L-shaped standing desks remain quite a niche pursuit, in my experience. They're ideal if you need additional desktop space. They're more than capable of lifting more than your standard desk, which is ideal for multi-monitor setups. But they also need a lot of room.

Still, for me, the Uplift V3 L-shaped standing desk is one of the best models around. It remained rock-solid in my real-world tests, with a massive 535lb lifting capacity thanks to the surprisingly quiet triple motors.

Given the absolute size of this unit, it's unlikely to be the best standing desk I've tested for most office professionals. But for those that need a stable desk with plenty of space to work on, there's a lot on offer here that I like.

Uplift V3 L-Shaped Standing Desk: Price and Availability

The Uplift V3 L-shaped desk is available direct from the manufacturer's website.

Prices start at $1,000, it comes in a range of styles, and you can expand it to make it a little fancier if you like and still get exactly what you want for a little cheaper.

What you choose, whether that's the barreled-shaped frame that goes all the way down to $1,719 if you just want the frame, or if you do end up choosing a desktop to go with it, you can absolutely make sure that you check Uplift's website to make sure you're getting the best deals.

All Uplift desks come with a standard 15-year warranty, which shows just how much they believe in the product. They also sell pretty much everything you need accessory-wise, and I've had great experiences with these, too.

Uplift V3 L-Shaped Standing Desk: Unboxing and First Impressions

Let this be a warning to you - learn from my mistakes. I should have followed the instructions I sent, built a standard desk, built the accessories piece, sanded it, and then attached the waterslide.

However, I got slightly distracted and rushed, so I ended up building the entire thing on the floor. I then had to flip it very, very, very carefully and nearly broke my foot, broke my toe, and ended up cutting off the top of the desk pretty significantly (if you look at the pictures) due to messing up a screw because I was once again rushing and trying to solve my issues.

I can't blame Uplift for this. The instructions were clear. I just did not listen. Thankfully, we also got a spectacular desktop on Uplift, so I can use it to cover the gouge from the screw I misplaced during assembly.

Once assembled, I was thrilled with how clean and sharp the desk looked. The power bar attached just as easily as the others. The little desk shelf added a nice elevation change for gear, and the desktop material itself was just as good as I hoped.

Uplift V3 L-Shaped Standing Desk: Design and Build Quality

L-shaped standing desks have been hit or miss for me. I have used some that were super sturdy and strong, and others that feel like they're not even worth it.

Uplift, on the other hand, does it right, and they make sure the added leg and extension actually add stability, not just complexity. At max height, which I seem to be putting it at often since I'm fairly tall and like to adjust cables a lot, this desk is still just as stable as when it's at its lowest.

I haven't had any issues adjusting the height over these 90+ days, and there have been zero responsiveness issues. The desk responds quickly when I press the buttons to move it, and it jumps directly to the designated preset height, just as I would expect.

Over the last several months, my only qualm has been the gash in the desktop that I made myself. Once again, once we moved the desk mat over it, we now barely notice that, and actually don't notice it at all.

Uplift V3 L-Shaped Standing Desk: In use

I've already gone into this a bit, but over the last 3 months or so, this desk has done excellently across my team.

We've changed the setup a few times, but the guy on my team who normally uses this desk prefers to keep it pretty simple. He uses a laptop, lots of physical books for research, and some photos. It never missed a beat.

Uplift V3 L-Shaped Standing Desk: Final verdict

If you're looking for an L-shaped standing desk and you're willing to spend a little extra to get something quality, long-lasting, and customizable, then the Uplift V3 L-shaped standing desk is definitely one you should consider.

It's got a ton of options on both desktop and materials. It's got great accessories. It's easy to build if you follow the instructions, unlike me. Now, nearly 100 days in, I can confidently say it doesn't just look good at first; it actually runs well after I've pushed it hard for several months.

I have no doubt this desk will last for years with basic care and maintenance, and it will keep serving well for a long time.

• LG's FLiPP tech could deliver Tandem OLED performance for much less
• Will arrive on smaller displays first, don't expect it on TVs for several years
• Production for laptop and monitor screens could start in 2027

If you're a fan of OLED, there's an exciting new acronym you need to know: FLiPP. It stands for FMM-Less innovative Pixel Patterning, and the FMM bit refers to fine metal masks. Those are normally used in OLED manufacturing to precisely place the organic emissive materials.

With FLiPP, there's no mask. Instead, the materials are deposited across the glass, given a protective layer and then refined using photolithography and etching to get rid of the unwanted sections.

The biggest single advantage to FLiPP is efficiency. According to trade site The Elec, LG Display found that the tech increased the utilization rate – the efficiency of the production – from 75% in a conventional FMM process to over 93% in a FLiPP process.

That's good news for us, because more efficient production means lower production costs. And that ultimately means we could see much better OLEDs without higher prices.

FLiPP also improved utilization of the organic emissive materials from 40% to 74%, boosted the pixel aperture ratio (how much of the pixel area emits light) to 65%, and enabled the light-emitting area to boost luminance by 1.6x, longevity by 2.4x or reduce power consumption by 13%.

So that means these OLED screens can brighter, or they can be more reliable, or they can use less power, depending on the preference of the device. But in the near future, those devices will almost certainly be laptops and monitors, and not TVs — sadly for those desperate for the price of the best OLED TVs to drop.

What the FLiPP?

LG Display's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Choi Young-seok says that the technology is still in the first development stage. The next stage would be developing actual products, and the third stage is mass production.

That third stage will initially concentrate on the monitor market where displays are smaller — the improved efficiency figures mentioned above were for 23.5-inch panels — but laptops are apparently on the cards as well. LG Display has said it expects to reach this point by late 2027 — so the first products might appear at CES 2028.

According to Cho Heung-ryeol, who is the head of the Next-Generation Display Division, LG Display is currently evaluating its existing LCD and WOLED production lines to see if they can be reused without major modifications, or if new plant would need to be purchased. The former option is of course the preferred one. Either way, LG Display still plans for production to start in around a year.

If you'd like to know more about the technical side of FLiPP and how it compares to other OLED manufacturing processes, The Elec has published a transcript of LG Display's online seminar and you can read it here.

• AMD's proposed rack combines 32,768 CPU cores with 16 AI accelerators
• Traditional data centers may need new power and cooling infrastructure
• AMD divides agent workloads into personal, enterprise, and technical computing categories

AMD is developing a rack-scale computing system for artificial intelligence agents, with configurations designed for personal, enterprise, and technical workloads.

Dubbed Helion Agentic AI Rack, it supports up to 32,768 Zen 6 x86 CPU cores, 16 Instinct MI350P accelerators, and 74 petaflops of FP4 computing performance.

The proposed platform also supports 102 Tbps of networking bandwidth and uses modular hardware designed for different agent computing requirements.

A rack built around three kinds of AI agents

AMD groups agent workloads into three categories: personal assistants, enterprise applications, and technical computing, each with different processing requirements.

Personal agents need dense, energy-efficient servers; enterprise applications require a balance between agent capacity and performance; while technical workloads prioritize processing speed.

AMD allows operators to customize CPU core density, processing performance, and power consumption according to their workloads.

The hyperscale configuration uses CPU-only infrastructure, while the enterprise version combines processors and graphics accelerators within an integrated rack.

For personal agents, the system uses 256-core Venice processors operating at 400W, prioritizing processing density and power efficiency.

Enterprise workloads use the 256-core Venice processors rated at 600W, while technical computing uses 96-core, high-frequency Venice processors.

The enterprise configuration separates agent execution, inference, and general-purpose computing into distinct server nodes.

CPU sandbox nodes handle agent execution, Instinct MI350P accelerators support inference, and general-purpose servers accommodate databases, storage, and technical computing.

AMD also includes an integrated token router for directing agent model requests across frontier and open-source models.

The rack supports programmable networking, an open-source software ecosystem, and ORv3 44OU hardware compliant with Open Compute Project specifications.

Why traditional data centers may need substantial changes

Traditional data centers are built for standard cloud or legacy enterprise computing, not racks packing up to 32,768 Zen 6 CPU cores alongside heavy GPU configurations.

Therefore, facilities built around existing server arrangements may lack the appropriate combination of power delivery, cooling capacity and network infrastructure for these configurations.

Workload diversity creates another challenge because personal agents, enterprise applications and technical computing require different processing characteristics.

AMD's proposed rack mixes dense 256-core processors with 96-core high-frequency systems, requiring infrastructure that can accommodate different server types and operating requirements.

This creates a planning challenge for data centers, which must allocate rack space, power, and cooling to different server configurations instead of deploying identical systems.

Operators may need to modify existing infrastructure if it cannot support the selected combination of high-core-count and high-frequency servers.

Networking introduces an additional consideration because the rack supports up to 102 Tbps of bandwidth and integrates a programmable token router.

Existing facilities may need compatible networking equipment and software to support this throughput and route model requests across different AI systems.

The Helion Agentic AI Rack is scheduled for availability in November 2026, but AMD has not disclosed complete facility upgrade costs or cooling requirements.

• Oxylabs, Decodo, Webshare, ScrapingBee, and Honeygain now formally sit under one Vilnius-based umbrella called Source
• Source claims AI agents drove a fourfold increase in demand for services across its organizations
• The brands, previously reviewed as rivals, including three of TechRadar's nine best-proxy picks, now officially share common oversight

Oxylabs, Decodo, Webshare, ScrapingBee, and Honeygain have formally come together under a single name, Source, and the Lithuanian group behind them says AI agents are why it needed one.

The Vilnius-based ecosystem claims demand across its companies has risen fourfold in a year as AI agents, next-generation search tools, and frontier AI products pull live data from the web.

Its systems now process 1.5 million requests per second, and that it is expanding into web search APIs built specifically for AI agents.

One umbrella with five different, competing shopfronts?

Source presents itself as a backbone rather than a business. Its launch post says it has no customers or products of its own; instead, it handles patents, procurement, hiring, and compliance, while each brand keeps its own team, product strategy, and customer base.

The brands are split by customer type. Oxylabs serves enterprises and AI labs; Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) targets the mid-market; ScrapingBee sells developer APIs; Webshare serves professional consumers and solo builders; and Honeygain pays ordinary people for their spare bandwidth.

For anyone shopping for a proxy service, this is the most practical takeaway. Oxylabs bought Webshare in 2022 and ScrapingBee in 2025, and Honeygain became its main residential proxy sourcing partner in 2021.

Decodo's ties were less clear-cut until now, and trade site Proxyway notes that the launch officially links Oxylabs and Decodo under one organization. Source CEO Vytautas Savickas ran Decodo until March 2026, when he moved across to lead the Oxylabs group and founder Julius Černiauskas became chairman.

All of this points to a marriage of convenience rather than a merger by organizations that are already very closely interlinked. This is interesting because some of these brands have been sold and reviewed as alternatives to one another.

The best example of this is that three of the nine picks in TechRadar's own best proxy sites guide now belong to Source: Decodo as best overall, Oxylabs as best for business, and Webshare as best for privacy.

For context on the overlap, our residential proxy roundup described Oxylabs as one of Decodo's toughest competitors. Source says the companies remain fully independent in strategy, customers, and market presence, and that may well hold commercially, but common oversight is now a matter of record.

The release provided to TechRadar says Source gives the group "a unified voice in defending responsible access to public web data," and its legal history explains the appetite.

Reddit sued Oxylabs alongside Perplexity, SerpApi and AWMProxy in October 2025, alleging they evaded its anti-scraping measures by lifting Reddit content from Google search results. Oxylabs said it was "shocked and disappointed" and would defend itself.

It was still listed as a defendant in filings this spring, and in late July a federal judge allowed Reddit's core claims against SerpApi and Perplexity to proceed. Further back, a Texas jury awarded rival Bright Data nearly $7.5 million against Oxylabs in a 2021 patent case.

Source's own essay on AI agents and the open web argues that if access is negotiated one licensing deal at a time, only the biggest companies will be able to afford it. This makes a convenient argument for a large web scraping group, but the gatekeeping fears are real.

The most concrete product promised here is AI search, and it is older than the umbrella itself: Oxylabs already offers a Web API that pairs a search endpoint with a scraping endpoint for agents, so the "dedicated AI Search APIs" promised look more like an expansion of existing work than a new product line.

For customers, the questions to watch are whether the brands keep competing on price, how clearly each one discloses their newfound relationship, and how the Reddit case plays out for Oxylabs.

For everyone else, Source is a bet that AI agents will keep needing the live web, and that the companies supplying the pipes deserve a seat at the table when the rules for that access get written, aiming to negotiate from a clustered position of strength.

• Brad Smith hits back at Trump administration's decision to target Microsoft
• Five out of six tech/science medal holders were born outside of the US
• "We should all be worried," Smith says

Microsoft President Brad Smith has warned that new restrictions under the Trump administration could severely damage America's technology industry by limiting its access to skilled migrants.

Speaking with Politico, Smith criticized the administration's decision to restrict Microsoft's ability to sponsor skilled foreign employees for permanent US residency under the green card scheme.

By discouraging workers from moving to America, Smith worries that they could be incentivized to move to other countries, both losing America access to skilled professionals while simultaneously boosting other countries' access.

Smith hits back at Trump administration to limit green card

Microsoft's President's comments come in a response to US Vice President JD Vance's October 8 2026 memo declaring that Microsoft and seven other companies would be suspended from sponsoring foreign workers for permanent residency.

"Our message to Microsoft is, you’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers," Vance said (via The Guardian). "You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants."

Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL are also impacted by the changes.

"I think we should all be worried about sending – intentionally or inadvertently or otherwise – signals that send the most talented next wave of AI [or] SI software engineers to other countries, rather than the United States," Smith said.

Smith also criticized the Trump administration for failing to get the numbers right about its green card applications, calling Vance's comments "completely off base" and slating the government because "the green card backlog is so long."

"We should consider the fact that when the president honored six Americans with these technology and science medals, five of the six had come to the United States as immigrants," he added.

The next steps continue to play out, but legal challenges and international worker uncertainty could both be on the cards.

EcoFlow has been one of those portable power station brands that has scored consistently high marks in our tests. They're an easy recommendation based on our reviews, offering everything from small off-grid units to full emergency home backup power supplies.

Now, Prime Day might be over, but EcoFlow is still offering great deals on its own site in an extended sale that runs until October 18. Of all the backup options currently discounted, the one worth checking out first is the EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra, a 3072Wh power station built for powering large appliances.

• Best for: Homeowners preparing for power outages, people who need backup electricity for essential equipment, and anyone looking for a high-capacity portable power station.

• The deal: The EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Portable Power Station is $1,349 (was $1,599) at EcoFlow.

• See the full sale at EcoFlow

Today's best EcoFlow portable power station deal

Why we recommend it

The EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra has a 3,072Wh battery that offers enough stored energy to keep essential equipment running during shorter outages. It delivers 3,600W of continuous AC output, with a 7,200W surge rating to accommodate the brief startup demands of compatible appliances.

EcoFlow's X-Boost technology can support certain appliances rated up to 4,600W by adjusting the supplied voltage. EcoFlow says the battery can reach 80% in just 89 minutes using a suitable AC or generator charging setup. Batteries are rated with a ten-year lifespan.

Price context & historical value

EcoFlow has reduced the Delta 3 Ultra from $1,599 to $1,349 as part of its Prime Day Fall Extended Sale. That's a saving of $250, around 16% off the standard price. It's not the cheapest it's been however. It was on sale for $989 at Wellbots for Black Friday last year.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Delta 3 Ultra if...

You want a high-capacity battery backup for your home. The 3,600W output makes it suitable for a wider range of appliances than smaller portable power stations.

❌ Skip the Delta 3 Ultra if...

You only need to charge phones, tablets, or a laptop occasionally. A smaller, cheaper power station would be a better option.

More EcoFlow deals

Adobe Premiere is one of the biggest names in video editing, but at $240 for the year, it doesn't make sense for every creator. Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate is our favorite subscription-free alternative. Pay once, and it's yours forever (you can even pay a reduced rate to upgrade to the next edition, but that's definitely not essential).

Right now, Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate is down to $90 (was $130) - and in the UK, it's priced at £80 (was £115). If you don't need complex multi-cam editing or masking tools, the more basic Studio 26 is $40 (was $60), or £40 (was £60).

• Best for: Windows users who want advanced video editing features without an ongoing subscription.

• What we like: Unlike lightweight video editing apps, it supports 4K video editing across unlimited tracks and multi-camera editing for footage captured from up to six cameras. Other features include motion tracking, video masking, green screen effects, and advanced color grading.

• What to know: Pinnacle's video editing software is Windows-only, and lacks the support for plugins that you get from Premiere Pro and Resolve.

Which video editing tool we'd recommend

Adobe Premiere Pro is an excellent choice for professional editors, but not everyone needs everything it offers. Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate is a much more affordable alternative with plenty of tools to explore. We rated it the best subscription-free video editing software in our guide.

In our review the previous edition, Studio 25 Ultimate, we found it "offers professional post-production polish without subscription costs." Minor niggles with the slow import section aside, we found it ticked all the boxes for general video editing workflows that don't need the pro-grade output of Pro and DaVinci Resolve.

On top of the features we've discussed, you can use masking to hide distracting objects, blur sensitive information, or apply effects to selected areas of a scene.

The software also includes keyframe controls, letting you adjust the position, size, speed, and appearance of elements throughout your video. For audio, there's voiceover recording, noise reduction, and audio ducking, which automatically lowers background audio to make narration easier to hear.

Price context & historical value

Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate is currently priced at $89.99, a $40 saving from the regular price of $129.99. In the UK, it's £79.99, down from £114.99.

Unlike Adobe Premiere's subscription model, this is a one-off payment, which is great if you only do a spot of video editing when needed. Adobe Premiere costs $22.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, or $263.88 if you pay for the year upfront. Alternatively, you can pay $34.49 a month without an annual commitment.

In all, that means a single year of Adobe Premiere could cost you more than three times the price of Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate.

If Pinnacle Studio 26 Ultimate seems a bit on the expensive side, you can always buy the standard version of Pinnacle Studio 26 for $39.99, down from $59.99. In the UK, it's £39.99, down from £59.99.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy Pinnacle Studio 26 if...

You want a Windows video editor with advanced features but don't want to keep paying for an Adobe subscription. It's particularly appealing if you regularly create YouTube content, tutorials, travel videos, or personal projects and want more control than basic editing software provides.

❌ Skip Pinnacle Studio 26 if...

You already rely on Adobe Premiere for professional projects, especially if you use other Adobe applications or need to exchange projects with collaborators. It's unsuitable if you use a Mac, as Studio 26 is designed for Windows.

• Shop all Studio 26 products at Pinnacle

Well, that went fast. We’re now five hours past when the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first folding phone, went up for pre-order, and shipping estimates for every storage configuration in both colors — Star White and Night Sky — have slipped to January 2027. That’s well past the holiday season and into the new year.

It didn’t even take four hours for things to get that bad. Within about 25 minutes of preorders opening, shipping estimates were already approaching the end of December 2026 or slipping into early 2027. Many took to social media to report the worsening delivery times, along with issues using both Apple Store apps, which were at times unresponsive or failed to remember the ‘get ready’ information customers had entered ahead of preorders.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen demand push shipping estimates back this far, and it’s reminiscent of the iPhone X — the first iPhone with Face ID — or even the unicorn Jet Black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. In the latter case, though, the supply crunch was limited to a single color. Either way, the early rush suggests serious interest in Apple’s first folding iPhone, even before most people have had a chance to try one.

It’s likely a combination of high demand and limited supply, rather than either factor alone. And with shipping estimates already slipping into 2027, I’d expect Apple to look at ramping up production if its manufacturing partners can accommodate it. The big question is how quickly it can get more units out the door to meet demand.

Right now, if you want an iPhone Duo, you’re looking at a wait until 2027. And it’s not just Apple’s folding phone: the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are showing delivery estimates ranging from the end of October through mid-November, depending on the configuration. That means anyone hoping to get their hands on one of Apple’s newest iPhones immediately — or even in the next few days — is out of luck. The initial preorder rush has already pushed delivery windows weeks or, in the Duo’s case, months out.

My dad had a mostly smooth preorder experience, securing an iPhone Duo 256GB in Night Sky right at 8 AM ET. His delivery estimate currently falls somewhere between mid-November and December, which is a pretty good outcome given how quickly shipping times slipped. But plenty of people have taken to social media to report glitches with Apple’s Store apps, and my friend Jason Cipriani detailed his own preorder experience at Pixels and Pizza, with his iPhone Duo order now expected to arrive in mid-December.

If you’re still hoping to get an iPhone Duo sooner, Apple isn’t your only option. Carriers and other retailers, including Best Buy, may have different inventory and delivery estimates depending on the color and storage configuration you want. The iPhone Duo comes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options, so it’s worth checking a few different combinations. I’ll include links to the other retailers below so you can compare availability.

Best iPhone Duo preorder deals in the US

• Apple: up to $885 off with a trade-in
• Verizon: phone and unlimited plan for $105.55 $72.22/mo
• AT&T: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in and new line
• T-Mobile: up to $1,000 off with a trade-in and new line
• Red Pocket: get $100 off an unlocked iPhone Duo
• Xfinity: get up to $1,000 off with a trade-in and unlimited plan

Best iPhone Duo preorders in the UK

• Sky: from £47 per month with a £12 upfront fee
• Vodafone: up to £855 off with a trade-in and from £27.45 per month
• EE: from £73.57 a month
• Three: save up to £1,035 when you trade in
• Tesco Mobile: save up to £90 with a Clubcard and get a £100 gift card

Want the iPhone Duo sooner?

There’s also the possibility of picking one up on launch day. Apple may have some stock available in stores on October 24, though that’s not guaranteed, and you could be in for a wait. Another option is to keep checking Apple.com from launch day onward to see whether an iPhone Duo becomes available for in-store pickup. If you’re flexible on color or storage, it’s worth checking regularly rather than assuming you’ll have to wait until 2027.

And if you’re after one of the newest iPhones with Apple’s latest and greatest silicon, there’s always the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max. Both are mighty fine phones and earned a full five out of five stars from us.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of the iPhone Duo, how your preorder experience went, and when your new phone is expected to arrive!

• AI giants are investing billions to train engineers in a bid to help their customers
• US FDE engineer jobs rose 6x year-over-year, two years in a row
• Consultancies are advertising the most FDE jobs, it seems

US tech giants are now spending billions of dollars deploying specialist engineers to help their customers realize the benefits of AI, with AWS, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google all recently announcing expansions to their forward-deployed engineer (FDE) programs.

We've already surpassed the point that model capabilities were the limit – now, companies are struggling with legacy infrastructure and identifying real-world use cases, so AI developers are getting involved to help them out.

As part of the ongoing shift in how AI is being sold, those developers are no longer just selling their AI to customers – they're also taking responsibility over its deployment.

FDEs are the future of enterprise AI adoption

Already, we've seen OpenAI backing its FDE business with a massive $4 billion investment and AWS footing a $1 billion bill for FDEs, while Anthropic shared plans to train 10,000 specialist engineers by the end of 2027.

Lightcast research even highlights the extensive growth in FDE job roles, with around 200 FDE job ads shared in the US in 2023 and a similar number in 2024. By 2025, this had increased 6x to around 1,200 advertised positions, yet in the first nine months of 2026 the report found 7,300 roles, another 6x increase year-over-year.

"As businesses move from developing AI technology to applying it, they need professionals who can bridge the gap between technical products and operational problems," the report explains.

Interestingly, three of the four top companies advertising roles were consultancies (Deloitte, Accenture and KPMG), with just one of them being a tech firm (Google). Consultancies are positioning themselves as a key part of the chain, and Anthropic's recent announcement to support engineer roles within third-party consultancies aligns with this emerging trend.

Lightcast Head of Global Research Elena Magrini explained in an interview with CNBC that a sharp growth in wages also implies that these companies are fighting over a limited pool of talent.

Looking ahead, the most successful AI companies may no longer be the ones with the most advanced models – rather, they could be the ones using human engineers in the best way to gain more customers.

• Watch ZDFneo for free – no registration required
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 75%)

ZDF stands for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, which itself translates to Second German Television, but with regular live football and cycling available to watch for free, along with a huge library of films and TV shows, it's first-rate as far as we're concerned.

Read on as we explain how to watch ZDFneo from anywhere.

ZDFneo is one of a family of channels, along with ZDF, ZDF Info (documentaries), 3Sat (general entertainment), Phoenix (documentaries and current affairs), Arte (culture) and KiKA (children's shows). They're all available to stream on the ZDF platform.

However, if you try to tune into ZDF from outside Germany, it won't work. Unless you use a virtual private network (VPN). No matter where in the world you are, a good VPN will let you watch ZDFneo just as you would if you were in Germany.

How to watch ZDFneo

Use a VPN to watch ZDFneo from abroad

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

The Celebrity Traitors returns with episode 6 tonight, and we're desperate to see it. We're all fying to know what's in store for the celebs in The Traitors' castle.

Even for a show called 'The Traitors', watching James Acaster kill off his comedian friend Rob Beckett felt like a grade-a betrayal.

To add to the tension, the Traitors line-up has changed yet again, with King Kenny taking prof. Hannah Fry's place after she was banished by the faithful at a successful round table.

Episode 6 airs tonight, October 16 at 8pm BST. Here's how you can watch The Celebrity Traitors online from anywhere with a VPN (75% off) and potentially for free.

*SPOILERS*

In case you missed the first five episodes, here's a quick rundown to get you up to date.

The two original Traitors were Richard E. Grant and Maya Jama. they decided to go with two very different styles of game play... Maya Jama played the game as you're meant to, while Richard E. Grant immediately told everyone he was a traitor. Unsurprisingly, he was voted out at the first Round Table.

The Traitors have since been recruiting, meaning that the line-up of backstabbers now includes James Acaster and Prof. Hannah Fry.

Those among the dead include Bella Ramsey, of The Last Of Us fame and Amol Rajan, of Amal Rajan fame.

After successfully voting out a traitor in the first round table, the faithfuls banished two of their own; Julie Hesmondhalgh and Myha'la.

Rob Beckett was murdered after a tense game of hide-and-seek, but the faithful got their revenge by banishing Traitor Prof. Hannah Fry.

Youtuber King Kenny took her place in the turret, and seems all-too excited to start with the killing; have James and Maya created a monster?

Who will be next to be murdered, and will the faithfuls manage to sniff out a traitor?

Read on as we explain how to watch episode 6 of The Celebrity Traitors 2026 from anywhere – including the spinoff Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked and the final on Friday, October 30.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors for free?

Yes. Faithfuls (and everybody else) in the UK can watch The Celebrity Traitors FREE of charge on BBC One and the channel's BBC iPlayer streaming platform and app. Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4 and episode 5 are streaming now; Episode 6 airs on Thurs, Oct 16.

How to watch The Celebrity Traitors from anywhere

If you're keen to watch The Celebrity Traitors S2 but you're away from home and access to the show is geo-blocked, you can always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

Use one of the best VPNs to watch The Celebrity Traitors 2026 (season 2) from anywhere:

Using a VPN is incredibly simple:

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're visiting the US and want to view your usual UK service, you'd select a UK-based server from the list.

3. Binge the backstabbing. Head to your usual local streaming service and watch Traitors.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors UK in the US?

The Celebrity Traitors (2026) will arrive on Peacock in "Q4 2026", which is not a surprise – NBC/Peacock is home to all things The Traitors. The US release date is due to be announced shortly.

If you're a UK resident who is currently across the pond, a VPN will help you tune in to your BBC. NordVPN is our recommended provider, and you can find out why with our in-depth NordVPN review.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors 2 in Canada?

In Canada, subscription service Crave is streaming all 4 episodes of The Celebrity Traitors season 2. Viewers can also chose between French and English.

Crave plans start from CA$11.99 a month and offers classic HBO series, on-demand movies and Crave originals alongside TV shows such as The Traitors.

Visiting Canada from the UK? Use a VPN to watch The Celebrity Traitors season 2 online – plus all the other content you'd normally stream at home.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors season 2 in the UK?

The Celebrity Traitors continues tonight, Thursday, 16 October 2026 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

The series airs two nights a week on Thursday and Friday evenings at 8pm.

Visiting the UK? from Ireland Use a VPN to access your usual The Celebrity Traitors on iPlayer.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors 2 in Australia?

The Celebrity Traitors season two is available in Australia for free on 10.

Fans can catch up on the first 5 episodes, as well as watch new episodes at exactly the same time as they air in the UK. All you need is a 10 account, and they're completely free.

Episodes are also available on Paramount Plus.

Outside Australia? NordVPN will help you gain access to free 10 streams while you're out of the country.

Can I watch The Celebrity Traitors 2 in New Zealand?

For Kiwi viewers, The Celebrity Traitors UK season 2 will stream on ThreeNow starting October 4 – three days after it starts in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

Visiting New Zealand? Grab this VPN (75% off) now to watch all your usual British streaming services when traveling.

The Celebrity Traitors series 2 (2026) – Need to Know

The Celebrity Traitors 2 trailer

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• How to watch The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked season 2 for free
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• Watch The Traitors: New Blood season 1 online

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

The Corsair Vengeance line of RAM remains one of the best desktop memory kits we've ever tested. Amid sky-high RAM prices, we've been tracking discounts on the range built for both performance and eye-catching aesthetics.

If you're building or upgrading a modern Intel or AMD rig with a generous pool of fast, reliable memory, Corsair's Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 CL36 kit has dropped to $510 (was $546) at Best Buy. In contrast, both Newegg and Corsair have the Intel-only model at this price.

32GB is a comfortable amount of headroom for gaming, multitasking, and most content creation work, and the CL36 timings at 6000MT/s strike a reasonable balance between speed and price for DDR5.

Why we recommend it

Vengeance RGB is one of Corsair's most established DDR5 lines, and this kit hits a sensible middle ground: fast enough to make a real difference in gaming and multitasking, priced well below Corsair's flagship overclocked kits, and backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

AMD Expo and Intel XMP 3.0 support means getting to the rated 6000MT/s speed is a one-click process in most BIOS menus rather than manual tuning, and the onboard voltage regulation Corsair includes is aimed at making that overclock more stable out of the box.

At 45mm, the heat spreaders should clear most tower air coolers without issues, which isn't always guaranteed with RGB memory.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB kit if...

You're building or upgrading an AMD or Intel DDR5 rig and want 32GB as a comfortable baseline.

❌ Skip the Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB kit if...

You don't want to install iCUE software to control the lighting, or you're chasing the tightest possible latency at this speed.

Price Context & Historical Value

This is the best price I can find on Corsair's CMH32GX5M2E6000Z36 SKU - this is the one that supports both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD Expo. For comparison, the Intel-only model is also available for $510 from Newegg and direct from Corsair.

What to know before you buy

CL36 timings are respectable but not the tightest available at DDR5-6000; kits with CL30 timings offer lower latency at a similar or sometimes higher price if that matters more to you than budget. As with any high-speed memory kit, it's worth checking your motherboard's QVL list to confirm compatibility before buying, since not every board handles 6000MT/s DDR5 equally well.

There’s a phrase I often used to use when referring to Elon Musk: Don’t bet against Elon.

This stemmed from long before he became a supervillain, and was instead no more than an oddball tech-sector genius primed to become a real-life Tony Stark. It was at the tail-end of this honeymoon, in 2017, that Musk unveiled the Tesla Roadster 2020, a luxury model EV that promised insane specs and performance (0-to-60mp in 1.9 seconds) and maybe even something we’d only dreamed of: rockets that might let it fly.

Now, for chronology sticklers, Musk did not promise rockets during Tesla's November 2017 event; it was was primarily devoted to the Tesla Semi. That tease came months later on his favorite platform, Twitter, where Musk wrote:

“SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …”

I posted my skepticism with a Tom Hanks GIF of him saying “Really?”

This morning, my X feed has been filled with people replying to that old post with “Yes, really” and wild videos of the fully redesigned Tesla Roadster flying with the aid of what appears to be 10 thrusters (SpaceX rocket engines).

In the videos shared from Musk’s launch event, the Roadster inexplicably rides up a vertical incline and then flies off it, flips over, and lands on its wheels.

Yes, a car can fly. We may not have affordable healthcare or housing, world peace, safe social media, or know if AI will save us or kill us, but we have a car that can fly.

I’m not discounting the impressive engineering or sheer audacity of the flying Tesla Roadster, but it’s been a long time since Musk crashed his own launch event with a “one-more-thing” Roadster update, and I feel different about, well, just about everything.

Back then, it had been five years since I had interviewed Musk and gotten him to playfully whistle Fly Me to the Moon. The busy entrepreneur’s personality had been shifting slowly to a more petulant and unpredictable place. I’d recently sat through a Tesla Model 3 launch where he abruptly ended a press conference without taking any real questions from journalists, and at the Semi event, he showed up incredibly late, though he did deliver the goods in the end.

I see things differently now

Now, when I look at this more geometric and rocket-filled Tesla Roadster (it looks nothing like the one I saw in 2017), it’s through the prism of everything else Musk has done in the last five or so years.

He purchased Twitter, smothered the brand, and rebooted it as the darker and often angrier X. To be fair, some now report that X has started to rekindle some of its older, kinder, and more inclusive community (I’ve experienced a bit of this myself), but it’s still a far cry from the place Musk so enjoyed when he touted all his latest Tesla and SpaceX advancements back in 2017.

Musk became not just the face of government cost-cutting; he became President Donald Trump’s weapon of choice, with the Musk-led Doge taking an axe to life-saving programs around the world.

It’s hard to reconcile the excitement of a flying car with the man who now guides it.

Or is it?

The fact is that no one needs this car, and anyone who understands even the tiniest bit of physics (and rocket technology) knows that the power and effort to lift and fly a one-ton car is extraordinary.

Its thrusters have nothing to do with the EV motors or batteries — they’re cold-gas thrusters, which use massively compressed gas stored in a 200-liter tank and a 400-liter tank. Musk was clear that this car is not expected to be road legal, which is good, because I’m frankly terrified of the idea of something crashing into it and rupturing those tanks.

But even if he delivers multiple of these cars for the invite-only crowd it’s aimed at, and it doesn’t turn out to be a one-off (which, let’s face it, is likely), why bother? If it’s so impractical that it can never make it to American roads, or any others, what was the point outside of a fun few seconds to watch?

Musk has his devotees, and I can see them tripping over themselves to applaud the unveiling (finally, after almost a decade) of this promised Tesla Roadster update, but for many others Musk is just another inscrutable tech bro who does what he does for his own reasons with very little, if any, of them having to do with the betterment of humankind.

So, thanks for the tech showcase, Elon. You have anything for what’s really ailing the world?

• Attackers exploited vulnerable devices to install legitimate bandwidth-sharing software and hijack internet connections
• Compromised systems were covertly added to proxy networks, enabling anonymous criminal activity
• Campaign affected at least 143 devices across 34 countries, highlighting patching and access-control failures

When threat actors break into a system, they don’t need to install malware to make use of the compromised endpoint - they can install perfectly legal, normal software, and still walk away with a paycheck they didn’t earn.

A recent proxyjacking campaign spotted by security researchers GreyNoise impacted hundreds of devices in dozens of countries.

Proxyjacking

Proxyjacking is a type of attack in which a device is hijacked and assimilated into a proxy network. Usually, cybercriminals would break into a computer, install malware and create a proxy network of their own, which they can later rent or use themselves. Threat actors are always in need of “clean” and unflagged devices and IP addresses behind which they can hide, making residential proxies - both malicious and legal - highly wanted services.

Some of the biggest malicious residential proxies out there include IPIDEA, NetNut, and Cloudrouter. All of them are now either entirely dismantled, or severely disrupted, but while they were operational, they offered hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of IP addresses associated with an internet connection used in a household (hence the name “residential IP address”).

But malicious proxies are difficult to pull off. To assimilate a device into the network, the threat actor needs to deploy malware which, as soon as it’s spotted, will be flagged by antivirus products and quarantined. In the newest attacks, spotted by GreyNoise, someone went for a legitimate app with similar functionality, instead.

The researchers found someone installing Pawns.app, primarily a rewards platform that lets users earn money by completing online surveys and playing games. However, it used to offer a bandwidth-sharing feature that let users earn money by allowing business clients to route their internet traffic through the user’s residential IP address. At the start of the year, the app discontinued the feature, but it seems it still works for older versions.

“As of 2026, Pawns.app does not offer internet bandwidth sharing,” a notification on the app’s website reads. “This feature was discontinued and is not associated with Pawns.app anymore.” But the app’s Terms of use still describe traffic sharing as available in some versions of the application, and its business website still promotes an SDK for bandwidth monetization.

Targeting D-Link

Apparently, someone picked up on this and went to work. According to GreyNoise, they targeted D-Link ShareCenter NAS devices, Ubiquiti UniFi Video NVRs, as well as SAP NetWeaver Visual Composers. These contained different vulnerabilities: CVE-2024-3272 and CVE-2024-3273 for D-Link, CVE-2021-44228 for Ubiquiti, and

CVE-2025-31324 for SAP, which the threat actor leveraged to deploy Pawns.app. GreyNoise also said that the attackers targeted Hikvision and Dahua DVR/NVR devices, but did not say which vulnerabilities they leveraged against these devices.

At the moment of publication, the researchers identified at least 143 compromised devices worldwide, located in 34 different countries. While they all had legitimate software installed, it was deployed without their knowledge or consent, making the entire ordeal illegal.

“While “earn on your internet” is voluntary, proxyjacking is a crime. Proxyjacking is when an MCA (malicious cyber actor) forces victim devices into proxy networks in order to monetize their bandwidth,” GreyNoise warned.

If you’re worried someone might have done something similar to a device under your control, GreyNoise created a free service that lets you check if your IP interacted with its Global Observation Grid. The researchers said it can serve as a potential indicator of proxyjacking.

Apart from scanning IP addresses, businesses should educate employees about the risks associated with installing free apps, as well as about the importance of keeping devices patched. They should also detect residential proxy IP addresses in authentication logs, as well as deviations in user authentication behavior and characteristics beyond geolocation, such as mismatches in device identifiers, or session identifiers.

Via BleepingComputer

We had to wait a long time for the unveiling of the new Tesla Roadster, but for those who wanted to see something absolutely bonkers, it was worth the wait. A top speed of more than 230mph, 0-60mph in under 0.59 seconds, and a suction system that lets the car hang upside down, if you're driving along the ceiling for some reason.

Then there are the rocket thrusters, borrowed from SpaceX, with up to 10 fitted on the top-end Rocket version of the car, which will be available buy by invite only. These compressed air boosters gave us the most dramatic moments of the unveiling, as the Roadster went upside down and then flipped back over, before later jumping over a procession of parked vehicles.

How exactly then has Tesla managed to get a car to fly? Is it going to cut down your commute time? And surely this technology can't be safe enough to ever be allowed on the roads? Here's the breakdown of the Roadster's rocket thrusters and how worried you need to be about getting close to them.

How does the Tesla Roadster fly?

The rocket thrusters on the Roadster are powered by tanks called carbon fiber overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). These tanks hold highly compressed air, and when that air gets released, through the thrusters, whatever they're attached to — in this case, a Tesla Roadster — travels very quickly in the other direction.

These COPVs are attached to cold-gas thrusters, but the air isn't chilled; it's just tightly compressed. The 'cold' terminology is used to distinguish them from 'hot' rockets that burn fuel, and there's no fuel burning here. SpaceX has been using similar thrusters for years, to help Falcon 9 boosters land safely back on Earth.

As per Tesla, "every usable void" in the Roadster is packed with COPVs to give the thrusters enough air to work with — a maximum of 600 liters, Tesla says, on the Rocket variant. That's divided into a 200-liter tank at the back for the rear thrusters (which is also there on the Thrust variant), and a 400-liter tank that replaces the passenger seat on the Rocket model.

We don't know how much flight time that will provide, but it seems unlikely to last much longer than the 'jump', adjustments and landing that we saw in Musk's demo. So it's unlikely you'll be soaring over city traffic (even if it were road legal). But if you should find yourself facing a missing section of an unfinished freeway, a la Speed, it should be ideal.

At the event, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the car would be able to refill its air tanks on its own, without any air propellant, but what we don't know is how long that takes. You might have to limit your barrel rolling when you're behind the wheel.

Electric motors are used to open and close the thrusters, "completing micro adjustments within a fraction of a second". You can see from the live demos that there's a lot of in-flight calibration going on to get the Roadster to land with its four wheels flat, and to give it the necessary lift when required.

"It can do rolls, it can do crazy gymnastics," Musk said at the Roadster showcase after wowing the live crowd with a few stunts. Notably though, there was no driver in the car — it was controlled autonomously — and the audience was situated a long way back.

Are the new Tesla Roadster's thrusters dangerous?

As impressive as the Roadster's stunts are, it's unlikely that rocket thrusters are coming to a legally approved road vehicle anytime soon. Musk himself said the vehicle was "not necessarily a safety optimized car" and when asked whether it was road legal said that it "depends on the street".

What we do know is the Rocket version of the Roadster (with a single seat and 10 thrusters, the full flying package) is marked as "not approved for public road use" on Tesla's website. The "track ready" Thrust version, with two seats and fewer thrusters, is labeled as a "limited release". The Performance version, which you can reserve now for production planned in 2028, is "road ready" and doesn't have any thrusters.

Here's the most likely reason for the restrictions: Tesla says that the four rear thrusters alone produce over 80 kilonewtons (kNs) of force — the same as being hit by a 9-ton weight, if you happened to pass behind the Roadster on a track starting line just as it set off.

I'm no road safety expert, but that seems likely to raise red flags for regulators. It's quite capable of breaking multiple bones and damaging organs in humans. It could also write off the car behind the Roadster, if used at a green light.

There is a secondary issue, which is that the gas escapes at supersonic speeds, so if it picks up any debris from the road as it blasts, that would be accelerated to bullet-like velocities.

You obviously wouldn't fare much better if a Tesla Roadster landed on top of you — for multiple reasons — even if its thrusters ensured a relatively comfortable landing for the driver. The driver's safety remains a bit of a question mark too, though, because something closer to a rollercoaster harness would be needed in place of a driver's seat to keep a real person secure inside.

In short: there's a lot of potential danger, and multiple safety risks involved here, meaning its very improbable you'll ever see one driving down the street. For the foreseeable future, the flying version of the Roadster is just a stunt car. Perhaps we'll learn more at the next demo, planned for Idaho Snake River Canyon of Evel Knievel fame.

• Stream European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 free on S4C (UK) / France TV (France)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 75%)
• EPCR Matchday 1: Fri, Oct 16 – Sun, Oct 18 (fixtures below)

Back-to-back champions Bordeaux's European Rugby Champions Cup title defense begins against early Gallagher PREM leaders Gloucester on Friday, in the first of 12 Matchday 1 ties across three days. L'Union haven't got off to the best of starts domestically, but that hasn't tended to affect their European form, whereas Jac Morgan has supercharged the Cherry and Whites.

Glasgow Warriors, the only EPCR team yet to taste defeat this term, kick off their campaign at Sale on Saturday, while Top 14 leaders and competition favorites Toulouse are up against Exeter on Sunday.

Leinster's quest to secure the trophy in Leo Cullen's final season begins with a trip to Clermont, while Connacht, back in Europe's top-tier tournament after a four-year absence, return to EPCR action against Saracens. Challenge Cup winners Montpellier have a chance to show they've got what it takes with an opening round showdown against Bath.

There will be emotional scenes as La Rochelle host tournament debutants Johannesburg Lions barely 24 hours after the South African side's lock Hyron Andrews passed away. The 31-year-old fell after an accident at the team hotel and couldn't be revived. There will be a minute's silence to honor Andrews, after the Lions elected to play in their teammate's honor

Here's how to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 from anywhere in the world. We've also listed the Matchday 1 EPCR fixtures below.

European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 schedule

(All times UK)

Matchday 1

Friday, October 16
8pm – Gloucester vs Bordeaux Bègles

Saturday, October 17
1pm – Sale vs Glasgow Warriors
1pm – Pretoria Bulls vs Stade Francais
3.15pm – Clermont vs Leinster | FREE on France TV
3.15pm – Stormers vs Bristol
5.30pm – Connacht vs Saracens
5.30pm – La Rochelle vs Johannesburg Lions
8pm – Munster vs Racing 92
8pm – Bath vs Montpellier

Sunday, October 18
1pm – Pau vs Leicester Tigers
3.15pm – Toulouse vs Exeter Chiefs | FREE on France TV
5.30pm – Northampton Saints vs Cardiff | FREE on S4C (at 10.05pm BST)

Can you watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 for free?

Yes. Select European Rugby Champions Cup games are shown on free-to-air France 2 in France each matchweek, with live streaming available via France TV.

Free EPCR coverage is also available via S4C in the UK, albeit on tape-delay, with streaming available via BBC iPlayer.

Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to watch EPCR 2026/27 games for free as if you were right at home.

Use a VPN to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 live streams

A VPN is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with up to 75% off.

How to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 live streams in the US

In the US, all 63 games of the 2026/27 European Rugby Champions Cup campaign are available to live stream on FloRugby.

A subscription costs $39.99 on a rolling monthly basis that can be cancelled at any time. Or, for top value, commit to a whole year and pay the equivalent of $12.99 per month ($155.99 total for the year).

Outside the US for a game? Use NordVPN to access your usual coverage.

How to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 live streams in the UK

All 63 games of the 2026/27 European Rugby Champions Cup are being shown on Premier Sports in the UK.

Premier Sports costs £18.99 on a rolling monthly basis, or £150/year if you pay upfront. Alternatively, you can add it to an existing Sky TV, Virgin Media or Prime Video plan.

However, games involving Welsh club Cardiff are shown in full on tape delay on free-to-air Welsh-language channel S4C, with live streaming available via BBC iPlayer.

If you're out of the UK but still want to tune in, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.

How to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 live streams in Australia

The dedicated EPCrugby.tv streaming platform is showing all 63 games of the 2026/27 European Rugby Champions Cup in Australia.

A full season pass costs €49.99 (~AU$80).

You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action as if you were back home.

How to watch European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 live streams in Canada

In Canada, all 63 games of the 2026/27 European Rugby Champions Cup campaign are available to watch on FloRugby.

A subscription starts at CA$39.99/month, or CA$155.88 if you pay for a year up front. You also get access to the URC and Gallagher PREM Rugby.

If you're out of Canada but still want to tune in, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.

European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 FAQs

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

• GoDaddy has launched new APIs to support business management and growth
• The APIs let AI agents manage professional email, hosting, and ecommerce
• The expanded Developer Platform is now available for free to users across the globe.

GoDaddy, the world’s biggest domain registrar, has just released an expansion to its Developer Platform that will let AI agents manage hosting, commerce, and professional email through dedicated APIs.

This latest release builds on GoDaddy’s domain APIs that were released in July 2026, and now includes premium domains and bulk domains. According to a press release shared with TechRadar Pro earlier this week, the expanded platform now gives AI agents and developers a more complete, programmable path.

In practice, this means users can take a project from working code to a real, live business without leaving the development workflow.

GoDaddy aims to solve the deployment bottleneck

According to GoDaddy, AI coding tools have compressed the time it takes for developers to turn an idea into reality. However, getting the application or website live can still mean having to jump between hosting platforms, email configuration, commerce tools, and domain settings – consuming time that developers could be using to focus on the bigger picture.

GoDaddy claims that by making its existing infrastructure programmable and interoperable, the Developer Platform will provide developers and the AI agents they use access to the services businesses need beyond the code itself.

Making AI-powered development accessible

The updated Developer Platform offers an all-in-one approach where developers, web agencies, tech pros, and AI coding agents can all access and manage GoDaddy products. Users can also integrate Node.js Hosting, delivering a simplified way to publish web apps, and benefit from app previews and built-in security features, including automatic HTTPS, a web application firewall, a CDN, and a managed MySQL database.

“The next generation of businesses will be built differently,” said Hemanth Guntupalli, chief technology officer of platforms at GoDaddy. “AI can turn an idea into working software in minutes, and we’re building the infrastructure that lets developers and AI agents take that software the rest of the way. From code to hosting, domains, email, and commerce, our customers can take their working application to a live business without breaking the flow.”

APIs included in this update include:

• Domain APIs: Providing access to domain search and name suggestions, including standard, premium, and bulk domains.
• Hosting APIs: Allowing users to deploy and operate Node.js apps directly from the command line or via AI agents.
• Email APIs: Users can purchase professional email, create mailboxes, and automate email configuration.
• Commerce APIs: Manage your GoDaddy commerce stores, orders, catalog, and customers.

GoDaddy highlights that these capabilities are designed to work as a connected system and are part of the company’s broader strategy to make it easier for businesses to build, launch, and operate online.

The expanded Developer Platform is now available for free to GoDaddy users worldwide.

• Phishing campaigns are abusing calendar invites and meeting requests to steal Microsoft 365 credentials
• Attackers hide malicious links in .ics files, fake meeting details, QR codes, and invite pages
• Researchers observed hundreds of thousands of phishing emails targeting over 40,000 organizations

If you get a calendar invite in your inbox be wary - it might be a carefully created phishing lure, designed to have you hand over Microsoft 365 or other login credentials.

Security firm Check Point Research (CPR) recently sounded the alarm for “several large-scale phishing campaigns,” abusing the fact that businesspeople routinely share calendar invites, and all designed to harvest their victim’s credentials.

Different approach, same result

CPR says it identified two separate approaches. In some cases, the threat actors would share calendar invites as .ics attachments. These pass email filters (since the file type itself is harmless) and land directly into people’s inboxes. In other cases, the invites would come as links (which end up redirecting the victim away from their calendar and right into a trap).

The former is arguably more dangerous: the attachment is disguised as a meeting request or a payment notification, and when the recipient opens or accepts the invitation, it ends up in their calendar. Sometimes, depending on each user’s settings, the calendar entry may be processed automatically, too. In both cases, the fraudulent content now looks like an ordinary work appointment or service notification.

So far, none of these things are malicious, or dangerous, on their own. There is no vulnerability exploited, or malware deployed, here. However, the event description, location field, or embedded QR code, may direct the victim to a fake Microsoft 365 sign-in page, or a fraudulent payment portal. The victim, not realizing the landing pages were spoofed, may end up sharing their login credentials or payment information with the attackers.

The latter approach is easier to set up, but arguably harder to pull off. A link placed directly in the email, even if it looks benign on the surface, might get flagged by email security services and filtered out into spam. If it passes, though, victims will have a rather difficult time spotting the ruse.

In one of the examples shared by CPR, a victim received a fake Microsoft Teams meeting invite, and simply hovering over the “join” link revealed its real destination - a credential-harvesting page at a third-party website.

Large campaigns

The campaigns are quite large, CPR stressed, and growing. Hundreds of thousands of these emails get sent every month, from countless compromised email addresses:

“Check Point Email researchers are tracking these campaigns and have seen a significant surge starting September 25, 2026,” the report reads.

“A new detection layer specifically designed to identify this type of attack has flagged more than 302,386 unique phishing emails among our customers’ emails, sent to more than 40,000 organizations.”

The campaigns average more than 8,300 emails per active day, CPR said, adding that the messages came from more than 33,890 different sender domains and more than 247,270 unique sender addresses.

“Activity is not fading, it is accelerating. Daily volume grew from a few thousand emails a month in April to more than 118,000 in September, and to more than 740,000 in just the first two weeks of October. The busiest single day so far was October 8, with almost 200,000 emails,” the researchers concluded.

Phishing is one of the oldest and most used attack vectors out there, and for good reason. Besides being omnipresent, it is the cheapest and most effective way to compromise a target network.

That being said, defending against it usually revolves around common sense. Employees should be made aware that unsolicited emails carry real risk of cyberattacks, and that any email or instant message asking the recipient to urgently download a file, or log into a service, is most likely an attempted attack.

• Date: Friday, December 11
• Global stream: Netflix (no PPV)
• Tickets: Seat Unique
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is quite simply the biggest fight in British boxing history. A scrap 16 years in the making since a hotly dispute spar in a London gym in 2010, the contest sold out in under an hour and will break worldwide viewing figures, too. It's unmissable.

Sure, we would all have liked to have seen the two British heavyweights face off closer to their respective peaks – the fight was sealed in 2020 and 2021 only to fall out of bed as Fury was forced to fight a trilogy against Deontay Wilder – but that this bout is happening at all is enough. It's also been confirmed that the WBA world heavyweight title – likely the 'super' version – will be on the line.

Fury vs Joshua didn't need that garland but it only adds to the fight's allure. A joint press conference in late September was notable for its cordiality between the fighters, but expect insults to be traded and the Gypsy King's 'dosser' and 'sausage' barbs to feature.

Indeed, with promoters Eddie Hearn and Dana White at odds over the latter's involvement in the fight, there will be just as much intrigue outside the squared circle as in it.

Both fighters have lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk, a rumored future opponent for the winner, but Joshua seems to have more miles on the clock and was knocked down in stunning style by Kristian Prenga in his last fight that raised more doubts about his punch resistance.

Here's where to watch Fury vs Joshua boxing live streams online from anywhere.

Tickets for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua

Hospitality tickets are still available for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua thanks to Seat Unique:

Use a VPN to watch a Fury vs Joshua live stream

How to watch Fury vs Joshua live stream in the US

The Tyson vs Anthony Joshua live stream will be shown on Netflix in the US.

Just like AJ's fight with Jake Paul and the Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez mega fight, the streaming giant has the global rights to the contest that is sure to break more viewing records. As well as the home of shows like Stranger Things, Netflix also has NFL action in the US, plus thousands of movies.

Better still, the fight is included as part of your regular Netflix subscription – no pesky PPVs here. A Standard subscription costs $8.99 a month with ads, with the ad-free tier starting at $19.99. Premium access costs $26.99 a month.

Away from the US on vacation now? Use a VPN to watch your regular subscriptions when traveling.

How to watch Fury vs Joshua live stream in Canada

The Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua live stream is also available on Netflix in Canada.

Like in the US, subscription prices range from CA$7.99 a month for ads, right up to CA$23.99 with Premium.

Away from Canada on vacation now? Use a VPN to watch your regular subscriptions when traveling.

How to watch Fury vs Joshua live stream in the UK

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is also on Netflix in the UK.

In Blighty, subscriptions start from £7.99 a month with ads, with the ad-free Standard tier £13.99. The Premium tier is £20.99 a month, and comes with additional members allowed onto your package.

Remember, there are no PPV fees for this fight, which is included in your regular subscription.

Outside the UK? Use a VPN to gain access to all the content you'd normally stream at home.

How to watch Fury vs Joshua live stream in Australia

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is also on Netflix in Australia.

Prices for the streaming giant Down Under start from AU$9.99 for the Standard package with ads, with the ad-free tier AU$20.99. The Premier tier, with 4K capabilities, is AU$28.99.

In Australia when the fight is on? NordVPN can help you to access your usual services from anywhere, with ease.

Fury vs Joshua undercard rumors

No fights have yet been confirmed on the undercard of Fury vs AJ, but that hasn't stopped plenty of rumors swirling around.

Principal among them is cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia is going to move up to heavyweight and take on former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder. Wilder, of course, fought a memorable trilogy against Fury and is seeking to get back in the conversation for a future title fight again.

There are also rumors that Manny Pacquiao may make a boxing return in Cardiff. Now 47, the eight-weight world champion last fought to a majority draw with Mario Barrios in July 2025 and could be tempted back into the ring on such a huge night with the right dance partner.

Keyshawn Davis vs Richardson Hitchins is supposedly in advanced talks to be on the undercard in a welterweight bout.

Elsewhere, on a huge night for British boxing, expect a few local favorites to dot the undercard from the stables of Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren.

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

Private Internet Access (PIA) has released the v3.8.0 update for its eponymous VPN, which the company says could boost Windows connection speeds by more than 200 per cent.

The update makes WireGuard the default protocol on all platforms, replacing OpenVPN, and updates Windows clients to use the WireGuard-NT 1.1 kernel driver.

In the patch notes, PIA says this driver can boost ‘WireGuard speeds by more than 3x on higher-bandwidth systems’.

Compared to OpenVPN, WireGuard is a more modern and less CPU-intensive protocol, making it a great all-purpose VPN for multiple device types. It's also faster than OpenVPN on average

Though PIA previously offered WireGuard as an optional protocol, it used OpenVPN as standard. Making WireGuard the default gives users quicker access to a faster connection in most circumstances.

Many everyday users use their VPN of choice for video streaming or moving files securely, so connection speed can be the difference between choosing one VPN over another.

OpenVPN remains available as an optional protocol, which will be welcome news for businesses and large networks that rely on its well-developed infrastructure.

For Windows users, the update adds the OpenVPN DCO kernel driver, which can boost connection bandwidth by up to 100 per cent depending on your system and connection specs.

As mentioned, OpenVPN is typically slower than WireGuard, so anything that boosts connection strength or speed is a welcome addition.

Improving more than speeds

The update also adds the AmneziaWG protocol to Linux and macOS, making it possible to obfuscate VPN use.

While most consumer VPNs disguise your web traffic, obfuscation means disguising the fact that you’re using a VPN. This is useful for getting around VPN blockers in regions or environments that restrict VPN use.

The addition of AmneziaWG means Linux and macOS users can hide their VPN use if necessary while retaining the benefits of WireGuard, namely fast connection speeds and light resource usage.

Users can activate the Amnezia protocol by heading to the Protocol page, selecting WireGuard, and switching on Obfuscation.

Finally, the update patches a macOS bug that left the app hanging if split tunnelling system extension setup was left incomplete in the system settings.

PIA hasn’t always been the best for regular updates and expansions, but recently the Colorado-based firm has issued a string of useful updates, from expanding its server network to adding an F-Droid app for de-Googled Android users.

Most recently, PIA added 10 new locations to its server network across the Americas, Middle East, Africa, and Australia.

As well as the security and privacy updates we’d expect to see from all VPNs, we’re always on the lookout for feature updates and network improvements when it comes time to put together our lists of the best VPNs on the market.

A better update cadence gives PIA a better chance of holding onto its spot as one of the best cheap VPNs you can buy.

Calling all creatives who want a laptop that will not quit. This 16-inch laptop is designed for photo and video editors who don't necessarily need a full 4K display, but still want an RTX 5060 GPU and a touch-based OLED panel.

It has a laptop touchpad with designer pen input and photographic design input, with a level of precision most laptops only dream of. It has spectacular ports, an incredible refresh rate, and jaw-dropping color accuracy.

In my tests, this proved it's not just a laptop. This is a creative graphics studio that fits in your backpack. If that is the world you live in, then this laptop is purpose-built just for you.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 Aura Edition: Price and Availability

The Lenovo Pro 9i AE Gen 11 16-inch OLED Touch comes in several build options, and is available from Lenovo US, Lenovo UK, and other territories. Prices start at $2,499.99 / £2,719.99 at the time of review. My review unit came in at just over $3,000.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 Aura Edition: Unboxing and First Impressions

All right, I'll say it: Lenovo makes some pretty sharp-looking laptops. Even this laptop, as large as it is, still looks sharp and sleek. The box includes the power cable, power adapter, Yoga Pen, and documentation, along with the laptop itself. Everything was fairly well packaged, too. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Thunder Gray, but I'm actually a big fan of the color.

Even with how hefty this machine is, it still feels manageable with day-to-day use. Yeah, I won’t want to carry this around one-handed while working off it, but bringing it from a coffee shop to a desk to a meeting and back to a desk, or lugging it around in my quality backpack, all seem very reasonable.

I wouldn't want to commute with it all day, every day, but for the power you can get from this machine, it's pretty spectacular. The OLED panel and 120 Hz motion are spectacular and immediately recognizable.

Another thing that I noticed right away is the keyboard and haptic force trackpad. For creatives, having that kind of quality input makes a huge difference. That's why so many creatives love having their customized keyboards and fancy mice. Input tools matter when you are creating.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 Aura Edition: Design and Build Quality

This is all about a pretty sharp-looking laptop. One of its biggest strengths is the impressive OLED panel and Intel Core chips. It also has that crazy-good force pad and Yoga Pen Gen 2, which reminds me a lot of the drawing and design pads that were popular a few years back. People could use a pen on a surface and have it appear on the screen.

It's a little bit interesting in this sense because there is a touchscreen as well. However, after about 2 minutes of learning to match your eyes on the screen to what is in your hand with the pen and drawing on the force pad, it works pretty well. I've seen people who do photo editing or graphic design get used to it pretty quickly, especially those who have used one of those drawing pads before.

As someone who normally draws on my iPad, it's a little odd, but nothing out of the ordinary or too hard to get over. Plus, the precision is pretty good, which might be why Lenovo chose the touchpad over the OLED panel. And probably because they didn't want to risk damaging the OLED panel, if I had to guess.

Thankfully, the trackpad also works as a pretty high-quality trackpad. As someone who uses my laptop's trackpad as much as possible (gestures, multi-finger motions, and more), I always appreciate a quality, enlarged touchpad.

Another thing I really appreciate is the port offering. I'm glad to see that some of these more Pro, power, and tech-savvy laptops are bringing back USB-A and even full-size HDMI.

A lot of what I do in my own space is use USB-C, as any good citizen should. I still go to plenty of places that don't have a USB-C hub or dock, so having that HDMI port is super helpful. Being able to plug into more legacy items with USB-A is also helpful. USB-C has been around for a long time, but I don't know about you; I still run into way too much USB-A day-to-day.

Perhaps it's just my IT and systems background, but I still run into a lot of that day-to-day. As I continue to grow in my creative endeavors, an SD card reader is a benefit I continue to maximize.

One more thing I'll mention is that this machine throttles its heat pretty well. By throttling, I mean it just vents heat, not necessarily throttling speed. I haven't noticed any of that through some of the more intense workloads I put this through, but through benchmarking, video editing, running heavy LLMs, and some pretty intense terminal sessions where I'm utilizing a lot of the internal power to build several agents and workers (along with using Codex, Claude Code, and Notion all at the same time, along with some browser views and computer control), this machine seems to be running just fine. Yes, the fans kick on under heavy loads, but it doesn't give up or slow down.

In my testing, I handled video editing in DaVinci Resolve while running several lines of 4K video. I could jump in and out without excessive loading, processing, or rendering. It feels fast. It feels like something that I would happily give to any video editor.

Yes, it may not be as good as a machine three times the cost, but for the price, portability, and use case, this is a very capable video editing machine. Of course, since it handles video editing, it can also handle some of the larger, several-GB photos I send it.

In my day job, we have several-GB files for giant banners that crash some of our other computers, but this one seems to be operating just fine right now. That's a testament to how powerful that chip is and how efficient this is.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 Aura Edition: In use

As mentioned above, I've thrown just about everything I can at my very broad workday. As the years go on, my days can include: heavy AI use, terminal use, app building, video editing, photo editing, content writing, systems engineering, heavy database builds, and so on

Using this as a mobile workstation gives me a sense of security that I won't need to transfer to another device or hand off heavier workloads elsewhere. Sure, there's still something to say about servers and things like that, but for what I can and should do on the device, this doesn't seem to limit what I do on a normal day.

The OLED panel is also gorgeous. That helps. I've had plenty of computers where the machine is powerful, but the screen is mediocre at best, and it just doesn't feel the same as using a brilliant display like this. To use a machine that a lot of people can compare with, this feels a lot like carrying around a MacBook Pro 16-inch or one of the 16-inch Dell laptops. It's big, but not too cumbersome. If you need that power, it's well worth it, and it's obviously better than carrying a desktop or a remote into a desktop.

If you're the kind of person who needs raw power and values the extra screen real estate, then this is absolutely worth getting. Even as somebody who is very partial to the 14-inch form factor, this 16-inch is nothing insane.

Lastly, on some other important factors, I've enjoyed using the keyboard. It's been comfortable for even long sessions. The touchpad is comfortable, accurate, and easy to use. The camera is good enough for virtual meetings, and the microphone is good enough, though obviously not the best. In a room or home office, it's fine, but if you're in a public space, please, for the love of everybody else on the call, get a pair of headphones or a dedicated mic.

Even if it's just a cheap pair of earbuds, which may be my biggest unlock of the year, it can make a huge difference, especially if you're using tools like Wispr Flow or voice agents. The mic is good enough if you're in a private office or home office, maybe with a little bit of background noise. If you're in a loud space, accurate vocal input is essential.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 Aura Edition: Final verdict

This laptop's pretty clearly designed for people in the creative space, or at least for anyone who works with it. Yes, it's wildly powerful, so really anybody who's in the heavy technical space, or if you're in the AI space or vibe coding space, you could utilize something like this as well.

With that beautiful OLED panel and force touchpad with pen input, this is clearly designed for graphic designers, photographers, video editors, and similar work. If you don't do those things, you'll still enjoy using this laptop, but there may be another one, even from Lenovo, that better fits your unique specifications and requirements.

For more creator machines, we've tested the best photo editing laptops and the best laptops for video editing.

October 2026 is going a bit too fast for my liking. Indeed, it only feels like yesterday that I was writing this month's first streaming round-up, let alone its third and latest edition.

But, hey, the weekend is here now, and that means you can settle in front of your TV and watch myriad new movies and shows on the world's best streaming services. Personally, I'll be tuning into the final Marvel TV show of the year on Disney+, but there are plenty of other things to enjoy if you've fallen off the superhero band wagon. So, scroll on to see what's worth catching before Monday comes calling again. — Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

VisionQuest (Disney+)

VisionQuest is the third and final chapter of the Wanda/Vision TV trilogy — and, as I noted in my VisionQuest review, it might just cement this small-screen saga as one of the MCU's very best three-part stories.

Picking up some time after WandaVision ended, the latest Marvel Phase 6 TV series reunites us with Vision who, after regaining his memories in the aforementioned show's finale, has gone into hiding and is suffering an identity crisis. However, he's soon forced to go on the run with Thomas Shepard, a young thief claiming to be one of his twin sons, when nefarious forces come calling to secure Vision's highly advanced tech for themselves.

Episodes 1 and 2 are out now. Want to know when the others will air? Check out my VisionQuest full release schedule piece. — TP

• Watch VisionQuest on Disney+

Sacrifice (Netflix)

It's not often that a star-studded Netflix movie receives a very limited release on the streaming giant. But, that's the case with this dark comedy action flick, which only dropped in the US and France on launch day, aka October 16.

In it, Marvel icon Chris Evans plays Mike, a movie star experiencing an existential crisis when he's suddenly kidnapped by a group of radicals led by Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) at a charity gala. Along with two other abductees, Mike soon learns Joan's followers plan to, well, sacrifice the trio in order to prevent the world from ending.

Sacrifice was panned by critics prior to release, so temper your expectations for this one accordingly. If it's as bad as it sounds, though, it might be one of those "so bad, it's good" must-see films. — TP

• Watch Sacrifice on Netflix

Love of Your Life (Prime Video)

Margaret Qualley leads the cast of this new Prime Video romance movie, where she plays a nurse named Maya who is estranged from her mother.

Maya's life changes when she meets Charlie (played by The Night Agent's Gabriel Basso), and begins to fall in love with him. But the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to ruin everything as Maya becomes overworked, and the virus is quickly spreading.

This raw, emotional movie is a character-driven one as we follow Maya and Charlie as they navigate their lives and romance amid a life-threatening pandemic, something that many of us can sadly relate to. — Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Love of Your Life on Prime Video

The Diplomat season 4 (Netflix)

All eight episodes of The Diplomat season 4 are available on Netflix this weekend, making it the perfect binge watch for fans of political thrillers.

In season 4, the plot centers around a dangerous conspiracy and crumbling relationships among those in power. Things have never been more tense as US President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) and newly appointed Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) enter a secret alliance to steal a Russian nuclear weapon off the coast of England.

US Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is back, of course, and she's got plenty of work to do. — LB

• Watch The Diplomat season 4 on Netflix

Tenzing (Apple TV)

After last week's terrible movie offering in Matchbox: The Movie, Apple seems to have re-found its footing with its next original film in Tenzing.

Featuring a cast of heavy-hitters including Willem Dafoe and Tom Hiddleston, it tells the tale of Tenzing Norgay (played by Genden Phuntsok). A gifted Himalayan climber, Tenzing led the expedition that resulted in the first successful summiting of Mount Everest, for which Edmund Hillary (played by Hiddleston) went down in the history books for.

Hopefully, Apple TV's dramatization of this historic moment will make us reassess the story behind this perilous yet triumphant achievement, and the forgotten man who helped to make it possible. — TP

• Watch Tenzing on Apple TV

The Death of Robin Hood (HBO Max)

A24's dark adaptation of the ballad Robin Hood's Death is coming to HBO Max, with Hugh Jackman in the titular role.

The plot of the new movie follows an aged Robin, who is tormented by his past killings as an outlaw whilst living in a self-imposed exile. After he's wounded, he takes refuge in a priory where he befriends an orphaned girl Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer).

Reviews of The Death of Robin Hood were mixed, and it has been described as slow-paced and grim, rather than the action packed Robin Hood tale we've come to expect. But it might just surprise you this weekend. — LB

• Watch The Death of Robin Hood on HBO Max

Crystal Lake (Peacock)

Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake arrives on Peacock this weekend. With all eight episodes dropping at once, horror fans will want to clear their schedules.

The series follows Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), and is set eight years before the original movie. After her son Jason drowns at Camp Crystal Lake, we follow the depths of her grief and her growing paranoia, as she becomes the serial killer fans of the franchise are very familiar with.

Welcome to Derry writer Brad Caleb Kane serves as showrunner, too, so this horror prequel looks like it's in very good hands. — LB

• Watch Crystal Lake on Peacock

Something I've wanted to do for a long, long time: ask an audiologist for their expert advice on protecting our hearing when it comes to today's ever-advancing audio tech. I test headphones, speakers, DACs, turntables and the like all day every day, so my auditory system is one I'd like to safeguard — and sometimes I worry that noise cancellation and volume control aren't always the rock-solid defense shields we think they are.

I also happen to have a friend who recently spent over £4,800 (around $6,390 or AU$9,189) on top-of-the-range Amplifon hearing aids, a notable expense for a freelance professional guitarist even if their hearing loss is classed as 'severe' in the left ear and 'moderate-to-severe' in the right (that'll be the amp under their left ear, won't it?). If we can all stave off that extra cost, it'd be lovely to know how, no?

On the day of this interview, I'm also heading out to see Brandon Flowers in Bournemouth's O2 Academy (a rather loud gig venue, I think we can all agree). I wonder what we lifelong live music lovers can do to help protect our ears when we're not covering or invading our canals with small speakers, all piping sound into them — but paying to be surrounded by massive, loud line arrays instead?

Meet the expert: Dr. Rachel Artsma

So, I have questions. And Dr. Rachel Artsma, Lead Audiologist at Hear.com (a US company billed as the world's leading online provider of medical hearing aids) has agreed to provide the answers.

I ask her what we need to know about the damage we may inadvertently be doing to our hearing, and it becomes immediately clear that Dr. Artsma has more experience in explaining these complex systems to worried patients than I've had hot dinners. "Essentially, when we're talking about damage to the inner ear, or damage to the ear, we're talking about little hair cells that stand up", she explains, putting both hands straight up, to offer a visual representation. "And when sound comes in, either at high volumes or for a long duration, or both, the hair cells lay flat.

"Unfortunately, if somebody does that damage to those hair cells, they don't stand back up. They remain damaged.

"So sometimes if somebody goes to a concert or they're exposed to noise, they might feel like their hearing's muffled after, or they might get ringing in their ears — but it does reverse. That was almost like a warning sign, 'Hey, we were listening to a lot of noise there.' But sometimes it can be permanent.

"Just being aware of the warning signs can be really beneficial: ringing in the ears, feeling like your hearing's muffled, dizziness, that buzzing sound. These are all signs that you should definitely go and get your hearing checked."

I wonder whether Dr. Artsma is against the use of consumer earbuds that offer listening tests and profiles to atone for your hearing loss. Several flagship options such as AirPods Pro 2 and 3, Samsung's Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Galaxy Buds4 Pro as well as Nothing's Ear (3) and CMF Buds 2 Plus offer such tests now, with Apple leading the charge thanks to its 'Hearing Health' suite of features.

Actually, Dr. Artsma welcomes these innovations, with one caveat. "It is something that people are talking more and more about, now that it's becoming more available for consumers," she begins. "Of those features, especially when it comes to a feature that's being marketed as almost like hearing amplification, it's very similar to what we see with over-the-counter hearing aids.

"In general, it can be a good thing, because it's increasing awareness and getting people more into the hearing space. But while it definitely can be a tool, it's not a replacement for care, and not a replacement for getting professional hearing care.

"The way I look at it is, it helps get people in the door, almost like a gateway. But definitely we don't recommend that [consumer earbuds] as the long-term solution for hearing care, and we of course recommend getting a full diagnostic evaluation so we know where your hearing stands."

I'm ready to move on, but there's another point Dr. Artsma wants us to know. "Something that also is really important is when it comes to treating hearing loss is that we are wearing the hearing aids all waking hours," she adds emphatically. "It's really important for the brain. So in terms of treatment, that's also where hearing aids are beneficial, because we want to be wearing them all waking hours, not just for restaurants or things like that."

I hadn't thought of the issue of stamina, and it's a key point — very few consumer earbuds will last a full 12 hours without needing to be charged, and when battery-draining features such as personal hearing profiles are deployed, you're looking at a number much less than that.

What of ANC to protect our ears — help, or hindrance?

I ask about the active noise cancellation technology most of us use in our headphones now. Is this helping our hearing? "Typically when we're talking about active noise cancellation and the cancellation of that sound wave, we're usually talking about 20dB — that's what it's going to actually reduce, in terms of noise," Dr. Artsma begins. "So for some people, yes, they might not hear noise at all if it's within that range to start with, but if said noise is still really loud, the person will still hear it. So it does depend on the noise level surrounding them."

Interesting. Because ANC works by creating an anti-phase sound wave to effectively counteract the audible one we perceive as noise, I ask whether it would it be fair to say that active noise cancellation technology in headphones doesn't actually protect your hearing, and that controlling the volume of your headphones is much more beneficial to hearing health? "Correct, exactly, and I feel that this can be a misconception with active noise cancellation", Dr. Artsma says. "Sometimes people see that, or they read it and they think, 'Oh, I'm protecting my hearing with these.' But volume is important; we want to make sure that the consumer is also reducing the volume because of the benefit of ANC.

"Usually ANC is more effective for lower frequencies, so the lower-pitched tones. And in general, this can be a beneficial feature — it definitely does not protect our hearing, but indirectly it can, because this feature allows for the listener to not have to compete with outside noise.

"So if commuting on a train or on a plane, say, often wearers have to increase the volume of what they're listening to, to compensate for the noise. Active noise cancellation can be a nice feature because it allows the consumer to still hear what they're listening to, just at a lower volume."

Dr. Artsma sighs. "Of course, that only works if they do actually lower the volume though!"

Again, I wonder whether that's this topic covered, but no — we've not even got to the key issue yet. "But what's really important is the duration of how long people are exposing themselves to noise," Dr. Artsma continues. "Exposure is cumulative. So volume is only half the equation; duration is the other half.

"I like to use the 60/60 rule, which essentially means you don't listen with the volume higher than 60 percent, and no longer than 60 minutes in duration, and then you take a break. The two go hand in hand and both are very important when it comes to hearing protection."

It's a key point and one I've thought about often in the two days since we spoke. I can't help but think that when I review the best headphones for battery-life and sound, I stick to 50% volume (since that's how brands themselves measure that metric) but I have no idea what volume buyers will listen to, once they've made their purchase.

Is the pressure sensation I experience with ANC anything to worry about?

We're nearing the end of our allotted time, but I'm keen to ask Dr. Artsma about the pressure sensation some readers tell me they experience when listening to music with the ANC deployed in their headphones. Does it mean anything is wrong?

I mention that readers have emailed to tell me they experience a wind tunnel effect, or a vacuum noise when using ANC. What's happening there? Dr. Artsma smiles and I know that this time, she's about to reassure, rather than warn. "Absolutely, but lots of times that pressure sensation is a perception, not real pressure," she says. "What happens is because the active noise cancellation is reducing the low frequencies, the brain perceives that in a similar way to when we go on an airplane and we have that altitude change.

"Now in general, of course, if somebody ever feels like they're getting any ringing, or they feel like their hearing is muffled after listening, and they feel like they're getting ringing after using headphones, then of course you want to get your hearing checked. But all in all, it's typically just harmless and it's the perception of pressure, but not actual pressure."

Seeing as we're on a reassuring curve, I ask what I might do tonight at my Brandon Flowers gig to keep my shell-likes — that really do love his new album but don't want to suffer — from damage? "Oh, there are things that you can do as a concert-goer, and a key one is to position yourself appropriately," Dr. Artsma says. "Don't stand right next to the speaker, right! Distance yourself from the speaker.

"Of course, if you also are going to be exposed to this level of noise, wearing high-fidelity hearing protection and protecting our ears is also a recommendation."

I quickly circle back to the 60/60 rule and ask how long a break we should be taking from our cans, after listening for an hour at 60% volume? Dr. Artsma is more serious here. "Definitely not just like a two-minute break and then going back," she says. "Probably closer to an hour break, because we want to allow time — our ears are very sensitive."

I understand and have to confess, that recommended break from exposure is longer than I'd have thought. I consider the concert I'm attending tonight and realize that I will not be leaving the arena after an hour, to take an hour's break for my hearing health. And perhaps, then, I really do need to be thinking about at least a set of inexpensive noise-reducing concert ear plugs. I'll add a link to a set that my colleague swears by (called the Loop Experience 2), below this missive.

If we love music (and I do), we want to keep our ears healthy enough to enjoy it for a long old time, right?

This might be one of the coolest office chair collaborations I've ever seen. Sega has teamed up with Branch, the company behind some of our top-tested seats, to release three office chairs themed around Sonic, the Sega Genesis, and the Sega Dreamcast.

I spent way too many hours playing the Genesis as a kid, and I still mourn the passing of my beloved Dreamcast. The hours I sank into Shenmue is honestly obscene. So I am ecstatic to see the excellent Ergonomic Chair Pro get a true retro console make-over here. Yes, it's a nostalgia play. And yes, it absolutely has me reaching for my wallet.

• Best for: Nostalgic professionals like me, Sega fans, and gamers who want a serious ergonomic chair with a retro console twist.

• The chair: The Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro: Sega Edition chairs start from $569 at Branch.

• Why I like it: It's rare to see a proper office chair get a gaming cross-over. Secretlab's omnipresent Titan Evo is the closest in terms of theming, but that's a full-on gaming chair. Here, you're getting a genuine ergonomic desk seat for work - with a cool gaming design.

Why it's worth a look

We haven't tested the Sega Edition chairs, but we've tested out the pre-makeover chair. The Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro scored 4.5 stars in our review, where we found "an impressive ergonomic chair with 14 points of adjustment."

Overall, it's a "highly adjustable, comfortable ergonomic chair with premium features and a solid frame," although the armrests were a little loose in our tests.

Branch says the ergonomics and build quality of the Sega Editions match the standard chair. That makes it a rare gaming chair that is also a proper office chair, and a good excuse to sit at your desk like it's the 90s.

The Sonic design uses blue mesh with red and gold accents, while the Genesis and Dreamcast designs use vegan leather, and all three get custom stitching and branded casters.

Price & Value Context

At $569 the SEGA Edition isn't on sale. When we reviewed the standard chair, Branch listed it at $599 with the headrest costing an extra $79, so the Sega Edition is about $109 less than that combined price.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro: Sega Edition if...

You want a well-reviewed ergonomic chair for work and play, and you'd love a Sonic, Genesis or Dreamcast design at your desk.

❌ Skip the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro: Sega Edition if...

You're a Nintendo fan (for what it's worth, we owned both Sega and Nintendo consoles; we're not here to flame that particular war!).

• See all office chairs at Branch

• A leak suggests Suunto is working on a screenless fitness tracker
• The device would monitor your heart rate and health
• Photos have appeared but few other details are known

Screenless fitness bands are having a moment right now, with the likes of the Fitbit Air and the Garmin Cirqa showing that you don’t need a display to get a great wearable. Now, it looks like Suunto might be about to enter the fray with its own screenless option, and it might end up ditching the expensive subscription as well.

The device was first spotted by the5krunner, which found a listing in the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority database. This described a Suunto heart rate monitor under the codename HR264, and it follows similar listings made in South Korea and Singapore in recent weeks.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the device. The listing does not include a product name, price or features list, so much of the details remain unknown for now. As pointed out by the5krunner, we don’t even know if the device is a chest strap, armband, wrist-worn tracker, or something else.

However, the5krunner notes that “certification photos of its HR264 heart rate monitor show a rechargeable optical band used for 24/7 recovery tracking,” with images appearing to show the product measuring roughly 44mm in height and 30mm in width.

Suunto’s app is currently free and offers an optional paid AI coach on the side, and it seems the HR264 heart rate monitor could take a similar approach. That would help it avoid the kind of expensive subscription that is required for devices made by the likes of Whoop.

Still ‘months away’

Suunto has established itself as a maker of impressive smartwatches, with the likes of the Vertical 2 scoring highly when we reviewed it. And Suunto has past pedigree with heart rate monitoring, with its Race 2 smartwatch performing well in this area when we tested it last year.

But the HR264 would be the company’s first foray into screenless devices, and this is a very different area to compete in because the user experience relies almost entirely on the product’s companion app. But as our reviewer noted when they tested the Vertical 2, “While Suunto’s smartphone app is perfectly acceptable, I’d argue it isn’t as good nor as all-encompassing as Garmin.”

Still, there’s time for Suunto to get this right ahead of the HR264’s launch, which the5krunner believes could still be “months away.” When that happens, there will be another screenless fitness tracker for interested users to investigate, and that competition could help drive the industry forward if it brings something new to the table.

• A new vibe-coded app offers a simple, browser-based office suite
• Each file is 'saved' in the code for the URL
• The apps come with a variety of options for sharing links/files

AI vibe coding is now at the stage where these apps and agents can clone big-name software packages just by observing how they work. Now there's a new web app, apparently written with AI's help, that puts a simple office suite right in your browser, with no logins or cloud access required.

It's called Tiny Little Office, and it comes from veteran developer and 'technology thinker' Paul Ford. There are 10 different components here: word processor, outliner, presentation tool, spreadsheet, calculator, drawing tool, diagram maker, animator, calendar, and trip planner. You can just click around and start working.

There's one main principle the office suite is built around: the link is the document. Any changes you make to a file are saved as codes in the URL itself, and sharing that URL shares an exact copy of the file. Someone else can take that URL and make their own edits (though they'll stay local and won't sync back with yours).

When you share links, they can be protected by passwords, configured as read only, and set to expire after a certain time period (from an hour to a month). For your own use, multiple files can be saved locally in the browser, or you can choose to wipe everything each time you close down the page.

Six years in the making

Introducing Tiny Little Office tinylittleoffice.com?c=xdgpfud#/v...

— @tinylittleoffice.bsky.social (@tinylittleoffice.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-10-16T13:08:46.635Z

The story of the project starts six years ago, when Ford's colleague Rich Ziade built TinySheet, a small ten-line spreadsheet that ran in the browser like Tiny Little Office does now. That was followed by TinyCalendar, but the projects were eventually abandoned, as were the URLs associated with them.

Now the idea is back as a full 10-app suite of products, because "it really is easier to build small than ever before". Ford says he uses the tool to leave himself notes in Slack, and that "if Signal was an operating system, this could, one day, aspire to be its productivity suite" due to its private, simple approach.

"There are lots of tradeoffs," adds Ford. "This is not, in any way, how web apps are expected to work. The links can get unwieldy pasted in chat, and you can't upload video or images, full stop. It's not collaborative like Google Docs. It's collaborative like handing out zines at a street fair."

The Tiny Little Office code is open source and can be viewed and used by anyone, there's support for LLM agents, and you can also find Tiny Little Office on Bluesky. Quite how much of it was vibe coded isn't clear, but according to the docs posted by Ford, Claude Code was doing at least some of the work.

With RAM prices on the up - and analysts suggesting it could stretch on for years - we've been highlighting price cuts on DDR5 and DDR4 memory kits wherever we find them.

Readers regularly tell us that they're sticking with DDR4 memory to ride out the current price hikes, so the the Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 kit for $230 (was $249) at Newegg caught our eye. It's not the biggest discount, but it's one of the cheapest ways to upgrade a PC without changing platforms while the component crisis rages.

• Best for: Owners of DDR4 desktops who want to double their memory without replacing their core setup.

• Why we like it: Crucial Pro is a familiar choice for a simple, plug-and-play upgrade without RGB or the fuss of overclocking. It can also downclock to 3000 or 2666MT/s on systems that don't support 3200, which helps if you're upgrading an older machine.

• What to know: The RAM-pocalypse continues to force component costs up to unfathomable prices (thanks AI). This is a standard CL22 latency modules, and as it's DDR4, it's worth grabbing only if you plan to keep your motherboard to see out the current component price spikes.

Price Context & Historical Value

At $229.99, this is $18.50 (7%) off the $248.49 price, so the saving is modest. Newegg Business also lists a New-from price of $229.99 and one open-box kit from $206.99, though open-box stock is hit and miss. We couldn't find a reliable price history.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 kit if... you're upgrading a DDR4 desktop and want 32GB from a well-known brand, and you'll take any discount on pricey RAM.

❌ Skip the Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 kit if... you have a DDR5 system, since this kit won't fit; you want RGB or higher speeds; or the small saving isn't worth Newegg Business's restocking fee if you need to return it, and we haven't tested this kit ourselves.

• See all desktop memory at Newegg.

• Accenture's central budget will afford $29 in Claude credits for workers
• Team and project budgets could unlock more usage where it's appropriate
• Some workers are using as much as $1,000 a month in credits at the moment

Accenture has become the latest company to limit workers' access to AI tools amid soaring costs, with workers now limited to just $29 in Claude Enterprise credits every month.

The restriction came into force at the start of October 2026, per 404 Media reporting, which states that some workers were spending as much as $1,000 per month on Claude.

Rather than framing $29 as an absolute cap, it's being seen more as a soft limit, with certain projects or teams able to exceed this usage where it's deemed necessary.

Accenture becomes the latest to limit Claude usage due to costs

The report explains how Accenture will centrally fund up to $29 in Claude credits for workers, however separate budgets within the company may allocate further usage.

"License allocations are reviewed periodically, and access may be reassessed based on business priorities, role requirements, usage patterns, and evolving workforce needs," the internal announcement reads.

The newly imposed restriction reportedly affects General accounts, and many intensive users are seeking to upgrade to a Premium account so circumvent the limitation. However with a $250 weekly token limit, the Premium account is considerably more expensive.

One of the unnamed employees cited by 404 Media stressed that Claude Code had been integral to their work on developing an AI accelerator for Accenture's own customers.

"Our approach today is to provide the right tool for the right work, and we continue to invest in AI capabilities, skills and enablement that deliver greater value for clients and our own organization," a company spokesperson told the publication.

More broadly, Accenture isn't the only company to be limiting Claude consumption. Meta and Microsoft also recently launched similar schemes to cut down on external AI costs while simultaneously boosting uptake of their own AI tools.

TechRadar Pro reached out to Anthropic to hear about the potential impacts on revenue, but we did not receive an immediate response.

Adobe Acrobat Pro has long been our number one PDF editor - and we've tested about a hundred different ones. It does everything professionals need, with a raft of tools and features like Fill & Sign. But we'd expect nothing less from the company that invented the PDF format in the first place.

The main issue many business owners and freelancers talk to us about is the price of an on-going Adobe subscription. So, when I saw Newegg Business running a sale on the Acrobat Pro 2024 three-year license for $274 (was $324) with code BGTWF272, it raised an obvious question: is it actually worth it?

• Best for: Small business owners and freelancers who use Acrobat's desktop tools every day and don't want another subscription.

• What we like: Acrobat Pro remains our favorite PDF editing software based on all our tests. It's packed with features, and this three-year license removes the biggest hurdle: recurring monthly costs.

• Is it worth it?: Yes, if you only need the desktop tools, because three years of Adobe's cheapest Acrobat Pro plan costs $719.64, more than double the license price. It effectively works out at $7.61 a month vs. $19.99 a month.

Today's best Adobe Acrobat Pro deal

How the math works

On Adobe's pricing page, Acrobat Pro costs $19.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, which comes to $239.88 a year, or $719.64 over three years.

The $274 price works out to about $91 a year, saving $445.64. It's the equivalent of $7.61 a month.

Adobe's per-license team plan is $287.88 a year, or $863.64 over three years, so the gap is wider for businesses that would otherwise pay for teams.

What small business owners should watch out for

• It's non-returnable. Newegg Business says this product is non-returnable and non-refundable, so make sure it's the right edition before you buy.

• It ends after three years. This is a term license, not a perpetual one, so it won't renew, and you'll need to buy again or switch to a subscription when the term ends.

• One code per Adobe account. Newegg Business says only one redemption code can be redeemed per Adobe account, and it limits purchases to three per customer, so equipping a whole team means juggling accounts. The page doesn't mention team management tools, so check before buying for staff.

• No AI Assistant. Newegg Business says Acrobat Pro 2024 can't be used with Adobe's AI Assistant add-on, and paid features aren't available in web browsers or on mobile.

• The code is temporary. The $50 savings with BGTWF272 is described as a limited offer, so the $274 price may not last. The offer is also available only to customers in the United States.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Adobe Acrobat Pro 2024 three-year license if...

You're a freelancer or small business owner who uses Acrobat's desktop editing, conversion and signing tools all the time, and you'd rather pay once for three years than subscribe.

❌ Skip the Adobe Acrobat Pro 2024 three-year license if...

You need AI features, web or mobile editing, easy team management or a license that never expires, or you only open the occasional PDF, since free tools may do, and we haven't tested this license ourselves.

For more top picks, we've tested the best PDF editors and the best free PDF editors.

• OpenAI says an ex-worker took 100+ secrets about unreleased hardware to Apple
• The complaint forms part of an ongoing lawsuit, in which Apple made similar complaints
• Apple just lifted the wraps off its own, brand-new AI-powered hardware, including the HomeView

OpenAI has accused a former employee of taking more than 100 highly confidential files of unreleased hardware to Apple.

The ChatGPT maker said the worker transferred top-secret files to a personal account before returning to work at Apple – this particular worker was said to have worked at OpenAI for a six-month stint between two separate stints at Apple.

But crucially, the OpenAI complaint actually stems from a much broader case in which Apple originally sued OpenAI and two former Apple employees for similar reasons relating to trade secrets.

Apple and OpenAI embark on a tit-for-tat lawsuit

In response to the Apple lawsuit, OpenAI accused the worker of transferring detailed images of unreleased hardware, confidential engineering and manufacturing information, supplier details and more. The company even accused the worker of delivering a presentation about OpenAI's product plans to senior Apple execs, including Apple's VP of Operations in Asia.

OpenAI is especially concerned about its foray into hardware and Apple's simultaneous foray into AI-powered devices, but after raising the issue directly with the iPhone maker, it didn't get the assurances it requested.

The company wants the court to establish wether its confidential information did indeed reach Apple, and to determine whether there are grounds for further legal action.

"Apple said it has policies and procedures in place to ensure new employees do not use confidential information from previous employers and it has found no evidence to support OpenAI's allegations," Reuters reported shortly after the news broke.

The complaint is especially timely given Apple's recent smart home product announcements, including the AI-powered HomeView display.

As for what's next, the ongoing case between the two companies continues, with both facing complaints from the other party about how they handled confidential information.

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, preorders have now officially opened for the Apple iPhone Duo. If you're looking to secure your device, then check out my list of the best retailers just below — including today's best promotions and deals.

The Apple iPhone Duo was officially unveiled last month, but the device has been subject to a particularly long period between the unveiling and the initial preorder window. That wait is now over, and with a provisional delivery date of October 23rd, there isn't long now until you can finally get Apple's first foldable device in hand.

Note that the iPhone Duo officially launches at $1,999 / £1,999 and will be available at Apple both in-store and online. Preorders are also open at major partners like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, as well as UK networks such as O2, Vodafone, and EE. Available deals include trade-in rebates of up to $1,200 off, so it's crucial to assess what you're eligible for if you're looking to get the biggest possible discount.

Best iPhone Duo preorder deals in the US

• Apple: up to $885 off with a trade-in
• Verizon: phone and unlimited plan for $105.55 $72.22/mo
• AT&T: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in and new line
• T-Mobile: up to $1,000 off with a trade-in and new line
• Red Pocket: get $100 off an unlocked iPhone Duo
• Xfinity: get up to $1,000 off with a trade-in and unlimited plan

Best iPhone Duo preorders in the UK

• Sky: from £47 per month with a £12 upfront fee
• Vodafone: up to £855 off with a trade-in and from £27.45 per month
• EE: from £73.57 a month
• Three: save up to £1,035 when you trade in
• Tesco Mobile: save up to £90 with a Clubcard and get a £100 gift card

Apple iPhone Duo: what's new?

Quite a lot, actually. Considering the iPhone Duo is Apple's first attempt at a foldable phone. In typical Apple fashion, the brand has taken a slightly different approach to Samsung, Google, and other brands by adopting a shorter and wider form factor with the Duo. The device more closely resembles a passport than the traditional book-style foldable phones — almost like an iPad mini that you can fold and take anywhere.

The iPhone Duo features a 5.4-inch outer display, plus a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR inner display with an interesting matte-like finish that supposedly diminishes the visible 'fold' that you often see on these displays.

The device also features the new A20 Pro chipset and a titanium frame, which Apple says is reinforced by ceramic fibres. Apple has also placed an emphasis on a few exclusive software features, including new Liquid Glass animations and wide-screen support for popular apps. To aid its productivity credentials, Apple Pencil support is also added with the Duo — a first for iPhones.

Note, however, that the Duo has a few core iPhone features missing, like Face ID, a telephoto camera, and the action button, which are all there on the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

IPVanish has launched its Black Friday deals for 2026, but despite claimed savings up to 85%, the devil is in the details.

Plans now cost $2.19, $2.79, and $3.29 per month for the Essential, Complete, and Advanced plans, respectively, but the eagle-eyed will notice two of these prices are familiar.

That's because these deals are, in fact, a return to the original Essential and Advanced plan prices from before IPVanish’s recent plan restructure, earlier in October 2026.

The new plans do, however, bring some improvements. The most notable is IPVanish's Next Gen Antivirus, which is added to the prior benefits of 1TB of cloud storage, 5GB of eSIM data, and a secure browser on the Advanced plan. Plus all the VPN features that have long put IPVanish in the mix as one of the best VPNs.

IPVanish is among the few VPNs to ever top our best VPNs list. Now, it's taking a new approach in the hope of returning to #1.

The US-based provider's new mission is to help users 'Control Your Digital World', and at its heart is that new Next Gen Antivirus.

It's built with the same engine used in VIPRE AV products. AV-Comparatives testing in March saw the VIPRE Advanced Security engine achieve a 99.91% protection rate against 10,000 malware samples.

IPVanish has also recently completed a ground-up rebuild of its server network which it claims will increase speeds by up to 41% at peak times. While we haven't re-tested it yet, this would be a welcome upgrade after IPVanish only managed 742 Mbps download speeds using WireGuard in its last run out in our labs.

Regardless of its testing results, or its lack of savings compared to earlier this year, an IPVanish Advanced plan is still one of the cheapest VPN deals you'll find that include so many added extras.

It also offers the most cloud storage of any VPN plan we recommend, plus it's one of the few VPNs to offer eSIM data too.

So, while we recommend caution in picking up this deal too soon, it's certainly one to consider once we have a broader idea of this year's Black Friday VPN deals.

Apple made a splash last month when it unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. While the latter two devices are now widely available, along with our full review, there’s been a bit of a wait for the Duo — but not for long.

Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo in Australia started on October 16 at 11pm AEST through Apple Australia, various retailers and telcos.

Prices begin at a slightly eye-watering AU$3,499 for the base 256GB model (for reference, Samsung’s equivalent Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at AU$2,699), and go as high as AU$5,899 for the 2TB configuration.

As expected, we haven’t seen any discounts on the handset itself, but retailers and telcos have added freebies and bonuses to make it worth your while.

The standout deal we’ve seen so far is Vodafone, which is offering a AU$300 trade-in credit on top of your old device's value, which can be up to AU$1,585 depending on the model.

Telcos have also revealed the monthly instalment costs, with plans starting at AU$117.89 per month — if you’re willing to take on a longer repayment period.

The best iPhone Duo outright deals

If you’re ordering directly from Apple, financing is available via Afterpay when you pre-order the iPhone Duo, starting at AU$145.79 per month for 24 months. The trade-in values from Apple are also more generous, with up to AU$1,595 depending on the device.

Otherwise, the device is also available through a range of retailers, with the current pre-order offers listed below:

The best iPhone Duo telco deals

What’s new with the iPhone Duo?

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first attempt at a foldable handset, adopting a shorter and wider form factor than traditional book-style folding phones. Featuring a 5.4-inch outer display with a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR inner display, the device looks somewhat like a squat iPhone mini when folded and an iPad mini when opened.

It features the new A20 Pro chipset and a titanium frame, which Apple says is reinforced by ceramic fibres. The Duo, however, also has a few core iPhone features missing, like Face ID, a telephoto camera and the action button, but is still undeniably the star of the show.

There are also some exclusive software features that look to take advantage of the larger folding display, like some new Liquid Glass animations and multitasking features. Moreover, the Duo will also get Apple Pencil support, which is a first for any iPhone.

Sony ECM-W5: two-minute review

Sony’s ECM-W5 is a prosumer wireless microphone system cut from the same cloth as the DJI Mic 3, Insta360 Mic Pro and Rode Wireless Pro. Like all those, it's available in a package featuring two clip-on transmitters, a receiver that plugs into your camera or phone, and a charging case to keep everything topped up. At £350 for the full kit, however, it costs more than any of them — so it needs to bring something extra to the table.

It does just that. The headline feature is in-camera 32-bit float recording, something no other wireless mic I’m aware of can do. Rivals will happily record 32-bit float files to their transmitters' internal storage, but that leaves you syncing separate audio in the edit. With the ECM-W5 mounted on a Multi Interface Shoe camera such as the Sony A7 V, that extra headroom is baked straight into your video files. Most people won’t need it day to day, but if you’re shooting somewhere unpredictable, where a sudden bang or boom could clip your audio, it’s a useful safety net.

There’s plenty more for pros to like. Each transmitter has a 3.5mm lav mic input with a screw-lock connector (a feature DJI dropped after the Mic 2), along with a generous 62.5GB of usable internal storage. There’s timecode support and an optional 96kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Audio mode, too. The claimed 500m range is the longest I’ve come across, and in my testing the signal held up flawlessly through two floors of my house — a situation where other mics have faltered.

Sound quality is clean and clear, though in fairness that’s true of every decent wireless mic these days. The noise reduction is on the gentler side and less effective than what DJI and Insta360 offer, but it doesn’t introduce any odd artifacts.

The trade-offs are size and price. The transmitters are noticeably chunkier than the DJI Mic 3’s, the receiver’s touchscreen faces backwards when it’s mounted on a camera, and Sony doesn’t even include a 3.5mm audio cable in the box. Even so, for Sony shooters in particular, the ECM-W5 is one of the most capable wireless mic systems you can buy.

Sony ECM-W5: price and release date

• $399.99 / £350 / AU$619 for two transmitters, a receiver and a charging case
• Transmitters $189.99 / £110 / AU$179 and receiver $189.99 / £180 / AU$289 individually
• Available from November 2026

The Sony ECM-W5 will be on sale from November 2026, priced at $399.99 / £350 / AU$619 for the full kit, which includes two transmitters, a receiver and a charging case. Individual transmitters are available for $189.99 / £110 / AU$179, and the receiver on its own costs $189.99 / £180 / AU$289, which is handy if you want to expand your setup or replace a lost unit.

That makes it more expensive than its closest rivals. The DJI Mic 3 launched at £259 for an equivalent two-transmitter kit, for example, so you’re paying a premium of around £90 for the Sony. Given the ECM-W5’s unique features, I think that’s justifiable for the right buyer — but it’s a premium nonetheless.

Sony ECM-W5: specs

Sony ECM-W5: Design

• Chunky transmitters with fixed clips and 3.5mm lav mic inputs
• Receiver’s touchscreen faces backwards when camera-mounted
• No audio cable included, and no room in the charging case for windshields

In terms of size, the ECM-W5’s transmitters are closer to the original DJI Mic and Mic 2 than to the much smaller (and current, at the time of writing) DJI Mic 3. Each of the ECM-W5's transmitters has a fixed clip for attaching to clothing (it can’t be removed or rotated), and Sony includes small button magnets for thinner shirts. Despite the extra bulk, the transmitters are light enough that I barely noticed them once they were clipped on. Sony also says the system is dust- and moisture-resistant, but stops short of guaranteeing full IP-level protection.

Controls are simple: a power button, a record button (double-press it to toggle noise reduction on or off) and a USB-C port for charging and file transfer. More interesting is the 3.5mm input with a screw-lock connection for plugging in an (unsupplied) lavalier mic, which pros will appreciate. The furry windshields cleverly slot into this jack too, so they sit more securely than on some rivals. Each transmitter also packs around 62.5GB of usable internal storage (64GB before formatting). That's almost double the 32GB you get in the DJI Mic 3 and Insta360 Mic Pro transmitters.

The receiver can be fitted with either a USB-C connector or a Multi Interface Shoe adapter, and the latter also slots into standard hot and cold shoes (albeit without the MI Shoe’s digital connection). There are 3.5mm audio in and mic out ports, plus a small touchscreen for adjusting settings. My one real frustration is that this screen faces backwards when the receiver is mounted on a camera, so when I was filming myself I couldn’t see it to make changes. It’s a common problem with wireless mic receivers, and I’d love to see a manufacturer make the display rotatable.

The charging case holds both transmitters, the receiver, the adapters and the magnets, but there’s no room for the windshields. Sony doesn’t include a 3.5mm audio cable in the box either, so if your camera lacks an MI Shoe you’ll need to buy one separately. A soft drawstring bag is supplied, though, and it’s big enough for the case, the windshields and a couple of cables.

Sony ECM-W5: Performance

• World-first in-camera 32-bit float recording
• Rock-solid signal and a claimed 500m transmission range
• Noise reduction is less aggressive than Insta360 and DJI rivals

The ECM-W5’s standout feature is its ability to record 32-bit float audio directly in-camera, as well as onto each transmitter’s internal storage. Rivals such as the DJI Mic 3 and Insta360 Mic Pro can only record 32-bit float files on the transmitter itself, which you then have to sync up in the edit. I don’t think many people need 32-bit float day to day, but if you’re recording in uncontrolled environments where sudden loud noises might occur, having that headroom baked into your footage is a real advantage.

There’s both automatic and manual gain control, with the latter offering a nicely granular range of -12 to +12. I mostly left it on auto and found it worked well. Sound quality is good, but then so is that of pretty much every decent wireless mic. The difference compared with the built-in mic on your phone, computer or camera is night and day, particularly outside on a windy day. Sony also offers a 96kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Audio option, which beats the maximum quality of most rivals I’ve tested, though that’s reflected in the higher price.

Sony claims a range of up to 500m between transmitter and receiver, which is much further than its rivals. I can’t think of many situations where you’d need that much, and I didn’t test it to the limit, but it’s reassuring to have in reserve. Sony also says the connection is around three times more stable than that of its predecessor, the ECM-W3.

More tellingly, when I left the camera and receiver downstairs and walked up two flights of stairs to my bedroom with a transmitter, the signal stayed crisp and clear throughout — something other mics have struggled with in my home.

The single-level noise reduction isn’t especially aggressive, and I think DJI and Insta360 offer markedly better cancellation. That said, it noticeably reduced the hum of a fan at home without adding any odd artifacts, so you can probably just leave it switched on all the time.

Sony quotes up to seven hours of battery life for the transmitters and receiver, rising to 11 hours for the transmitters if you top them up from the charging case. And when the receiver is mounted on a compatible camera’s MI Shoe, it draws power from the camera and switches on and off with it, so there’s one less battery to keep an eye on. Add up to two extra transmitters (sold separately) and you can also record up to four audio channels in-camera, which should appeal to anyone shooting multi-person interviews.

Sony also offers wireless monitoring via compatible Sony wireless headphones that support Bluetooth LE Audio, so you can keep an ear on your audio without a headphone cable, and compatible models such as the WH-1000XM6 can even be used as mics for binaural recording. I didn’t have a compatible pair of headphones to hand (and the binaural feature wasn’t available before launch), so I wasn’t able to test either feature.

The ECM-W5 also supports timecode, another feature that'll appeal to professionals.

Should I buy the Sony ECM-W5?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Sony ECM-W5: also consider

How I tested the Sony ECM-W5

• One week of testing indoors and outdoors
• Connected to Sony A7 V camera via Multi Interface shoe and OnePlus tablet via USB-C

Sony loaned me a review sample of the full ECM-W5 package along with a Sony A7 V camera for the purposes of this test, which allowed me to fully test the Multi Interface Shoe connection. I also tested the USB-C connectivity, by attaching the receiver to a OnePlus Pad tablet and recording video.

I used the mic system for about a week, recording in both 24-bit and 32-bit float modes and testing the noise reduction capabilities both indoors and outdoors in a variety of situations. I also tested its range and signal stability by leaving the receiver downstairs and walking up two floors of my house with a transmitter.

• First reviewed: October 2026
• Read more about how we test

Scancom has long been one of our favorite sites for business SIM and eSIM cards. One stand-out option I've found is the Three 1000GB data eSIM is £54 (was £249.99). That works out at just shy of £2.35 a month contract-free, with no monthly fees when you use code HUKD MAX.

For businesses that rely on internet connectivity away from a fixed office, this is a great alternative to expensive monthly mobile broadband plans. Although this is a Three SIM, it can automatically access Vodafone's network through Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) technology.

• Best for: Sole traders, small businesses, remote workers, and anyone eligible who needs substantial mobile data for work.

• Why we like it: The data allowance renews each month until September 2028, without needing to worry about monthly payments. It offers 1,000GB of 5G mobile data every month with automatic access to Vodafone's network where supported.

• Keep in mind: You'll need to be registered as a sole trader to get the SIM card at this price. As ever, I recommend checking network coverage before signing up too.

Today's best Three SIM deal

Why we recommend it

As a Three SIM card, it uses Vodafone's network through Multi-Operator Core Network technology. That means you may benefit from improved reception in areas where Three's signal is weaker, although actual availability and speeds will depend on local network conditions.

You can opt for a physical SIM or eSIM (a digital eSIM delivered by email as a QR code) when buying. The data allowance renews each month until September 2028, without needing to worry about monthly payments.

Price context & historical value

Scancom normally charges £249.99 for this SIM deal, but entering HUKD MAX at checkout reduces the price to £54. That's a saving of £195.99, or approximately 78%. It's a brilliant deal, and cheaper than it has been lately.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Three 1000GB data SIM if...

You need regular large amounts of mobile data. It could be useful for connecting a laptop or compatible mobile router when working away from the office.

❌ Skip the Three 1000GB data SIM if...

You aren't eligible as a business or registered sole trader. It's also unsuitable if you need a mobile plan that includes calls, text messages, or international roaming. There's no built-in data usage monitoring, either, so you'll need to track consumption via your device or a third-party application.

• A Redditor improvised a new cooling solution for their Razer Blade 16
• This was a workaround for a broken heatsink which Razer wanted £2,500 to repair
• The cooler is fashioned from a plastic storage crate, and it's been drawing praise from gamers on Reddit – but be wary about attempting any DIY along these lines

"That's not a laptop cooler… that's a laptop cooler" as the old Crocodile Dundee-inspired quote goes – and in this case, the custom cooling solution being shown off on Reddit really is scarily huge.

Wccftech noticed the story of a Redditor in the UK, the owner of a Razer Blade 16 laptop in which the heatsink broke. That left the laptop lying useless, with a £2,500 (around $3,300 / AU$4,800) bill to replace said heatsink (because the procedure also involved fitting a new motherboard), and unsurprisingly the owner didn't fancy shelling out that much for a repair.

So, they left it for a year before deciding to go the DIY route and fashioning a new cooling solution themselves. And as you can see from the photo above, it's quite something.

The Redditor replaced the copper heatsink and "stuck a liquid cooler on it", with the latter being realized in the form of a crate with pipes running to the gaming notebook.

We're told the laptop couldn't be tested while gaming to check if this left-field liquid cooling is actually good for keeping the Razer Blade 16 motoring while running a game, but the Redditor claims the device has been sat idling just fine for half an hour. They can't test it fully yet as they've forgotten their Windows password, so need to reinstall the OS.

The total cost of the repair? £100 (around $130 / AU$190) using kit bought from Amazon, and of course Razer wanted 25 times that much.

Analysis: chaotic goodness

Obviously, there are some major caveats to bear in mind here, most notably that it requires a good bit of technical knowhow to pull off a repair like this. And the way in which this particular cooler has been implemented looks shaky to say the least, with the giant cooling reservoir fashioned from what appears to be a plastic storage crate, with plugs and wires haphazardly positioned on top of it. As one commenter puts it, this is very much a "chaotic" looking solution – albeit 'chaotic good' in that it has brought the dead gaming laptop back to life.

The crate and overall setup could, of course, be tidied up, and the coolant tubes springing a leak remains a concern; that really would finish off the Razer notebook. And obviously enough, this renders the laptop not portable at all, but better that than being non-functional, I guess.

Overall, it's clearly an eye-opening feat, but I can't stress enough that it's something I would not recommend you try yourself. It'll be interesting to see if we get an update from the Redditor confirming what kind of temperatures the Blade is reporting when playing taxing PC games or when running a stress-test benchmark.

As one fan of the concept on Reddit enthuses: "This is sick as hell especially for the super high-end Blade models that people use as desktops, this is great to keep them temps down."

This story also raises a point about how ridiculous laptop repair costs can get when a relatively insignificant component in terms of the overall bill of materials can necessitate a major change like a motherboard swap.

Samsung's 9100 Pro SSD is "the best there is." That was the verdict in our review, where this PCIe 5.0 SSD delivered "blazing fast speeds across the board."

Currently, the Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB is $265 (was $340) at Amazon, and it's the drive our hardware editor recommends over the similarly priced Samsung 990 Pro. It's faster - up to 14,700MB/s vs. 7,450 MB/s - making it a better pick for professionals who need fast transfer speeds for video editing and heavy workstation use.

• Best for: Professionals and creators running heavy workloads looking for one of the fastest consumer SSDs around.

• Why we like it: In our review, we found "fantastic performance with the fastest write speeds we've ever tested." Not every machine can make use of this SSD, but for those that can, it's an easy recommendation.

• Keep in mind: You'll need a PCIe 5.0 M.2 motherboard and reliable heatsinks to prevent thermal throttling.

Why we recommend it

During our 4.5-star review of this drive, the Samsung 9100 Pro delivered "best-in-class sequential read and write performance" and "fantastic random read and write speeds."

Even after review, we continued to test out the drive using a range of other motherboards and processors - and yes, we were able to reach the sequential read speeds that Samsung promised.

While it's not the cheapest drive, the performance-to-price remains low, and considering the 990 Pro is only $5 cheaper, we'd opt for the 9100 Pro wherever possible.

Price Context & Historical Value

This isn't the cheapest this drive has ever been - especially not after component costs began to rise. But it is in the general park for the sale price we regularly see. We have spotted it selling for the $340 list price often, so worth picking up while on discount. Considering the slower PCIe 4.0 SSD, the Samsung 990 Pro is only slightly cheaper, if you have a Gen5 board, the 9100 Pro offers better value for money.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB SSD if...

You want one of the fastest SSDs you can buy at a good price, and you run a lot of heavier workloads.

❌ Skip the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB SSD if...

Your system only supports PCIe 4.0 or slower, since you won't see the top speeds.

• See all internal SSDs at Amazon

For years, organizations have focused on strengthening and fortifying endpoints, networks, and authentication at login. Meanwhile, one of the most critical control points in the identity lifecycle, the help desk, has remained surprisingly exposed, because most identity systems were not designed to extend strong verification into recovery and support workflows, leaving a critical gap that attackers are increasingly exploiting.

Without this shift, organizations continue to rely on human judgment in high-risk workflows, leaving a critical gap that attackers are increasingly exploiting.

With the rise of generative AI, deepfake videos, synthetic voice cloning, and AI agents, help desks have become a primary target for social engineering. Attackers can now synthesize a CFO’s voice from publicly available recordings, create deepfake video for live calls, or deploy AI agents to conduct persistent, multi-channel impersonation.

These bad actors can mine social media and breach data and corporate websites to collect personal details that make their story credible. They can also adjust their responses and adapt in real-time based on what a support agent says and asks.

Their goal is often straightforward, which is to convince the help desk to reset a password, enroll a new device, or override multi-factor authentication (MFA). If successful, the threat can quickly escalate to ransomware deployment, data theft, a full-scale account takeover, or more.

A modern identity architecture is necessary to address this significant verification gap, one that treats recovery and help desk interactions as first-class identity workflows, not exceptions outside the system.

The hidden weakness in manual verification

Most help desk workflows today still rely on knowledge-based questions, static employee data, or ad hoc manager approvals to validate user or customer identity. In a landscape where personal data is widely accessible and AI can convincingly impersonate individuals, these controls are brittle.

Knowledge-based verification assumes personal information is private, but it rarely is. Manager callbacks assume voice recognition is reliable, but it no longer is. Manual review assumes humans can detect AI deception, but that is not always the case. Many businesses are asking support staff to verify customer identity using tools built for a different era.

In many environments, help desk workflows sit outside core identity systems, operating as disconnected processes rather than being governed by the same policies and controls applied at login.

At the same time, expectations around identity protection are rising. As AI becomes more embedded in digital interactions, consumers expect organizations to have systems in place to effectively protect their identities. This is critical as 75% of consumers are more concerned about their personal data security than five years ago.

When protections break down, trust and brand reputation erode quickly and are difficult to rebuild. It is clear that trust can no longer depend on intuition or manual checks. It must be designed into identity systems and enforced through verifiable identity.

Modernizing help desk security with verifiable identity, at scale

Solving this requires rethinking how identity systems are designed, specifically how verification, recovery, and high-risk actions are handled as part of a unified architecture rather than fragmented processes. Modern identity architectures provide a path forward through decentralized identity and biometric-backed, phishing-resistant authentication.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Biometric-backed, phishing-resistant authentication

FIDO-based authentication tied to device-bound credentials and biometrics reduces reliance on passwords and shared data. Because credentials are cryptographically bound to a device and validated using advanced encryption, they are resistant to replay and phishing.

Enforcement moves from human decision-making to system-driven policy, ensuring consistency across both login and recovery workflows. Extending this model to account recovery and re-authentication workflows ensures that high-risk actions, like password resets or device enrollment, are protected by the same strong controls used when the user first signs in.

2. Decentralized, verifiable credentials

Decentralized identity frameworks enable organizations to issue tamper-resistant, verifiable credentials that users store in secure digital wallets. These credentials can represent employment status, role, or other attributes needed for verification, without centralizing sensitive data.

From an architectural standpoint, decentralized identity reduces reliance on centralized data stores and enables verification through cryptographic proof rather than static records.

This shifts identity verification from a knowledge-based to a proof-based model. When a user needs assistance from a help agent, they can present a verifiable credential that the organization can cryptographically validate without relying on knowledge-based questions. Therefore, the help desk is no longer in the position of “deciding” whether someone is who they claim to be. The system verifies it for them.

3. Self-service, high-assurance recovery

Self-service account recovery, supported by strong authentication and secure digital credentials, allows users to regain access without needing to call the help desk. This reduces support workload, while also removing the common target for social engineering attacks. Self-service recovery reduces reliance on manual intervention and allows identity systems to scale without increasing operational risk.

In this model, the help desk is no longer responsible for judging whether someone’s identity checks out, ultimately reducing risk.

Redefining the identity control plane

The security perimeter as we know it now reaches every workflow where identity is verified, delegated, or recovered. Help desks are directly in that flow. A more resilient model separates identity into a control layer that defines policy and a runtime layer that enforces decisions consistently across every interaction.

Modernizing identity verification systems with decentralized credentials, biometric-backed authentication, and consistent assurance policies closes one of the most exploited gaps in the security chain. It replaces the need for help desk agents to rely on personal judgment with verifiable proof of identity, and ensures that high-risk actions are governed by controls designed for today’s threat landscape.

AI-driven deception will continue to mature in speed, realism, and automation. Addressing it requires durable identity architecture that applies consistent verification across users, devices, and workflows.

When identity systems are designed to enforce trust automatically and uniformly, organizations gain resilience that scales with innovation, and a foundation for maintaining confidence in an AI-shaped digital environment for years to come. In this model, identity becomes a distributed system capability embedded across workflows, systems, and user interactions, rather than a point-in-time check.

This shift turns identity from a point-in-time control into a system-wide enforcement layer, closing one of the most consistently exploited gaps in enterprise security.

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

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

• Sony won't deliver the final Android update it had promised for the Xperia 10 VI
• This is due to issues with the phone's storage configuration
• While the explanation seems reasonable, it also shows that these support commitments might not be guarantees

Nowadays, most Android phones are sold with the promise of a fixed number of major Android version updates, with top-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 series and the Google Pixel 11 line promising an impressive seven. But it seems these promises might, in some cases, be more hopeful than guaranteed.

While neither Google nor Samsung have so far shown any sign of reneging on their update commitments, Sony just did with the Xperia 10 VI.

In a support post spotted by Phandroid, the company explained that while it had originally promised that the Sony Xperia 10 VI would receive three Android version updates, it will actually only receive two, as “due to limitations related to the device’s storage configuration, the Xperia 10 VI does not support an Android 17 upgrade experience that we consider adequate.”

The phone will at least still receive the promised four years of security updates, and Sony claims that this issue won’t affect other models, but it goes to show that these support promises aren’t as ironclad as you might have expected.

This could be the first of many rollbacks

Of course, if updating the Sony Xperia 10 VI would genuinely have degraded the experience of using it, Sony probably made the right choice in not doing so. But that’s cold comfort for anyone who bought the phone off the back of Sony’s update commitment.

And who’s to say something similar couldn’t happen with other phones, whether those from Sony or other brands. In fact, expensive high-end phones might be even more at risk of unfulfilled commitments, with most offering up to seven years of promised updates; seven years is a long time in the tech world, so who’s to say whether Android 24 will actually work well on a phone that launched this year.

So, if you weren’t already doing so, you should probably take any support commitments as a goal rather than a guarantee.

The witching hour is almost upon us - and as a fan of all things spooky, creepy, and terrifying, I've rounded up my favorite Halloween home office desk decor.

I never need an excuse to get into the spirit of the season. So, you'll find a broad selection here from the cozy to the gothic, with nods to some of my favorite horror movies along the way. My number one pick though? It's definitely the mouse mat styled like The Shining's Overlook Hotel carpet. All work and no play...

My top Halloween home office desk accessories

At the start of every school year, schools, colleges and universities across the UK race to onboard thousands of new students, faculty and staff members, provisioning accounts, issuing credentials and connecting a wave of new devices to institutional networks.

That operational pressure creates opportunities for attackers, and this year, AI is amplifying the threat more than ever. Not only are phishing campaigns more convincing, but a hidden layer of unmanaged machine identities is expanding the cyber attack surface.

Attackers are persistent and the education sector remains a top target with many facing cyber attacks weekly. The UK Government’s cyber security breaches survey revealed that 27% of further and higher education institutions reported experiencing a breach or attack at least weekly, compared to 14% of primary schools and 20% of secondary schools.

Navigating the expanded threat window

The education sector is one of the highest targeted industries for ransomware, credential theft and data breaches. For hackers, schools and universities present an appealing combination of high-value data, including student records, financial information and research, alongside underfunded IT departments and an enormous, ever-rotating user base.

The back-to-school season intensifies this pressure. Bulk account creation, mass device enrolment and a surge of third-party application onboarding all happen simultaneously, creating a greater risk of misconfiguration and excessive access rights. The UK Government found that no tier of the education sector had a majority of institutions compliant with all of the government’s Cyber Security 10 Steps.

Just 14% of primary schools, 23% of secondary schools, 33% of further education colleges and 45% of higher education institutions had covered all 10. As thousands of new identities and devices enter this already insecure environment, gaps in security controls can become harder to identify and manage.

AI has made cybersecurity threats significantly more dangerous. The same government survey found phishing to be the main threat identified by institutions that had suffered a breach, and those emails can now precisely mimic communications from student funding offices, IT helpdesks or university leadership, with none of the traditional red flags that once made them easy to spot.

Keeper Security’s research into AI and cybersecurity in education found that 41% of schools have experienced AI-related cyber incidents, including phishing and misinformation, while 90% of education leaders expressed concern about AI-related cybersecurity threats. Yet only one in four respondents felt very confident recognizing AI-enabled threats such as deepfakes or AI-driven phishing.

As AI makes social engineering attacks more convincing, education institutions need to reinforce human awareness with stronger identity and access controls that do not rely on users spotting every malicious message.

The hidden attack surface: non-human identities in EdTech

As students and staff begin the new academic year, IT teams will rightly be focused on securing human accounts, but there is another, much larger population of digital identities that can easily escape attention: Non-Human Identities (NHIs).

NHIs are now embedded throughout modern education environments, from service accounts that synchronize student records with learning platforms to API keys connecting third-party applications, digital textbooks and payment systems.

Machine identities and certificates authenticate everything from campus Wi-Fi and smart boards to lab equipment and security cameras, while cloud workloads automate backups, research pipelines and administrative processes. Similarly, AI agents powering admissions chatbots, helpdesks and grading tools are adding yet another layer of identities and access privileges that institutions need to manage.

These identities are essential to keeping schools and universities running, but they can also create significant security gaps when credentials are rarely rotated, old integration tokens remain active or automated accounts are granted more access than they need.

Unlike employees and students, NHIs are not naturally caught by onboarding and offboarding processes. Without a complete inventory, organizations can struggle to know which identities exist, who owns them and what they can access.

The cybersecurity conversation in education has historically centered on protecting students, teachers and administrators, but the machine identities powering modern EdTech deserve the same scrutiny, because regardless of whether a breach stems from a human or machine, the impact is the same.

Back-to-school is a useful opportunity to review the full identity estate – both human and non-human – remove identities that are no longer required and tighten access for those that remain.

How education IT teams can reduce their risk

For most institutions, the fundamentals of managing humans are manageable. The critical gap is visibility and governance over the NHIs that power modern EdTech, like service accounts, API tokens, machine certificates and AI agents that multiply with every new integration. Security teams should take these steps to help secure NHIs and humans alike.

Enable multi-factor authentication

As the new semester begins, organizations should ensure MFA is enforced across all faculty, staff and student accounts, with new users defaulted into it from the moment they are provisioned. MFA remains a fundamental defense against credential-based attacks.

Audit privileged access

Many accounts give users privileged access beyond what’s necessary for their role. Privileges should be audited for both humans and non-humans. This includes removing access for departed employees and students, retiring expired service accounts and eliminating unnecessary administrative privileges.

Deploy enterprise password managers

Password security remains one of the hardest problems for security teams to solve. Awareness and training can provide students, faculty and staff with the knowledge on how to create strong passwords, but converting that knowledge into practice is difficult because password reuse, written passwords and browser storage remain common. Enterprise password managers remove that gap, enabling users to create and store strong, unique credentials.

Build a non-human identity inventory

You can’t secure what you can’t see. Schools should catalogue every service account, API key, machine certificate, cloud identity and AI agent. Establish ownership and record what each identity can access.

Establish credential rotation policies

It’s important to establish credential rotation policies for machine identities, paying particular attention to AI agents and third-party EdTech integrations added for the new school year. The Canvas learning management system hack, reported in April 2026, affected almost 9,000 educational institutions globally – a reminder that third-party credentials require the same rotation discipline as internal accounts.

Third-party access should be regularly examined and security teams should scrutinize the security of all current and potential partners and suppliers.

Updated training

Security awareness training needs to keep pace with the threat landscape, particularly around phishing, where AI-generated messages may be indistinguishable from legitimate institutional communications. Staff should independently verify unusual requests rather than relying on visual cues alone

Getting ahead of the rush

Back-to-school will always put education IT teams under pressure, but it does not have to create an open window for attackers. As institutions begin the new academic year, security must extend beyond onboarding students and staff to understanding every identity with access to critical systems and data.

By enforcing strong authentication, tightening privileged access, improving credential hygiene and gaining visibility over the growing population of non-human identities, IT teams can significantly reduce their exposure.

Security should be treated as a continuous discipline, not a back-to-school checklist. It is critical that every human and machine identity has the right access, for the right purpose and for only as long as it is needed.

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

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

For years, quantum computing lived in a strange place in the cybersecurity conversation: important enough to worry about, but sufficiently distant to leave for another day. When we asked CISO what's keeping them up at night, quantum computing rarely made the top five. It still feels distant, theoretical, someone else's problem for 2030-something.

That calculation is starting to look wrong.

Gartner predicts that by 2030, advances in quantum computing will make conventional asymmetric cryptography unsafe to use. Four years away sounds like breathing room. It isn't. Replacing the cryptography embedded across a modern technology estate isn't a patch cycle. It's a multi-year transformation touching applications, infrastructure, identity systems, suppliers and developers all at once.

The clock is already running. Most organizations just haven't noticed it started or don’t appreciate how little time they really have.

This was never really a technology question

Quantum innovation is moving at pace with IBM, Amazon and Google publishing roadmaps or breakthroughs on error correction and qubit stability. Taken together, they tell a consistent story: the timeline to a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is shrinking, not stretching.

But for the average enterprise, that's not the most useful question to be asking right now. The more useful question is far more uncomfortable: how much cryptography do we actually have, do we know where it lives, and could we change it if we had to?

Cryptography isn't a product category you can point to. It's woven into everything, buried in vendor software, embedded in Transport Layer Security (TLS) handshakes, quietly doing the work inside identity and access management systems nobody thinks about. Gartner's research puts a number on the blind spot: 61% of organizations lack full visibility into their own cryptographic systems.

CIOs and IT leaders cannot migrate away from a risk they cannot see. That single statistic is arguably the real concern than the quantum breakthrough itself.

The attack has already started

Here's the unnerving part. You don't need a working quantum computer today for the threat to be live today. Adversaries, particularly well-resourced state actors are already engaged in what the industry calls "harvest now, decrypt later": hoovering up encrypted data now, sitting on it, and waiting for the day decryption becomes trivial.

For anything with a long shelf life such as government records, medical files, IP, legal contracts, identity documents, a five-year-away breakthrough is still a today problem, because the theft happens now.

Encrypted securely today doesn't mean secure for the data's whole useful life. That's the sentence every chief information security leader should be testing their current strategy against.

Crypto-agility is the actual prize

There's a temptation for CIOs and IT leaders to treat post-quantum cryptography as a swap: rip out an old algorithm, drop in a quantum-resistant one, done. It doesn't work that way. New algorithms aren't drop-in replacements.

Larger key sizes strain memory on older systems, signing operations run at different speeds, and performance assumptions baked into legacy applications quietly break. Moreover, additional standards are still being developed meaning today’s replacement might be tomorrow’s cryptographic debt.

Which is why the capability that actually matters isn't any specific algorithm. It's crypto-agility - the ability to change cryptographic algorithms, keys and protocols quickly, without re-engineering the business around them. And organizations are starting to focus on building it, alongside prototyping or evaluating post-quantum algorithms outright.

Build crypto-agility properly and you're not just preparing for quantum. You're fixing something older: cryptographic technical debt that would have caused pain at the next major algorithm weakness regardless of what triggered it. Quantum is the deadline. Technical debt is the disease.

Additionally, hybrid cryptography which blends classical and post-quantum mechanisms during the transition buys some breathing room. Treat that as scaffolding, not a destination. Classical methods have a shelf life measured in single-digit years.

Why now, when nobody can predict the exact date

There's an understandable instinct to wait for certainty, to see exactly when a cryptographically relevant quantum computer arrives before committing budget. That instinct is the wrong strategy for a transformation measured in years, not sprints.

Organizations don't need to know the date. They need to start building visibility and flexibility now, so they can act when required. The unglamorous first step: build an inventory. Scan the estate, catalogue every cryptographic component, feed the findings into whatever technical-debt dashboard has executive attention. It surfaces expired algorithms, outdated TLS versions and vendor dependencies — and gives the migration a factual basis instead of a guess.

Then prioritize. A marketing database that's stale in eighteen months carries a very different risk profile to a decade-long government contract or an identity credential meant to last a generation. Ask which information still needs protecting after 2030. That list moves to the top. Then ask which use cases could disable the business and tackle those next.

This cannot be handed to the security team

A mistake is treating post-quantum migration as a security project with a security owner. It isn't. Developers need to understand how algorithm changes hit application performance. Cloud and network teams inherit protocol changes. Identity teams own the authentication dependencies.

Procurement needs to interrogate vendors on their own timelines, because a huge share of enterprise cryptography arrives bundled inside third-party software nobody directly controls.

Equally, pushing this down to individual system owners without central coordination is a guaranteed way to fail, leading to inconsistent decisions, no organization-wide picture of progress, and gaps precisely where attackers look first.

A cross-functional Cryptographic Centre of Excellence, pulling IT, development and data security under one roof, isn't governance theatre. It's what keeps the response from fragmenting into a patchwork.

The real question isn't about quantum at all

Strip away the acronyms and this stops being a story about qubits. It becomes a test of how resilient an organization's architecture actually is, whether it knows where its cryptography sits, understands which data needs long-term protection, and can change cryptographic mechanisms without rebuilding from scratch.

The organizations most exposed won't be the ones with the weakest algorithms. They'll be the ones still treating quantum as a distant technology story rather than a resilience problem sitting on today's books. By the time the threat is obvious to everyone, the hard part—untangling years of cryptographic dependencies—will already be behind schedule.

The quantum era is still approaching. The migration effort isn't.

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

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This week, I tried to opt out of the facial recognition system at my local Sainsbury’s supermarket. The only solution? Shop elsewhere.

Judging by the look on the security guard’s face when I asked if I could avoid having my biometric data processed, it was an unusual request — surprising, given that an innocent customer was mistakenly flagged and ejected from the exact same store just a few months ago.

Sainsbury’s is far from alone in using live facial recognition technology. Facewatch, the company behind the tech, also lists Sports Direct, Budgens, Costcutter, and B&M as customers on its website. Meanwhile, an increasing number of police forces across the UK are adopting the technology, despite persistent legal challenges.

With facial recognition rapidly becoming a staple of the high street across the UK, what risks does it pose to our privacy, and is improved supermarket security really worth it?

Supermarket surveillance: scanned before you shop

One of the most important principles of any modern data privacy law — including the UK GDPR — is the right to be informed when an organization collects and processes your personal data. It’s why you constantly encounter cookie banners on websites and why app privacy policies often run thousands of words long.

At the supermarket entrance, however, the notice isn't asking for permission; it's informing customers that the scan is underway. Because retailers claim tracking crime is a "legitimate interest", they bypass the need for customer consent.

When I visited the East Dulwich Sainsbury’s store, there was a small sign next to the sliding glass doors that I initially missed, and a larger board positioned inside. While the notices reassure shoppers that "your privacy is protected", they offer very little substantive detail.

To access the full information, you have to scan a QR code leading to Facewatch’s privacy policy — something I could only do because I happened to have a charged smartphone with mobile data, facilities not everyone will have when popping out for milk.

To his credit, the security guard offered to find the store manager to answer any additional questions. But, by then, the point felt moot. Glancing up at the cameras hanging directly along the entrance path, I conceded that my face had likely already been scanned, analyzed, and checked against a database.

Walking away to shop elsewhere might be relatively simple in London, but supermarkets are essential national infrastructure. In rural areas or places where alternatives do not exist, telling customers to choose another shop isn't a realistic option.

The cost of a false match

For victim of mistaken identity, Matt Arnold, the consequences of the system weren’t just theoretical. This summer, he was wrongfully accused of being a shoplifter and escorted out of the East Dulwich store.

Speaking to the BBC, Arnold said: “What upset me was thinking this is what the future could be — people just listen to what the machine tells them to do without thinking about the consequences." Following the debacle, the system was paused.

While Sainsbury’s declined to comment on the record and referred data privacy inquiries to Facewatch, the tech company confirmed to TechRadar that the pause is over and live alerts have resumed. But with the cameras quietly back online, broader civil liberties concerns have reignited.

UK-based civil liberties group Big Brother Watch regularly intervenes to help innocent shoppers remove their details from Facewatch’s database after being wrongly flagged, noting that some "aren’t so lucky and are blacklisted from all the stores in their local area".

Even if the technology worked with total accuracy, questions about its proportionality and fairness remain.

Jasleen Chaggar, Senior Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch, warned that "shoppers are being subjected to airport-style security just to buy a pint of milk," arguing that the system is “indiscriminate by design, meaning every customer is treated with suspicion”.

Who does supermarket surveillance really protect?

There’s no denying that shoplifting harms supermarket profits. Recent industry indicators cited by Facewatch estimate annual losses from shoplifting have reached £2.2 billion.

In an email to TechRadar, a Facewatch spokesperson defended the technology as an essential safeguard, arguing that "while campaign groups are highlighting the rights of consumers, they are overlooking a shop worker’s right to feel safe at work".

"Giving a shop worker advance warning that someone known to have violently offended has entered their store can give them confidence and precious time to consider a safe response, de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation or seek support before an incident occurs."

Addressing concerns about accessibility and notice, the company said that store cameras are positioned at an "appropriate distance between the entry point and image capture area", and noted that entrance posters provide a landline telephone number and postal address for anyone unable to scan the QR code. In practical terms, that means a customer without a smartphone must step outside, make a phone call, or send a letter in the post before doing their weekly food shop.

Digital rights campaigners remain unconvinced that worker protection justifies pervasive biometric tracking. Sarah Lasoye, programme manager at Open Rights Group, told TechRadar the technology represents a "dangerous infringement on our data, privacy, and human rights".

She also questioned whether surveillance tackles the real issue, saying: "These costly facial recognition technologies only work to line the pockets of private tech companies, and do nothing to address the root causes of crimes of poverty such as theft — unmet social and economic need."

The future of facial recognition at the supermarket?

Sainsbury’s first began trialing facial recognition in September 2025 across just two stores. Following an initial run that reportedly led to an almost 50% drop in theft, verbal abuse, and antisocial behavior, the supermarket is in the process of expanding the technology to 200 stores this in 2026.

With market leaders like Sainsbury’s publicly endorsing facial recognition, other high-street chains will watch the rollout closely.

But the rapid spread of automated surveillance is meeting a growing resistance. Big Brother Watch has launched a campaign encouraging shoppers to object, while a petition calling on the Government to halt the use of facial recognition has surpassed 41,000 signatures.

Surprisingly, Facewatch is also calling for intervention. A company spokesperson told TechRadar that Facewatch "actively supports" tighter regulations on the development and use of the technology, noting it has engaged with the Home Office and hopes "the Government will consider a high bar of regulation for its use by private companies."

While civil liberties campaigners and surveillance companies wait for the law to catch up, the responsibility for protecting personal privacy has been left with the individual. And until genuine opt-out mechanisms are established, that responsibility comes with only one choice. As the security guard at Sainsbury’s made clear: shop somewhere else.

• Xgimi Horizon 30 series of projectors launches, with up to 6,000 ISO lumens of brightness and contrast up to 10,000:1
• 4K at 120Hz supported, with variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode also available
• Built-in Harman Kardon speakers with DTS Virtual:X support

Xgimi has introduced a trio of triple-laser home projectors, each of which delivers 4K at up to 120Hz. The brand says they deliver up to seven times the native contrast and twice the refresh rate of their predecessors, delivering greater depth in darker scenes and delivering fast-moving content much more smoothly.

The three models are branded Horizon 30 Pro, Horizon 30 Max and Horizon 30 Ultra Max, and prices begin at a very reasonable $1,899 (about £1,439 / AU$2,724). All three are considerably brighter than many of the best 4K projectors you can buy today.

The specifications are particularly appealing if like me you spend as much time gaming as you do watching TV shows or movies. All three models have a game mode with promised latency of 1ms at 1080p 240Hz and 3ms at 4K 60Hz.

XGIMI Horizon 30 Series projectors: key specifications and pricing

All three models are 4K 120Hz Google TV projectors with variable refresh rate (including AMD FreeSync) and auto low latency mode.

They all come with dual 12W Harman Kardon stereo speakers with DTS:VirtualX. Their light source is an RGB triple laser with a dual intelligent iris system that automatically optimizes the light for each scene, and there's support for for Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

Each model gets an integrated stand that tilts and rotates for optimum positioning, and there are both optical zoom and lens shift for flexibility. The Lens Memory feature can save details of up to five different setups, enabling you to quickly switch from a setup ideal for TV shows to one ideal for ultra-wide gaming or movies.

Where the models differ is in their brightness and associated contrast. The most affordable of the three, the Horizon 30 Pro, puts out up to 4,800 ISO lumens with native contrast of 8,000:1.

The Horizon 30 Max emits 5,300 ISO lumens and has native contrast of 9,000:1.

And the range-topping Horizon 30 Ultra Max delivers 10,000 ISO lumens and has native contrast of 10,000:1.

The pre-order prices are:

• Horizon 30 Pro: $1,899 (about £1,439 / AU$2,724)
• Horizon 30 Max: $2,499 (about £1,894 / AU$3,585)
• Horizon 30 Ultra Max: $2,999 (about £2,272 / AU$4,302)

Those prices are valid from October 12 through October 31 2026 at xgimi.com. Open sales begin on November 1 and the prices go up on that date to $2,499, $2,999 and $3,499 respectively (about £1,894 / £2,272 / £2,651 and AU$3,585 / AU$4,302 / AU$5,020).

• E Ink has announced the next generation of its color ereader screens
• Dubbed Kaleido 4, this technology promises improved clarity, less graininess, and double the colors
• So far, it's only been announced for a single ereader, but it's sure to come to others

Hot take: I don’t think color ereaders are very good in general. The colors themselves are muted, and typically — such as with E Ink’s Kaleido 3 tech — they make the screen darker and grainier even when just viewing text. They generally cost a premium, too. As such, I’d always pick a black-and-white ereader for standard books, and a tablet (or actual paper) for anything heavy on color.

But E Ink might soon win me over to color ereaders, as it just announced a new Kaleido 4 display that it claims is brighter than Kaleido 3 and delivers “greater clarity, while reducing the perception of screen graininess.”

If that's true, normal text might actually look up to the standards it does on black-and-white e-readers.

Double the colors

Of course, the color element has also been improved here, with E Ink claiming its Kaleido 4 display can produce over 40,000 colors, which is double what the previous generation can manage.

It also has a higher refresh rate, increases white reflectance by 15%, and improves contrast by 50%, while videos can be played at 18fps — though I’d question why anyone would regularly be watching videos on an E Ink screen.

Still, this sounds like a comprehensive upgrade, and one that might make the next generation of Kindle Colorsoft and other color ereaders substantially better. Though since a new Kindle Colorsoft model has only just launched, it might be a while before we see this tech used by Amazon’s ereaders.

For now, Kaleido 4 is only available on Hanvon Technology's M10 C II — a China-only E Ink tablet. But hopefully, some global brands such as Kobo, Boox, and ViWoods will embrace this tech soon.

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: One-minute review

Over the years, Wyze has released a number of high-profile smart products across a range of different industries. They began with cameras but have expanded their range to offer vacuums, lights, locks, and a collection of affordable smart scales.

The Wyze BodyScan sits just underneath their most premium offering, the BodyScan Ultra, and is the brand’s most affordable 8-electrode BIA (which stands for bioelectric impedance analysis, the method many smart scales use to scan users’ bodies) scale. Offering segmental muscle and fat analysis across a user’s arms, legs, and torso, the BodyScan is more capable than almost all other smart scales at this price point.

As for its positioning in the market, the best smart scales for home users range from $20 for the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale all the way up to $599.95 / £449.95 / AU$895 for the Withings BodyScan 2. The BodyScan sits just above Vitafit’s offering and sets itself apart with segmented body composition reporting.

The BodyScan boasts a very impressive 4.7-inch LED screen, which displays seven different metrics, including weight, BMI, bone mass, protein, and body water percentage. The display is one of the largest you’ll find on any smart scale, elevating the user experience well beyond the $84.98 price tag.

The remaining metrics, including protein, basal metabolism, and subcutaneous fat, are displayed in the Wyze app. Unfortunately, because the app covers all Wyze products, it’s not a dedicated smart scale platform. The interface provides little more than a presentation of the metrics in both data and graph form. When compared to the premium Withings app experience, the two are worlds apart.

The BodyScan smart scale offers an incredible amount given the small price tag and delivers all the health metrics that most everyday users could ever need. The scale offers only a little more than the basics, but it does those basics without fuss and without stress. If you were to also invest in one of the best smartwatches, then you’d have a great all-round solution for measuring your health progress.

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Specifications

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Price and availability

• $84.98 USD
• Only available in the US
• Budget-friendly

At just $84.98, the Wyze BodyScan scale is one of the most affordable on the market, especially if you’re looking for segmented muscle mass and body fat with a high level of accuracy. The app experience and build quality leave a little to be desired, but at this price point there’s nothing better.

If your budget is even tighter and you have no interest in segmented data, then the Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale, for around $20, is currently our best budget pick in our best smart scales buying guide. The scale delivers accuracy that we were “blown away” by across a varied set of metrics, including weight, BMI (although you can calculate this yourself at home, the scale does it for you), bone mass, basal metabolic rate, and more.

• Value score 5/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Design

• Large 4.7-inch LED display
• Cheap and basic handlebar construction
• Solid glass base

Let’s begin with one of the main highlights of the BodyScan scale, the huge 4.7-inch LED display. I was so surprised to see a screen of this size that I had to check the price point again. In fact, this is the largest of all displays of any scale featured in our best smart scales guide, and for under $100, its inclusion is even more impressive.

The display is located at the top of the base unit and is big, bright, and super clear even when viewed from six feet away. The benefit of packing the display into the base rather than into the handlebar, like the Withings BodyScan 2, is that they can make it significantly larger and thereby display more information at once. As a result, I found myself opening up the app a lot less compared to other brands.

To keep costs down, Wyze has stripped out a number of additional premium features found on the BodyScan Ultra, but the most noticeable compromise is actually the budget material choice and the basic construction quality of the handlebar. The plastic is cheap, it feels lightweight, and it lacks a locking mechanism, so it won’t automatically stay in position when you’re waiting for measurements to be calculated.

I was glad that these issues don’t translate over to the main base unit. Thanks to a solid plastic base and a thick ITO-coated glass panel, I was left confident that it would stand the test of time. My only issue with the base is an aesthetic one. For some unknown reason Wyze has inserted a protruding plastic rectangle into the middle of the glass, which breaks the otherwise sleek design of the panel.

• Design Score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Features

• 17 body composition metrics
• Seven of these metrics are displayed on the scale itself
• Syncs with Apple Health, Health Connect, and Fitbit.

The Wyze Bodyscan covers 17 body composition metrics. Seven of these are displayed on the 4.7-inch LED display: Weight, Body Fat Percentage, BMI, Muscle Mass Percentage, Bone Mass, Protein, Body Water Percentage.

These metrics and the 10 remaining ones are displayed in the Wyze app. These are Muscle Rate, Physical Age, Lean Weight, Visceral Fat, Basal Metabolism, Subcutaneous Fat, Fat Mass, Skeletal Muscle Mass, Segmented Muscle Mass, and Body Fat.

Beyond measurements, the Wyze Bodyscan syncs with Apple Health, Health Connect, and Fitbit. It also recognizes up to eight users automatically and has a nine-month battery life.

• Features Score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Performance

• Comparable results to the industry-leading Withings BodyScan 2
• Simple but basic app experience
• Managing multiple users is a bit of a hassle

Given the sub-$100 price tag, I didn’t expect very much from the Wyze BodyScan. Not only were my expectations exceeded with regard to design and features but also with overall performance. Despite not having any bells and whistles, the BodyScan manages to do all the basics incredibly well.

The overall experience of using the scale is a positive one. The large display presents seven of the most common metrics, which means most users won’t need to check the app each time they step off the scales. However, when you do find yourself drilling down into the metrics, you’ll discover a very basic app experience. Data is clearly laid out, but there’s no analysis or health advice, as is found in the Withings app. On the plus side, there’s no subscription either.

Part of the reason for the basic app experience is that it handles all Wyze product types and has a significant interface bias towards its cameras. The positive of that is that if you’ve bought into the Wyze ecosystem, then you’ll be able to manage all your smart devices in one place.

Unfortunately, the app issues don’t end there: there’s no support for a multi-user profile, so other family members will have to download the app on their own phone. That’s fine for other adult members or older children but not if you’re wanting to track the health of your young child.

More positively, when compared to the Withings BodyScan 2 and the RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro, the scale delivered accurate results. This was especially true for the key metrics of weight, BMI, muscle mass, and body fat. There were only two metrics with issues, and those were body water and basal metabolism.

Thanks to the electrodes in the handlebar, the BodyScan is capable of reporting body composition across five separate segments. Measurements are overlaid onto a body graphic within the app, so it’s quick and easy to see where imbalances are located.

The overall speed of the unit was good, with weight being calculated in a matter of seconds and the remaining 16 metrics taking less than 20 seconds. This is about the same length of time as most other scales we’ve tested.

• Performance score: 4/5

Wyze BodyScan smart scale: Scorecard