buy him a more substantial gift.

If you want some extra inspiration, Amazon's bestsellers are an easy place to see what other shoppers are buying, while its electronics bestsellers are particularly handy for inexpensive USB cables, chargers, power banks and other tech essentials.

If you've left it too late for delivery, our last-minute Father's Day gift ideas cover gift cards and other no-delivery options you can buy right away.

Quick gift ideas for the dad who wants nothing

• Best everyday gift: Iniu P50 45W 10,000mAh power bank – AU$29.99
• Best affordable gift: Iniu 2m USB-C cable – AU$11.39
• Best practical upgrade: 70mai A510 dash cam – AU$179.98
• Best last-minute gift: Anker Nano Charger 70W – AU$49.98
• Best for coffee lovers: De'Longhi Dedica Arte Espresso Machine – AU$196.95
• Best splurge: Ninja Swirl by Creami – AU$354.99

Useful tech he'll actually use every day

The safest gifts for a dad who says he wants nothing are often the ones that make everyday life a little easier. I've focused on practical tech he'll reach for every day rather than something that's only useful once or twice a year.

Upgrades he'll appreciate but probably won't buy himself

Dad might already have earbuds, a desk setup, some basic car tech and home-security gear, but that doesn't mean he's using a particularly good version of any of it.

These ideas are worthwhile upgrades to things he already uses, with the current discounts making the jump to higher quality a little more affordable.

Useful tech for his hobbies and downtime

If dad already has a hobby he loves, buying around that interest is often easier than trying to invent a new one for him. These gifts cover coffee, fitness, music, gaming and frozen desserts, so each has a clear recipient rather than simply being another gadget for the sake of it.

Last-minute Father's Day gifts that don't feel last minute

Leaving Father's Day shopping late doesn't mean settling for something forgettable. These final three gift options are inexpensive, broadly useful and easy to order without overthinking the purchase.

Amazon Prime can also be useful here, with next-day and, in some metro areas, same-day delivery available on eligible products, though the exact delivery date will depend on your location and the item you're buying.

How to choose a gift for a dad who wants nothing

If dad insists he doesn't need anything, start with what he already uses. A better version of his charger, headphones, shaver or coffee gear is often a safer bet than introducing an entirely new gadget, especially if you already know what works with the devices he owns.

Practical gifts for dad don't have to be boring — they just need to earn their place.

Another good approach is to solve a small annoyance. Think about the things he regularly complains about or works around, such as losing his keys, running out of phone battery, dealing with poor computer sound or using an old accessory that's well past its best.

A gift that fixes a real problem can feel more thoughtful than something chosen simply because it looks impressive in a gift guide.

Hobbies are another useful starting point, but it's usually best to buy around an interest rather than trying to choose highly personal specialist gear. A coffee upgrade, a fitness tracker, something useful for music or photography, or a gadget for the kitchen can be easier to get right than equipment where size, fit or personal preference matters.

Finally, be wary of novelty tech. If a gadget sounds clever but is likely to spend most of its life in a drawer, it's probably not the right choice for a dad who already says he wants nothing.

The best gifts for a dad who has everything are often straightforward upgrades he'll keep using long after Father's Day, Christmas or his birthday has passed. If you're hunting for last-minute gifts for dad, check the estimated delivery date as well as the price so a good gift doesn't arrive after you need it.

More gift ideas from TechRadar

Still not found the right present? These TechRadar guides are a good place to find more inspiration, whether you're shopping for a particular type of tech or just want to see more deals and recommendations.

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• Microduck is Pollen Robotics' new programmable robot
• It looks like a cute robo-duck, and has some adorable, pre-baked interactions
• It's up for pre-order priced at $399, and it should ship in time for Christmas

If the measure of a successful robot is cuteness, Microduck could be the most successful bot in ages. Unveiled this week by Pollen Robotics (a division of AI company Hugging Face — yes, that Hugging Face), Microduck is a 25-centimeter-tall educational robot that appears to arrive with surprising mobility, balance, and personality.

Pre-orders, which kicked off today (August 27) promise a $399 (that's the introductory price), roughly 1.7lb pre-built duck-like robot complete with a mouth that doubles as a gripper, a voice —duck calls, it seems — 15 degrees of freedom (basically a measure of the number of ways all the motors let it move), and motors that let it walk, waddle, move its head and, thanks to a pair of IMUs (inertial movement unit), stay upright even when pushed around.

There's a single-eye camera paired with a Lidar system for navigating its environment and, perhaps, recognizing its owner. Pollen Robotics has yet to specify the camera's megapixels. There are also speakers for voice, and microphones for it to hear. The robot runs on a relatively low-power Rockchip RK3566 ARM chip that's backed by 1GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage. There's on-board Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and a smallish 2,600mAh battery that promises roughly one hour of operation.

These are not killer specs, but the teaser videos show a highly engaged and undeniably adorable little bot. I was particularly taken with how it can recover and stand back up after a fall (or being pushed over). Microduck will arrive with a lot of pre-programmed interactions, but much of the cuteness may come via its open-source platform and your programming skills.

The Microduck kit will ship with an SDK that includes virtual training environments, along with training scripts and tools, and "a tested sim-to-real workflow." The idea, obviously, is that while you might grow to love Microducks' baked-in personality, it's what you can build with your kids that will really matter. This is an educational robot, after all.

It's almost familiar

It's also worth mentioning Microduck's obvious resemblance to another extremely cute, though entirely unattainable robot: Disney's and Star Wars' BDX Droid. Both robots are bipedal with a somewhat squat posture and cute, oversized heads, and as with the BDX-Droid, it's hard to believe the Microsoduck can stay upright. But that's where the similarities end. That semi-autonomous/remote-controlled BDX Droid is much larger, probably far more expensive, and is currently only wandering around Disney World. Plus, there are currently no plans to bring it to consumers.

The $399 Microduck is just the base package, and Pollen Robotics also plans to ship an optional charger pack for $39, a dev pack that includes spare motors, cables, and batteries for $119, and an accessory pack that includes a laser pointer (perhaps for Microduck to chase), roller skates(!) that Microduck can wear and ride, and 10 NFC tags. One wonders if those tags might be used to trigger certain Microduck actions.

Microduck is Pollen Robotics' second edu-robot, the first being the Reach Mini, an almost equally cute but more or less stationary desk companion robot. Pollen Robotics claims it sold 10,000 units.

Microduck's success will likely depend on just how many of those endearing qualities are on display out of the box, and how much we have to code ourselves. Initially, you can fake some of it, since Microduck can be remote-controlled with a gaming controller; but the real fun happens when it starts to respond in unexpected ways.

The other X factor is how many people are willing to pay almost $400 for a plastic and semi-autonomous robot duck. I know I'm intrigued, and wouldn't mind trying to program it to create the duck-bot of my dreams.

Microduck is expected to ship by Christmas, and is available in Cream, Graphite. Lavender, and Sky.

• United’s new Airbus A321XLR begins service soon, and it’s packed with tech
• It’ll mostly serve international, transatlantic routes with free Starlink-powered Wi-Fi
• The big surprise? Two Economy Plus rows with no middle seats

Just a few months back, I got to go inside United’s next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner, complete with a high-tech new interior, spacious seats, and some notable upgrades for Economy.

The 787 is a wide-body aircraft built for United’s biggest and longest routes, and now, the airline is bringing that same design philosophy to a much smaller plane and experimenting with something I’ve never seen on a United aircraft before: an Economy Plus row with no middle seat.

I’ve been inside United’s brand-new Airbus A321XLR, a single-aisle aircraft that’s designed to bridge the gap between narrowbody efficiency and widebody distance capabilities, and it’s a pretty fascinating look at where the airline’s cabins are headed.

There’s a new Polaris business-class seat with closing doors, a spacious Premium Plus cabin, 4K OLED screens at every seat, Starlink Wi-Fi from day one, and, yes, those two-seat Economy Plus rows, designed to give you a little more space without the dreaded middle seat.

And after spending time in all four cabins, I think United might be onto something.

Let’s start with the new Polaris business-class product. The A321XLR is a single-body aircraft with 20 Polaris seats, complete with closing doors on either the left or right side of the aircraft. They are pretty spacious, though a bit smaller than the Polaris seats on the 787 Dreamliner. Still, you get an ample seat with an electronic touchscreen control to let it lay flat, kick out the leg rest, or adjust many facets of the experience.

There are plenty of power ports, including two USB-C ports that top out at 60 watts, a standard wall plug, and a wireless charger. At the center of the experience is a 19-inch 4K OLED screen that’s touch-enabled and, with a button press, slightly pushes out from its base and lets you pull it forward for the perfect view. You’ll also find plenty of storage and a sizable tray table that I wish was a bit larger — still, it should fit a 14-inch laptop very comfortably.

That’s the most premium experience on board the A321XLR. The middle option of United’s three class offerings is Premium Plus, which features a very spacious recliner that rivals those in domestic first class on smaller single-body aircraft.

It boasts a 16-inch 4K OLED screen that can tilt and matches the size of the screen on the original Polaris product still in use on some aircraft. You’ll even find a wireless charger tucked under the armrest — a unique spot, but helpful. There’s also a standard wall plug for each seat — remember, Premium Plus is a 2x2 configuration — and a USB-C port tucked at the bottom of the OLED screen.

The tray table is pretty close to the size of what’s in Polaris and can be a good mini-desk for working in the sky, or, let’s be honest, enjoying whatever meal United is serving.

Finally, we move into Economy, which has a total of 118 seats split into 84 standard Economy and 34 Economy Plus extra-legroom options, including two with the middle seat removed.

With any of these seats, you get a punchy, vibrant 13-inch 4K OLED that’s touch-enabled; across the board, United is knocking it out of the park with the displays here. An intuitive interface offers plenty to watch, including Apple TV in the sky, plus access to music and podcasts from Spotify. A crisp, vibrant screen in each seatback will certainly elevate the experience everywhere.

United began the process of reintroducing screens on aircraft without them, and making them a key part of the ‘United Next’ cabin, back in 2021, and now the airline has close to 800 aircraft with screens in every seat, and should have a quarter of a million seat-back screens across its fleet by the end of next year.

Peter Wolkowski, United’s Head of Product Marketing, told me, “In our post-flight survey data, we just see kind of huge increases in satisfaction across the board when customers fly on an aircraft with screens versus one without.”

There’s a standard headphone jack and USB-C port built into every Economy and Economy Plus seat, meaning that every seat, even in Economy, gets at least one power source — that’s excellent. You also get two standard wall plugs per row, but those are shared.

Economy Plus with open middle seats is where the experimentation comes into play — it was my first time seeing these, and especially for a transatlantic flight, which are the routes the A321XLR will primarily be flying, if the price is right, it could really be worth the upgrade.

The main appeal is no one next to you in the middle, and for couples flying, this is pretty nice. You get plenty of elbow room, and the middle seat essentially has a metal table bolted across it, with two indents for cupholders and a padded rear.

I’m very curious to see pricing for these, and how much of a premium they command over standard Economy Plus.

United is starting with only two of these rows on the aircraft, but if they prove popular, I wouldn’t be surprised if the airline expands this offering. Peter Wolkowski, United’s Head of Product Marketing, told me, “There’s a lot to love about this aircraft, but just having the ability to kind of test new concepts is really exciting.”

“We’re really eager to see how customers respond to [the open middle seat option], and if it is something that kind of performs well and customers love it, we’re going to look at more ways of doing that type of thing on other aircraft.”

I hope we continue to see this kind of experimentation with new seat types, and at affordable price points, rather than airlines just prioritizing the top end.

Rounding out the United A321XLR offering is 'Starlink from the start', meaning the plane is equipped with the right antennas and routers, as well as the proper certification, to offer Starlink Wi-Fi from its very first flights.

This means that any MileagePlus members can get free, fast Wi-Fi for as many devices as they bring, and in my testing, both on media flights and regular ones, it really improves the overall flying experience. No longer is there a concern about not being able to connect, whether that’s when you’re sending a text to a loved one or friend, or something else that requires a connection.

The A321XLR also features mood lighting, which United can split up by cabin — i.e., Polaris, Premium Plus, or Economy — to help set the mood for different parts of the flight, but also to potentially help combat jet lag.

So when does the A321XLR begin flying, and where is it headed?

Alongside the launch event at a hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport, United also announced new routes, and the A321XLR is a key part of them.

Starting September 1, 2026, the A321XLR begins with domestic flights, but later this year, the aircraft formally kicks off its international routes. In total, United announced 10 entirely new international destinations and 13 new routes for 2027.

The new routes are San Francisco to Okinawa, Japan; Washington Dulles to Toulouse, France; and several for Newark. The latter includes Newark to Luxembourg City; Marseille, France; Ibiza, Spain; Valencia, Spain; Terceira, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Olbia (Sardinia), Italy; and Catania (Sicily), Italy.

If you like the idea of a flight on the Airbus A321XLR, it’ll be headed to Luxembourg from Newark, Washington, DC; to Toulouse from Newark; to Ibiza from Newark; to Valencia from Newark; and to Marseille from Newark.

This week, the GTA 6 leak rocked the internet, and Meta entered a $1.4 trillion lawsuit that could reshape social media as we know it.

To catch up on both of these events and more, scroll down to read our recap of the week’s seven biggest tech news stories.

Before that, test your memory of last week’s biggest news with our quiz (and check out our previous recap for a refresh if you need it).

7. Amazon ruined the Kindle Oasis?

A Kindle Oasis update has ruined the ereader for many, thanks to a change that has frustrated users.

The first change applies stricter DRM (Digital Rights Management) to books on the device, meaning most DRM-removal tools won’t work anymore. While DRM can help fight piracy, it also makes it harder to share the book with non-Kindle ereaders (or ereaders without the Kindle app) if you ever want to take your library with you when you change devices. This update isn’t new, but the Oasis was one of the last few to not have it.

The other change means you can’t keep reading a Libby book beyond its due date by turning airplane mode on. The workaround let users hold onto borrowed books, but now the app requires an internet connection to read your titles.

• Read the full story: Amazon angers Kindle owners by rolling out tougher DRM

6. The UK got ready for plug-in solar

Plug-in solar kits are a hot topic in both the US and the UK, with the latter planning to legalize the low-cost home energy helpers on August 27. Ahead of that date next week, we’ve started to see the first kits get the regulatory green light.

UKSOL makes some of those kits and this week revealed that its first two offerings (a 460W one consisting of a single solar panel, and an 890W dual-panel setup) will go on sale from August 27, with pricing starting at £699. Not exactly cheap, but a lot more affordable than a full solar installation.

Expect plug-in solar to be all over the news next week in the UK — and with 30 US states also planning to legalize the tech, the DIY energy boom could soon become a global story.

• Read the full story: First plug-in solar kits get regulatory green light in the UK ahead of legal lift-off on August 27 — and they'll start at £699

5. Tesla’s Robotaxi had a bad day

With impressive comic timing, Tesla’s Robotaxi was this week filmed plowing through some plastic traffic posts in Texas before carrying on with its journey — just weeks after Tesla had been crowing about its “impeccable safety record” with “zero notable incidents”.

Okay, the video shot by the Robotaxi’s distressed passenger doesn’t exactly show a GTA 6-style pile-up, but the timing is poor, with Tesla also reportedly planning to trial its fully autonomous Cybercab on public roads this month. We might carry on taking those human-driven cabs for a little while longer.

• Read the full story: Tesla’s Robotaxi gets caught crashing through traffic posts, just as it readies the purpose-built Cybercab for public roads

4. Grand Theft Auto 6 leaked

The most hotly anticipated game of 2026 was due to get a major reveal via a Netflix special next week, but Christmas has come early, so to speak, as several major leaks came out this week — including GTA 6’s map, new gameplay, and cutscenes.

Hacker group Cyberleek has claimed responsibility for the breach as a protest against Rockstar’s digital-only release strategy. Even physical disc cases will include only a digital download code.

However, this data dump might not completely spoil Rockstar and Netflix’s announcement plans. It seems at least some of the leaks are over a year old, according to people with information on the subject, though the polish was quite high, so it’s unclear how different the end result will actually be.

• Read the full story: More GTA 6 leaks reveal new gameplay and the entire map — and leaker keeps their promise over threats to reveal more

3. Meta’s smart glasses bans continued

While governments are weighing up how they’ll deal with the rise of smart glasses and the privacy concerns they’re raising (as pervs and creeps use them to spy on people), it seems their action might not be required.

That’s because we’re seeing more and more private businesses announce bans on the glasses across various spaces, including pubs, cafes, and restaurants — UK cinemas and regular theatres are even considering banning the camera glasses, though their concerns are also focused on piracy (where folks could record or even livestream a movie).

It seems Meta’s Ray-Bans have a tough road ahead. Perhaps things will eventually turn around at Connect in September.

• Read the full story: Meta smart glasses could soon be banned in cinemas, says UK trade body

2. Meta might owe $1.4 trillion

We’re used to company fines often pales in comparison to the profits and growth the business made by taking the punished action — they’re often just a slap on the wrist; it’s merely ‘the cost of doing business.’ That’s not so true about a lawsuit Meta finds itself in.

Attorneys General across 32 US states argue that Meta has used its technology to get teens (and younger) users hooked on its platforms — and that the company ignored the harms this action could cause. If Meta loses the suit, it could be on the hook for $1.4 trillion, roughly the value of its entire market capitalization (i.e., the combined value of all its shares).

Meta calls the AGs' claims "unsubstantiated" and the potential penalties "vastly disproportionate."

We don’t yet know how things will turn out, but be prepared for both sides to seriously fight their case in court.

• Read the full story: Meta might be on the hook for $1.4 trillion if it loses a landmark lawsuit

1. We reviewed the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold

We’ve finished testing Samsung’s latest foldables for our reviews, and we’ve moved on to Google. It’s the best folding Pixel yet, but still behind Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

It’s generally an excellent update, with a better, far lighter build, plus impressive power, efficiency, bright screens, IP68 protection, and (not to forget) the HiLight LED.

However, Google should have updated the camera experience with more megapixels and maybe somewhat better image processing if it wanted to give us a real boost.

• Read the full story: The Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is the best folding Pixel yet

No matter if it's your first or fourth time here, thanks for checking out this week's TechRadar Crossword. Yes, I'm still having a lot of fun putting together these little puzzlers for you every Friday, so let's see how you get on with this latest grid-based arrangement of tech trivia.

I try to mix a fairly broad range of tech subjects into each crossword to ensure there's a bit of variety, but it does require a lot of effort to stop myself from filling them with clues about gaming and movies — being the two biggest interests of mine.

I have, obviously, snuck a couple of clues in on those areas, given we technically cover them here at TechRadar in our gaming and streaming categories, but I'm very cautious that I don't just fill the grid with clues in those areas.

Reading more of the site has helped me broaden my horizons a little when coming up with clues, too. I've taken in more of the news we've covered and features we've written about AI, cameras, electric vehicles, and, relevant to this week's puzzle, solar panels, for example.

The latter is most interesting, given the news that plug-in options will soon be available to buy in the UK before the end of the month. It's got me thinking about whether I could add some to my home, if it'll be possible to find any of the limited stock.

Solar panel stock tracker incoming? Quite possibly. Enjoy the puzzle and I'll catch you soon.

You might be tempted to fall back on the usual Father's Day gifts, like novelty socks, a mug with a bad joke on it, whisky or aftershave, but there are plenty of more useful options. Father's Day 2026 in Australia falls on Sunday, September 6, so there's still time to find something he'll actually use.

If your dad, or a father figure in your life, loves tech and gadgets, these tried-and-tested products are some of our favourite Father's Day gift ideas. We've included tech gifts for Dad across a wide range of budgets and interests, from inexpensive everyday upgrades to some serious splurges.

We've focused on useful gifts we'd genuinely buy for our own dads, from AU$20 smart-home upgrades to big-ticket purchases like an outdoor pizza oven. Whether you're shopping for an outdoorsy dad, a coffee lover, a gamer or someone who'd rather stay on the couch, there should be something here to suit him.

The best Father's Day gifts for Dad under AU$100

We chose these picks for their functionality, value for money and whether we'd genuinely gift them to our own dads. From an AU$20 smart plug to a portable monitor for the home office, these 20 Father's Day gifts under AU$100 cover plenty of useful upgrades without requiring a big spend.

The best Father's Day tech gifts under AU$300

With a little more to spend, there are plenty of Father's Day gift ideas here, from a classic car Lego set and a Bluetooth turntable to a sleep analyser that sits under his mattress. We've even included a nice Android tablet and one of our highly-rated ebook readers that would be perfect for a father's downtime.

The best Father's Day gifts for Dad when money is no object

If you really want to splurge on a Father's Day gift, these big-ticket picks include some of the best tech we'd happily give our own dads.

You'll find that he may start playing the home barista every morning with a fancy new coffee machine or making more homemade pizzas with a new outdoor pizza oven. And if he's an avid runner or cyclist, we've added some premium-level gear here too.

• Head to Have I Been Flocked? to see if you've been looked up
• You can read the details and reasons for each search
• Your license plate registration is deleted after the search is run

There's been an increasing level of pushback against Flock and its network of 120,000 or so license plate readers across the US in recent months, and if you want to know if your vehicle has been the subject of a search on Flock's system, there's a website just for that.

Head over to Have I Been Flocked? (via Dexerto), enter your license plate registration, and you'll get a report back. The site has amassed details of more than 241 million Flock searches, covering over 4.6 million license plates.

What's more, you can also see the reason that a plate was searched for — an auto theft or a traffic stop, for example. The site has a word cloud showing reasons for searches across the entire database, with words like "drugs" and "burglary" featuring prominently.

There's lots more to explore across the website as well, including audit reports, reports of non-criminal activities, searches run in partnership with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and data on where the license plate readers are clustered.

Data collection and privacy

Have I Been Flocked? is the work of the independent editorial project Footnote4a, which reports on Flock's activities, the way that its technology is used, and the wider issues of mass surveillance and the privacy of citizens.

The extensive database has been compiled from audit logs released by local governments and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. It's not a complete history of Flock searches across every state, but it's still pretty comprehensive.

License plate registrations entered into the site aren't saved and are immediately deleted once the query is run. In addition, any sensitive personal information (like addresses) included in the audit logs is redacted.

"We believe mass surveillance has no place in a free society, and this data should not be collected to begin with," write the site's operators, adding that if it is collected, "warrants should be used" and "lookups should be rare" when accessing it.

This week Google debuted its Pixel 11 tech, and Honor wowed us with a Robot Phone. Though we doubt it's the next iPhone revolution, we did also celebrate the birthday of a phone that did spark one back in the 90s — the Nokia 9000 Communicator, which just turned 30 years old.

But that's enough nostalgia for now — to catch up on all of the freshest gadget news, scroll down for the seven biggest tech news stories from the past week, plus links to the wider picture if you're desperate to learn more.

And before that test your memory against last week's biggest tech news stories with our quiz.

7. We reviewed Garmin’s 5-Star smartwatch

We spent months with the latest Garmin Fenix Pro 8 smartwatch — it survived heatwaves, blizzards and 4,000m altitudes — and our reviewer decided to declare it “the pinnacle of multisport smartwatch performance.”

Why? Well, it boasts the full suite of Garmin functionality from sleep tracking to a bewildering array of activity tracking options, as well as the ability to follow stats like altitude and atmospheric pressure. Plus, it can operate as a full-on dive watch, and boasts satellite messaging for the extreme wilderness wanderers amongst us.

The only downside is that it costs significantly more than the AMOLED version and has a shorter battery life (it’s still four days, though, and turning the always-on display off will see it jump to over 10), but these don’t stop it from being the champion of the sports tracking world right now.

• Read our full Garmin Fenix Pro 8 microLED review

6. Spotify labelled AI music

Earlier this week, Spotify announced its new AI Persona tags, a new feature designed to differentiate human artists from those that are AI-generated. The tags are tipped to roll out in mid-September.

Once AI Persona becomes available, it will give users some peace of mind knowing that they’re listening to music that hasn't been generated by AI. Spotify added that artists with AI Persona tags will be excluded from all personalized recommendations by default — which is an added bonus.

Artists can disclose to Spotify if they are AI musicians, but Spotify will conduct reviews of profiles where it thinks an artist’s images have been created using generative AI to imitate a lifelike persona. The only caveat is that Spotify uses an artist’s image to determine if they’re an AI Persona, and not the music itself.

• Read more: Spotify is introducing AI Persona tags to differentiate real artists from fake ones

5. We spent two hours with Honor’s Robot Phone

Look. We love to call out marketing department hyperbole as much as the next tech news outlet, but while we must disagree with Honor’s attempt to position its new device as the evolutionary successor to the iPhone — the best-selling phone of all time — it is fair to say the Robot Phone is unlike anything we’ve seen before.

TechRadar’s Axel Metz was among the first tech journalists to touch and test the new phone, and the device’s unfolding gimbal is genuinely impressive as a content capture tool — effectively combining the DJI Osmo Pocket with Honor’s flagship Magic 8 Pro.

It also allows the phone’s assistant, YOYO, to express itself in a physical way. This is the definition of gimmicky, though controlling the gimbal with hands-free controls can be genuinely useful.

• Read more: I spent two hours with the Honor Robot Phone, and this ridiculous, remarkable device made me feel like a kid again

4. We photographed the solar eclipse

The peak of the Perseid meteor shower, with perfect viewing conditions and a rare six-planet alignment, was a celestial treat on August 12, but it was the total solar eclipse hours before that captured the world's attention. In select parts of Europe, northern Spain and in Iceland, totality lasted around 2 minutes while a partial eclipse could be seen as far afield as northern North America. Viewers lucky enough to get solar glasses could enjoy the phases around totality, while others came outside with their DIY pinhole cameras and colanders. Predictably, we've been treated to spectacular images in the aftermath of this once-in-a-generation show.

• Read more: 9 of the best photos from Europe's 2026 solar eclipse

3. Google gave us its answer to Apple’s AirTags

Apple’s AirTags launched over five years ago, and we now finally have a Google-made equivalent for Android fans. The Pixel Tag is a little tracker that weighs only 12g and helps you follow the location of your keys, luggage, or devices via a web browser or Android app.

Unfortunately, it won’t actually be launching until November, but when it does, you’ll be able to buy one for $29 / £29 / AU$49 for a single Tag or $99 / £99 / AU$169 for a four-pack. That’s pretty competitive considering the Pixel Tag is water-resistant and has ultra-wideband (UWB) support for more precise location tracking.

However, as you can read below, the Find Hub network still has weaknesses compared to its Apple Find My equivalent, which we hope Google addresses by the time its Tag launches in a few months.

• Read the full story: The Pixel Tag is here — but it won't be an AirTag for Android until Google fixes these Find Hub issues

2. Google’s Pixel Watch 5 debuted

Along with Google's cornucopia of new phones, the Google Pixel Watch 5 was also released in two sizes and with the same teardrop design as previous years. However, we've got a bunch of new features and improvements at play, with more accurate GPS, the redesigned Google Health app with its AI coach, better on-device Gemini, and a suite of Health Guardian features. These include Breathing Emergency Detection, which alerts emergency services and contacts if you have a consistent blood oxygen drop, and Insulin Resistance Trends, which helps users control their blood sugar levels. Apple and Samsung haven't quite cracked this technology yet, and we can't wait to test them for ourselves — although hopefully we don't have any breathing emergencies during our review.

• Read more: Sorry, Apple and Samsung — I test smartwatches for a living, and the Google Pixel Watch 5 specs beat the Series 11 and Galaxy Watch 9 in these five key areas

1. Google debuted its Pixel 11 lineup

Of course, the stars of Wednesday's Made by Google 2026 event were the debut of new Pixel 11 phones.

They boast the usual slew of updates you should expect from flagship refreshes by now, but also a brand new ‘HiLight’. This is an array of LED lights built into the camera’s flash module, which can alert you to calls from favorite contacts via customized color glows when your phone is face down and silenced. And these lights will also pulse when Gemini is listening, thinking, or responding.

Not everything is an improvement, disappointingly. You'll only get 12GB of RAM as standard rather than 16GB, perhaps a reflection of the surging computer memory costs.

• Read more: I’ve used the new Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Google's made nearly all the improvements I wanted to see

Another Friday, and another weekly crossword is ready for you. Enjoy the latest tech-themed puzzle below, with several clues related to the biggest news from the past seven days, as well as some more general bits of tech trivia and nerdy pastimes.

Making these puzzles over the last few weeks has got me back into the cryptic crossword app I used to learn how they work and practise. It's a change from aimlessly scrolling through Reddit or mindlessly absorbing a YouTube video while on the bus and train.

One puzzle I seemed to have given up on halfway through, and it was good to see that I was able to pick it up and start answering clues fairly quickly. Some had probably stumped me in the past as well. Strange how going back to something some time later seems to unlock the solution so easily.

My puzzle fix has also been fulfilled with the brilliant Big Walk — a bizarre and abstract co-op puzzle and exploration game I've been playing through with a couple of friends. I absolutely love these sorts of games (Blue Prince and The Witness are some all-time favorites), so finding something similar that also allows for some shenanigans with mates has been really special.

All this cryptic puzzling does mean, though, that I've dabbled with a few more adventurous clues for the latest puzzle. There's nothing that's too out there, or even really cryptic in nature, but not everything is a straightforward clue asking for an answer. There are some gaps to fill or some slightly more roundabout ways they've been presented — and some will be easier to answer if you've read TechRadar regularly this week.

Enjoy the puzzle and I'll see you for another next week!

• Flock is making it harder for its systems to be abused
• Its CEO says the company's priority is public safety
• You can now 3D print a Flock Sock to disable cameras near you

Flock knows that its license plate readers and other surveillance tech are facing a substantial backlash from citizens and privacy groups, and it's now rolling out upgraded safety guardrails to protect against its systems from being misused — while CEO Garrett Langley says "we're not Big Brother".

That line comes from an interview with Bloomberg, in which Langley says his company's cameras are built to improve public safety and reduce crime. They're also now going to be subject to tighter restrictions, including more controls over the information that Flock's customers can share with other agencies.

Data logged by the license plate readers will now be kept for 7 days rather than 30 by default, Flock says, while the recently introduced Audit Assistance tool — which watches out for "abnormal activity" on Flock systems — will be made compulsory rather than optional. Accounts involved in this activity will be automatically suspended, too.

In addition, specific case codes will be required for law enforcement searches, and Flock is improving the security protocols around its data. The company also says it's committing to making its privacy policies easier to understand, and being more transparent about how its systems are being used.

In a separate interview with CNN, Langley said "I'm sorry the system has failed you" in response to a question asking him for his message to people who feel they've been victimized by the company's technology. "I'm sorry that you no longer trust the police department that's job is to protect you" he added.

Those arguments aren't winning over an increasingly vocal number of skeptics, who feel the technology remains prone to misuse — and fear it could clear a path to even more powerful surveillance tools like SignalTrace, which can identify devices that are in cars even if the license plate number isn't visible.

Unlawful tracking

As highlighted by rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Flock cameras have previously been used for purposes outside their approved remit: to track protestors, for example, and women seeking abortions. Police officers have also used the tech to stalk people they've been in a relationship with.

Whether these latest changes will help remains to be seen. Flock's 120,000 license plate readers are now being used by some 6,000 law enforcement agencies and around 1,000 private companies (including FedEx), and the company is also making moves into other areas, such as drones for first responders.

Meanwhile, a sizable number of the general public aren't too happy at having their license plates scanned and logged automatically. There have been numerous reports of Flock cameras being smashed up or otherwise disabled in protest, amid worries that the surveillance capabilities of this network go way beyond crime prevention.

One enterprising inventor has even gone as far as making a 'Flock Sock', a 3D-printed design that you can pop over a license plate reader to stop it from recording anything. Rather cleverly though, it's marketed as a way of protecting these cameras from sunlight: "The very least you can do is help protect these valuable civil servants from getting a bad sunburn."

In a few short hours, parts of the Earth will experience a rare and wonderful sight: a full solar eclipse. The moon will squeeze between us and the sun so that Spain, in particular, will, for a few minutes, fall into almost total darkness. What won't happen is that humans and other stationary objects not bolted to the ground will float up into the air. Gravity won't disappear.

But that's not the full story.

Listen, I ended up diving down a rabbit hole this morning, a journey triggered by one Weather Channel post on Threads:

"You all know we’re not actually going to lose gravity for 7 seconds today right? It’s important to me that you know that."

Turns out that there is a wild conspiracy theory going around that the eclipse will somehow trigger a gravity disruption, basically canceling it for 7 seconds.

The rumor was apparently set off, in part, by a TikTok claiming NASA had something called "Project Anchor" addressing the phenomenon.

NASA quickly quashed the rumor, telling Snopes:

"The Earth will not lose gravity on Aug. 12, 2026. Earth's gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass. The only way for the Earth to lose gravity would be for the Earth system, the combined mass of its core, mantle, crust, ocean, terrestrial water, and atmosphere, to lose mass. A total solar eclipse has no unusual impact on Earth's gravity. The gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth, which doesn't impact Earth's total gravity, but does impact tidal forces, is well understood and is predictable decades in advance."

Let's talk about the pendulum anomoly

So that settles it, and I think we can all rest easy that our feet will be firmly planted on the ground today, tomorrow, and beyond.

On the other hand, the concept of a solar eclipse having some nominal effects on gravity or the movement of objects affected by gravity is not totally out of the question, and the existence of such anomalies may explain why some people have extrapolated a wildly exaggerated solar eclipse gravitational impact.

There have been various reports over the decades of eclipses impacting, for instance, the swing of pendulums (according to New Scientist, the anomaly was first spotted in 1954). In fact, there have been some scholarly studies going back at least 25 years on the phenomenon.

In 1999, Chris P. Duif, then a physicist with the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, produced a scholarly paper examining, among other things, why certain pendulums reportedly altered their swings during a pair of solar eclipses.

Duif's paper notes that there were "weak conventional explanations" but added that the anomalies could still be "assigned to mundane causes such as temperature changes. "

In the end, though, Duif's research did not confirm the impact; equally, he seemed unable to rule it out. As he told New Scientist in 2009, "I'm not really convinced the anomaly exists, but it would be revolutionary if it turned out to be true."

In the paper, Duif appeared to hope for more study, writing, "If an anomalous eclipse effect does exist, a clever combination of experiments and input from theoretical models will be necessary to reveal its existence." One has to wonder if AI could assist in this pursuit. After all, it is quite good at finding meaning in the vast amounts of data typically found in such models.

The point is that there's this persistent idea that solar eclipses can affect gravity and that, it seems, has perpetuated and ballooned, with the help of conspiracy theorists, into this wild idea of a total gravitational pause. But, as The Weather Channel and NASA will quickly remind you, that's simply not the case.

This week, we reviewed Samsung’s latest foldables (including the best-in-class Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra), and we found out when Google Assistant will shut down for good.

To catch up on all this and more, scroll down for our roundup of the week’s seven biggest tech news stories.

And when you’re all caught up, be sure to test your knowledge in our weekly quiz.

7. Kojima Productions collabed on a CD player

As Sony plans to wind down the production of PlayStation game discs, auteur game developer Hideo Kojima is celebrating physical media with a new collaboration. His studio, Kojima Productions, has teamed up with the boutique Japanese audio brand km5 to produce a limited edition version of the Cp1 CD player inspired by the world of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

This special model comes in a luminous translucent orange inspired by the BB Pod from the game — that's the glowing jar that contains the adorable baby used to detect invisible enemies in its post-apocalyptic world.

It has all the same features that make the regular Cp1 a capable pocket-size CD player. This includes Bluetooth 5.3 support and a 3.5mm headphone jack for all your connectivity needs, a rechargeable battery with roughly eight hours of juice to take it on the go, and even a little LED display to display the track number.

• Read the full story: Hideo Kojima is celebrating his love of physical discs with a new limited edition version of my favorite mini CD player

6. The Google Assistant got an official shutdown date

It’s now over a decade old, which makes it a veteran by Google standards — but this week we finally learned when the Google Assistant will be retired on Android and Wear OS.

According to emails sent out to many Assistant users, the shutdown will begin on September 4. This means you won’t be able to use Google’s original Assistant on Android phones, tablets, paired wearables, and Android Auto after that date.

Instead, Google Gemini will inevitably take its place. You can download Gemini now from the Play Store, and if you want to see your old Assistant interactions, they’ll be available on the Web & App Activity page in your Google account. Goodbye, Assistant — it was nice knowing you.

• Read the full story: Google Assistant will shut down for good on Android and Wear OS in September — here’s what you need to do next

5. We experienced a two-screen e-reader

Samsung’s new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, are the talk of the town right now, but this week also saw the announcement of a unique foldable ereader for avid notetakers.

The InkLeaf is a notebook-like, dual-screen ereader that’s “built for the way you actually work,” according to its manufacturer — and the USP here actually makes sense. Kindles are great for reading, but not note-taking. iPads are great for note-taking, but not reading. And while a reMarkable tablet lets you do both, you can’t read and write simultaneously. By opening up to reveal two distinct 10.3-inch E Ink Carta displays, the Inkleaf aims to let you do just that.

These screens are separated by an aluminum frame — so this isn’t a foldable device in the modern sense — but they can also display the same type of content, so you can annotate documents or even treat the Inkleaf like a hardback novel. Who says reading is dead?!

• Read the full story: The InkLeaf is a dual-screen e-paper tablet that lets you read on one display and take notes on the other

4. We learned ogres are like Bose headphones

Initially, we were perhaps a bit harsh on that limited edition ‘Eucalyptus’ finish at TechRadar HQ. The DreamWorks Animation hero they put us in mind of is a household name, but ogres aren’t known for their winsome looks.

The thing is, team members are now saying words such as ‘wasabi’ and ‘matcha’ to describe them, and you know what? The more we look at those Shrek-green cans, the more we kinda like ’em.

What you’re looking at is the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (Gen 2). It's been three long years since the Bose QuietComfort Headphones landed (which weren’t an inaugural set exactly; they simply updated the iconic Bose QuietComfort 35 II from way back in 2017, without all the odd letters and numbers).

What you need to know is that the brand has finally updated this model, which now slots into Bose’s headphone lineup as a more affordable option to the flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).

The Bose QC Headphones (gen 2) also bring a range of upgrades over the original pair alongside a price that’s the same as, or even a little lower than, the 2017 set, depending on where you live.

• Read the full story: Bose's mid-range headphones just got their first upgrade in years

3. Grand Theft Auto’s next teaser will debut on Netflix

Grand Theft Auto 6 marketing is finally getting into gear. With the game set to arrive on November 19, excitement is high, and Rockstar Games is kicking things off with a… Netflix documentary?

This week the developer announced that Netflix subscribers will be able to watch a special ‘Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look’ video at 3PM ET / 12PM PT / 8PM BST on August 27. It’s not exactly clear what this means, but it sounds like it could be some kind of behind-the-scenes video talking about the highly anticipated game’s development.

It’s expected to contain at least some new gameplay footage, though, making it a must-watch for eager fans. If you’re not a Netflix subscriber, then you don’t have to worry about missing out. The developer said that the video will come to YouTube a few hours after it premieres.

• Read the full story: We could finally be getting the next GTA 6 trailer as Rockstar announces a special 'extended look'

2. Our Garmin Cirqa review dropped, and it's a Whoop-beater

We've been wearing the Garmin Cirqa for 10 days now, and it's finally time to give it a score. It beats Whoop in terms of value, and Fitbit Air in terms of features, to land the coveted title of 'best screenless fitness tracker to buy in 2026'. It's generally very accurate when measured against an electrical heart rate monitor, and provides a certainty in tracking that other screenless wearables don't have thanks to the addition of a tactile start-stop button to sit alongside its automatic activity detection. It's also comfy enough for constant wear. We've got a video review embedded in the article too, so you can see it in action for yourselves.

• Read our full Garmin Cirqa review

1. We reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

At a glance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is unchanged since its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but far more than just the name changed. In my review, I found the flagship foldable has a more powerful CPU, lots of AI, better cameras, and overall improved photography.

And this only scratches the surface. Perhaps the most surprising and delightful bit about the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is that it unfolds flat and the crease is almost gone (mostly thanks to a pair of titanium panels). Overall, it's a great folding phone and is — despite the existence of the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 (it’s wide!) — my current favorite folding phone.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review

Now that you’re all caught up on the news, are you ready to take on our news quiz?

They didn't try to stop me, so I'm back with another entry in TechRadar's Crossword. In fact, they actively encouraged me to make a second one, so it looks like a weekly puzzle is definitely on the cards going forward. And that's fine by me, as I'll keep making them. See how you get on with this week's challenge below.

There wasn't a whole lot of activity on the leaderboard last week, so what would be really nice is to get a few more entries this time. That also increases your chances of snagging that first place spot, if the bragging rights are important to you.

If you want another benchmark, I also found out that TechRadar EIC and Wordle fanatic Marc McLaren had to use three hints on the first puzzle, so there's a target if you wanted to try and beat him.

I've kept to another fairly straightforward puzzle while we're all still warming up to the idea. I am very tempted to start throwing in some harder or more cryptic clues in the future — or maybe one giant puzzle as a big finale to the end of each month — but we'll see how things go for a while.

Let me know if you enjoy it and I hope to see you back for the next one. Best of luck!

TechRadar's reviews crew has been working as hard as ever this month, putting dozens of gadgets and gizmos through their paces to find the ones that are worth recommending. In this Reviews Recap, I've pulled together just our very favorites; the products that impressed us enough to score 4.5 or 5 stars in our tests.

This month, we called the formidably tough new GoPro Mission 1 Pro a "fantastic all-round vacation camera", fell in love with the Marshall Stanmore IV speaker's "rumbling bass and amp-inspired aesthetic", and declared the Samsung S95H "one of the best OLED TVs [we'd] ever tested"... despite its rather controversial design.

We were also won over by smartwatches from both ends of the price spectrum. The flashy Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 impressed our reviewer with its slimmed-down design, slick apps, and intuitive UI — we called it "a great option for hardcore exercisers". The Amazfit Active 3 Premium comes in at a fraction of the price, yet still manages to look great and offer a strong range of features. According to our tester, it's good enough to "hang with entries from the major names in the industry".

Scroll down to explore all of our top-rated gadgets from the past four weeks, across all of our physical product categories. Note: only the products that are available in your region will display as cards.

5-star products

4.5-star products

As a puzzle nut and fan of all things quizzes, I was unreasonably excited to learn that we now have the power to create crosswords here on TechRadar. So, I've taken it upon myself to bring you the first of what I intend to be a weekly TechRadar Crossword.

I've always enjoyed finding a quiet moment to sit with a crossword as a way to start or end my day — or pass the time while travelling. I actually remember first making some when I was a lot younger and forcing my dad to try and solve them while on holiday. I'm sure he only begrudgingly complied.

It wasn't until the Covid-19 lockdown, though, when I spent many hours watching Cracking the Cryptic on YouTube, that I started doing my best to learn the ins and outs of cryptic crosswords. They've been a lot of fun to tackle.

I've not tried anything as fiendishly difficult for the first outing, though. It's simply a mix of clues related to recent news and everything we know and love here at TechRadar — be that tech, games, streaming, AI, and more — as well as some of my favorite nerdy interests.

There's a leaderboard, so if you're quick, we'll put your name in lights to show off to the world. Let me know if you enjoy it and I hope you'll be back for the next one. I'll likely keep experimenting with clues and the construction over time to make this a fun little weekly challenge. Good luck!

At TechRadar, we test dozens of gadgets each month. We've reviewed them all; TVs and tablets, smartwatches and speakers, home hubs and hair stylers, monitors and mice, cameras and coffee machines. Why? So we know exactly what's worth buying and what you should skip. We want to be able to recommend exactly the right tech to exactly the right person, no matter their budget.

When we're testing so many products, it can be tricky to find ways to help the standouts really shine. So every month, we round up just the very best gadgets from each month for you to browse. To qualify for the Reviews Recap, a product needs to score 4.5 or 5 stars in our fiendish tests. This showcase is just for the best of the best.

To keep things simple, we've also narrowed the remit to just physical products. Although we also test tons of games and plenty of software, you won't find those reviews included. This is strictly gadgets and gizmos.

Scroll down to browse our very favorite products of each month.

Just a few weeks ago, I read an interesting article on the Festival of Ludd, the world's first-ever festival dedicated to 'Neo Luddism' — a place where technology is openly eschewed, in layman's terms.

I found it interesting that a loose, somewhat broad collection of thoughts and notions around techno-pessimism seems to be coalescing into something more mainstream. We've heard TED talks and read articles on Neo Luddism well before the Summer of Ludd was a thing, but this feels new to me — something being swept into a wider generational zeitgeist.

Of course, wariness around technology isn't exactly exclusive to Gen Z, but there is evidence to suggest that younger people are increasingly turning away. Quoted in the above article is a 2025 Pew Research study that reported that 48 per cent of teenage respondents asked said social media had a negative effect on people of their age group. That's up from 32 per cent in 2022.

This somewhat correlates to a decline in social media usage. As reported by the Financial Times, overall usage is down in all adults from a historical peak back in 2022.

What's interesting to me, however, is how younger audiences are becoming more vocal in their skepticism. Before, you could argue that skepticism was mostly associated with an older generation that was resistant to change. Now, one of the first truly digital generations is leading the call online.

I do have a few niggling doubts, though, which I'll cover shortly.

What exactly is a Neo Luddite?