Somewhere right now, a person is asking ChatGPT for the best cafe near them. The AI answers in four seconds and names three cafes. What if one of them isn't yours?

That's the problem I’ll address here. Without any hacks or suggesting a $500-a-month dashboard that you'll open twice. Instead, something that works with a system you can run from a spreadsheet.

've spent a lot of time watching small businesses handle AI search the way most of us handle gym memberships. Sign up in January, feel great for a week, never log in again. See, the tool was never the problem. The plan was.

So here's the plan.

What is AEO?

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It's the practice of making your business show up when people ask questions to AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI Overviews.

Before AI was a thing, you would simply search for a query on Google and find multiple results, including Ads, Featured Snippet, Blogs, etc.

But, right now, most people ask AI the same question and get an instant answer. Three names, maybe four. A short paragraph and that’s it.

Well, if you and your business is in the above paragraph, you win. If you're not, you don't exist.

And the shift is already here. Google now puts AI-generated answers on top of regular results. Millions of people ask ChatGPT for recommendations the way they used to ask a friend, and your customers are among them.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Business owners hear about AEO and ask the same question:

"Which AEO tool should I buy?"

Wrong question. That's like asking which weighing scale to buy before you've changed anything about your diet. The scale will just tell you the same bad news with more decimal places.

An AEO tool doesn't get you cited. It shows you where you're invisible. Those are very different jobs.

Here's what any AEO tool, cheap or expensive, does at its core:

• Tells you if AI answers mention your business
• Tells you which competitors get mentioned instead
• Shows you which sources those AI answers pull from
• Points out what's missing about your business online

That's it. That's the whole product. It's a diagnostic machine. The treatment is the work you do outside the tool, and most of that work is free.

So, before you buy anything, build the system the tool is supposed to sit inside.

The four-layer framework

Every small business, whether you run a cafe, a mechanic shop, a car wash, or a SaaS product, should think about AI visibility in four layers.

Layer 1: What are people actually asking?

Start with questions that your target audience actually asks. The stuff people type randomly at 9 PM when they need something.

Layer 2: Who does AI mention right now?

This is where tracking begins, and you don't need software for it yet. Open ChatGPT. Open Perplexity. Ask your 20 questions. Write down what comes back.

Track five things for each prompt:

Do this weekly. Same prompts, same day, every week. It takes 30 minutes, and it will teach you more about your market than any webinar.

Layer 3: Find the source gap

AI doesn't recommend businesses out of thin air. It looks for proof. And proof, for a local business, lives in boring places.

It lives in your Google Business Profile. In your reviews, and not just the count and the score, but what people actually say in them. In your photos, your menu or service pages, and the local directories that list you. It lives in articles and listicles that mention you, your social media presence, and the community discussions happening around your area.

Google itself says local visibility comes down to relevance, distance, and prominence. And prominence is built from links, articles, directories, review count, and review scores. AI systems lean on the same signals.

So when your competitor gets mentioned, and you don't, the reason is rarely mysterious. Your business information is incomplete or inconsistent somewhere. You don't have enough reviews. Your website doesn't answer specific questions, or your photos don't show the experience.

Maybe nobody else on the internet is talking about you yet. Or you're chasing a query that's too broad for where you are right now.

Layer 4: Turn tracking into action

This is where most businesses quit. They track AI mentions, feel excited for two days, screenshot a result, send it to the family group chat, and then do nothing.

Tracking without action is a hobby. A good AEO workflow ends every week with a short action list. Things like:

• "Create a birthday party page on the website"
• "Add prices to the online menu"
• "Get 30 more reviews this month"
• "Get listed on three local directories"
• "Invite five local food creators to visit"
• "Fix the phone number, it's different on two platforms"

Small, boring, and super specific. That's what moves the needle. And yes, I checked, the needle exists. It's your review count.

Don't chase the big query first

Quick detour, because this mistake costs people months.

If you run a cafe in Greenwich Village, do not start by targeting "best cafe in New York." That query belongs to famous names with thousands of reviews and a decade of press. You will lose that fight, and you'll lose it slowly.

Target the narrow stuff instead:

• "best cafe near Bleecker Street"
• "coffee shop near NYU with Wi-Fi"
• "birthday cafe in the West Village"
• "affordable cafe in Greenwich Village"

Narrow queries have less competition and higher intent. The person asking "cafe near Bleecker Street with Wi-Fi" is closer to walking through your door than the person asking "best cafe in New York" for a listicle they're skimming on the subway.

Own the street first. Then the neighborhood. Then, maybe, the city!

What can an AEO tool do for you?

Okay. Say you've run the manual system for a couple of months. Your listings are fixed, reviews are climbing, and checking 20 prompts by hand every week is getting old. Now a tool makes sense.

Here are the seven things a small business AEO tool should do. If a tool doesn't do most of these, keep your money.

1. Prompt tracking

It should track the questions your customers actually ask. Real buyer prompts like "where can I get car AC repair near me," not vanity prompts like "is my business the best." (The answer to that one is always disappointing anyway.)

2. Competitor visibility

It should show which competitors keep appearing. If the same three names show up for every prompt, those three names just became your homework. Study their reviews, their photos, their pages, and their listings.

3. Citation and source tracking

The tool should show where AI answers pull information from. Review platforms, directories, articles, maps, social profiles. Then your job is simple:

Get your brand on those sources.

4. Sentiment tracking

Being simply mentioned is also not enough right now. You should focus on how your brand is perceived online. Here’s what I mean:

• A good mention: "A budget-friendly cafe near Bleecker Street known for coffee, snacks, and casual hangouts."
• A weak mention: "A cafe located in Greenwich Village."
• A bad mention: "Mixed reviews about service and food quality."

Same business. Three very different outcomes for the person reading. The tool should tell you which one you're getting.

5. Gap analysis

It should show what competitors have that you don't. Something like:

That table isn't depressing. It's a to-do list wearing a disguise.

6. Weekly reporting that ends in actions

Prompts tracked. Mentions gained or lost. Competitors appearing. Sources cited. Gaps found. Next five actions.

If the report doesn't tell you what to do next, it's really just a screensaver with a subscription fee.

The low cost AEO option

Let me put the whole system in one place. This is what I'd hand any small business owner tomorrow.

• Pick your 20 money prompts: The questions customers ask right before they spend money.
• Run them weekly: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews. Log who gets mentioned, what sources appear, how you're described.
• Fix what you own first: Website, business listing, menu, photos, FAQs, hours, address, phone number. Google's guidance for showing up in AI features is almost insultingly basic: crawlable pages, important content in text form, structured data matching what's visible, business info kept current. Basic. And still, most small businesses fail at it.
• Build third-party validation: AI trusts repetition across independent sources. Local blogs, directories, review platforms, creator videos, community mentions. For SaaS, that's comparison pages, review sites, customer stories, and integration directories. The more places that say the same thing about you, the easier you are to recommend.
• Review progress every 30 days: Mentions up? Descriptions improving? Gaps closing? Adjust and repeat.
• Buy a tool only when the manual version hurts: More on that now.

When to buy an AEO tool

Buy one when the spreadsheet starts groaning. If you're tracking more than 20 or 30 prompts, running multiple locations, or a team needs weekly reports, manual checking stops being cheap. It just becomes slow.

It also makes sense once you want history. Citation trends over time, sentiment shifts, mentions gained and lost month over month. A spreadsheet shows you today. A tool shows you the movie.

And if you're already producing content and collecting reviews every week, a tool helps keep the data pace with the work. At that stage, you're not buying insight. You're buying speed.

Now the other side. Don't buy one if your website is incomplete, your business listing is half-empty, or your review count is embarrassing. The same goes if your photos look like they were taken during an earthquake, or if nobody online is talking about you yet.

And definitely don't buy one hoping it will "get you cited" on its own. It won't. A tool pointed at a business with no proof will produce a beautiful report that says "you're invisible" in fourteen different chart formats. You already knew that. Save the money, do the work, then buy the tool to scale the work.

The whole game in one question

Small businesses keep asking "which AEO tool should I buy?" when the question that actually matters is this:

What are the 20 questions my customers ask before buying, and does the internet prove I'm a good answer?

Answer that honestly, and everything else falls into place. The listings, the reviews, the pages, the photos, the mentions. AEO isn't a separate marketing channel. It's a visibility audit for the AI era, and the audit is only useful if you act on it.

Remember that person asking ChatGPT for the best cafe near Bleecker Street? They're going to ask again next month. And the month after that.

Whether your name comes up is a decision you make this week. Open a spreadsheet. Write your 20 prompts. Start asking.

FAQs

Fireworks nights are full of pure magic. The bright, colorful explosions, loud whizzes, and the heavy smell of gunpowder in the air always make me feel like a kid again. They are also the perfect excuse to pull out your camera!

Last year, the iconic Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular over the Brooklyn Bridge reportedly cost $6 million. And for this historic 250th Independence Day on July 4, 2026, your own photos really could look a million bucks!

Taking pictures in low light, however, is no easy feat. Add in the complication of fast-paced explosions going off haphazardly and a tight time restriction, and capturing the perfect shot can feel stressful.

Fear not! I’ve compiled my favorite tips to help you take better photos of fireworks. Whether you shoot on a professional DSLR, a mirrorless camera, or plan to capture everything on your iPhone – I’ve got you covered.

1. Find a vantage point

Rather than shooting close up details of singular fireworks, it’s better instead, to include them in a wider landscape for extra context. You’ll only have a limited time to capture your shots before the fireworks display is over, so it pays dividends to do your research beforehand – try to figure out where the fireworks are going to be set off from and plan your shoot to make sure you can capture a wide landscape plus the fireworks in the sky above.

Some of the best vantage points for fireworks displays are well known and very popular so it can be well worth getting to the location well in advance of the display and setting up your gear to stake your claim in the best position before the crowds arrive.

2. Steady your camera or phone

For the best quality photos a dedicated camera such as an interchangeable mirrorless or DSLR camera is preferred. You’ll want to set up on a tripod to remove camera-shake caused by the vibrations picked up when shooting handheld. It’s also beneficial to switch off and disable any image stabilization your camera may have as this can actually introduce blur when your camera is locked off on a tripod as it might try to correct for motion that isn’t there.

Rather than trying to focus on each and every firework exploding, you’re best bet is to shoot a wider landscape and manually focus on something in the scene so that your camera isn’t struggling to autofocus on the fast action of a firework. If your scene has street lights in it, for example, use these as a guide to lock focus, thus preventing the camera from hunting in those high stakes split-second moments.

Apple’s latest iPhones automatically enable Night Mode in low light environments, as do most leading Android phones. While it is easier than ever to shoot handheld with recent phones, thanks to the latest and greatest image processing and stabilization tricks, for best results I'd still recommend using a tripod, fixing your phone to it with one of the best smartphone tripod adapters. Failing this, try to find a fence, railing or wall you can prop your phone up on to make it steadier.

3. Starting settings: DSLR & mirrorless cameras – the ‘card’ method

One of the best tricks to create incredible fireworks images is to use the ‘card’ method, for which you set your tripod-mounted DSLR / mirrorless camera to its bulb mode, in which the shutter is open for as long as the shutter button is held down. To minimize vibrations caused by your hand, you’ll want to use a tripod and plug in a shutter release cable to your camera, which allows you to keep the shutter open without directly touching the camera.

It’s called the ‘card’ method because you place a black piece of black card in front of the lens while the shutter is open. When a firework goes off you can quickly whip the card out of the way to expose for the firework and then cover the lens again.

It's possible to repeat this process multiple times for multiple fireworks, to build up a single exposure with lots of the best fireworks going off in it for a more impressive photo.

4. Starting settings: iPhone & Android – long exposure & burst modes

To capture an entire firework, with its long trail and then vibrant colorful burst when it explodes, go into your iPhone’s Live Photo mode and tweak the setting from Live to Long Exposure. To capture the split-second action with better sharpness your best bet is to use your iPhone’s Burst Mode and slide the shutter button to the left to take a brace of photos in fast succession. I’ll show you how to blend your best shots together in Photoshop in my final tip.

Android smartphones may also have something similar to the iPhone, for example my Android has a Light Painting picture mode which extends the shutter time in a similar way to the Long Exposure mode on the iPhone, while recent Pixel phones have a long exposure setting. Camera apps in Android phones vary between manufacturers, do the best settings will vary depending on the model. You should be able to find tips specific to your model through a simple internet search.

5. Blend your best fireworks together

To make your fireworks photos more impressive, it can be a good idea to blend the best fireworks into a single image with editing software — I recommend Adobe Photoshop or, if shooting on a phone, apps such as Photoleap, Snapseed or Adobe Photoshop Express.

If you use a mirrorless or DSLR camera I highly recommend shooting in the RAW file format as this will provide much more exposure information – essential for editing images especially in low light situations like a fireworks display. Select and edit all of your RAW files at once to make sure your edits are consistent, then stack them all together in Adobe Bridge using Tools>Photoshop>Load files into Photoshop Layers.

Now select all of the fireworks images in the layers panel and go to Edit>Auto Align Layers, to make sure all of the pictures are lined up perfectly (which only works if you have a consistent landmark in the frame, hence my advice for shooting wide and including the landscape).

Then in the layers panel, change each of the firework blending modes from Normal to Screen and you’ll see them become blended with the layer below. You may also want to add a Layer Mask and mask off each layer so only the firework is blended with the layer below and not the landscape – you can mask off unwanted areas with a soft black brush tool.

Et voila! You now have a single scene with all of your best firework explosions lighting up the night sky.

You can find more software options in the photography sections of our best Android apps, best free Android apps, best iPhone apps and best free iPhone apps guides.

• Watch World Cup FREE - @CazeTV YouTube (Brazil)
• Outside Brazil? Unlock CazeTV with Norton VPN (try risk-free)
• All 104 games in 4K – including the World Cup Final

Looking to watch CazeTV – the Brazilian YouTube channel with the rights to all 104 World Cup 2026 games? Read on and we'll show you how to watch CazeTV outside Brazil – including the US, Europe and beyond.

After starting out as a Twitch streamer, Casimiro Miguel has changed the game when it comes to sports broadcasts in the modern era with his CazeTV YouTube channel.

For fans in Brazil, it's now easier than ever to watch the games – Caze offers easy access to all 104 matches, in crisp 4K quality, absolutely free of charge. No messy sign ups.

But, what if you're away from Brazil when a big sporting event is on? How do you unlock CazeTV's free streams?

Here's the trick – and how to watch CazeTV from anywhere in the world.

How to watch CazeTV for free

The good news is CazeTV is a totally free YouTube channel which broadcasts live sporting events, like the World Cup.

The catch is it's geo-locked to Brazil, with licensing limiting where you can watch live games and events.

If you're living in Brazil, you'll get access to football games, Olympics coverage, table tennis events, and more.

Traveling outside of Brazil? You can still watch your CazeTV stream for free thanks to Norton VPN (try for 60 days).

How to watch CazeTV from anywhere

Using a VPN is the best way to bypass geo-locked restrictions and access your usual content even if you're away on holiday. Here's how...

Do you need a VPN to watch CazeTV abroad?

Yes, if you're anywhere outside Brazil, CazeTV will be blocked. You'll see some recorded content and World Cup highlights – but you won't be able to access the World Cup live streams.

Having a good VPN and a strong connection can fix that, though.

You can change your location and settings so that your device thinks you're back in Brazil, and get access to your sporting content as normal. As we say, we recommend Norton VPN for this.

Quick warning – some VPNs don't work with CazeTV but Norton does, we tested and it's super-fast so you won't miss a goal of have to worry about buffering during a penalty shootout.

What streaming devices are supported by CazeTV?

📱 Mobile & Web

Android phones & tablets (Android L or later)
iPhone & iPad (iOS 15 or later)
Web browsers — watch via tv.youtube.com on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.

📺 Smart TVs

Samsung Smart TVs (2017 & newer)
LG Smart TVs (2016 & newer)
Vizio SmartCast TVs (select models)
Hisense Smart TVs (select models)
Sharp Smart TVs (select models)
Sony Smart TVs (select models)
(Support varies by model and app store availability)

🎮 Streaming Media Players & Set‑tops

Roku players & Roku TVs
Apple TV (4th gen & 4K)
Chromecast with Google TV / Google TV devices
Android TV devices (including built‑in TVs and boxes)
Amazon Fire TV devices & Fire TV Edition TVs
(App must be available in the device’s store)

🎮 Game Consoles & Smart Displays

Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4/Pro
Google Nest Hub / Smart displays with YouTube support

How popular is CazeTV?

Tens of millions of people are using CazeTV now, and it's breaking all kinds of records during the World Cup 2026.

Coverage of Brazil vs Morocco in the group stages of the World Cup brought in 12.4 million concurrent viewers at its peak.

That's the biggest live audience in YouTube history, and it was also the first time a solo streamer exceeded 10 million viewers.

What can you watch on CazeTV?

It's not just the World Cup you can watch on CazeTV. Here are all the other sports and content you can find on the YouTube channel:

• English Premier League
• La Liga
• Bundesliga
• Serie A
• Ligue 1
• The Olympics
• NFL
• World Table Tennis
• Sports documentaries
• Behind the scenes footage and training coverage
• Influencer and lifestyle content

Who owns CazeTV?

CazeTV is the brainchild of streamer Casimiro Miguel. The 32-year-old from Brazil founded CazeTV when he was starting out on Twitch before migrating to YouTube.

However, there is a much bigger name attached to the business now. Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo bought a stake in LiveModeTV, the enterprise behind CazeTV. According to SportCal, Ronaldo made a significant investment in the company.

Is CazeTV legal?

Yes, CazeTV is totally legal and free. It's just your standard YouTube account, but it's special because it has official broadcast rights to stream every single game from the tournament.

The channel had some access to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and has been picking up more and more prestigious and expansive broadcast rights ever since.

More from TechRadar

• I went inside FIFA's super-secret Technology Command Center for the World Cup — but sadly I can't really tell you too much about what I saw
• How to watch World Cup 2026 online from anywhere: Free Streams, TV Channels and Fixtures
• How to listen to World Cup 2026 from anywhere in the world

According to reports, ChatGPT hit the one-billion-active-user mark in May. This makes it the fastest app to achieve this feat to date. I think this is enough for you to realize that it’s more important than ever to get your brand featured/ mentioned/ cited on ChatGPT and other LLMs online.

Unfortunately, this is not as straightforward, and before you start cooking up a new strategy to address this new era of search, you must understand where you stand with your brand right now.

This is where you start tracking how your brand is being perceived by these LLM models and how often you get picked over your competitors. This guide is here to answer exactly that.

For this, I tried a bunch of different methods to find the most economical and credible methods to track your business’s visibility in AI search results. Here’s everything that I found legitimate and actually working well.

What does AI visibility mean?

Before you pick a tool, you need to know which question you're answering. Most people merge three very different things into one word ("visibility") and then wonder why their data is a mess.

There are three questions, and they need three different methods:

• Are you mentioned or cited in AI answers? When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question in your category, does your brand show up in the response? This is the one most people mean by "AI visibility."
• Are people clicking through from AI tools to your site? A mention and a click are not the same thing. You can get named in a hundred answers and still get zero visits, because the user got what they needed and moved on.
• Are AI bots even crawling your content? If LLM crawlers like GPTBot and PerplexityBot can't reach your pages, you're not eligible to be cited in the first place. This is the plumbing nobody checks.

Keep these separate in your head. A tool that nails question ONE tells you nothing about question TWO. I've watched smart marketers celebrate a rising "mention rate" while their actual AI traffic sat flat, because they were measuring two different things and treating them as one. Now, the methods.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Free methods

Here is how you can get started with tracking your business in AI search results for free.

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console added a dedicated generative-AI report on June 3, 2026, and it's the freshest free tool you have. For the first time, it breaks down how often your pages appear inside AI Overviews, AI Mode, and the AI features in Discover, instead of burying that data in your overall numbers.

This report measures the impressions, broken down by page, country, device, and date. So you can finally see which of your URLs Google's AI is actually pulling into answers, and watch that trend over time.

Now the honest caveats, because this isn't magic. It shows impressions only. There's no click data, click-through rate, or query data yet (Google says more is coming soon). The three AI surfaces are blended into one bucket, so you can't separate AI Overviews from AI Mode. And it's rolling out to a subset of sites, within the UK first, so it might not be in your account on the day you read this.

Check anyway. If it's there, set your baseline now.

A manual prompt log

The oldest method is still the cheapest, and it works on every platform. Write 10 to 30 questions your buyers actually ask, run them across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude on a fixed schedule, and log the results in a Google Sheet.

Try to pick your prompts and then leave them alone. AI answers wobble run to run, so a single check is noise. Same prompt, same day next week, every week. The trend over a month is the signal, not any one result.

Is it tedious? Yes. Will it cost you a dollar? No.

Plus, it forces you to actually read the answers, which teaches you more about why you're getting left out than any dashboard ever will. If you only do one thing this week, do this.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Custom workflow

If the manual log gets old (it will), you can automate it without paying for a full visibility platform using a workflow automation tool like n8n.

It is a workflow automation tool, and its template library has ready-made workflows that do exactly what the manual log does on autopilot. The pattern is that it reads your prompts from a Google Sheet, sends each one to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, has a step check for every answer for your brand, and writes the results back to your sheet on a schedule.

Browse n8n's template search for "brand visibility" and you'll find a few versions to start from.

The cost for this process is genuinely small. You bring your own API keys, and on cheap models, the OpenAI and Gemini calls run for a pretty small amount. Perplexity is the main line item, because its Sonar API adds a per-request search fee of roughly $5 to $14 per 1,000 requests on top of tokens. For a 25-prompt list run weekly, you're looking at low digits per month.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Using A paid tool

If you'd rather not build anything, a purpose-made tool collapses all of the above into one screen.

Getting these tools set up is generally fast. Typically, you start by entering some brand information such as your website, name, and industry. The tool will then work on your behalf, returning insightful information such as:

• Your "share of voice" across different AI platforms
• Performance breakdown based on model (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude)
• Which websites and brands are being referenced where you want to be
• Gaps where competitors aren't mentioned
• Grading your website content for AI readiness

When is paying worth it? When you're tracking this across several brands, or you need a report someone else will read, or your time is worth more than the subscription.

For a single brand on a tight budget, the free tier plus a prompt log will take you a long way first. There's no shame in starting free and upgrading when the manual work starts eating your week.

So which one should you actually use?

Start with where you are. If you have no budget, turn on the Google Search Console AI report today, then run a manual prompt log every week. That combination answers all three questions: who Google's AI surfaces, who clicks through, and who gets mentioned across the chatbots.

If the manual log gets painful, automate it with an n8n workflow for the chatbots. You'll spend a few dollars a month and save yourself hours.

If you're doing this for more than one brand, or you need clean reports without the building, a subscription tool earns its keep.

One last thing, because it's the mistake I see most. Don't track AI visibility once and call it done. The whole reason the timestamp matters, the whole reason you sample weekly, is that AI answers change constantly.

The number you pull today is a snapshot. The line you build over a month is the actual story. The brands building that baseline now are the ones who'll know exactly where they stand when AI search becomes the front door to everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Today, I was using the ChatGPT app on my iPhone when I accidentally held my finger down on the send button (the blue upward arrow) a bit too long, and I was suddenly taken to a new options screen I hadn’t realized existed before, which I use all the time now.

The option screen gives you three different intelligence settings for the answer you're going to get back from ChatGPT: High, Medium, or Instant.

What’s going on here is that ChatGPT is asking you to choose between three different flavors of ChatGPT-5.5 that change how long the chatbot thinks before answering. These options are easily visible in the web-interface version of ChatGPT, but the reason why I’d never seen them before in the iOS app is that there’s nothing that indicates they exist, and I bet a lot of you haven’t found them either.

So, fire up ChatGPT and try it now - you’ll be surprised. The workflow goes like this:

1. Type your prompt
2. Long-press the blue send arrow
3. Choose a model - e.g., Thinking
4. Send

For paid users only

What’s nice is that having the freedom to choose ChatGPT’s intelligence level like this means that you can choose differently for each prompt you enter.

So, if you just need a quick answer to a simple question, then choose Instant. If you’ve asked something more difficult and you want to make sure you get the full benefit of the AI thinking about it properly, then choose High. The Medium setting gives you a balance of both approaches.

If you've never used the High option before then it can be quite surprising how long ChatGPT will take to think about its answer, but the benefit is that you get a much more in-depth response.

Sadly, this feature only works for users on paid ChatGPT plans. If you’re using a free ChatGPT account, you won’t get these options.

Android alternatives

Since the feature isn’t prominently documented, many people aren’t aware it exists. And if you’re on an Android phone, well, it doesn’t actually exist, because this hidden feature is unique to iOS, but there is an Android equivalent.

On Android, when you long-press an answer text (not the send button), a new menu will be available for you. At the end of the menu, you can see a Change model option — you can use this to select a thinking or instant variant of your current model.

I love finding hidden features in tech I own, and often it's like this one — the hidden setting turns out to be something I’ll use all the time, once I’ve discovered it. Let's hope you do, too.

• Tour de Suisse 2026: Wednesday, June 17 to Sunday June 21
• FREE stream: In Switzerland on SRF / RTS / RSI
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere – over 70% off today

The Tour de Suisse 2026, the 89th edition of the race, will be five days long rather than the usual eight and in an innovative move to give the fans more chance to see the action each day, the stages will start and finish in the same town.

Heading the list of contenders is the GOAT himself Tadej Pogačar who will be racing for the first time since winning the Tour de Romandie at the end of April. Challenging for the overall will be Tom Pidcock, Primož Roglič and Richard Carapaz then of those looking for stage wins keep a close eye on Matthew Brennan and Mathieu van der Poel.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a Tour de Suisse 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch the 2026 Tour de Suisse for FREE

Cycling fans in Switzerland will get to watch a Tour de Suisse 2026 live stream for FREE in a choice of three languages, German, French and Italian.

Those Belgium and Austria can also watch for free. Here's where:

• 🇨🇭 Switzerland: SRF Play / RTS Play / RSI Play
• 🇦🇹 Austria: ORF On
• 🇧🇪 Belgium: RTL Play

If you're a resident of Switzerland, Belgium or Austria and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any Tour de Suisse 2026 live stream

Tour de Suisse 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favorite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Suisse live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the Tour de Suisse 2026 on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes will set you back US$155.88 for the year or US$39.99 on a monthly basis.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 Tour de Suisse then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Suisse live streams in the UK

The Tour de Suisse 2026 is on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports’ cycling coverage in the UK has now moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. It costs £30.99 per month, though there is a better value £25.99 "saver plan" available if you sign up for a 12-month term.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Suisse live streams in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the Tour de Suisse 2026 on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish to watch, costs CA$49.99 a month or CA$215.88 for the year.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device believe you're still in Canada.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Suisse live streams in Australia

As yet no TV broadcaster in Australia has the rights to the Tour de Suisse 2026.

However, the Age of Sports YouTube channel is listed on the Tour de Suisse 2026 website as showing the race Down Under. We'd recommend checking it out when the race starts on Wednesday.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Australia.

Tour de Suisse 2026 - Preview

Tadej Pogačar shouldn’t face too much resistance in his bid to win his first Tour de Suisse as his main rivals are all racing elsewhere or camped out at altitude preparing for the big one in a week’s time. Tom Pidcock should hopefully push him hard, and likewise Primož Roglič will be upset if he’s not in the mix for a podium spot, but if Pogačar is in the same shape that saw him win so prolifically in the spring, it will be a walk in the park.

This year there are only five stages, down from the usual eight to make it more attractive to riders preparing for the Tour and each day will start and finish in the same town. This will work brilliantly for fans who can see both the start and finish of a stage, and if they are resourceful maybe even catch the action halfway.

The five stages kick off with three hilly/mountainous affairs followed by a 23km time trial on stage four then an absolute monster Queen stage to end with. Starting half way up the Col de la Croix and crossing its summit three times in a row it finishes uphill and will be an awesome spectacle for the fans.

Tour de Suisse 2026 stages and broadcast times

Stage 1 | Wednesday June 17 | Sondrio – Sondrio | 14:15

Stage 2 | Thursday June 18 | Locarno - Locarno | 14:00

Stage 3 | Friday June 19 | Bag Ragaz - Bad Ragaz | 13:45

Stage 4 | Saturday June 20 | Aarburg - Aarburg (ITT) | 15:04

Stage 5 | Sunday June 21 | Villars-sur-Ollon - Villars-sur-Ollon | 13:30

* All times CET

Tour de Suisse 2026 Route Map

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.

• Copenhagen Sprint 2026: Sunday June 14
• FREE stream: DR Sporten (Denmark)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere – over 70% off today

The 2nd edition of the newest race on the World Tour will see the World's best sprinters take centre stage again in their bid for victory and bragging rights within the peloton.

It's rare that so many big names line up in one place out side of the Tour de France to show who really is the best, so we will likely be treated to one of the sprints of the year at the end of the 228 kilometres into the heart of Copenhagen.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a Copenhagen Sprint 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch the 2026 Copenhagen Sprint for FREE

Cycling fans in Denmark can watch Copenhagen Sprint for free on DR Sporten.

If you're a resident of Denmark and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any Copenhagen Sprint 2026 live stream

The Copenhagen Sprint 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favorite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 Copenhagen Sprint live streams in the US

In the US, the 2026 Copenhagen Sprint will be on HBO Max, which starts at $18.49 USD per month. This is the middle-tier “Standard” subscription that includes live sports.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 Copenhagen Sprint then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 Copenhagen Sprint live streams in the UK

The Copenhagen Sprint 2026 is on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports’ cycling coverage in the UK has now moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. It costs £30.99 per month, though there is a better value £25.99 "saver plan" available if you sign up for a 12-month term.

If you already had a Discovery+ account for viewing TNT Sports, it will be automatically transferred over to HBO Max.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 Copenhagen Sprint live streams in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the 2026 Copenhagen Sprint on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish to watch, costs $49.99 a month or $215.88 for the year.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device believe you're still in Canada.

How to watch 2026 Copenhagen Sprint live streams in Australia

As yet no broadcaster in Australia has the rights to the Copenhagen Sprint.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Australia.

Copenhagen Sprint 2026 - Preview

Jasper Philipsen, Arnaud De Lie, Dylan Groenewegen, Jonathan Milan, Tim Merlier, the list goes on. In fact the only big name sprinter not on the start sheet is Paul Magnier which also includes last year's winner Jordi Meeus and the rapid Dane, Tobias Lund Andresen.

Starting in Roskilde and finishing at the National Gallery of Denmark in the centre of Copenhagen, the 228 kilometre race spends 176 kilometres in the countryside before hitting the capital for five laps of the city circuit.

Almost entirely flat, this criterium like finish is packed with technical corners so it’s not simply a case of the biggest watts winning the day as timing, skill and patience in launching the sprint will all be key.

Copenhagen Sprint Race Route 2026

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 World Cup 2026 is here, and we have a repeat of the 2010 curtain-raiser in South Africa, as Mexico take on Bafana Bafana in their backyard.

This Mexico side arrive on an impressive run of performances and are billed by many as underdogs.

You can keep up with all the action right here on TechRadar, with live updates and free streams for Mexico vs South Africa.

Mexico vs South Africa: The Essentials

• Date: 11 June 2026
• Kick-Off: 8pm BST / 3pm ET / 5am AEST
• Free Streams: ITVX (UK) / RTÉ Player (Ireland) / SBS On Demand (Australia) / Tubi (US)
• Unlock your free streams with Norton VPN (60-day money back guarantee)
• More from TechRadar: World Cup full streaming guide

Welcome to our live blog of Mexico vs South Africa

It's the opening game of the World Cup as Mexico take on South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

You can stream the game and opening ceremony beforehand for free on ITVX (UK), RTÉ Player (Ireland), SBS On Demand (Australia), Tubi (US).

Norton VPN will unlock your stream if you're out of the country.

What is the weather looking like for Mexico vs South Africa?

It feels like there has been more talk about the weather at this World Cup than at any previous tournament, but conditions are looking relatively calm in Mexico City today.

Showers are forecast, but temperatures are expected to remain around 23C (73F).

When will the opening ceremony start?

The opening game of the tournament doesn't just mark the start of the football — it also features a full opening ceremony for fans to enjoy.

It all begins at 6:30pm BST / 1:30pm ET, with Shakira and Burna Boy headlining the event. Find out more about how to watch it here.

🇲🇽 🇿🇦 Relive the 2010 magic

Remember the 2010 opening game between these two? We certainly do:

What are the kick-off times around the world for Mexico vs South Africa?

Australia at 5am AEST (Fri)

Brazil at 4pm

Canada at 3pm ET

Central Europe at 9pm CEST

India at 12:30am IST (Fri)

Mexico at 1pm

New Zealand at 7am NZST (Fri)

South Africa at 9pm SAST

US at 3pm ET / 12pm PT

UK at 8pm BST

Who should I watch out for in the Mexico team?

Well, outside of Raúl Jiménez, one player who could potentially set the Azteca alight tonight is Armando González.

The 23-year-old has been something of a revelation for Chivas this season and has netted 24 goals in Liga MX in just 35 games. It may be too early, yes, but with Jiménez unlikely to last a full 90 minutes, this young striker could be the perfect tonic for Javier Aguirre and his men.

Who should I watch out for in the South Africa team?

Burnley striker Lyle Foster is the most well-known to us football fans, but a young star you have to keep an eye on at this World Cup is Relebohile Mofokeng.

The 21-year-old hasn't quite backed up his club form at international level yet, but with 125 club appearances and over 50 goal contributions at just 21, he could be a real threat to Mexico if given the opportunity.

Hugo Broos has assured South African fans that he will be given more responsibility during the tournament. Can he deliver?

How to watch 2026 World Cup - Free options

Can I stream Mexico vs South Africa free in the US?

Yes, this is just one of two games that Tubi will broadcast for free in the US. The other being USA's opener against Paraguay.

The atmosphere is building...

Will Ochoa start for Mexico?

World Cup cult hero Guillermo Ochoa is now at his sixth tournament, equalling the record Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will also set this week. But will he start?

Well, it looks unlikely, with Raúl “Tala” Rangel from Chivas preferred in recent games. However, there is always a chance, and if you want experience, look no further than Ochoa.

1 hour until the opening ceremony begins

We are just one hour away from the opening ceremony starting at the Estadio Azteca.

Start getting those streams ready, remember ITVX (UK), RTÉ Player (Ireland), SBS On Demand (Australia) and Tubi (US) are all showing it for free.

😍 Mexico's beautiful kit

Mexico knows how to make beautiful kits, and 2026 is no different. Something of a throwback to their 1998 classic.

Who are the pundits on ITV tonight?

UK viewers will have to tune into ITV1 tonight to watch Mexico vs South Africa with Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright in the studio tonight for this one. They will be joined be presenter Mark Pougatch.

As for commentary it will be Jon Champion and Scotland's favourite son Ally McCoist.

How high is the Estadio Azteca?

We always hear about Mexico City sitting well above sea level and the problems that altitude can cause for players, but how high is it really?

At 2,200m, it’s, well… high. At that elevation there’s roughly 22% less oxygen than at sea level, which makes a noticeable difference in how players cope physically.

It’ll be a serious test for the South Africans, while Mexico will be more than happy to lean into those home conditions and turn up the pressure tonight.

10 minutes until the opening ceremony in Mexico!

Get those streams ready or check out our full guide on it here. Shakira is performing!

Here we go...

We are streaming on US service, Tubi and you can too. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is part of the punditry team today.

Remember if you are abroad and want to access your home service then you can thanks to Norton VPN.

Mexico's opening ceremony has started

And, after a slight delay the opening ceremony has begun. A 20-minute slot is scheduled for this.

Team News out

Mexico XI: Rangel, Montes, Vasquez, Reyes, Gallardo, Lira, Fidalgo, Alvarado, Gutierrez, Jimenez, Quinones.

Subs: Acevedo, Ochoa, Sanchez, Alvarez, Chavez, Romo, Pineda, Vargas, Mora, Chavez, Vega, Gimenez, Gonzalez, Huerta, Martinez..

South Africa XI: Williams, Modiba, Mbokazi, Sibisi, Mudau, Okon, Mokoena, Sithole, Adams, Foster, Rayners.

Subs: Chaine, Goss, Matuludi, Ndamane, Kabini, Makhanya, Sebelebele, Cross, Mbatha, Appolis, Moremi, Mofokeng, Zwane, Maseko, Makgopa.

Here comes Shakira...

Shakira and Burna Boy are now performing their official World Cup song, Dai Dai

That's that...

It's time for football, one hour till it all kicks-off. Will Mexico make the perfect start or can South Africa spring a shock and silence Mexico City?

The vibes are strong with South Africa 🇿🇦

Mexico's 3rd home World Cup

It’s a big day for Mexico not just because of their World Cup opener, but because they become the first country to host three editions of the tournament.

On both previous occasions they hosted — in 1970 and 1986 — they reached the quarter-finals. The question now is whether they can make it a third time.

Can I listen to Mexico vs South Africa?

Yes, the World Cup is available to listen in the UK and US, including Mexico vs South Africa. BBC Radio 5 Live are broadcasting in the UK while SiriusXM will be available in the US.

Abroad and can't access the radio? Listen from anywhere with Norton VPN.

Who else is in Mexico and South Africa's group?

Joining Mexico and South Africa we have South Korea and Czechia, who play each other at 10pm ET / 3am BST after this game.

South Korea are led by talisman and national icon Son Heung-Min while Czechia will need the likes of Tomas Soucek and Patrik Schick if they are to progress.

Another opening ceremony...

One opening ceremony isn't enough! We're now in for our second one, with flag bearers from every participating country.

It's not quite the Olympic opening ceremony, is it...?

10 minutes till kick-off!

Get ready! We are just moments away from kick-off for the 2026 World Cup!

TechRadar's Predicition

Mexico 3-0 South Africa

We are backing Mexico to get the World Cup started with a big win on home soil. Viva Mexico!

We are underway! Let the World Cup begin

Mexico 0-0 South Africa

A volley from Raul Jimenez following a neat move is brilliantly saved by Ronwen Williams. What a start that would have been for Mexico.

Goallllllll - Mexico 1-0 South Africa

The first goal of the World Cup has taken just 9 minutes. It's poor from South Africa giving the ball away and Julian Quinones pounces and strikes it past the keeper.

Mexico 1-0 South Africa

The first yellow card of the World Cup goes to Teboho Mokoena.

Mexico 1-0 South Africa

So after 24 minutes we head into a drinks break. South Africa have begun to settle, but they still look a degree short against Mexico.

HT - Mexico 1-0 South Africa

Quinones' goal gives Mexico a 1-0 lead at the break.

Mexico 1-0 South Africa

We are back underway in the Estadio Azteca. Will we get anymore goals?

Red Card - Mexico 1-0 South Africa

Yaya Sithole is adjudged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity and is shown a straight red card.

Goallll Mexico 2-0 South Africa

Raul Jimenez makes it 2-0 to the home side as heads past the South African keeper at the back post. It's going to be three points for El Tri.

Full Time - Mexico 2-0 South Africa

Three red cards, two goals and a win for Mexico. They start the World Cup with three points.

iOS 27 has been a topic of conversation for months now, but finally, following WWDC 2026, Apple's next iPhone-based software upgrade has been officially unveiled — and better yet, there's a beta version out now.

This is a developer beta, so it's primarily intended for people developing iOS apps, but it's accessible to anyone. Note, however, that a public iOS 27 beta will likely follow before long, and might be more stable, so you may prefer to wait for that — or for the finished release, which is expected to land alongside the iPhone 18 series in September.

If you are set on downloading the iOS 27 developer beta, though, then it's quite straightforward to do. We've detailed every step below — from signing up as a developer (if you haven't previously done so) to actually downloading the beta to your phone.

Before you start, it's worth backing up your iPhone, just in case something goes wrong with the installation of the beta or with the beta itself.

How to install the iOS 27 developer beta on your phone

To become eligible for the iOS 27 developer beta, you first need to enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Fortunately, this is easy to do. So if you’re not already signed up for this, just head to the enrollment page and click ‘Start your enrollment’. Then sign in with your Apple ID, and click ‘Continue enrollment on the web.’

You’ll then be asked to fill in your name and address, and you’ll have to select your ‘entity type’ (which, in most cases, will be ‘individual’), then accept the agreement. This will take you to a payment screen, but if you just quit out from here, you should still be enrolled in the free tier of the Apple Developer Program, which is all you need to access the betas.

Alternatively, you can use the Apple Developer app to enroll — just select the ‘Account’ tab in the app and then sign in to your Apple account.

With that done, actually downloading the iOS 27 developer beta is simple — on your iPhone, just head to Settings > General > Software Update, and then tap ‘Beta Updates’ followed by ‘iOS 27 Developer Beta’.

After following that process, the latest developer beta should appear as an option to download. So, tap that and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

Then, just sit back and wait for it to install — note, though, that this is a large update, so the installation may take a while, and your iPhone will reboot during the process.

Apple has announced macOS 27 Golden Gate, the latest desktop operating system for the best MacBooks and Macs at WWDC 26, and in this guide, I'll show you how to install the developer beta, which is available to download right now. However, before we get into that, it's important to note that for most people, you won't want to download the developer beta unless you know what you're doing.

This is because the developer beta, which, as the name makes clear, is for developers to test their apps with. It's not for public consumption, as this early version will have missing features and plenty of bugs.

Instead, you're better off waiting at least until July, when the public beta will be released. By that time, a lot of bugs will hopefully have been caught and fixed, though there will still likely be some glitches. If you can wait, then the final release later this year (hopefully around October) will be much more stable.

You should also note that you need to have a developer account to download the developer beta, which costs money. If you absolutely can't wait, and don't mind paying, then follow my steps below - otherwise, hang tight until next month.

How to install the macOS 27 Golden Gate developer beta on your Mac

First of all, you must have a compatible Mac to install macOS 27 Golden Gate - see below to make sure your Mac is included.

Also, remember that this is early beta software, so it’s not advisable to put it on your daily driver Mac. Ideally, you want to instal this on a secondary device.

If you’re intent on having a macOS Tahoe developer beta on your main PC, then understand that it’s risky to run a pre-release operating system on it – and definitely be sure to back up before proceeding (you should do this in any case).

• MacBook Air M1 or later
• MacBook Pro M1 or later
• MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 2020 or later
• MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro 2021 or later
• MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 Pro 2021 or later
• MacBook Neo
• iMac M1 2020 or later
• Mac mini M1 2020 or later
• Mac Studio 2022 and later

You also need to be a software developer. If you are, you must be signed into your Apple Developer account: head here, and click on Account, top-right, then log in.

If you don’t have a developer account, then you’ll need to create one here, signing up as an individual, which requires an Apple Account (with two-factor authentication enabled). You’ll need to provide a payment method, and a developer membership costs $99 per year, so it’s hardly cheap.

Once Apple verifies you and sets up your Apple Developer membership – or if you already have one and are logged in – you can then download macOS 27.

Head to System Settings > General > Software Update on your Mac, and where it says ‘Beta Updates’ click the Info (i) icon on the right. In the panel that opens, along from Beta Updates, click the button on the right, where it says ‘Off’ and you’ll get a list of options. Choose the macOS Developer Beta from that list, click Done, and then click Upgrade Now.

That’s it – the upgrade will go ahead, and after a reboot, you should be faced with an early version of Apple's new operating system. When the public beta is released, it'll be worth installing that rather than sticking with the developer beta, as it should be more stable. The developer beta will likely continue until the final macOS 27 Golden Gate release later this year, but will focus on cutting-edge features that need to be tested before they get rolled out.

That might sound exciting, but it does increase the possibility of bugs appearing; after all, that's part of the reason why beta versions exist.

Not long ago, Google hosted its big software show for the year, Google I/O 2026, and now it’s Apple’s turn with WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2026.

This annual developer conference runs from Monday (June 8) until Friday (June 12), but it’s the keynote that’s of most interest to us, as it’s here that the biggest software-related announcements are typically made. This year, these announcements will likely concern iOS 27, macOS 27, and more, with AI featuring prominently.

Below, you’ll find full details of how to tune into the WWDC 2026 keynote, followed by what to expect from Apple's upcoming showcase.

How to watch WWDC 2026

The WWDC 2026 keynote will be held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, but you don’t need an invite or to be physically present to watch, as it will also be streamed online.

It starts at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 6pm BST on Monday, June 8, which is 3am AEST on Tuesday, June 9 for those in Australia.

You can tune into the stream on Apple’s YouTube page or via the embedded video below. And if you click ‘Notify me’ on that video, you’ll get a reminder when the event is starting.

You’ll also be able to watch the livestream from Apple’s own website, and if you have an Apple device, you’ll also find a WWDC 2026 stream on the Apple TV app.

If you can’t tune in live, you’ll be able to watch a recording later — or just head to TechRadar, where we’ll be covering all the announcements and our reactions to them.

What to expect at WWDC 2026

iOS 27 is likely to be the main focus of WWDC 2026, and we’re hearing that Apple's next major software upgrade will include an overhaul of Siri. Specifically, Apple is expected to make its voice assistant more of a true AI chatbot, and add the ability to use natural language to create shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, as well as a new ‘Create a Pass’ option for Apple Wallet.

Other leaks point to tweaks to the look of Apple’s Liquid Glass interface, design changes for the Camera and Weather apps, improvements to autocorrect, and more. So, iOS 27 looks set to be a major update.

While the focus will probably be on iOS 27, Apple is also likely to show off iPadOS 27, which will probably contain similar features to the new iOS; macOS 27, which could get a Liquid Glass overhaul; and watchOS 27, which is rumored to be getting some new watch faces.

It’s not impossible that Apple will show off some new hardware, too, but the focus is usually on software, and we haven’t heard any rumors of new devices making an appearance at WWDC 2026, so we wouldn’t count on it.

• Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026: Sunday, June 7 - Sunday June 14
• FREE stream: SBS OnDemand (Australia) / FranceTV (France)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere – over 70% off today

The race formally known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, or Critérium du Dauphiné Libre for the past 77 years has this year been somewhat controversally rebranded as the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes. With Tadej Pogačar choosing to race the Tour de Suisse and both Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel avoiding competition all together in June that leaves new French sensation Paul Seixas as the hot favourite for the win.

At the end of Stage seven, on top of the Grand Colombier, Luke Tuckwell just managed to hold onto his yellow jersey at the conclusion of another day’s high drama. Early in the stage Paul Seixas crashed and was forced to chase for 60 kilometres to get back to the front of the race, his kit torn and body dripping in blood. Understandably he wasn’t at his best on the finishing climb and could not match the pace of stage winner and now new favourite for the race Issac del Torro.

The stage eight finale will be a showdown for the ages as more mountains await. Can Tuckwell hold on or can Seixas overturn the time he lost to bag a famous win?

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes for FREE

Cycling fans in Australia, France, Belgium and Spain will get to watch a Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 live stream for FREE. Here's where:

• SBS OnDemand — Australia
• FranceTV — France
• RTBF Auvio — Belgium
• RTVE Play — Spain

If you're a resident of Australia and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 live stream

Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favorite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes on Peacock . You will need the $10.99 which provides access to live sport.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes live streams in the UK

The Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 is on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports’ cycling coverage in the UK has now moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. It costs £30.99 per month, though there is a better value £25.99 "saver plan" available if you sign up for a 12-month term.

If you already had a Discovery+ account for viewing TNT Sports, it will be automatically transferred over to HBO Max.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes live streams in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish to watch, costs $49.99 a month or $215.88 for the year.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device believe you're still in Canada.

How to watch 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes live streams in Australia

Cycling fans in the Australia can watch the 2026 Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes for FREE on SBS on Demand.

You can sign into SBS via Google, Facebook or Apple accounts. Simply provide your birth year and gender and watch for free!

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Australia.

Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 - Preview

With the whole of France now tracking his every move their young Messiah Paul Seixas will have the eyes of a nation on his back as he bids to win his first big mountain stage race. He’s proved himself on shorter punchy climbs but will he live up to the huge expectation placed on his 19 year old shoulders when it comes to the high mountains, of which this race is packed.

Thankfully for him, his principle rivals, Evenepoel, Vingegaard and Pogačar who he will face at the Tour de France are absent which will make his task slightly easier. He will still have formidable competition though, as Juan Ayuso, João Almeida, Oscar Onley and joint race favourite Issac del Toro are all on the start list, all looking for a chance of a big win in the absence of the superstars.

Also here to hone their form before July are this year’s Paris Roubaix winner Wout van Aert, British time trial star Ethan Hayter and the Irish breakaway specialist Ben Healy.

This year’s route is an absolute killer with no less than three summit top finishes, in a row. There are zero days for the sprinters, mountains to cross every day and a team time trial thrown in to allow the squads to practice the discipline before the Tour de France.

Kicking off with a couple of modest mountain stages followed by the time trial on stage three the race then heads to breakaway territory on stages four and five before the triple whammy at the end. Stage six crosses three huge peaks before arriving at the summit finish of Côte de Crest-Voland, stage seven ticks off four mountains on the way to the giant Grand Colombier which leaves one stage left.

At only 120 kilometers the final stage may be short but it’s insanely hard crossing the Col du Pré, the Montée de Bisanne, and the Col des Aravis before finishing on the Plateau de Solaison. If Paul Seixas was looking for a test to prove to his people that he is ready to fight for the Tour de France then he has found it.

Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 stages

Stage 1 |Sunday June 7 | Vizille - Saint-Ismier, 146.2km

Stage 2 | Monday June 8 | Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux - Le Puy-en-Velay, 234.3km

Stage 3| Tuesday June 9 | Perreux - Perreux, 28.4km (TTT)

Stage 4| Wednesday June 10 | Le Puy-en-Velay - Montrond-Les-Bains, 167.4km

Stage 5 | Thursday June 11 | Saint-Chamond - Villars-Les-Dombes, 195.8km

Stage 6| Friday June 12 | Saint-Vulbas - Crest-Voland, 182.3km

Stage 7 | Saturday June 13 | La Bridoire - Grand Colombier, 133.6km

Stage 8 | Sunday June 14 | Beaufort - Plateau de Solaison, 120.1km

Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026 Route Map

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Ever since Google rolled out its suite of AI tools for the company’s Workspace apps in January 2025, Gemini (its proprietary AI assistant) has become a productivity hack on Google apps like Sheets, Docs, Meet, and others.

Gemini in Google Sheets has made data analysis easier, especially for non-tech-savvy users. It can create tables, run and fix formulas, and generate charts and graphs using very simple prompts – no need to grapple with complex functions or spreadsheet jargon. Gemini can respond to plain English and transform even somewhat lazy instructions to accurate, actionable tables.

In this article, we’ll explain step-by-step how you can make a weekly budget plan in Google Sheets with the help of Gemini. Read till the end because we’ll go beyond basic data entry and also explore how to turn a blank spreadsheet into a self-updating financial tracker.

Gemini plans and pricing

While Gemini’s free version delivers excellent value, you’ll need a paid subscription to unlock its full potential. If you’re a business, you can purchase a Google Workspace plan to get Gemini assistance in Sheets, Docs, and more. However, the entry-level plan, at $7/user/month, only offers Gemini in Gmail. To use the AI chatbot in Sheets, you’ll need at least the Standard plan, at $14/user/month.

If you’re an individual user, you’ll need one of Google’s One AI Premium subscriptions, which start at $1.99/month. There’s also a 1-month free trial on all plans, so you can explore Gemini’s capabilities without parting with your money upfront.

How to build a self-updating budget tracker in Google Sheets with Gemini

We’ll use two tables to build a comprehensive weekly budget tracker: a main tracker table and a data feeder table. The first of these will be your primary budget tracking table, which will pull data from the data feeder table.

Click the Gemini icon in the top-right corner of your Sheet to open the Gemini side panel. This is where you’ll enter all the prompts and refine your tables.

Main tracker table

Prompt 1: “I want to create a budget tracker. Create a table with four columns: Category, Budgeted Amount, Actual Amount, and Difference.”

Gemini will produce a sample table for you. Press Insert to add the table to your sheet. You can name the table “Main Tracker.”

Let’s briefly understand the four columns we’ve just inserted:

• Category: This column classifies all your weekly expenses into categories such as rent, utilities, transportation, and so on. You can add or remove categories based on your spending habits.
• Budgeted amount: Here, you’ll enter the amount you’ve budgeted for each expense. Remember, you have to manually update this column at the start of every week, depending on how much you plan to spend.
• Actual amount: This shows the actual amount of money you’ve spent for each expense category during the week. The values here will be fetched from the data feeder table, where you’ll log every single expense.
• Difference: This column captures the difference between the budgeted amount and the actual amount you’ve spent. A positive value here means you’ve spent less than the budgeted amount (congratulations!), while a negative value means you’ve overspent for that category.

You’ll notice that Gemini doesn’t apply any formulas by default, which is why the Difference column contains static values. This simply means it doesn’t subtract the actual expense amount from the budgeted amount in real time. Luckily, fixing this is incredibly simple:

Prompt 2: “Create a formula for column D that subtracts Actual Amount (C) from Budgeted Amount (B).”

Gemini will now insert the required formula in column D. Any changes in either the budgeted amount or the actual amount will be reflected in real time.

Next, we’ll add a visual cue using conditional formatting, so you can quickly see which expense categories are over budget and where you’ve saved money.

Prompt 3: “Apply conditional formatting to the ‘Difference’ column: red if I'm over budget (negative) and green if I'm under (positive).”

Prompt 4: “Add a Total row at the end of the table, using the SUM formula, totaling the data in column B, C, and D.”

Adding a Total row gives you a quick snapshot of your total weekly budget, total spending, and your overall savings or overspending. Quick tip: apply formatting to highlight this row. In this example, we’ve made it yellow, so we don’t have to go looking for it every time we want an update on our budget.

Data feeder table

It’s time to insert the data feeder table, which will supply the actual expense data to our main tracker table.

Prompt 1: “Create another table with four columns: Date, Expense Category, Description, and Actual Amount. The data in the 'Expense Category' column should be from the category column in the ‘Main Tracker’ table only.”

This is the table where you’ll log all your expenses for the week, along with the date, category, and description. Every time you buy groceries, refuel your car, dine out, or take your friends bowling, this is the table you’ll update.

To make data entry easier, we’ll add a drop-down list to the Expense Category column. This will ensure you don’t accidentally misspell an expense or enter one that doesn’t exist in the main table.

Prompt 2: “The ‘Expense Category’ column in the data feeder table should be a drop-down in each cell, containing options from the main tracker table.”

Now there’s no need to type the category every time – just choose the appropriate expense type from the drop-down list.

Next, we’ll connect the two tables so the actual expenses you enter in the data feeder table are automatically reflected in the main tracker table.

Prompt 3: “Populate the 'Actual Amount' column in the main tracker table by adding a formula that automatically pulls the total expense for each category from the data feeder table.”

This prompt adds a SUMIF formula to the ‘Actual Amount’ column in the main tracker. It looks for each expense category in the data feeder table and calculates the total amount spent under that category. Any change you make in the feeder table will now update the main tracker automatically.

At this point, our budget tracker is almost ready. However, there’s one final issue: When you add more expense rows to the data feeder table, the values in the main tracker may not update. This is because the SUMIF formula Gemini applies in Column C of the main table is static.

Here’s how to fix it:

Prompt 4: “The SUMIF formula used in column C of the main tracker table is static. If I add more entries in the data feeder table, I want it to auto-update.”

That’s it. Your budget tracker is now complete. You can continue adding expenses to the data feeder table, and the main tracker will automatically update. It’ll show your savings (or overspending) in real time.

Analysing your weekly spending

Now that your budget tracker is up and running, let’s learn how to use Gemini in Sheets to draw useful insights that can help you improve your spending habits.

Click on any part of the table and hit the ‘Analyse this data’ option that pops up on the screen.

This will open the Gemini side panel on the right, which generates a list of key takeaways and insights into your weekly budget performance. The AI assistant then analyses all your expenses – and it can also render a visual chart showing the amount spent in each category.

In addition to basic data analysis, Gemini can also perform predictive analysis. For instance, you can ask questions like, “Based on the current trend, what would be my total spending on groceries by the end of the month?” When you have data spanning more than a week (say 3-4 weeks), Gemini can even help identify long-term trends and assist in building monthly savings goals. Try asking: “Identify which category has the highest growth trend in the last four weeks and suggest a realistic monthly savings goal.”

Gemini can dish out insights that aren’t really obvious at first glance, such as an increase in grocery spending on Fridays or a 20% surge in dining costs over the past week. This kind of trend spotting helps you identify and address problem areas quickly.

You can also insert a pie chart for the main tracker. This will add a much-needed visual element to your tracker and help you graphically break down your weekly spending and see what percentage of your total actual expenses is contributed by each category.

Prompt: “Create a pie chart of the main tracker table that updates automatically when any changes are made. Don't include the total row.”

How Gemini simplifies Google Sheets

Building a financial budget tracker on Sheets might sound like wizardry, but thanks to Gemini, it no longer requires struggling with complex formulas or manual data entry. Instead, you can enter simple prompts in the Gemini side panel and build your weekly budget in a matter of minutes.

Feel free to play around with the number of columns, rows, formulas, conditional formatting, and even cross-table links, all using conversational, everyday-level English. This means you don’t have to ransack the Sheets toolbar every time you want to make a change.

After building the tables, Gemini turns into your personal data analyst, helping you draw valuable budgeting insights and identify trends across weeks or months. This makes it easier to spot expense categories where you’re overspending and build a realistic savings plan.

In a nutshell, Gemini eliminates the technical hurdles in Google Sheets, automates a time-consuming process, and makes it less daunting to take better control of your finances.

Creating a survey form in Google Forms can be complicated, even if you have plenty of experience with it. The challengers aren’t just technical – you also have to brainstorm the right questions and structure the form in a way that feels natural and optimized for data collection. Then there’s the challenge of analyzing responses, which is both the most important and the most difficult part of the process.

Thanks to Gemini’s integration in Google Forms, you can build survey forms in just a few seconds and by using a simple, natural-language prompt. While Google Forms is a popular data collection tool, its built-in insight templates are fairly limited. Gemini bridges this gap as well – with quick summaries and deeper insights into survey responses, including description questions.

Plus, by linking your form responses to Google Sheets, you can use the Gemini side panel to uncover hidden trends, in-depth statistics, and actionable insights.

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about using Gemini in Google Forms. We’ll build a sample survey and see, in real time, how Gemini can be turned into the perfect research assistant – one that not only designs surveys but also analyzes them for fresh perspectives.

Gemini plans and pricing

Although Gemini in Google Forms is a productive addition, the feature isn’t free. If you’re an individual, you’ll need at least the $1.99/month Google One AI Premium plan. If you’re a business, consider getting the Standard Google Workspace plan, priced at $14/user/month. Note that the $7 plan doesn’t offer Gemini integrations in Workspace tools.

Once you have the required subscription, you’ll be able to use the AI chatbot to build survey forms in a jiffy.

How to use Gemini to create Google Forms

Let’s say you’ve launched a coffee-flavored protein powder three months ago and now want to run a survey among actual buyers to understand how the product has been performing and if and where there’s room for improvement.

Usually, you’d have to go to your Google Forms account and manually curate each question and decide the form’s flow, which can take a lot of time – time you may not have when you’re trying to run a business. However, as long as you know what you want from your survey, all you really need is to enter a simple prompt into Gemini to create the form for you.

Step 1: Go to Google Forms and choose Blank Form. On the Gemini pop-up that appears, choose a pre-designed template or enter a custom prompt. Let’s select the latter.

Step 2: Enter this prompt in the Gemini dialog box: “I want to create a 3-month post-launch survey of my new coffee-flavored protein powder. Create a survey asking users multiple-choice questions covering aspects like taste intensity, mixability, sweetness level, usage time (morning, afternoon, pre- or post-workout), digestion issues, and other relevant factors you can think of. Include an open-ended question at the end asking for suggestions from the user.”

Step 3: Once you’ve described in detail what you need, press Create. Gemini will build the form’s preview for you in seconds. Click Create form in the bottom-right to finish.

Step 4: Your Google survey form is now ready. You can click on any question to edit it or add images, text, or even a new section. Click Publish in the top-right corner and you’re done.

Analyzing survey responses

Once you’ve collected enough responses, you can use Gemini for detailed analysis, especially for descriptive questions. Sure, Google Forms is already pretty great when it comes to visual charts and graphs for multiple-choice questions.

However, with descriptive survey questions, you typically have to go through each response individually to gather insights. Gemini solves this problem through quick AI summarizations.

Click the Responses tab and scroll down to the descriptive question. Click on the Summarize responses button with the Gemini logo in front of it.

Gemini will quickly generate a bulleted summary of all responses, highlighting the common themes, frequently mentioned issues, and key suggestions. The AI groups similar suggestions together and can even separate positive and negative sentiments, helping you navigate hundreds of responses in very little time.

Analysis with Google Sheets

While Google has integrated Gemini with Forms, its functions remain pretty task-specific. You cannot have a conversation with the AI bot inside Google Forms, like you can do in Sheets or Docs. This is why the scope of analysis with Gemini in Forms is pretty limited.

However, there’s a slick workaround for this, which can help you harness the power of Gemini to its fullest extent. You can export all your form responses to Google Sheets and then use the Gemini side panel to draw more insights about your survey. Here’s how:

Step 1: Visit the Responses tab on your Google survey form and click the Link to Sheets button in the top-right corner.

Step 2: You can create a new spreadsheet or choose an existing sheet to export the data to. Click Create once you’ve made a choice.

Step 3: A spreadsheet will open in a new tab with all the survey responses converted into a table. Every time a new response is recorded for the survey, a new row will be added to this table – because it’s directly linked to your Google Form.

After converting the survey responses into a Google Sheet table, you can use Google Gemini’s side panel to dig out insights that go beyond Google Forms’ built-in vanilla analysis.

Click the Gemini button in the top-right corner of Sheets to open the side panel. Here, you can enter everyday-English, natural-language prompts for richer analysis. Here are some examples of how to leverage AI for deeper insights.

• Ask Gemini to create an executive summary of the survey responses, along with key takeaways and a clear set of actionable insights.
• Ask Gemini to point out the strengths and weaknesses of your product based on customer surveys.
• Find correlation between two or more survey questions, which are otherwise not easy to spot. For instance, you can ask Gemini if there’s any correlation between mixability and the mixing method. In our example, a clear pattern emerged where using a shaker with water resulted in low mixability scores. This insight was not detectable from the plain insights available on Google Forms.
• Identify the top three reasons why customers say they wouldn’t buy the product and suggest immediate fixes.
• Identify customers who gave the lowest ratings and write an apology follow-up email offering a 20% discount on their next purchase.

Of course, these are just a few examples of how you can use Gemini to dig deeper into survey data. The possibilities are truly endless. Say you’re using Google Forms for expense reimbursements in your business. Then, Gemini can help you categorize those expenses, identify spending patterns, find outliers, and prepare quick reports.

Limitations of using Gemini in Google Forms

Gemini in Google Forms is really good, but it’s not perfect. Here are a few limitations:

• It can help you build surveys from scratch, but it cannot handle stylistic edits like changing colors, adding text, or backgrounds. These are things you’ll still have to do yourself.
• Gemini’s analysis within Google Forms is limited to question-and-answer type responses – it can’t help you with deeper analysis beyond what Google Forms inherently offer.
• Whenever new responses are captured by the form, you’ll have to re-run the AI analysis in Google Sheets, as it doesn’t automatically update with new responses.

Final thoughts: Is Gemini in Google Forms worth It?

Short answer: yes. Gemini in Google Forms is worth it, as it cuts down on the time required to design goal-oriented surveys. Simply describe your survey to Gemini, including the intent and the questions you want to ask, and it will build you a ready-to-use form in just a few seconds.

You don’t have to spend time brainstorming the questions to include in your survey or decide how to structure them. Gemini automatically suggests questions based on your survey intent and arranges them into a logical flow. You can then edit or rejig the form as per your needs.

In addition to designing, you can leverage Gemini in Forms and Sheets to eke out hidden data patterns and trends – again, with simple human prompts. Overall, Gemini is a useful addition if you’re looking to crank up your productivity, or if you’re a non-tech savvy user who still doesn’t want to compromise their quality of work.

Google has done a fantastic job baking its AI assistant, Gemini, right into its Workspace apps, including Google Docs. It can not only refine your text, adjust the tone, and help with grammatical errors, but can also generate new ideas for your research reports.

Although Gemini isn’t a new Google product, its integration into Google Docs has changed how users interact with the chatbot – and Docs. Earlier, you had to copy-paste content into the Gemini app or its web version to build a comprehensive report. Naturally, this included a lot of back and forth.

However, now that Gemini sits directly inside Docs, you can generate coherent documents using features like file referencing. This not only streamlines the process but also leads to more refined outputs.

In this article, we’ll explore how to use Gemini to create polished reports from just a bunch of sleazy pointers, all using very simple prompts and making sure the entire thing is as quick as it can be. We’ll also explore other Gemini functions within Docs, such as summarize, shorten, and bulletize, that’ll help you fine-tune your results further.

Gemini plans and pricing

Gemini in Docs isn’t a free-for-all feature and does require a paid subscription. Businesses can purchase the Standard Google Workspace plan for $14/user/month. Although the Starter plan is cheaper ($7/user/month), it doesn't offer Gemini assistance within Docs.

Alternatively, individual users can opt for one of Google’s One AI Premium plans, which start at just $1.99 per month. Even better, you’ll get a 1-month free trial to try out the tool risk-free before committing.

How to generate polished reports from rough notes in Google Docs

Let’s say you’ve just attended the review meeting at your content management company. Good job on jotting down all the points discussed in the meeting, but of course, there was hardly enough time to turn them into a full-fledged Q3 performance report.

All you’re left with is a huge pile of rough notes (don’t fret over the spelling mistakes!) that would take hours of typing, rephrasing, and brainstorming to convert into a polished, presentable executive-level report.

This is where AI can really deliver. Here’s how to use Gemini in Google Docs:

Step 1: Select the text you want to convert into a polished report.

Step 2: You’ll see a ‘Refine’ option at the edge of the selected text. Click it.

Step 3: You’ll now see four generic options: Rephrase, Shorten, Elaborate, and More Formal. While you can choose any of these if that’s what you’re looking for, for this guide, we’ll select the ‘Modify with a prompt’ option to have Gemini perform a customized action for us.

Step 4: Type the prompt, “Turn these notes into a professional marketing performance report,” and hit Enter.

Step 5: Within a matter of seconds, Gemini will generate a detailed report with tables, headings, and bullet points, so you can rest assured the report will be skimmable and easy to read.

Step 6: If you’re satisfied with the output, you can insert the generated text into your document. Alternatively, you can use more prompts to customize and tweak the output. There’s no limit – you can fine-tune it to your heart’s (or boss’s) content.

Alternative method

You can also click the ‘Gemini’ icon in the top-right of Google Docs. This opens a side panel where you can insert prompts to refine the document.

Enter the same prompt we did in step 4 above, and Gemini will generate a report within the side panel itself. If you like the results, press Insert, or continue refining the output with follow-up prompts.

Exploring Gemini in Docs

Converting raw notes into a polished report is just one of many things Gemini in Google docs is capable of. The AI can also:

Change the tone of a document

A one-size-fits-all approach usually doesn’t work when you’re dealing with multiple stakeholders such as investors, employees, internal management, and the public at large. This is why you may have to churn out different versions of the same report that resonate with each audience.

For instance, internal management might want more technical explanations and statistical data to zero in on the company’s performance during a specific quarter. On the other hand, shareholders may not fully understand technical jargon and might be better off with simpler explanations.

Doing this manually requires hours of editing and refining the same report, which can be challenging. With Gemini, however, you can simply enter prompts like: “Rewrite this report for shareholders, who may not understand technical jargon. Use simple language, but ensure you don’t skip any key details.”

Simple natural-language prompts help you tailor tone and clarity without repetitive revisions, making the editing process faster and more efficient.

Pre-built Gemini prompts

If you already have a rough draft and don’t want a complete rewrite, Gemini’s built-in prompts can help fine-tune your document before the final submission.

You can find these prompts by clicking the help me write (pen-shaped icon) option in your document. If you don’t see it, simply click on any blank area of the page and the options will pop out.

• Rephrase: Improves clarity and fixes the writing tone as per your needs.
• Shorten: Chops down large chunks of text to generate shorter paragraphs while keeping the essence intact.
• Elaborate: Explains ideas and concepts in detail for readers who need additional context.
• More formal: Makes the text more professional, ideal for executive-facing documents.
• More casual: Converts the text into a more user-friendly and conversational tone.
• Bulletize: Makes the text more skimmable by converting it into structured bullet points.
• Summarize: Generates a summary of the entire text to help readers quickly grab the key takeaways.

Referencing files in your Drive

There may be times when you want to create a report using documents scattered across your Drive. Previously, you’d either have to open multiple tabs or copy-paste all the data into a single document to work with Gemini. However, you can now reference documents in your Drive using the ‘at’ (@) symbol.

For instance, you could enter a prompt like, “What are the key takeaways of the document @Gemini in Google Sheets?” Gemini will then generate a quick snapshot or summary of that file directly within the chat itself, allowing you to quickly find the core ideas of that particular document.

When you type the “@” symbol in the Gemini side panel, you’ll see a list of all your recent Google Drive files. You can either scroll down to choose a file or type the name of the file. Then, click the file name to reference it within the chat.

This comes in handy when you’re writing a detailed report on a complex topic with scattered notes. For example, you can ask Gemini to combine insights from @Q3 Marketing Sync, @Sales Review Q3, and @Employee Actionables to generate a consolidated Q3 performance report.

Or, if you deal with a lot of numbers and stats, you can use Gemini to fact-check the figures. For example, use a prompt like “Check whether the revenue figures in this document aligns with @Q3 Financial Report and highlight any deviations.”

Generating a report from scratch

So far, we’ve seen how you can use Gemini to convert your rough notes into a full-fledged report in a matter of seconds. However, Gemini can also help you generate documents from the ground up, from ideation to final drafts.

Whenever you open a new Google Doc, you’ll see the ‘Generate Document’ option pop up.

Clicking it opens a new window, where you can either choose a pre-made article idea or enter a prompt as per your needs.

Since we’re generating reports, you can enter a prompt that reads, “Create a Q3 marketing performance report with an executive summary, key wins, challenges, and recommendations.”

Gemini will then generate a performance report template. All you need to do next is edit company-specific information such as profit numbers, key stakeholders, website links, and so on.

Or, you could go a step ahead and reference your performance report, company website, and other data sources while entering the prompt itself. This allows Gemini to generate a more accurate and context-aware report tailored to your needs.

Why use Gemini in Google Docs

Gemini in Google Docs has reshaped how users create, edit, and refine documents. Instead of being a time-consuming, linear task, Gemini turns your documents into dynamic workspaces where you can integrate ideas and work on them in real time, with a dedicated (and very smart) AI assistant by your side.

It helps cut down clutter, saving time without compromising the quality of the final output. Gemini can structure reports, rewrite text, summarize long articles, and even adjust the article tone, all before you can take a sip from your coffee.

Since it’s deeply integrated into Docs, Gemini understands the context of your articles and reports and allows you to reference other documents in your Drive without the constant back-and-forth.

Overall, Gemini has made it easier to generate high-quality reports using everyday English, allowing users to focus more on analysis and spend less time on the unnecessary nitty-gritties of writing and editing.

Slack is one of the best online collaboration tools, streamlining communication for remote teams. However, despite the platform’s simplicity, it’s never easy managing a large team – or one that’s actively growing, continually adding more workspaces, channels, and chats. Luckily, though, Slack has introduced a host of new AI-powered innovations, including native ChatGPT integration.

ChatGPT in Slack can help you draft posts, replies, and updates in virtually no time at all and without having to leave the app. It can also summarize long conversation threads into clear, scannable notes with actionable takeaways.

The AI chatbot can also dig into Slack conversations and generate structured weekly reports, complete with project status, key milestones, and an action plan for the future. In this article, we’ll learn how to use ChatGPT in Slack to cut down clutter and draft weekly reports from everyday team conversations.

Connecting ChatGPT to Slack

First, you’ll need to connect ChatGPT to your Slack account. It’s available as a third-party integration with all Slack plans. Here’s how to connect the two:

Step 1: Open the Slack app or its web browser version and click the workspace where you want to add ChatGPT.

Step 2: Click the three-dot icon on the left panel of your Slack interface and select Tools, then Apps.

Step 3: Search for ChatGPT in the search bar of the window that pops open and click Install.

Step 4: A new window will open with information about ChatGPT in Slack. Click the Add to Slack button on the left panel.

Step 5: You’ll be redirected to a blog post from ChatGPT about how to install the app for Slack. Scroll down to the Installation section to find the installation link – or you can click this link.

Step 6: You’ll now see the Add ChatGPT to Slack modal, where you can review the provided information. Next, click Continue to Slack.

Step 7: You’ll now see the Slack authentication flow, where you can check and grant app permissions. Click Allow to continue.

Step 8: Return to your Slack workspace. You’ll find ChatGPT in the Apps section. Before you can get cracking with the app, though, you’ll need to connect Slack to your ChatGPT account.

Click the Connect ChatGPT button you see in the chat. Following this, you’ll be redirected to ChatGPT on your browser, where you’ll need to log in if you haven’t already.

The Connect ChatGPT button will disappear from the Slack chat, and you can now use the AI to streamline your in-app conversations.

Adding ChatGPT to a channel

So far, we’ve only added ChatGPT to a workspace, which allows you to chat with the AI assistant within Slack. However, to summarize an entire conversation thread, you’ll have to copy-paste the entire content in a separate ChatGPT conversation.

Of course, this is a lot of legwork, but you can bypass it by inviting ChatGPT to the channels – so it can access the conversations first-hand and generate the necessary reports and insights. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Open the Slack channel you want to invite ChatGPT to and type /invite in the message box. Next, click the Add apps to this channel option that pops up.

Step 2: From the list of apps that pops up, press the Add button next to ChatGPT.

You’ve now successfully added ChatGPT to your Slack channel. And yes, you can add the AI assistant to multiple channels within the same workspace.

How to use ChatGPT to generate weekly status reports in Slack

It’s finally time to learn how to use ChatGPT to organize your Slack workflow.

Visit the channel you want to analyze and type the following prompt: “@ChatGPT, summarize the channel’s activity from the past 7 days into a weekly status report.”

Because ChatGPT is a member of the channel, it can access all of the conversations required to build the report. It puts in the work and quickly renders a weekly summary of all key discussions.

While this single prompt is enough to get a quick snapshot of your week, you can further engineer the prompt to make it more precise for better results.

For example, you can set rules such as:

• Ignore casual talk, reactions, and emojis
• Focus only on work-related discussions
• Preserve ownership (who did what work)

This will ensure ChatGPT doesn’t infest the report with casual conversations or miss out on important project ownership details.

Additionally, you can add a specific format template for ChatGPT to follow, so the outputs are more structured. An example for this could be:

“@ChatGPT, make sure to follow this format while designing the weekly report:

• Overall Summary (4-5 lines)
• Key milestones this week
• Pending targets and reasons
• Priorities for the next week”

This comes in handy if you’re working on management-facing reports that require a more professional tone. Plus, following a template ensures consistency across different weekly reports, making them easy to review and compare.

The best part? All of this takes only a couple of minutes, so you don’t have to worry about running it manually at the end of every week. Oh, and don’t forget to publish the results in your Slack channels.

Setting up a Stack workflow

If you have the Pro Slack plan (or higher), you can also choose to fully automate the weekly reporting feature by setting up a workflow. This eliminates the need for manual prompts, meaning ChatGPT will automatically render weekly reports every Friday (or on a day and time of your choosing). Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to set it up:

Step 1: Open your Slack workspace and click Tools > Workflows. Tap the New button in the top-right corner and choose Build Workflow to create a custom workflow.

Step 2: Rename your workflow by pressing Untitled Workflow at the top of your screen. In this case, we’ve named it Weekly Status Report.

Step 3: Click Choose an event to start building your automation. A new window with pre-suggested actions will open. Select On a schedule.

Step 4: Enter the time you want to run this automation. For this example, we want to get weekly reports every Friday at 16:00. Make sure to choose the appropriate time zone and frequency. Once this is done, click Continue.

Step 5: Click Add Steps and choose Send a message to a channel.

Step 6: Select the channel you want to send this message to. For simplicity, we’ve created a separate #weekly-updates channel for this.

Step 7: Enter the prompt. Make sure you reference the right channel here. We want to summarize the conversations in the main channel and send the summary to our #weekly-updates channel. So, you could start your prompt like this: “@ChatGPT, summarize the activity in #main-channel from the last 5 days and generate a weekly report.” Click Save when done.

Step 8: Select Finish Up in the top-right corner of your main workflow interface. In the confirmation window that opens, edit your workflow name and then hit Publish.

Simply put, this automation will automatically send a message to your main channel, asking ChatGPT to summarize the week in the form of a report and then send the result to the #weekly-updates channel.

Things to keep in mind while using ChatGPT in Slack

Here are a few things to keep in mind before you integrate ChatGPT with your Slack:

Paid subscriptions

While the free Slack plan allows you to integrate up to 10 third-party apps, you’ll need a paid plan to actually deploy and use these apps within Slack’s infrastructure. This means while you can connect ChatGPT with Slack on the free plan, you won’t be able to use it unless you upgrade. Slack’s paid subscriptions start at $3.26/user/month, billed annually.

Similarly, you’ll need a premium ChatGPT plan, which starts at $20/month, since Slack integration and automations are only supported on the paid plans.

Don’t aim for perfection right away

While it’s important to define exactly what you want ChatGPT to do with your Slack conversations, don’t overwhelm the AI with complicated prompts from the get-go.

You can start with a simple prompt like “Summarize the conversation from the last 7 days” and then add more nuances to fine-tune the results. Complex prompts can confuse the AI assistant, leading to ignored instructions or inaccurate results.

Workspace limitations

Slack allows you to integrate ChatGPT with only one workspace at a time. This means if you want weekly reports for different workspaces, you’ll need to disconnect ChatGPT from one workspace before reconnecting it to another.

• Watch Premier League Darts Finals Night free on Sport1 (Germany) / L'Equipe(France)
• Start time: Thursday, May 28, 7pm BST / 2pm ET
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

After 16 weeks of intense league action, the 2026 Premier League Darts season is down to its most important night. The O2 Arena in London will host the semi-finals followed by the final on May 28. Luke Littler will go against Gerwyn Price, while Luke Humphries will take on Jonny Clayton in the best-of-19-leg semi-finals.

Littler has had the upper hand against Price, winning eight consecutive Premier League matches against him this season. He was also top of the points table, with 43 points and six nightly championship wins, followed by Jonny Clayton with 34 points and four nightly championships.

Although Humphries finished third, he comes into the playoffs on the back of strong recent form, giving him an edge over Clayton, who has had a rather inconsistent season so far.

Will it be a third consecutive final between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries? Littler won the 2024 championship, but Humphries came back strong in 2025, defeating Littler 11-8 in the final. But surely neutrals would want to see a new winner this time?

You won’t want to miss any of the action, so read on to discover how to watch 2026 PDC Premier League Darts Finals Night online from anywhere, including free streams.

Can I watch Premier League Darts Finals Night for free?

The 2026 Premier League Darts Finals night is free-to-air in select countries.

Sport1 will be showing all the coverage in Germany at no cost, while L'Equipe is providing free broadcast to darts fans in France.

Traveling abroad during the finals night? You can use a VPN to watch all the action free of charge as if you were right at home.

Use a VPN to watch PDC Premier League Darts Finals Night 2026 from anywhere

A VPN is a handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, thereby letting you unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with a 70% discount.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple:

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

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. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual local streaming service and watch the darts.

How to watch PDC Premier League Darts Finals Night 2026 live streams in the UK

The finals night of the PDC Premier League is broadcast by Sky Sports in the UK. Subscribers can watch every match on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event.

Sky Sports packages start from £20 per month. Or you can use a more flexible streaming option, Now (formerly Now TV). Now Sports Memberships start at £14.99 for a day pass.

Away from the country and want to access the Sky Go app or Now? We recommend NordVPN to unblock your stream.

How to watch PDC Premier League Darts Finals Night 2026 live streams in Australia

Fox Sports has the broadcasting rights to Premier League Darts finals in Australia, which means cord-cutters can live stream the action on the brilliant streaming service Kayo Sports.

A subscription starts at $29.99 per month, though you can pay $45.99 per month for simultaneous streaming on two devices. Whichever plan you choose, new users get a free 7-day trial.

Remember: Use a VPN to access Kayo when outside of Australia.

How to watch PDC Premier League Darts Finals Night 2026 in the US

You can catch all the action on Peacock in America. Prices start from $10.99/month, or $109.99/year.

In US this week and want to watch the live streams you'd normally be able to in your home country? Try NordVPN risk-free.

PDC Premier League Darts Finals 2026 - Need to Know

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.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that confound you with AI. Creating an image in ChatGPT is super simple — just select Create image from the + menu and type in what you want to see. But when it comes to deleting that image from your Library, the delete option only appears for newly created images, since the new Library was added in May 2026, but not for your older images.

ChatGPT recently added file storage, and you can find your files in the new Library option in the sidebar menu. It's easy to add or delete files you've uploaded and images you've created from here; however, it won't work with older images created before it introduced the Library.

ChatGPT still treats your older images separately and keeps them in the Images menu.

And that's the problem, because there's no delete option in there.

Choose Images in the sidebar menu of ChatGPT’s web interface, or the top-left ‘two horizontal lines’ menu in the mobile app, and you’ll see every single image you’ve ever created with ChatGPT in one big grid. Tap or click on an image to view it full size, and you get options to edit or share it…but no delete option.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had several attempts at creating an image before ChatGPT finally got it right. And you don’t necessarily want to keep all the old versions hanging around in your image library. But there’s seemingly no way to delete them — or so I thought, until I found this little workaround.

How to delete old images in ChatGPT

To remove an old image, you first have to open the chat where the image was created and then delete the whole chat. This removes the images from your Images library, but be warned: if multiple images were created in that chat, you’ll be removing all of them.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Select the image in question in the Images grid, then click or tap the ‘...’ menu and choose ‘Open chat’.
2. In the chat, write something like “Hi”. It doesn’t matter what you write, or what ChatGPT replies — what you’re actually doing is pushing the chat to the top of your ‘Most recent’ list.
3. Close the chat, and you should now see it at the top of your ‘Most recent’ list in the sidebar menu.
4. Tap and hold, or hover your cursor over the chat, then select Delete from the ‘...’ menu that appears.

Now go back to Images and refresh the page in your browser, or pull down to refresh in the mobile app. Once it refreshes, you should find that all the images from that chat have been removed from your Images for good.

There’s no doubt this is a messy solution, but until OpenAI adds a proper delete option for your older images, it’s currently the only reliable way I’ve found to do it.

ChatGPT storage

Now that it's introduced the new Library and given all users the ability to remove newly created images, I suspect that OpenAI will never get around to adding a delete option for the older images. That's a shame, but at least there is one workaround that solves the problem, as messy as it is.

Google I/O 2026 is kicking off today, and it’s worth tuning into, because we’re expecting big announcements covering both hardware and software.

These could include smart glasses running Android XR, a closer look at the new Googlebook platform, and much more.

You’ll find full details of what to expect further down, but first, here’s how — and when — to actually watch Google I/O 2026 as it happens.

How to watch Google I/O 2026

Google I/O 2026 is taking place on May 19 and May 20, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. But as with most tech announcements, there’s no need to attend in person to watch this.

While there will be various speeches and sessions across those two days, the most significant event is the Google keynote, which starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on May 19, or 3am AEST on May 20 for those of you in Australia. It’s here that we’re expecting most of the major announcements to be made.

Fortunately, the event will be streamed on Google’s YouTube page, or you can simply watch it via the embedded YouTube video below. If you hit the ‘Notify Me’ button on the video, you’ll also get a reminder when the event is about to start.

But if you can’t tune in live, don’t worry — the video will almost certainly remain up, so you can watch it after the fact. Or simply check out TechRadar’s front page for all the news and announcements from the event, along with our expert impressions.

What to expect at Google I/O

We have a full guide covering what to expect at Google I/O 2026, but in brief, it’s likely that AI will play a big role, with the agentic Gemini Intelligence probably getting a second showing, and the rumored Gemini Remy also possibly going to make an appearance. Remy is reportedly designed to work in the background 24/7, carrying out tasks for you with minimal oversight.

We’ll likely also see hardware that can make use of these AI tools, including Googlebook laptops and the Google Home Speaker — both of which have already been teased but aren’t yet available. In the case of the Google Home Speaker, we might finally get an exact release date, too.

And it’s likely that some Android XR devices — including smart glasses and possibly headsets — will make an appearance. So far, you can only get Android XR on the Samsung Galaxy XR, but we know that multiple pairs of smart glasses running this operating system are in the works.

It’s a big day for Android, as we’re just hours away from ‘The Android Show: I/O Edition’, which we’ll simply be calling the Android Show from here on out.

It’s here that we’re expecting Google to announce many as-yet-unknown Android 17 features, including possibly some AI upgrades and even changes to the look of Android.

While we don’t know for sure what will be unveiled, leaks and rumors have pointed to some possibilities, and you’ll find an overview of them further down — or head to our listicle covering five features that could be unveiled at Google’s pre-I/O Android reveal for a closer look.

Before that, though, you’ll find information on when exactly the Android show is taking place, and how to tune in.

How to watch the Android Show 2026

The Android Show starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6PM BST today (May 12), which is 3am AEDT on May 13 for those in Australia, so not such a sociable time there. The good news is there probably won’t be any need to tune in live — you’ll almost certainly be able to watch a recorded version after the fact, and you’ll also find full coverage of the event on TechRadar.

But if you do want to watch live, you’ll be able to do so on the Android YouTube page — or simply use the stream we’ve embedded below. You can also click a button on that video to get notified when the event starts. The same video should also be viewable on the Android.com site, but it’s still just a YouTube embed.

What to expect at the Android Show

We can only really guess at what Google might announce at the Android Show, but there are some clues.

For example, we know Google is working on a tool — possibly called Motion Assist — that would help tackle motion sickness when using your phone in a car or other moving vehicle, so perhaps that will be officially announced.

There have also been claims that Google might add more blur to the Android interface, making it a bit more like the iPhone’s Liquid Glass, and that there might be an app lock feature that lets you select specific apps to lock behind a PIN or biometric authentication — without also having to hide them from your home screen.

Evidence of a new home screen organizer feature for Google Pixel phones has also been dug up, with this allowing you to automatically build home screens based around specific categories, such as games or social media.

There will likely be other things too, and we’d be surprised if there wasn’t also some AI stuff, since that’s the ongoing buzzword in the tech world, and since Google is one of the biggest players in that space.

Switching your business to VoIP looks straightforward on the surface: pick a plan, get the phones, start saving on calls. But for business leaders actually responsible for keeping communications running, the gap between what a provider promises and what you get in practice can be significant.

The mistakes below come up regularly in deployments across businesses of all sizes, from five-person offices to distributed teams of hundreds. Most of them aren't obvious before the system goes live, which is exactly why they're worth thinking through before you sign anything.

1. Not auditing your network before switching

VoIP runs entirely over your internet connection, so your network quality determines your call quality. Each concurrent call uses roughly 100 kbps of bandwidth in each direction, which sounds modest until you factor in video conferencing, cloud backups, and other everyday traffic all competing for the same pipe.

Beyond raw bandwidth, latency and packet loss matter just as much. Packet loss above 1% produces audible audio problems; latency above 150ms creates a perceptible delay that frustrates callers. Before evaluating any provider, test your connection with a VoIP-specific diagnostic tool and confirm your router is configured with Quality of Service (QoS) settings that prioritize voice traffic.

Most modern office broadband connections can handle VoIP with the right setup. The bottleneck usually isn't bandwidth — it's that no one checked first.

2. Choosing a provider based on price alone

Price is the obvious first filter when comparing VoIP systems, so there's nothing wrong with starting there. But you shouldn’t stop there. Many large providers compete aggressively on headline pricing but offer limited support once you're under contract, routing post-deployment issues through automated chat rather than someone who actually knows your configuration.

Look beyond the monthly per-seat cost. Check what the contract says about support response times, whether technical assistance is available around the clock, and what the provider charges separately for call recording or international calling that others include by default.

A system that costs slightly more but includes real support and the features your team actually uses will almost always work out cheaper than a bargain plan padded with add-ons. Factor in setup fees, training time, and the cost of any workarounds you'll need if a core feature is missing before you assume the cheaper option saves you money.

3. Ignoring compliance requirements for your industry

Regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services face compliance obligations that extend to their phone systems. Healthcare organizations handling patient information need a provider willing to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and meet HIPAA requirements, including encrypted call transmission via TLS and SRTP protocols, access controls, and secure storage of voicemail and call recordings.

For businesses that take card payments by phone, PCI-DSS applies too. Any VoIP system that touches cardholder data during a call needs to ensure that data isn't stored, or if it is stored, that it meets the standard. According to compliance advisory firm 101VOICE, the average cost of a data breach in 2024 reached $4.88 million, which makes proper vetting look very affordable by comparison.

Ask every provider on your shortlist which certifications they hold and what their responsibilities are under your specific regulatory framework. Don't assume; verify.

4. Underestimating how much you'll need to scale

Your phone system needs to grow with your business, and not every VoIP platform makes that easy or affordable. Some providers cap users on lower tiers or charge per-seat rates that become punishing at scale, and adding a new location can mean a full contract renegotiation.

Before committing, think through what your business looks like in two years. If you're planning significant hiring or new offices, those scenarios need to be part of every conversation with shortlisted providers. Ask specifically about multi-site support, whether local numbers are available in the markets you're entering, and how quickly seats can be added without a lengthy procurement process.

The global VoIP market is projected to grow from $144 billion in 2024 to over $326 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. A big part of that growth comes from businesses turning to cloud-based VoIP specifically because hosted systems scale more easily. Hosted VoIP is generally more flexible than on-premise systems, but the terms still vary significantly from one provider to the next.

5. Not checking how the system integrates with your existing tools

Most businesses already have a CRM, helpdesk platform, or customer communications tool in place before evaluating a new phone system. A VoIP system that doesn't connect with those tools creates more friction, not less. Your sales team ends up logging calls manually while your support team loses the call context they need to do their jobs.

Before shortlisting any provider, map out the tools your teams rely on daily and verify that native integrations exist, not just that an API is technically available. There's a real difference between a supported two-way integration with Salesforce or HubSpot and a workaround someone built years ago on Zapier that may or may not still work.

Check the provider's integration documentation and read what current customers say about reliability. If a specific integration is critical to your workflow, test it before you sign, not after.

6. Misjudging what support looks like after you go live

Onboarding support and post-deployment support are two different things, but many businesses only discover the gap after the setup team has gone. Providers that offer strong implementation assistance sometimes have much thinner ongoing support. When a routing rule breaks or a remote employee can't connect from a new location, you want a response measured in minutes, not a queued ticket.

Look at what the provider actually guarantees, not what the marketing page implies. Does support cover your time zone? Is there a dedicated account contact or a shared queue? We recommend asking for references from businesses of a similar size to yours, specifically about the last time something went wrong and how quickly it was resolved.

That conversation will tell you more about a provider than any pricing page. It will also reveal whether ongoing support is treated as a core service or as something you'll need to chase.

7. Sleeping on the potential of AI voice agents

Modern VoIP platforms increasingly support AI voice agents: software that handles inbound calls, answers common queries, qualifies leads, and routes more complex enquiries to human agents with full context. Many businesses still treat this as a future consideration rather than something to check for at the point of purchase, but that has a way of catching up with them.

The gap it leaves is tangible. U.S. Chamber of Commerce data suggests small businesses miss up to 40% of calls during busy periods, with the average business losing over $126,000 annually to unanswered calls. AI voice agents deployed natively within a VoIP platform address exactly that problem, which is why call centers already using them report efficiency gains of up to 48%.

The AI voice agent market is projected to grow from $14.8 billion in 2024 to over $61 billion by 2033, so native support for this capability is quickly becoming something businesses should be asking about upfront. When evaluating providers, find out whether AI voice agents are supported natively or require third-party add-ons, and what level of configuration is involved. Choosing a platform that can't accommodate them means revisiting your phone infrastructure sooner than you'd planned.

Getting this right the first time

Picking the wrong VoIP system isn't catastrophic, but the switching costs are real. Porting numbers, retraining staff, renegotiating contracts, and rebuilding integrations all take time and money that most businesses would rather spend elsewhere. The mistakes above aren't obscure edge cases; they come up regularly in organizations that moved quickly without doing the groundwork.

The right approach is methodical: audit your network, define your compliance requirements, map your integrations, plan for growth, and test before committing. A VoIP migration done properly will reduce costs and improve how your team communicates. Done poorly, it adds a new category of operational problem you didn't have before.

Your contact center is probably handling thousands of calls a week, but a significant share of them involve the same handful of questions. Customers wait on hold while human agents repeat the same answers. The operational math on that has never made much sense.

AI voice agents help enterprises break that cycle. They're not an incremental upgrade to your existing phone system but a different category of technology entirely, so understanding that distinction matters before you make any decisions.

What is an AI voice agent?

An AI voice agent is a system that can hold a spoken conversation with a caller, understand what they say, and act on it without a human on the other end. It combines automatic speech recognition to convert spoken words into text and natural language processing (NLP) to interpret what callers actually mean rather than just what they literally said. A large language model (LLM) then generates the response.

What separates more recent voice agents from older tools is their ability to handle multi-turn conversations. The agent retains context as a call progresses, so a caller doesn't have to repeat themselves or navigate preset menus to get anywhere. More capable platforms also connect to your CRM, ticketing system, or scheduling software, so the agent can take action during the call itself rather than just answering questions.

How is it different from the phone systems you already have

Traditional IVR (interactive voice response) systems were built for a simpler era of automation. They route callers through fixed menus: press 1 for billing, press 2 for support. They break the moment a caller deviates from the expected path.

AI voice agents work from the other direction. A caller can describe what they need in their own words, and the agent interprets the request, asks a clarifying question if needed, and responds accordingly. That's a meaningful shift for callers, and for the teams who currently manage escalations when IVR fails.

The business case behind this difference is significant. According to Gartner, conversational AI is projected to reduce global customer service costs by $80 billion by 2026, with voice automation a key driver. That figure isn't based on replacing every human agent. It reflects the value of handling high-volume, repeatable interactions that don't require a person at all.

Where enterprises are putting them to work

Contact center support is still the most common deployment. Inbound queries and account lookups are natural fits because they're well-defined and predictable. Human agents are then available for cases that require real judgment.

Healthcare has been one of the fastest-growing sectors for voice AI. In 2024, 43% of US medical groups expanded their use of voice AI, with 70% reporting measurable operational improvements per research.

Beyond customer-facing applications, enterprises are also deploying voice agents for internal workflows. Field technicians can update job records or flag issues verbally while their hands are occupied. Sales teams are running outbound voice agents for lead qualification at volumes that would otherwise require large calling operations.

What enterprise-grade voice AI actually requires

Consumer voice assistants and enterprise voice agents are different categories, though, and it's worth being clear on why. Consumer assistants are general-purpose tools. Enterprise voice agents are trained on your business's context, connected to your systems, and built for the specific conversations your customers actually have.

Technical performance benchmarks matter more than most procurement teams realize. Sub-600 millisecond response times are now the accepted threshold for a conversation that feels natural to a caller. Accuracy in real conditions, with background noise and industry-specific terminology, varies significantly between platforms and isn't always reflected in vendor demos.

Compliance requirements are also non-negotiable in regulated industries. HIPAA for healthcare and GDPR for European operations both impose specific rules around how call recordings are stored and who can access them. Stronger enterprise platforms come with audit trails and regional data residency options built in, not added later as optional configuration.

Multilingual support is another thing worth checking early in any vendor evaluation. If your customers span multiple regions, you need a platform that can detect and adapt to a caller's preferred language in real time, not just handle one language well at the expense of others.

The limits worth knowing before you commit

Voice agents are capable, but the most successful enterprise deployments don't attempt to automate everything at once. Calls involving complex disputes or distressed callers still benefit from a human on the line, and the better platforms are designed to escalate those calls cleanly rather than try to handle them.

In their 2025 analysis of the voice AI market, a16z noted that enterprise deployments typically start with a narrow "wedge" — a defined category of calls where automation is reliable, and the cost of a failed interaction is low. Coverage expands from there as confidence builds, which is worth keeping in mind as you plan your own rollout.

Security also deserves its own attention. Voice biometric fraud and misconfigured system integrations have both created problems in early enterprise deployments. It's worth asking vendors specifically how their platform handles these scenarios before you sign anything.

What to look for when evaluating platforms

The voice AI market has grown fast. VC investment in the space grew from around $315 million in 2022 to $2.1 billion in 2024, nearly sevenfold in two years, and the number of vendors has expanded accordingly. With that many players making similar-sounding claims, the real differentiators aren't always obvious at first.

CRM and telephony integration depth is the most practical starting point. A voice agent that can't read from or write to your existing systems creates more operational complexity than it removes. After that, scrutinize latency benchmarks and accuracy rates in conditions that resemble your own environment, not a polished vendor demo.

Pricing models also vary more than most buyers expect. Some platforms charge by the minute, others by interaction volume. Usage-based pricing can scale well but carries cost unpredictability during high-traffic periods, which is worth factoring in if your call volumes are seasonal.

Is now the right time to deploy one?

Deloitte's 2026 global predictions found that 25% of enterprises already using generative AI expect to deploy AI agents by year-end, with that figure projected to double by 2027. Voice is a central part of that trend, given how much of enterprise communication still happens by phone and how direct the ROI from automation tends to be.

The question for most organizations really comes down to whether the specific workflows you want to automate are well-suited to where the technology actually is today. If you're handling high-volume, repeatable calls across a defined set of topics, a carefully scoped pilot is worth running. Start narrow, choose a platform with real compliance credentials and genuine integration depth, and treat the first deployment as a learning exercise rather than a replacement for your entire phone operation.

• Tour de Romandie 2026: Tuesday, April 28 - Sunday May 3
• FREE stream: RTS(Switzerland)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere – over 70% off today

The 2026 Tour de Romandie is a relentlessly hilly race which packs in 17 savage classified climbs across five stages (and a prologue) which will pit Tadej Pogačar against a whole host of the world's super lightweight climbers. Star riders like Lenny Martinez, Primož Roglič and Florian Lipowitz will line up but will they have what it takes to stop the GOAT taking yet another stage race win.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a Tour de Romandie 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Romandie for FREE

Cycling fans in Switzerland will get to watch a Tour de Romandie 2026 live stream for FREE. Here's where:

• RTS— Switzerland

If you're a resident of Switzerland and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any Tour de Romandie 2026 live stream

Tour de Romandie 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favorite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Romandie live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the 2026 Tour de Romandie on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes will set you back US$155.88 for the year or US$39.99 on a monthly basis.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 Tour de Romandie then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Romandie live streams in the UK

The Tour de Romandie 2026 is on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports’ cycling coverage in the UK has now moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. It costs £30.99 per month, though there is a better value £25.99 "saver plan" available if you sign up for a 12-month term.

If you already had a Discovery+ account for viewing TNT Sports, it will be automatically transferred over to HBO Max.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 Tour de Romandie live streams in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the Tour de Romandie 2026 on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish to watch, costs $49.99 a month or $215.88 for the year.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device believe you're still in Canada.

Tour de Romandie 2026 - Preview

The 79th Tour de Romandie kicks off with a 3.2 km prologue in Villars-sur-Glâne before getting stuck into five extremely hilly stages in a race that is built for climbers. With 17 classified climbs spread across the week there is absolutely nothing on offer for the sprinters as the race navigates around Romandie in Switzerland.

Following the prologue, stage 1 is pretty much flat, except that is for the huge 12km ascent at Ovronnaz with its eye watering 9.1% average gradient. Stage 2 is a relentlessly lumpy stage with no giant peaks, so one for the riders who love short punchy climbs.

Stages 3 and 4 return to the high ground with stage 4 taking the title of Queen stage as it covers four huge mountains – including both sides of the Jaunpass and the Saanenmöser. There is only one summit finish though and that is reserved for the final stage, the 178.2-kilometre journey to Leysin which is sure to be a showdown of epic proportions.

Last year’s winner, João Almeida, is absent this year but second placed Lenny Martinez returns to do what he can to prevent Tadej Pogačar strolling to victory. Also looking to put in a strong ride are Florian Lipowitz (third in last year’s Tour de France), multiple grand Tour winner Primož Roglič and home favorite Mauro Schmid.

Tour de Romandie 2026 stages

Prologue | Tuesday, April 28 | Villars-sur-Glâne - Villars-sur-Glâne, 3.2km

Stage 1 | Wednesday, April 29 | Martigny - Martigny, 170.6km

Stage 2 | Thursday, April 30 | Rue - Vucherens, 173.1km

Stage 3 | Friday, May 1 | Orbe - Orbe, 176.6km

Stage 4 | Saturday, May 2 | Broc - Charmey, 149.6km

Stage 5 | Sunday, May 3 | Lucens - Leysin, 178.2km

Tour de Romandie 2026 Route Map

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.

Choosing the right business internet provider is an essential step for ensuring your company's communication, operations, and growth are supported by fast, reliable connectivity.

As more businesses shift to cloud services, remote work, and real-time data applications, the role of a dependable internet connection becomes even more critical.

This guide walks you through the considerations and steps to help you select the ideal provider for your unique business needs.

1. Understanding your business internet needs

Before exploring internet providers and plans, it's essential to thoroughly assess your business’s specific internet requirements. Start by evaluating key factors, such as the number of employees, the range of connected devices, and the nature of online activities. Understanding these elements can help create a clear baseline for your internet needs.

For instance, businesses that rely heavily on video conferencing, engage in cloud computing, or regularly transfer large files will require significantly more bandwidth than a small office that mainly uses email and basic web browsing. High-definition video calls and real-time data sharing demand faster upload and download speeds to ensure seamless operations.

Additionally, consider peak usage hours—when your team's internet activity is at its highest. This can vary by industry and daily workflows, and understanding these patterns will help you select an internet plan that can handle the increased load without compromising performance.

It's also crucial to plan for your business's growth and potential technology adoption. As your company expands or as your team starts utilizing more sophisticated tools and applications, your internet needs may evolve. Choosing a flexible plan that scales with your business will help you avoid the pitfalls of overspending on unnecessarily high speeds or, conversely, of dealing with frustrating slowdowns that can negatively impact productivity.

2. Exploring connection types and technologies

In today's digital landscape, various internet technologies provide essential services to businesses, each with unique advantages and limitations. Among these, fiber-optic internet stands out as the gold standard. It delivers ultrafast, symmetrical upload and download speeds, coupled with the lowest latency. This makes fiber-optic ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications, such as video conferencing, large data transfers, and online gaming, where speed and responsiveness are critical. Additionally, fiber optics is renowned for its reliability, exhibiting minimal susceptibility to environmental factors such as weather or electrical interference.

Another option is dedicated broadband lines, such as T1 and T3 connections. While these lines offer guaranteed uptime and consistent service levels, they tend to be slower than fiber and may come with a higher price tag, making them suitable for businesses that prioritize stability over speed, particularly in sectors like finance or healthcare.

Cable internet is a popular choice due to its widespread availability and good speeds. However, it's essential to note that with cable internet, bandwidth is shared among multiple users in a given area. This can lead to performance fluctuations, especially during peak usage periods, potentially impacting business operations.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology continues to serve many smaller businesses and rural areas where higher-speed options may not be readily accessible. While DSL can provide adequate connectivity, it generally offers slower speeds. It can be less stable compared to fiber and cable connections, which might hinder the performance of more demanding applications.

Fixed wireless and 5G technologies have emerged as attractive alternatives, especially in regions where traditional wired infrastructure is lacking. Fixed wireless solutions can deliver decent speeds without extensive cabling, enabling quick deployment and flexibility. Meanwhile, 5G technology is revolutionizing connectivity with its promise of ultra-low latency and high-speed data transfer, making it a game-changer for mobile businesses and those requiring robust remote access capabilities.

3. Prioritizing speed and reliability

Speed is often the first factor businesses consider, but reliability is equally crucial. The minimum speeds suitable for most companies start around 100 Mbps download, with upgrades to 1 Gbps or more for larger or media-heavy companies. Upload speeds should not be overlooked; many cloud-based applications benefit from symmetrical upload and download speeds, which fiber frequently provides.

Reliability is measured by uptime guarantees and low latency. Business internet providers often offer Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that promise 99.9% uptime or better, with compensation if those standards are not met. Reliable internet prevents costly disruptions and lost revenue.

4. Scalability and flexibility for growth

Your business will change and grow, and your internet needs must evolve too. A capable internet provider offers flexible packages that let you increase bandwidth, add services like static IP addresses or VPNs, and modify contracts without excessive fees or long-term penalties. The ability to quickly scale service helps you stay nimble and ensures smooth operations during expansion.

5. Importance of customer support and service

Internet issues can drastically impact business operations if not addressed promptly. Choosing a provider offering 24/7 customer support is vital. Providers with local or dedicated account representatives streamline issue resolution and proactive network monitoring reduces downtime risks. Fast response times from knowledgeable technicians can be the difference between a brief interruption and prolonged outages.

6. Analyzing pricing and contract terms

While affordability is important, low prices should not compromise quality or support. Consider monthly fees, installation charges, equipment rentals, and potential data overage costs. Examine contract length and flexibility—long-term contracts can lock you into subpar services if your demands change. Some providers offer bundled services combining internet, voice, and cloud solutions, which can optimize costs and vendor management. Transparent pricing with no hidden fees protects your budget.

7. Security features and compliance

In today’s environment, internet security is non-negotiable. Look for ISPs that provide firewall protection, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation, VPN support, and network monitoring. Companies in regulated industries may require providers that comply with standards such as HIPAA or PCI DSS to ensure data protection and legal compliance—partnering with a provider committed to security safeguards your business from cyber threats.

8. Assessing provider availability and reputation

Not every provider operates everywhere or delivers the same quality. It's wise to confirm which providers cover your business location and have reliable infrastructure. Research customer reviews, solicit feedback from local businesses, and assess installation timelines. Choosing a well-regarded provider with a track record of uptime and responsive support reduces risk and fosters continuity.

9. Additional features and value-added services

Some business internet providers enhance their offerings with extras such as static IPs for hosting servers, managed Wi-Fi solutions for staff and guests, cloud backup services, and integrated communication platforms. These features can optimize network management and support newer business models involving remote work or IoT deployments.

Choosing a business internet provider: Summary

Choosing a business internet provider requires balancing current needs, anticipated growth, technology options, reliability, service quality, and cost. Careful research and thoughtful planning allow you to select an ISP that powers your operations smoothly and scales with your organization. Investing time in this decision today saves future headaches and ensures your business stays competitive and connected in an evolving digital landscape.

You're shipping orders, watching costs pile up, and wondering if there's a cheaper way to do it. Carrier rates go up nearly every year, so a monthly software subscription on top of postage adds up fast when margins are already tight.

There's no single most affordable shipping solution, because the cheapest option for a solo Etsy seller looks nothing like the best value for a business pushing several thousand orders a month across Amazon, Shopify, and others.

Our guide breaks things down by scenario, so you can stop paying for features you don't need.

How shipping software works

Most platforms advertise a headline subscription price, but what you actually spend depends on a few moving parts: monthly fees, per-label charges, carrier markups, and add-ons for things like automation or API access.

Free plans can look tempting, but they often come with restricted features. A tool with no monthly fee but poor carrier discounts could cost you more per label than a paid plan with better rates. Ask yourself what the total monthly bill looks like — subscription plus postage combined — at your current volume. That's the number worth comparing.

If you want completely free shipping software

Pirate Ship

Pirate Ship has no monthly fees. You pay only for postage at discounted USPS and UPS rates, keeping a card on file or pre-loading your balance to cover labels. On pricing alone, it's hard to beat.

Carrier options are limited to USPS and UPS, which rules out FedEx, DHL, and international couriers. There's no API either, so storefronts that aren't natively supported can't be connected. For domestic sellers shipping small volumes, none of that may matter.

Veeqo

Veeqo is free to use. Owned by Amazon, the platform earns a small commission from shipping volume passed to carriers rather than charging a subscription. Sellers get access to pre-negotiated rates from UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL, plus up to 5% back with Veeqo Credits.

One thing worth knowing: Veeqo is an Amazon product, and some sellers aren't comfortable sharing their business data with Amazon. If Amazon is already a core sales channel for you and that arrangement sits fine, Veeqo is one of the stronger free options out there.

If you're willing to spend a little each month

ShipStation

ShipStation's free plan covers up to 10 shipments per month, with paid plans starting from around $14.99 per month. Its integrations span Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy, and more than 100 other ecommerce platforms, which makes it a practical choice when orders come from several channels at once.

Your bill can grow quickly as volume or feature needs increase. API access sits behind a higher tier, starting at $29.99 per month for up to 50 shipments. For sellers on one or two platforms who don't need API access, those pricing jumps are hard to justify. ShipStation makes more sense once a multi-channel operation starts to scale.

Shippo

Shippo's free Starter plan covers up to 30 labels per month. Paid Pro plans start at $19 per month for up to 200 labels, then step up to $29 per month for 201 to 500 as your volume grows. API access is included on every tier, even the free one, so you don't pay extra to connect your own tools or build automated workflows.

You also get access to over 40 carriers, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and regional options. That's more flexibility than Pirate Ship offers, and the pricing tiers are clear enough that you can forecast costs before you hit the next level.

If you ship internationally

Easyship

Easyship connects with over 250 couriers worldwide, calculates duties and taxes at checkout, and shows customers real shipping costs upfront rather than estimates. A free plan is available, and paid tiers unlock more automation and branded tracking.

For sellers who ship mostly within the US, there are better-value options. Easyship is built for businesses where cross-border volume is significant, and it handles customs paperwork and global carrier comparison without requiring a separate tool for each.

Quick comparison

How to pick the right one

Start with two numbers: how many shipments you send per month, and how many cross a border.

Shipping fewer than 30 orders domestically? Pirate Ship or Shippo's free tier covers it without a subscription. Primarily selling on Amazon and comfortable with that ecosystem? Veeqo gives you multi-carrier pre-negotiated rates at no cost.

Once you pass a few hundred orders a month, the calculation changes. A paid Shippo plan often saves more through carrier discounts than the subscription costs, and automation cuts enough time from the process to justify the fee. For heavy international volume, Easyship is worth the setup to get duties and tax calculations right at checkout.

The bottom line

The most affordable shipping software is the one that costs the least for your specific volume and carrier mix, not necessarily the one with the lowest plan price. A free platform with weak carrier discounts can end up costing more month-to-month than a $19 plan with better rates.

Pick two or three platforms that fit your scenario, run your actual order volume through each rate calculator, and compare the total. Once subscription and postage sit side by side as one number, the right choice usually becomes obvious.

Orders are coming in, and somehow that's become the problem.

Fulfilling them means comparing carrier rates across multiple tabs, copying tracking numbers by hand, and printing labels one by one. Past a certain volume, the process stops scaling, and shipping starts eating into the time you don't have.

Shipping software is supposed to fix that. But with dozens of platforms competing for your attention, picking one can feel just as overwhelming as the problem you're trying to solve. Differences between tools aren't always obvious upfront, and the wrong choice can cost you more in missed features or overpriced plans than you ever save on postage.

Here's how to work out which one fits your business.

What shipping software actually does

It helps to understand what you're buying before comparing platforms. Shipping software sits between your online store and the carriers, pulling in orders automatically, comparing rates across USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and others, generating labels, and sending tracking updates to customers.

Platforms add value in three ways: carrier discounts, automation, and order centralisation. On discounts, platforms negotiate bulk rates and pass them on — Pirate Ship, for example, offers savings of up to 87% off retail USPS rates through its access to USPS Connect eCommerce pricing. On automation, batch label printing, rule-based carrier selection, and auto-populated customs forms cut fulfillment time sharply. On centralisation, a single dashboard consolidates orders from Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, and anywhere else you sell.

Most tools also handle returns, branded tracking pages, and basic analytics on carrier performance and shipping costs.

5 questions to answer before you choose a shipping platform

1. How many shipments do you process per month?

Volume is the single biggest factor in determining your best options. Under 30 orders a month, Shippo or Pirate Ship covers the basics without any cost commitment. Shippo's free Starter tier handles up to 30 labels per month, and Pirate Ship is entirely free with no label limits. Both these platforms earn their revenue through carrier relationships rather than subscriptions.

As your volume grows, paid plans start to make financial sense. Shippo's paid plans begin at $19/month, unlocking custom branding, automation, and priority support. ShipStation's paid tiers start at $14.99/month for up to 50 orders a month.

2. Are you shipping domestically or internationally?

US-focused tools like Pirate Ship only support USPS and UPS. That works fine domestically, but falls apart once you need to handle customs documentation or access regional carriers in other markets.

For international shipping, Easyship connects to more than 550 courier services worldwide and automates duty and tax calculations at checkout, which directly reduces cart abandonment for cross-border buyers. Sendcloud is the stronger pick for European businesses, with multi-language customer communication and a carrier network built around local logistics providers.

3. How many sales channels are you managing?

Selling only through Shopify? Almost any platform will serve you.

But if you’re managing orders across Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, and your own storefront, you need something built for that complexity. ShipStation offers hundreds of integrations and is one of the broadest options for fragmented commerce. Amazon-owned Veeqo also handles multi-channel well and keeps shipping features free regardless of order volume, though its data-sharing terms are worth reading carefully before signing up.

4. Do you need inventory management alongside shipping?

Shipping and inventory management software are different products, so it’s best not to conflate them if you want to avoid overpaying.

If you need both in one place, Ordoro is a popular option for dropshippers tracking stock levels across multiple suppliers. ShipStation also includes inventory syncing across platforms. If your existing setup already handles inventory through a separate tool or your ecommerce platform, a leaner shipping-only solution will cost less and add less complexity.

5. How technical is your team?

Pirate Ship is designed for simplicity: no setup and almost zero learning curve. Shippo is similarly accessible but includes full API access on every plan, including the free tier, which makes it the natural pick for developer teams embedding shipping into custom workflows or proprietary platforms.

ShipStation offers considerably more depth, but user reviews flag a steeper learning curve compared to simpler alternatives.

Key shipping features to compare

Here's what to look at when comparing platforms:

• Carrier network: More carriers mean more rate-shopping options. Shippo connects to 40+ carriers; Easyship connects to 550+. Pirate Ship covers USPS and UPS only.
• Automation rules: Automatically assigning a carrier or service based on weight, destination, or order value is where most time savings actually come from. Look for platforms that let you configure rules without developer involvement.
• Batch label printing: Essential at any meaningful volume. Check whether the platform caps batch sizes on lower-tier plans.
• Branded tracking: Several platforms let you customize tracking pages and shipping emails with your own branding rather than the carrier's generic interface. For customer retention, this matters more than it looks.
• Returns management: Self-serve return portals and pre-paid label generation become increasingly important as order volume grows. Manual return handling scales badly.
• Reporting: Basic analytics on carrier performance, shipping costs, and delivery times help you spot where money is being lost.

Comparing different pricing models

Shipping software comes in three main pricing structures.

Subscription-based plans charge a flat monthly fee tied to shipment volume or features. ShipStation's paid plans start at $14.99/month and scale up from there. Predictable, but you pay for capacity even when you don't use it.

Pay-as-you-go models charge per label with no monthly minimum. On Shippo's free Starter plan, labels using your own carrier accounts cost $0.05 each beyond the 30-label free allowance. Costs stay low for businesses with inconsistent order volume.

Fully free tools like Pirate Ship and Veeqo cover their costs through carrier relationships. Worth evaluating first, particularly for straightforward domestic shipping.

Note that some platforms lock key capabilities, such as API access, additional users, or automation rules, behind higher tiers. E.g., ShipStation moved API access to its Standard plan at $29.99/month, so even low-volume users who need custom integrations face a significant cost jump. If developer integrations matter to your workflow, work out the true cost of the tier you'll actually need, not the entry price.

Matching the shipping tool to your situation

Making your final call

Most major platforms offer free trials or permanently free entry tiers, so there's no good reason to commit before testing. Start with the tool that fits your current situation, not your projected one two years from now. If you're shipping 80 orders a month today, solve for that. You can migrate later, and most platforms support data export.

What tends to get overlooked is that the cost of a bad choice rarely shows up on the subscription invoice. It shows up in the hours spent on manual workarounds, in the carrier rates you overpay because you're not comparing options, and in the customer goodwill you lose when tracking updates don't arrive. Pick the tool that fits how you actually work, and it will pay for itself fast.

AI website builders promise to turn your ideas into polished websites in minutes. Just describe your vision, and algorithms can generate layouts, write copy, and select images. For many businesses, these tools offer an exciting starting point that would have taken days of planning.

But, AI-generated websites are rarely ready for production without significant human intervention. These tools take away some of the complexity behind building a dependable site, but can also make it harder to spot problems until something breaks. You'll need to review everything from brand consistency to technical performance before launch.

Here’s how to go about it.

AI website builders have limitations, here's why

AI website builders work by analyzing patterns from millions of existing websites and applying those patterns to your input. This creates functional sites quickly, but comes with fundamental constraints. It works great for quick concepts, but falls short for lasting business websites.

The technology struggles with context and nuance. AI relies on probabilities and training data, often producing repetitive phrases that feel monotonous. What looks professional at first glance usually lacks human levels of strategic thinking, brand personality, and technical polish.

When you generate an AI website, expect issues with:

• Generic copy and tone
• Brand inconsistency and mismatched visuals
• Poor SEO fundamentals
• Accessibility problems
• Broken forms and navigation
• Slow performance and unoptimized media

Manual editing isn't optional for professional results. You need experienced oversight to transform AI's first draft into a website that serves your business objectives and creates trust with visitors.

How to edit AI-generated websites

Once your AI builder generates a site, the real work begins. We're going to walk you through a systematic review process that catches common problems before they reach customers. This approach ensures your site meets professional standards without exposing your business to risks.

The editing process requires moving through different aspects one at a time. Let's break down the five critical areas needing your attention.

1. Review and rewrite the content

Use AI-generated text as a starting point, never a finished product. Read through every page carefully. AI often produces copy that sounds plausible but lacks substance, specificity, or accuracy.

Add industry-specific details that showcase your expertise. Replace vague statements with concrete examples and specific outcomes you deliver. The content should answer user questions and follow Google's E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) to perform well in search.

2. Check brand consistency across all pages

Accepting default design elements creates a disconnection from your established brand. Go through every page and verify that colors, fonts, logos, and imagery align with your brand guidelines. AI builders often default to generic choices that don't reflect your business identity.

Pay special attention to how your business is described. Make sure your unique value proposition comes through clearly on the homepage and key landing pages. AI generates designs based on your input, but the quality needs improving through manual refinement that reflects what makes your brand different.

3. Optimize technical SEO elements

Common issues include generic page titles with no keywords, missing meta descriptions, and poor heading structures where H1-H6 tags are misused. Write unique meta titles (50-60 characters) and descriptions (150-160 characters) for each important page, including keywords naturally.

Check that your heading hierarchy makes sense semantically, not just visually. Verify that image alt text is descriptive and helpful for both accessibility and search engines, rather than generic or missing entirely.

4. Test functionality and user experience

Click every button, submit every form, and navigate through every path a customer might take. AI-generated sites can have broken links, forms that don't send anywhere, or navigation that doesn't make logical sense. Verify that form submissions connect properly with your business systems.

Test your site on actual mobile devices, not just in desktop preview mode. Make sure touch targets are large enough, text is readable, and interactive elements work properly on phones and tablets.

5. Improve site performance and loading speed

AI website building often includes elements that slow loading times. Run your site through performance testing tools and identify what's causing slowdowns. Most AI builders generate sites with oversized images that need compression.

Remove unnecessary scripts that don't serve your business goals. Configure browser caching properly and ensure your hosting can handle expected traffic without degradation.

AI website builders can speed up your workflow, but they require oversight

Most AI tools can generate something that looks like a website, but what separates useful tools from frustrating ones is whether they help you move forward after the first draft. AI excels at speed and creating starting points, but cannot replace strategic thinking and quality assurance for complex projects.

AI-generated websites often contain subtle errors that expose security vulnerabilities or create problems that make your business look unprofessional. Manual reviews by people who understand web development remain essential for anything beyond simple sites.

Use AI to accelerate your timeline, to build out the main structure of your website, and act as a solid starting point, but edit thoroughly before going live.

• NFL Draft 2026: April 23-25
• FREE streams — DAZN (CAN, UK, AUS and RoW)
• US streams — ABC, ESPN via YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV (FREE trials) or Sling
• Unlock your free stream with Surfshark (7 days free)

NFL Draft 2026 live streams really whet the appetite ahead of the new football season later in the year. The best up-and-coming players from College and beyond will descend on Pittsburg as 32 teams make 257 picks over seven rounds from April 23-25.

Fernando Mendoza seems a lock for the Las Vegas Raiders' No.1 pick after winning the Heisman Trophy with Indiana Hoosiers in 2025, en route to a national championship.

Beyond that potential star quarterback, though? Well, it's anyone's guess. The Commanders (No.7), Chiefs (No.9), Cowboys (No.12), Rams (No 13) and Ravens (No.14) are among potential Super Bowl contenders with early picks.

The Jets seem likely to bolster their defense with the No.2 overall pick with David Bailey from Texas Tech or Arvell Reese from Ohio State likely to feature most prominently in their thoughts. Reese's Ohio teammate Sonny Styles, a linebacker, plus Utah's offensive tackle Caleb Lomu and Notre Dame's running back Jeremiyah Love are all expected to be snaffled early.

It's Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants to pick next, while the latter also have the No.10 selection after trading Dexter Lawrence II to the Bengals. Expect plenty more late trades to add to the drama, with the time for Round 1 picks down from 10 to just eight minutes.

Here's where to watch NFL Draft 2026 live streams online from anywhere.

How to watch any NFL Draft 2026 stream using a VPN

This is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, thereby letting you unlock your usual service. One of the best VPN's right now? We recommend Surfshark – it does everything and comes with 7 days free and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in the US

National coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft is shared between ABC and ESPN in the US.

Rounds 1-3 will be on ABC, so if you have a TV antenna or cable then you'll be able to watch via that method.

ESPN, though, will show all 7 rounds and there are many streaming options for OTT customers if you've cut the cord.

A standalone subscription to ESPN Select costs $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year, but you can also get their ESPN Unlimited package that includes everything ESPN has to offer. Or you can watch through the Disney Plus/Hulu/ESPN bundle, which costs from $19.99.

If you're a cord cutter wanting to watch as much coverage as possible, you could try Sling TV's Orangeplan for $46 per month, which carries ESPN and ABC and NBC in selected cities.

Alternative services carrying both the required channels are YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Both offer free trials for new users, as mentioned above.

Away from the US right now? Use a VPN like Surfshark to watch your regular streams as if you were back home.

How to watch NFL Draft 2026 live streams in Canada

In Canada, NFL Draft 2026 coverage will be shown on DAZN and TSN.

As we've mentioned above, sign up for a FREE DAZN account and you can watch all the Draft unfold without cost.

You can also watch the Draft online thanks on the TSN range of channels, plus its TSN+ ($8 a month / $80 a year) streaming platforms.

If you already subscribe to these services but find yourself outside Canada, download a VPN and watch the NFL Draft 2026 as if you were back at home.

How to watch NFL Draft 2026 live streams in the UK

NFL Draft 2026 action is also available for FREE on NFL Game Pass via DAZN the UK.

All you need to do to watch the Draft drama unfold is to create a free account, sit back and enjoy.

Sky Sports (£22/month) will also show the action as well.

Outside the UK? You’ll might need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to watch your usual stream from abroad.

How to watch NFL Draft 2026 live streams in Australia

Aussies have to options to watch the NFL Draft 2026 live streams — 7Mate and 7Plus will show Round 1 (on Friday morning), while DAZN will show all the rounds.

There's also a pay option. All seven rounds will also be streamed through your choice of either the excellent sports streaming platform Kayo Sports (from $30 a month after a 7-day free trial or your first month for $1) or Disney Plus (from $15.99 a month or $159.99 for a year).

Not in Australia right now? Use a VPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual domestic NFL Draft 2026 coverage from anywhere.

How to watch NFL Draft 2026 live streams in Rest of World

With only a few exceptions (e.g. China, US) the NFL Draft 2026 will be available to watch for FREE in around 200 countries worldwide thanks to NFL Game Pass via DAZN

Remember, you'll need a VP like Surfshark to stream as would from home if you're abroad right now.

1. New York Jets
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Las Vegas Raiders
5. New York Giants
6. Houston Texans
7. Cleveland Browns
8. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Cincinnati Bengals
10. New Orleans Saints
11. Miami Dolphins
12. New York Jets
13. Baltimore Ravens
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Indianapolis Colts
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. Detroit Lions
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Philadelphia Eagles
23. Los Angeles Chargers
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Chicago Bears
26. San Francisco 49ers
27. Houston Texans
28. Chicago Bears
29. Los Angeles Rams
30. Denver Broncos
31. New England Patriots
32. Seattle Seahawks

Round 3

1. Arizona Cardinals
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Las Vegas Raiders
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Houston Texans
6. Cleveland Browns
7. Washington Commanders
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Kansas City Chiefs
11. Miami Dolphins
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Indianapolis Colts
15. Atlanta Falcons
16. Baltimore Ravens
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
18. Minnesota Vikings
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Los Angeles Chargers
23. Miami Dolphins
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Chicago Bears
26. Miami Dolphins
27. Buffalo Bills
28. Dallas Cowboys
29. Los Angeles Rams
30. Miami Dolphins
31. New England Patriots
32. Seattle Seahawks
33. Minnesota Vikings
34. Philadelphia Eagles
35. Pittsburgh Steelers
36. Jacksonville Jaguars

Round 4

1. Tennessee Titans
2. Las Vegas Raiders
3. New York Jets
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. New York Giants
6. Houston Texans
7. Cleveland Browns
8. Denver Broncos
9. Kansas City Chiefs
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Denver Broncos
12. Dallas Cowboys
13. Indianapolis Colts
14. Philadelphia Eagles
15. Baltimore Ravens
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Detroit Lions
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Atlanta Falcons
23. Los Angeles Chargers
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. New England Patriots
26. Buffalo Bills
27. San Francisco 49ers
28. Detroit Lions
29. Chicago Bears
30. Miami Dolphins
31. New England Patriots
32. New Orleans Saints
33. San Francisco 49ers
34. Las Vegas Raiders
35. Pittsburgh Steelers
36. New Orleans Saints
37. Philadelphia Eagles
38. San Francisco 49ers
39. San Francisco 49ers
40. New York Jets

Round 5

1. Houston Texans
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Tennessee Titans
5. New York Giants
6. Cleveland Browns
7. Washington Commanders
8. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Cleveland Browns
10. New Orleans Saints
11. Miami Dolphins
12. Dallas Cowboys
13. Green Bay Packers
14. Baltimore Ravens
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Indianapolis Colts
17. Detroit Lions
18. Carolina Panthers
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Baltimore Ravens
23. Minnesota Vikings
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Buffalo Bills
26. Jacksonville Jaguars
27. Houston Texans
28. Buffalo Bills
29. Kansas City Chiefs
30. Denver Broncos
31. New England Patriots
32. New Orleans Saints
33. Baltimore Ravens
34. Baltimore Ravens
35. Las Vegas Raiders
36. Kansas City Chiefs
37. Dallas Cowboys
38. Philadelphia Eagles
39. New York Jets
40. Dallas Cowboys
41. Detroit Lions

Round 6

1. Buffalo Bills
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Las Vegas Raiders
5. New York Giants
6. Washington Commanders
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. New Orleans Saints
10. New England Patriots
11. New York Giants
12. New York Giants
13. Tennessee Titans
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Minnesota Vikings
16. Philadelphia Eagles
17. New England Patriots
18. Cincinnati Bengals
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. New England Patriots
22. Jacksonville Jaguars
23. Los Angeles Chargers
24. Detroit Lions
25. Cleveland Browns
26. Los Angeles Rams
27. Las Vegas Raiders
28. Washington Commanders
29. Kansas City Chiefs
30. Baltimore Ravens
31. New England Patriots
32. Detroit Lions
33. Indianapolis Colts
34. Atlanta Falcons
35. Pittsburgh Steelers

Round 7

1. Arizona Cardinals
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Las Vegas Raiders
4. Buffalo Bills
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Detroit Lions
7. Washington Commanders
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Tennessee Titans
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Miami Dolphins
12. New York Jets
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Atlanta Falcons
16. Los Angeles Rams
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
18. Minnesota Vikings
19. Minnesota Vikings
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Miami Dolphins
23. Chicago Bears
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Chicago Bears
26. New York Jets
27. Houston Texans
28. Minnesota Vikings
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Denver Broncos
31. New England Patriots
32. Cleveland Browns
33. Indianapolis Colts
34. Baltimore Ravens
35. Los Angeles Rams
36. Los Angeles Rams
37. Baltimore Ravens
38. Indianapolis Colts
39. Green Bay Packers
40. Denver Broncos
41. Denver Broncos

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.

• La Flèche Wallonne 2026: Wednesday, April 22
• FREE streams: SBS OnDemand (Australia) VRT Max, RTBF Auvio (Belgium); NOS (The Netherlands) FranceTV (France)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

With no Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel, who will triumph on top of the 26% slopes of the legendary Mur de Huy in the 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne? Favourite to take the win is new French sensation Paul Seixas, but does he have the composure to beat the more experienced chasing pack that includes the likes of Mattias Skjelmose, Lenny Martinez and Kevin Vauquelin.

The race starts at 11.30 local time (10.30 BST) with UK TV coverage set to start at 11.45pm BST and 6:30am ET.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a La Flèche Wallonne 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch 2026 La Flèche Wallonne for FREE

Cycling fans in Australia, France, Belgium and the Netherlands will get to watch the La Flèche Wallonne 2026 live stream for FREE. Here's where:

• SBS OnDemand — Australia
• FranceTV — France
• VRT Max — Belgium
• RTBF Auvio — Belgium
• NOS — The Netherlands

If you're a resident of Australia, France, Belgium or The Netherlands and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any La Flèche Wallonne 2026 live stream

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favourite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 La Flèche Wallonne live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the 2026 La Flèche Wallonne on Peacock.

A subscription to Peacock that includes live sport will set you back $10.99/month. It will also give you access to the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and this Sunday's Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 race then don't forget to explore NordVPN as set out above.

How to watch 2026 La Flèche Wallonne live streams in the UK

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 is on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports’ cycling coverage in the UK has now moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. It costs £30.99 per month, though there is a better value £25.99 "saver plan" available if you sign up for a 12-month term.

If you already had a Discovery+ account, it will be automatically transferred over to HBO Max.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 La Flèche Wallonne live streams in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the La Flèche Wallonne 2026 on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish to watch, costs $49.99 a month or $215.88 for the year.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.

How to watch 2026 La Flèche Wallonne live streams in Australia

In Australia? As previously mentioned, you can watch the La Flèche Wallonne 2026 for free on SBS on Demand.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Australia.

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 - Preview

To win Fleche Wallone you need nerves of steel and you need to time your explosive sprint at just the right moment to dispatch your rivals on the 26% slopes of the dreaded Mur de Huy. That is, unless you’re Tadej Pogačar who is able to ride off when and where he wants, making those flailing behind him look like amateurs.

Pogačar has gracefully declined to ride this year though, maybe this race is just too easy for him now so the door is open for someone else to claim a win on the toughest finish in world cycling.

It would have been the perfect opportunity for Tom Pidcock to add another great race to his CV but alas he has opted to ride the Tour of the Alps instead. So the favourites will be Bahrain Victorious' Lenny Martinez, last year’s second placed rider Kevin Vauquelin and the hottest property in world cycling right now Paul Seixas.

Also watch out for Mattias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone and Romain Gregoire.

The race starts in Liege covering 200 kilometres from start to finish with multiple climbs such as the Côte d’Ereffe, the Côte de Cherave and three ascents of the Mur de Huy.

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.

• NBA Playoffs 2026: April 18 to June 19 (Finals from June 3)
• Stream on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock & Amazon Prime (US)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 76%)

NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams see the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs go head-to-head over seven games to decide this year's NBA champions.

After the season that the Oklahoma City Thunder had, it was proving difficult to most b-ball pundits to see who might stop them going back-to-back. Enter the Spurs, who managed to overcome them across seven gruelling games of the Western Conference finals. The 2014 champs and Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama now get the chance to go all the way.

With defending Eastern Conference champions the Indiana Pacers failing to make the postseason, the scene was set for either the Cleveland Cavaliers or New York Knicks to storm the East and make it into the Finals. Nobody saw a four-game sweep coming from the Knickerbockers, as Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and co finally ended their franchise's long wait for a first shot at the big time in the 21st century.

Here's where to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams online from anywhere.

NBA Playoffs 2026 Schedule and TV Channels

* denotes 'If required'

Finals – New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs
Game 1 – Wed, Jun 3 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Thu) on ABC/ESPN app
Game 2 – Fri, Jun 5 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Sat) on ABC/ESPN app
Game 3 – Mon, Jun 8 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Tue) on ABC/ESPN app
Game 4 – Wed, Jun 10 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Thu) on ABC/ESPN app
*Game 5 – Sat, Jun 13 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Sun) on ABC/ESPN app
*Game 6 – Tue, Jun 16 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Wed) on ABC/ESPN app
*Game 7 – Fri, Jun 19 at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT / 1.30am BST (Sat) on ABC/ESPN app

How to watch any NBA Playoffs 2026 stream using a VPN

A VPN is a handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, letting you unlock your usual streaming service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with a discount of up to 76%.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in the US

National coverage of the 2026 Playoffs is shared across a diverse range of broadcasters and streaming platforms. ABC and ESPN (on TV and through ESPN Unlimited), NBC (on TV and through the Peacock streaming service) and Amazon Prime Video will all show games through the postseason. You can discover which games will be broadcast by which channels in our 'Schedule' section above.

The Finals are set to be broadcast exclusively by ABC and ESPN Unlimited.

If you're a cord cutter wanting to watch as much coverage as possible with one subscription, you could try Sling TV's Orange + Blue plan for $61 per month, which carries ESPN, and ABC and NBC in selected cities.

Alternative services carrying all of the required channels (other than Prime) are YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which offer free trials for new users.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in Canada

In Canada, NBA Playoffs 2026 coverage is shared between Sportsnet and TSN.

That means you can also watch online thanks to their respective Sportsnet+ ($29.99 a month / $249.99 a year) and TSN+ ($8 a month / $80 a year) streaming platforms.

If you already subscribe to these services but find yourself outside Canada, download a VPN and watch NBA games as if you were back at home.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in the UK

NBA Playoffs 2026 action is split between Sky Sports and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

The Finals are set to be broadcast exclusively by Prime Video.

Sky Sports packages start from £22 per month or you can get a more flexible Now Sports membership starting from £14.99 for a day pass. While Amazon Prime costs £95 a year or £8.99 a month after its 30-day free trial.

Alternatively, die-hard fans might want to check out NBA League Pass, which costs from £16.99 a month or £37.99 for the remainder of the season and unlocks access to every single game of the 2026 Playoffs.

Outside the UK? You’ll might need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to watch your usual stream from abroad.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in Australia

Aussies can watch NBA Playoff games on ESPN via Foxtel (streamed via Foxtel Now).

All ESPN games can also be streamed through your choice of either the excellent sports streaming platform Kayo Sports (from $30 a month after a 7-day free trial or your first month for $1) or Disney Plus (from $9.99 a month).

For the most comprehensive coverage, there's also the NBA League Pass, from $24.99 a month or $49.99 for the remainder of the Playoffs.

Not in Australia right now? Use a VPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual domestic NBA coverage from anywhere.

How to watch NBA Playoffs 2026 live streams in Rest of World

With only a few exceptions (e.g. China, Iran, Russia) the NBA League Pass is available worldwide and showing the 2026 Playoffs. Click through to see the pricing and games available where you are.

Many countries also show games on TV and online through their domestic broadcasters:

Africa

NBA broadcast rights are held by ESPN, which provides coverage to sub-Saharan countries. Some games in South Africa will also be shown by Amazon Prime Video.

Americas

• Caribbean & Central America

You can watch the 2025/26 NBA season unfold on ESPN across the Caribbean and in Central American countries (including Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama).

B-ball fans in the Caribbean and Mexico will also be able to watch a selection of games on Amazon Prime Video.

• South America

ESPN has the broadcast rights to the 2025/26 NBA season across Latin America. That includes:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (games also on Amazon Prime Video), Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Europe

• Albania

Albanians will be able to watch NBA basketball on Tring Sport.

• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova & Ukraine

Setanta Sports has the rights to show NBA basketball in these countries.

• Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, San Marino & Switzerland

Sky will show the NBA Playoffs 2026 action in these countries, with Amazon Prime Video also having rights to show some games.

• Balkans

Pay TV provider Arena Sport holds the NBA rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

• Baltic states

Live NBA is shown by Go3 Sport in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

• Belgium, Spain, Andorra & Luxembourg

Specialist sports streamer DAZN has the rights to 2025/26 NBA basketball in these countries, with Amazon Prime Video also hosting games.

• Bulgaria

You can watch NBA action on Diema Sport in Bulgaria.

• Croatia & Slovenia

Sport Klub and Prime Video have the rights to the NBA here.

• Cyprus

CYTA has the rights in Cyprus,

• Czech Republic & Slovakia

Nova Sport has the rights to show NBA Playoffs 2026 games on television in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

• France

NBA coverage is available via beIN Sports and Amazon Prime Video in France.

• Greece

Cosmote Sport and Prime Video have NBA rights in Greece.

• Hungary

Sport1 will air coverage of the 2025/26 NBA season in Hungary.

• Iceland

You'll need access to Stöð 2 Sport to watch the NBA.

• Ireland

NBA games will be shown on Sky Sports and Amazon Prime Video in Ireland.

• Netherlands

ESPN holds the rights to the NBA in the Netherlands.

• Norway

NBA coverage in Norway is shared between Rex and HBO Max.

• Portugal

Sport TV is the main NBA rights-holder in Portugal, with Prime Video also showing games.

• Romania

Antena Play is set to stream games in Romania.

• Turkey

Turkey's listed NBA broadcasters are S Sport and Prime Video.

Middle East and North Africa

The NBA Playoffs 2026 rights in MENA countries are generally held by beIN Sports. The exception is Israel, where Sport 5 will show the basketball this year.

Asia

• China

Tencent, Migu, CCTV and the Shanghai Media Group are all listed as NBA rights-holders in China.

• Hong Kong

Now Sports and Prime Video are set to show NBA Playoffs 2026 basketball in Hong Kong.

• India

The main NBA broadcaster in India will be Amazon Prime Video this season. Some games will also be shown on the NBA's YouTube channel in India.

• Indonesia

Indonesia's broadcasters are Emtek and Prime Video.

• Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Residents of these Central Asian countries can watch the NBA on Setanta Sports.

• Japan

Japanese NBA fans will need access to Lemino and Prime Video.

• Macau

NBA will show on M Plus in Macau.

• Malaysia

Astro SuperSport has NBA rights in Malaysia.

• Mongolia

Those in Mongolia can watch on Premier Sports Network and Prime Video.

• Philippines

NBA coverage in the Philippines is shared between One Sports, NBA TV Philippines and Prime Video.

• Singapore

Starhub and Prime Video have NBA rights in Singapore.

• South Korea

Coupang Play and Prime Video are showing NBA games in Korea.

• Taiwan

NBA coverage in Taiwan is shared between Videoland, Prime Video and ELTA TV.

• Thailand

AIS Play and Prime Video are the broadcasters here.

• Tajikistan

NBA will be shown on Varzish TV.

• Vietnam

NBA fans in Vietnam can watch live action thanks to FPT.

Oceania

ESPN and Amazon Prime Video are the official NBA broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.

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 MacBook Neo is a fantastic laptop, and a welcome benefit of owning one is that you get to dive headfirst into the world of macOS apps. Apple’s operating system is overflowing with incredible apps, including those made by Apple and a thriving ecosystem of third-party developers.

Here, we’ve rounded up 7 of the best apps that are guaranteed to lift your MacBook Neo to new heights. Install them on your new Mac and you won’t look back.

Microsoft 365

If you’ve ditched Windows and made your first foray into macOS with your MacBook Neo, Microsoft 365 might be familiar to you. It’s the premier toolset for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and more. And despite it being made by Microsoft — Apple’s archrival — the app collection is available on macOS.

Not only that, but Microsoft 365 actually works brilliantly on Apple’s operating system. Microsoft has ensured that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more all slot seamlessly into macOS, so if you’re already familiar with those apps, you’ll feel right at home, even as you find your bearings on macOS.

Fantastical

Staying organized — whether in your work or personal life — can help you keep on top of your daily goings on. While macOS comes with Apple’s Calendar app, it’s somewhat limited in its scope and abilities. Instead, get Fantastical from Flexibits.

This calendar app is the real deal. It’s both smart and easy to use: just type in natural language when creating events and it will add all the relevant details (for instance, create an event called “lunch with Tom tomorrow at 1pm” and it’ll be perfectly added to your calendar). With a clean user interface, support for reminders and to-dos, compatibility with popular platforms like Microsoft 365 and iCloud, and much more, it’s an essential starter app for your new Mac.

A new web browser

Browsing the internet is a core part of any Mac user’s experience, and that’s no different with the MacBook Neo. While macOS comes with Apple’s Safari browser built in, you might want to look around for alternative web browsers.

Google Chrome is a popular choice thanks to its speed and simple interface, and there’s a good chance you’ve used it before on Windows. Personally, I prefer Firefox thanks to its robust privacy policies and large library of extensions. Whatever your choice, installing a new web browser could be a great way to boost your new Mac.

While you’re at it, it’s worth adding a couple of handy browser extensions to your Mac. My top two picks are uBlock Origin and Consent-O-Matic. The former blocks ads on web pages, which not only improves the reading experience but shuts out potentially scammy and dangerous ads too. The latter automatically rejects cookies on the ever-present consent forms that are a nuisance these days, protecting your privacy and saving you clicks in the process.

App Cleaner & Uninstaller

Managing the apps you’ve installed on your Mac can be a pain, especially if you’re new to Apple’s operating system. Thankfully, there’s a reprieve in the form of Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller, which is a one-stop shop for keeping your apps in tip-top condition.

As the name suggests, Nektony’s offering ensures that any uninstalled apps are removed properly by cleaning leftover files that macOS might miss. It also tackles startup programs and extensions, keeping your Mac running smoothly. And although it’s not hinted at in the name, it can also keep your apps up to date, ensuring that patches are downloaded and installed so your Mac stays safe and up to speed with the latest new features.

SoundSource

The MacBook Neo comes with volume buttons on the function row at the top of the keyboard, meaning you can quickly change the volume or mute your Mac with a quick key press. But with a clever app called SoundSource, you can get much more control over the audio on your new laptop.

SoundSource lets you change audio on a per-app basis. You can set different volumes for sound effects and general output or change certain apps to be louder or quieter than others. Output from one app can be routed to your MacBook’s speakers while sound from another can go to your headphones. That kind of control comes as standard with SoundSource, making it a brilliant way to manage Mac audio with ease.

Zoom

Want to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues? Then you need Zoom. This video-calling app cut its teeth during the Covid pandemic and has gone from strength to strength ever since. It’s incredibly easy to set up and use, making it ideal for calling grandma as well as your tech-savvy amigos.

It comes loaded with backgrounds and filters to improve your picture, group calling and conference features for larger meetups, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to transcribe and summarize your calls. Whatever you want to phone someone about on your Mac, it’s a great option.

VLC

Modern video files come in all sorts of formats, and there’s no guarantee that QuickTime, Apple’s bundled video player, will be able to play them. If you’re concerned about that, VLC should be on your Mac.

This free video app works with a huge array of file extensions — if you’ve got a video, chances are VLC can play it. With its straightforward interface, compatibility with multiple operating systems (including macOS, Windows and Linux) and toll-free asking price, there’s a lot to love here.

The MacBook Neo might only have a mobile-class A18 Pro chip on the inside, but it offers far more performance than you’d expect from a $599 laptop. At that price point, it’s incredibly impressive, and is going some way to redefining what we can expect from the best budget laptops in 2026.

Yet that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and there are plenty of tasks that the MacBook Neo struggles with. Still, you don’t have to settle for that — if you want to tune up your Apple laptop and eke more performance out of its chip, you’ve got lots of avenues to explore.

Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best ways you can improve the performance of your MacBook Neo. From freeing up storage space to judiciously adjusting a handful of settings, trying these tips could give you even more bang for your buck than you already get.

1. Manage your storage

It’s a simple fact: the less free space your Mac’s storage drive has, the more sluggish your machine gets. If you’ve found your MacBook Neo has slowed to a crawl, it’s a good idea to check how much storage space you’ve got left by opening the System Settings app and making your way to General > Storage.

If it’s low, there are a few things you can do. The first is to look under the Recommendations section on the Storage page and click Optimize next to Optimize Storage. This will automatically remove things like Apple TV shows you’ve already watched. You can also offload files to iCloud (provided you have enough space), automatically empty the Trash, and more. All of these options cut down on the space used up by files on your Mac.

While you’re doing that, it’s worth shopping around for external storage drives and, once you have one, offloading hefty files onto that. Make sure you get an SSD rather than an HDD (also known as a hard drive), as the speed differences are incredible.

However, there’s one very important point to make here, and that’s on the value of configuring your Mac properly before you buy it. It’s very difficult (if not impossible) to upgrade your Mac’s internal storage, so you should make sure you equip your Mac with enough storage space before you pull the trigger. That way, you don’t need to worry about external SSDs or clearing out space on the regular.

2. Update macOS

Updating your Mac is not just a good way to keep it protected from emerging threats — it also ensures you get the latest speed and performance fixes, too.

Apple makes a big fuss about all the new features it’s been working on when it reveals new macOS versions every year, but an underappreciated aspect of these updates is the way they can speed up your Mac’s performance. Apple regularly tunes its software to ensure it functions optimally, and that’s something you’re missing out on if you stick to older versions.

Before you get started updating your Mac, make sure you’ve backed everything up (perhaps using one of our picks for the best backup software) in case something goes wrong. Then open System Settings and go to General > Software Update, wait for the new version to appear, then click Update Now.

3. Restart your Mac

It can be tempting to forgo shutting down your Mac and simply close its lid when you’re done at the end of the day — indeed, one reason the power button on the Mac mini is so awkward to reach is because Apple knows most people don’t actually shut down their computers. But doing so has notable benefits and can help to improve your Mac’s performance, even if it’s only in a small way.

You see, when you shut down your Mac, macOS clears its memory, deletes unneeded temporary files and caches, restarts demanding processes, and allows some app updates to complete. All of those things benefit your Mac and help to improve its performance by removing elements that could be holding it back. Conversely, the longer you go without shutting down, the worse these problems can get.

If you don’t want to shut down your Mac for a prolonged period of time, even a simple restart will help. That allows all the processes above to work in the same way as shutting down.

There’s also the added bonus that shutting down your Mac means it’s not drawing on your battery. This can have performance benefits of its own, as Apple starts to automatically cut back on performance when your laptop is running out of juice.

4. App improvements

Generally speaking, macOS is an efficient operating system that’s pretty good at managing apps and preventing them from getting out of control. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to write off app-related problems altogether.

One way you can keep a leash on things is by regularly quitting apps you’re not using. We don’t just mean closing the main app window, as the app itself is still running when you do this. Instead, press Command + Q or click the app’s name in the menu bar, then click Quit, which closes the app entirely. By only having in-use apps open, you reduce the strain on your Mac’s resources.

Aside from that, you can make a concerted effort to use more efficient apps. Google Chrome, for example, might be one of the best web browsers, but it’s also notorious for hogging your Mac’s memory and battery life. Switch to an alternative browser, and you will likely feel the performance benefits right away.

5. Use the correct USB port

This might sound like an odd one — after all, the two USB-C ports on the MacBook Neo look identical. Why would there be any difference between them?

Well, in an effort to cut costs, Apple has used a cheaper, slower option for one of the ports. The USB-C slot closest to the trackpad runs at USB 2 speeds, which top out at 480 Mbps. The port closest to the MacBook’s hinge, meanwhile, is USB 3.0, which means it can hit speeds of up to 5Gbps. That’s a big difference.

If you’ve got anything plugged in that relies on fast transfer speeds — one of the external SSDs we mentioned earlier, for instance — you’ll definitely notice something is wrong if you’ve got it plugged in to the front USB-C port. Switch it to the back one, and its performance will increase substantially.

6. Login and background items

Every time you start up your Mac, a plethora of apps and processes fire up alongside macOS itself. These run the gamut from apps you’ve installed to automatic updaters and everything in between. Accumulate too many and your MacBook Neo will feel the strain.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to fix this. Open the System Settings app and navigate to General > Login Items & Extensions. Under the Open at Login header, you’ll see everything that gets going once you’ve logged in to macOS. If you see something you don’t need anymore, click the minus button (-) at the bottom of the list.

Below this is a section titled App Background Activity. This governs which apps are allowed to launch background processes (such as checking for updates or syncing files to the cloud). Like login items, background activity can gobble up a lot of your Mac’s resources. As before, check through the list and disable anything you don’t need using the toggles on the right-hand side.

There’s also an Extensions section at the bottom of the window. This concerns extra functionality added by apps, and these sometimes run in the background. The impact of disabling these is likely to be minimal, but it’s worth having a look just in case. Click the i button next to each entry to see the relevant extensions and disable them if needed.

And if an app has started misbehaving, or if you’ve noticed macOS slow down for no discernible reason, try opening the Activity Monitor app (you can find it by pressing Command + Space and typing its name into the Spotlight search bar). Activity Monitor lists all open apps and processes and shows how much of your Mac’s resources they’re using, including memory, storage, CPU, and more.

On the CPU tab, for example, you can sort items by CPU usage, then close anything that’s out of control. Be careful here, though, and only close things if you know exactly what they are. Otherwise, you could risk causing an error in macOS.

7. Adjust visual settings

The macOS operating system isn’t overly flashy, but it does rely on a few visual effects (especially with the arrival of the Liquid Glass redesign in macOS 26). While there’s nothing overly taxing, you might want to rein some things in a bit to help your Mac run a little smoother.

One option is to cut down on motion and transparency effects. First, open System Settings and head to Accessibility > Display. There, enable the toggle next to Reduce transparency. This makes operating system elements — like menus and the Dock — opaquer, thereby reducing the load on your Mac’s graphics processor.

Now go back to Accessibility and click Motion, then enable the toggle by Reduce motion. As the name implies, this uses simpler animations and cuts out some motion altogether, such as when you open and close the Notification Center. Not only can this help you with motion sickness, but it also lessens the impact on your Mac’s chip, freeing up resources and helping to improve its output.

Bonus: third-party tools

While all the above tips have focused on what you can do with your Mac itself, you can also level it up with a few third-party accessories. An external SSD is one we’ve already mentioned, and you shouldn’t underestimate how it can help with storage constraints.

Elsewhere, you might want to invest in a laptop cooling pad or similar solution if you’re frequently running things that get your MacBook Neo hot and bothered. Since this laptop doesn’t come with a fan, certain demanding tasks can cause it to overheat, which in turn leads to throttled performance. Granted, most people with a MacBook Neo aren’t likely to be crunching enormous datasets with their laptop, but you might find that keeping it cool leads to better performance from time to time.

Although it’s an extreme example, one YouTuber hooked up a custom water cooling rig to their MacBook Neo and claimed to have doubled its performance.

We’re not suggesting you try anything like that, but it shows what’s possible with a well-cooled machine. A much simpler cooling pad or fan could therefore be a worthwhile investment.

Choosing the right website template isn't about finding the perfect design. It's about finding the right starting point. With millions of websites competing for attention online, you need a foundation that reflects your brand while giving you room to make it truly yours. The question isn't whether templates still work, but rather how to pick one that won't force you to rebuild everything from scratch when you need to align it with your brand identity.

This guide shows you exactly what to look for when selecting a template. We'll walk you through which elements are easiest to customize, where you should focus your attention, and what alternatives exist if templates aren't the right fit for your project.

Are templates still a good idea in 2026?

Template-based websites now face stiffer competition than ever before. Every day, thousands of new sites launch with sophisticated designs, AI-generated layouts, and custom experiences that make generic templates look outdated. With design trends in 2026 emphasizing glassmorphism, motion narratives, and immersive 3D environments, you might wonder if starting with a pre-made template will make your site look bland and forgettable.

The reality is more nuanced than that. Templates today serve as starting points rather than finished products. Platforms like Wix and Squarespace offer feature-rich editors that let you customize virtually every element — layout, imagery, fonts, colors, spacing, animations, and interactive components. Wix provides over 2,700 templates with pixel-level control through its Studio tools, while Squarespace's Fluid Engine delivers grid-based flexibility within its 195 professionally designed templates.

Using templates as-is is no longer viable for serious online businesses. However, they remain valuable frameworks that save you from building page structures, navigation systems, and responsive breakpoints from scratch. The key is selecting a template that requires minimal structural changes to match your brand identity, then customizing it thoroughly to make it distinctly yours.

How to pick a template that aligns with your brand identity?

Not all template elements are created equal when it comes to customization. Some aspects are remarkably easy to change, while others require significant technical work or complete rebuilding. Your goal is to find a template where the hardest-to-change elements already match your brand, minimizing the structural work needed.

Focus on templates where the underlying structure, page hierarchy, and layout complexity align with your needs. Changing colors, fonts, and images is straightforward on modern platforms. Repositioning entire sections, altering navigation patterns, or modifying content flow takes considerably more effort. When evaluating templates, prioritize these factors:

• Layout complexity: Choose templates with section arrangements that match your content hierarchy. Simplifying a complex template is easier than adding structure to a minimal one.
• Navigation structure: Verify that the menu organization and page depth align with your site architecture before committing.
• Content blocks: Look for templates with content sections (hero, features, testimonials, galleries) that mirror what you need.
• Responsive behavior: Check how the template adapts across devices, as restructuring mobile layouts requires advanced customization.
• Interactive elements: Evaluate whether animations, transitions, and interactive components match your brand's personality.
• Integration requirements: Ensure the template supports essential features like ecommerce, booking systems, or membership areas if needed.

What if I don't want to use a template for my website?

Several alternatives exist between using templates and coding everything from scratch. AI website builders have become sophisticated enough to serve as legitimate starting points, with platforms like Wix Harmony and Squarespace Blueprint creating custom designs based on conversational inputs. Wix Harmony, launched in January 2026, combines natural language prompting with traditional drag-and-drop editing, letting you describe what you want and then refine the AI-generated result.

Visual editors offer another approach if you prefer building from blank canvases. Platforms like WordPress with Elementor let you drag and drop pre-made components—headers, galleries, forms, testimonials—without touching code. Elementor's template library contains hundreds of blocks you can assemble into custom layouts, giving you more control than starting from complete page templates while still providing structured components to work with.

Advanced vibe coding platforms represent the newest option for those comfortable with technical concepts but unwilling to code manually. Tools like Hostinger Horizons, Lovable, and Bolt let you generate functional websites through text prompts, then iterate through conversation. These platforms output real code you can export and host anywhere, avoiding vendor lock-in while eliminating the need to write HTML, CSS, or JavaScript yourself. They're particularly useful for prototyping or building simple web applications that extend beyond traditional website capabilities.

AI website builders are everywhere. They promise professional results in minutes, but most outputs look generic, templated, and unmistakably ‘AI-generated.’ It’s enough to make you doubt if these tools are even worth it, but it’s not always the platform that’s at fault.

If you’re stuck trying to figure out how to get high-end design outputs from your AI website generator, it might be because of generic instructions that don’t offer enough insight into what you’re looking for.

You need to feed your AI website builder with rich context and specific direction. This guide shows you exactly how to find premium design inspiration, translate it into effective prompts, and access resources that elevate your websites from amateur to agency-quality with AI.

Where to look for high-end web design inspiration?

Before you write a single prompt, you need to train your eye on what exceptional design actually looks like. Professional designers don't create in a vacuum; they study award-winning work and industry trends constantly.

Awwwards showcases the web's most innovative designs, with jury-selected winners judged by industry experts. Unlike platforms like Dribbble or Behance that showcase UI snippets and conceptual work, Awwwards focuses almost exclusively on complete, live, and functional websites with detailed technical breakdowns and performance considerations. When you're studying sites for AI prompts, pay attention to layout hierarchy, spacing, typography choices, and how elements flow together.

Dribbble and Behance offer thousands of design shots from creative professionals worldwide. These platforms are great at showcasing individual design elements — color palettes, button styles, navigation patterns, and micro-interactions. You can filter by categories like "Web Design" or "UI/UX" to zero in on relevant examples. While these won't give you complete website blueprints, they're invaluable for understanding component-level details that make designs feel polished.

For landing page-specific inspiration, Lapa.Ninja curates over 7,300 landing page designs with full website screenshots and video recordings, updated daily from some of the best designs on the web. The platform organizes examples by industry and includes filtering tools that let you quickly find designs matching your project type. This is very useful when prompting AI builders, since you can reference specific layout patterns and content structures.

Taking your design knowledge further, platforms like Flux Academy and Designlab offer structured courses that teach timeless design principles, visual hierarchy, and responsive design. They teach you about web design challenges and fundamentals like blank canvas syndrome, visual style development, and design trends. Understanding these principles helps you craft prompts that request specific design solutions rather than vague aesthetic preferences.

How to prompt AI website generators for high-end designs?

AI website builders work by converting your natural language descriptions into visual layouts and code. The quality gap between basic and premium outputs comes down to how much context and specificity you provide.

According to IBM research on prompt engineering, the quality of your input directly determines the quality of AI output, with specific prompts reducing iteration cycles by 40-60%. This means detailed, well-structured prompts save you time and produce better results from the first generation.

The most effective prompts include five key elements: purpose, target users, required features, visual design preferences, and any data or integration needs. Instead of "create a professional website for my business," try: "Build a SaaS landing page for project management software targeting remote teams. Include hero section with product demo video, three-column feature breakdown, testimonials carousel, pricing table with monthly/annual toggle, and newsletter signup. Use clean, modern design with plenty of white space, sans-serif typography, and a blue/white color scheme inspired by Basecamp."

Most people will open an AI website builder and type in a prompt like "make me a good-looking website," which results in your website looking like every other AI-generated site. To combat this, you need to build your site piece by piece and give it as much context as you can. Never use a one-shot prompt for a tool to create a full landing page or website from scratch.

Your choice of AI website builder also matters. Tools like Framer generate sites that look like a designer built them with AI that understands visual hierarchy, spacing, and modern aesthetics in a way that other builders don't match. Meanwhile, platforms like Wix and Squarespace are better suited for people who are new to AI website design. Test different platforms to see which responds best to your prompting style.

Don't expect perfection on the first try. The most successful AI builders work iteratively rather than trying to specify everything upfront, beginning with the essential purpose and 2-3 must-have features to get the foundation right first. Once you have a solid base, refine through follow-up prompts that adjust spacing, swap color schemes, or reorganize sections.

Resources for high-end AI design prompts

Several specialized tools and libraries can accelerate your prompt crafting and help you achieve professional results faster.

Prompt libraries offer pre-written templates you can customize for your needs. God of Prompt provides over 30,000 AI prompts for ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney, and Claude across categories, including marketing, business, and copywriting. While not exclusively focused on web design, these libraries teach effective prompt structure and phrasing that translates to better website builder results.

For visual AI prompts specifically, PromptHero specializes in image generation prompts for Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. The platform is fantastic for visual inspiration, allowing you to browse stunning AI-generated images and see exactly what prompts created them, which is incredibly valuable for understanding how to structure image prompts. You can adapt these techniques when requesting specific visual elements in your website designs.

Figma's AI tools and design resources help you understand professional design workflows. The platform includes AI image editing features built for designers, marketers, and product teams who want to experiment and iterate faster, with tools to generate images from text prompts, apply smart fills to frames, or remove and replace background elements. Studying how professional designers use these tools informs better prompting strategies.

When browsing these resources, focus on prompts that specify concrete details over vague requests. Good prompts use descriptive language about layout ("three-column grid with prominent hero section"), typography ("bold sans-serif headings with regular body text"), colors (specific hex codes or brand references), and spacing ("generous whitespace between sections"). Save examples that work well and build your own prompt library over time.

The combination of studying high-end design inspiration, crafting detailed iterative prompts, and leveraging specialized resources transforms AI website builders from template generators into powerful design tools. You won't replicate the custom strategic guidance a five-figure agency provides, but you'll produce websites that look professional, polished, and distinctly better than the generic AI masses.

You've picked a website template, but now it looks like a hundred other sites. That's the problem with templates. They're convenient, but they feel generic right out of the box.

You want something that represents your brand. Not a cookie-cutter design that screams "I used template #47." The good news? Templates are starting points, not final destinations. With the right approach, you can transform any template into a custom-looking site. We'll show you exactly how.

Should you use a template for your new website?

Templates are excellent for most businesses, especially when time or budget is tight. They give you a professional foundation without the $15,000 price tag of custom development. That's a significant advantage for startups and small businesses.

You can absolutely start with a template and create something unique. But here's the catch: customization freedom varies dramatically between platforms.

WordPress.org themes come with predetermined options that limit what you can change. Unless you’re prepared to modify the code manually, some things just aren’t possible with the visual editor. Moreover, some settings also won't carry over if you switch themes later.

Squarespace works differently. With Version 7.1, you get full customization freedom through the built-in editor and Fluid Engine. All templates are mobile-responsive and SEO-ready right out of the box. You can customize colors, fonts, and layouts on any template without restrictions.

Wix offers similar flexibility through its Site Design panel, though you'll need to create a new site if you want to switch templates completely. In 2026, most platforms have realized that rigid templates don't cut it anymore. The best builders give you flexibility while maintaining a solid starting structure.

Beyond templates, you have other options. AI website generators can create designs from scratch based on your inputs. Tools like Squarespace's Blueprint AI Builder let you build your own template with full customization. Or you can design from scratch using built-in components, though this demands more time and technical skill.

How to customize a website template: 5 tips

Let's dig into the specific ways you can make a template your own. These strategies work across most modern website builders, though the exact tools vary by platform.

The key? Approach customization strategically rather than randomly tweaking things. Think about your brand identity, your audience, and what makes your business different. Then customize with purpose.

1. Customize your color palette and typography

Your color scheme and fonts signal whether a site feels generic or custom. Don't settle for the defaults that shipped with your template.

Start by defining your brand colors if you haven't already. Pick 2-3 primary colors and 1-2 accent colors that work together. Most platforms offer centralized styling panels where you can apply these across your entire site.

In Squarespace 7.1, you can customize fonts, colors, spacing, and more through the Site Styles panel. Wix works similarly with a Site Design panel to change your entire site's color and text theme in one place. The goal is consistency, not variety.

When selecting fonts, pair a distinctive heading font with a readable body font. Limit yourself to 2-3 font families maximum. More than that creates visual chaos instead of a cohesive brand experience.

2. Restructure layouts and page organization

The default layout might not match how you want to present content. Modern builders let you rearrange sections, adjust spacing, and create custom page structures.

Squarespace's Fluid Engine gives you full creative control. You can drag sections around, change column structures, and completely reimagine your homepage without losing existing content. Don't feel constrained by how the template looked in the demo.

Wix offers similar flexibility through its section copying feature. Select Paste & Apply Site Theme when moving content, and your sections automatically match the new template's fonts and colors. This saves hours of manual reformatting. Webflow templates are perhaps some of the most customizable, with Global Styling options for sweeping aesthetic changes and Webflow Designer for granular alterations.

Experiment with different arrangements to find what works for your content. Your services might work better as a grid instead of a list. Your testimonials could shine in a carousel rather than stacked blocks.

3. Add and customize components for your needs

Templates include standard components, but you'll need to add, remove, or modify elements to match your specific requirements. Look for opportunities to personalize beyond the basics.

Each platform provides different components you can add — contact forms, testimonial sections, image galleries, and pricing tables. Wix's Electronics Store template includes strong options for building attractive CTAs. Squarespace offers 100 templates across 19 categories, each with customizable components from color palettes to page layouts.

Consider what your visitors actually need to see. Remove irrelevant sections rather than keeping them because they came with the template. If you don't offer consultations, why keep that booking widget?

Add custom elements that showcase your unique value. This might include case study layouts, service comparison charts, or specialized portfolio grids. Make each component earn its place on your site.

4. Integrate your brand identity throughout

Generic templates lack personality because they don't reflect any particular brand. Your job? Inject your brand's visual identity and voice into every corner of the site.

This goes beyond just slapping your logo in the header. Think about imagery style: do you use photography or illustrations? What mood should your visuals convey? Consistency across all visual elements creates that custom feel people notice.

Replace every stock photo with branded imagery. Ensure your copy reflects your unique voice, not generic placeholder text. Even small details matter. Icon styles, button shapes, and background patterns all contribute to brand recognition.

5. Test and refine across all devices

A template might look perfect on your desktop but terrible on mobile. Customization isn't complete until you've verified the experience across different screen sizes.

50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. That makes responsive design essential, not optional. Don't assume your changes automatically look good everywhere.

Most platforms offer preview modes for tablets and phones. Use them. Check that text remains readable, images scale properly, and navigation works smoothly on smaller screens.

Make device-specific adjustments when needed. Mobile might require tighter spacing, larger tap targets, or simplified navigation. Desktop can support more complex layouts and hover effects that won't work on touch screens.

Your website doesn't have to be generic

Templates get a bad reputation for creating cookie-cutter websites. But that's only true if you treat them as finished products. The difference between a template-looking site and a custom one comes down to how much effort you invest in thoughtful customization.

Focus on what matters most: colors that reflect your brand, layouts that guide visitors naturally, and content that speaks in your voice. Modern website builders offer lots of customization freedom, so there's really no excuse for a generic-looking site. Put in the work, and your template-based design can stand alongside sites that sometimes cost five figures to build.

• Stream the 2026 March Madness final FREE on DAZN (UK)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 75%)
• UConn vs Michigan: Mon, Apr 6, 8.50pm ET / 1.50am BST (Tue) / 11.50am AEDT (Tue)

Serial winners UConn face March Madness' standout team Michigan tonight in a National Championship game fit for the occasion. Not only is it a fascinating matchup, but with Huskies guard Solo Ball and Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg dealing with foot and ankle sprains respectively, Dan Hurley and Dusty May each need a Plan B.

The programs have seven National Championships between them, with UConn accounting for six of them. Having gone back-to-back in 2023 and 2024 – before running into eventual winners Florida early in last year's tournament – they're chasing sporting immortality. By contrast, the Wolverines last reached the March Madness final in 2018, but haven't won it since 1989.

They've swatted aside their opponents with ease, making history as the first team ever to win at least five March Madness ties by double-digits while pouring in at least 90 points per game, and Aday Mara is coming off a superb 26-point showing in the 91-73 beatdown of Arizona at the weekend.

The Huskies have had a tougher time of things, as demonstrated by their 19-point deficit to Duke at the Elite Eight stage, which means they should be hardened for battle. Before Tarris Reed Jr., who started out at Michigan, only two other players had ever racked up 100 points and 60 rebounds before the National Championship game.

The individual battles between Silas Demary Jr. and Lendeborg, Alex Karaban and Morez Johnson, and Reed and Mara will be fascinating, but the key to victory appears to lie in a bigger-picture tactical battle. Michigan's furious pace of play has left its opponents in a tailspin, but on the rare occasion they've been forced to play slow, they've struggled.

UConn are masters of game management, and they'll need to use all of their tricks at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Read on for our guide on where to watch UConn vs Michigan live streams online, on TV and potentially for free wherever you are.

How to watch UConn vs Michigan using a VPN

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 a 74% discount.

How to watch March Madness final live streams in the US

The March Madness final is being shown on TBS, TNT and TruTV in the US. Sling TV is our preferred cord-cutter for this one.

Alternatively, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV each carry all three channels and let new customers take advantage of a free trial.

HBO Max prices start at $18.49 for the standard plan, which carries live sport on TBS, TNT and TruTV.

Eligible cable and cord-cutting customers can also live stream UConn vs Michigan via the March Madness Live app, available on a multitude of platforms.

How to watch March Madness final live streams in Canada

In Canada, the March Madness final is being shown on TSN.

You can also live stream the National Championship game via TSN+, which costs CA$8 per month or CA$80 per year.

If you're already a subscriber but you're outside Canada right now, download a VPN to watch UConn vs Michigan as if you were back at home.

How to watch March Madness final live streams in the UK

In the UK, the March Madness final is free-to-air on DAZN. All you need to do is register an account.

Outside the UK? You’ll need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to tap into your free UConn vs Michigan stream from abroad.

How to watch March Madness final live streams in Australia

College basketball fans can watch the March Madness final on Disney+, which is live streaming ESPN's coverage of the game.

UConn vs Michigan is also available to watch on ESPN via Foxtel, which itself can be live streamed through Foxtel Now.

That means you can also stream the March Madness final through Kayo Sports – from about $30 AUD a month after a 7-day free trial or introductory offer.

Not in Australia? Use NordVPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual college basketball coverage from anywhere.

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.

• Stream every March Madness Sweet Final Four game FREE on DAZN (UK)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save 75%)
• Final Four: Saturday, April 4 – Sunday, April 5

From 68 schools, we are down to the final four. Michigan, Arizona, UConn and Illinois have all come through numerous tests and are now just two wins away from a national championship. In the first of the two games, the UConn Huskies take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in what should be a tight contest.

Illinois may be the lowest-ranked team but they have a highly functional roster that is particularly strong offensively. Meanwhile, Uconn have shown a remarkable fighting spirit to reach this stage, having trailed Duke by as many as 19 points in the Elite Eight before rallying to a one-point victory.

The second match-up looks equally hard to call as it features two No. 1 seeds. The Michigan Wolverines have looked the most complete and have a superstar in the ranks, with Yaxel Lendeborg emerging as one of the standout players of the tournament. However, the Arizona Wildcats are equally well-balanced and have some potential NBA prospects of their own in Motiejus Krivas, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.

Here's where to stream March Madness Final Four 2026 live online and watch college basketball from anywhere, including details of where you can watch every game for free.

How to watch the March Madness Final Four using a VPN

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 a 75% discount and an extra three months for free.

How to watch March Madness Final Four in the US

The Final Four games will be shown exclusively on TBS.

The Sling TV Orange plan carries TBS, with prices starting from as low as $4.99 per day, $9.99 for three days, $14.99 per week or $45.99 per month.

Alternatively, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV each carry TBS and let new customers take advantage of a free trial.

Eligible cable and cord-cutting customers can also live stream the action via the March Madness Live app, available on a multitude of platforms.

How to watch March Madness Final Four in Canada

In Canada, the two Final Four games are being shown on TSN.

You can also live stream them via TSN+, which costs CA$8 per month or CA$80 per year.

If you're already a subscriber but you're outside Canada right now, download a VPN to watch March Madness Final Four as if you were back at home.

How to watch March Madness Final Four in the UK

In the UK, the Final Four games are free-to-air on DAZN.

All you need to do is register an account.

Outside the UK? You’ll need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to tap into your free March Madness streams from abroad.

How to watch March Madness Final Four in Australia

College basketball fans can watch the Final Four on Disney+, which is live streaming ESPN's March Madness coverage.

Both games are also available to watch on ESPN via Foxtel, which itself can be live streamed through Foxtel Now.

That means you can also stream the Final Four games through Kayo Sports – from about $30 AUD a month after a 7-day free trial or introductory offer.

Not in Australia? Use NordVPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual college basketball coverage from anywhere.

March Madness Final Four schedule

Saturday, April 4
UConn vs. Illinois, 6:09 p.m. ET

Sunday, April 5
Michigan vs. Arizona, 8:49 p.m. ET

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 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have been cancelled following the troubling situation in the Middle East. This means there will be no Formula One action throughout April, with the paddock set to return in the first week of May for the Miami Grand Prix.

But while the Mercedes vs Ferrari vs McLaren battle – and the drivers’ fight against the new regulations – takes a backseat this month, there’s still plenty of sporting action around the world to keep you entertained, from cricket to tennis to golf, and of course, football.

Below, we’ve picked the top five sporting events to watch in April from anywhere in the world while you wait for F1 action to resume. And, if you're still working out your F1 live stream options, we have some hot tips on those, too.

• See more: F1 2026 season streaming guide

Use a VPN to watch any stream

This is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, thereby letting you unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with a 70% discount.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple:

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

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 'United Kingdom' server from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual local streaming service and watch F1 2026 live streams.

The Masters (April 9-12) — Golf

The Masters Tournament 2026 at the Augusta National Golf Club will be played from April 9 to April 12, and will see defending champion Rory McIlroy compete against world number one Scottie Scheffler, along with Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, and Xander Schauffele.

This 7,768-yard, par-72 course in Augusta is one of the most famous in the world. It’s renowned not only for its beauty but also its dramatic elevation changes. After all, it was built on a former plant nursery, which is also why its holes are named after local plants.

Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win the title, thanks to his dominant 2025 season and excellent record at Augusta. McIlroy, meanwhile, is flying high after completing his career Grand Slam in 2025 – he’s also currently world number two.

You can stream all the action free in the US thanks to Masters.com and via the official Masters app (iOS/Android).

Outside the US next week? Use NordVPN to unlock your free streams of all the action.

Indian Premier League (March 28-May 31) — Cricket

The IPL is a two-month-long bonanza for cricket fans, who get to see the best of Indian and global talent compete in a 10-team format, featuring the “impact player” rule that allows teams to use up to 12 players in a match – something not typically associated with cricket.

The 2026 IPL marks the tournament’s 19th edition and will, for the first time, see the hyper-popular Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) enter as defending champions. They won last year after a close final against Punjab Kings, who will feel hard done after a terrific campaign. Punjab Kings, along with Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, are the only three teams yet to win a title.

One of the biggest storylines this season, as every year, will be how Indian superstars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni perform. Kohli and Sharma have already made blistering starts, while Dhoni has been ruled out for a few weeks due to a calf injury.

The best part about the IPL is its non-stop entertainment, with at least one match every day, and two on certain weekends, delivering continuous action throughout April.

You can stream the action on Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV via Sling (US) and JioHotstar (India).

Monte-Carlo Masters (April 5-12) — Tennis

As has been the case on the men’s tennis tour over the last 2-3 years, the Monte Carlo Masters 2026 will likely see reigning world number one Carlos Alcaraz and his arch-nemesis Jannik Sinner go head-to-head. Sinner has been in terrific form, winning the Sunshine Double – Indian Wells and the Miami Open – without dropping a single set.

However, Sinner’s recent excellence has come on hard courts, while the Monte Carlo Masters is played on clay, often serving as an early warm-up for the French Open later this year. The ATP-1000 tournament will be held at the Monte Carlo Country Club, with the main draw starting on Friday, March 4, and the draw expected to be announced a couple of days prior.

Unfortunately, this year’s tournament has seen a number of withdrawals, most notably Novak Djokovic, USA number one Taylor Fritz, and Great Britain’s Jack Draper. Still, there will be plenty of action to look forward to, especially with Cameron Norrie in the mix, while veterans Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka have been granted wild cards.

Can Alcaraz defend his title, or will Sinner finally overcome last year’s clay-court struggles?

Man City vs Arsenal (April 19) — Football

We’re getting to the business end of the Premier League 2025/26 season, with Manchester City set to host Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on April 19. Arsenal currently lead the table with 70 points – a solid nine-point advantage over City, who sit second.

However, the Citizens have played one game fewer than the Gunners, giving them a real chance to close the gap. That makes this fixture all the more crucial. A win for Arsenal could take them closer to a fourth Premier League title.

Standing in their way are Pep Guardiola’s men, who have won the league four times in the last five seasons. While City will rely on the dependable services of Erling Haaland and Rodri, Arsenal will hope Viktor Gyokeres continues to find the net.

The two teams met recently at the Carabao Cup 2025-26 final, which saw the Citizens grab the title after an emphatic 2-0 victory over Mikel Arteta’s side. Will City show their pedigree in a big Premier League match, or will Arsenal hold their nerve to continue their dominance?

Stream the match on Sky Sports (UK), USA Network via YouTube TV (5-day free trial, US) and Stan Sport (Australia).

Champions League Quarter-Finals (April 7-8, 14-15) — Football

The UEFA Champions League 2025-26 season is heating up, with the quarter-finals set to kick off in April. Only eight teams remain, each eyeing the coveted silverware.

While Real Madrid, with 15 titles (the last coming in 2024), will take on Bayern Munich, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will face Liverpool, who last won the competition in 2019.

Fan-favorite and seasoned campaigners Barcelona will meet Atletico Madrid, who are still chasing their maiden title. Meanwhile, Arsenal, current Premier League table-toppers, will look to end their Champions League drought by defeating Sporting CP and booking a place in the semis.

The best part about the Champions League? You can stream it free on Virgin Media Play and RTE Player in Ireland, Tapmad in Pakistan also offer free streams.

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.

• Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026: Wednesday, April 1
• FREE streams: VRT Max, RTBF Auvio (Belgium); NOS (The Netherlands)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere – 70% off today

With no Mathieu van der Poel or Tadej Pogačar, can Wout van Aert or Mads Pedersen get a much needed moral boosting win four days before the Tour of Flanders?

The race leaves Stationsplein in Roeselare at around 10.55am BST and is due to arrive on the Verbindingsweg in Waregem at around 4:05pm BST. UK TV coverage is set to start at 12:45pm BST.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 live stream from anywhere, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen for FREE

Cycling fans in Belgium and the Netherlands will get to watch the Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 live stream for FREE. Here's where:

• VRT Max — Belgium
• RTBF Auvio — Belgium
• NOS — The Netherlands

If you're a resident of Belgium or The Netherlands and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. You’ll find more details below.

Use a VPN to watch any Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 live stream

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favourite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself.

The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes will set you back US$155.88 for the year or US$39.99 on a monthly basis.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen live streams in the UK

UK cycling coverage on TNT Sports has moved from Discovery+ to the HBO Max platform. There are various pricing options including a £30.99 standard monthly fee or a £25.99 "saver plan" for a 12-month term.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen live streams in Canada

Cycling fans in Canada can watch the 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen on FloBikes. A subscription will set you back CAN$203.88 for the year or CAN$39.99 on a monthly basis.

Not at home? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device think you're still in Canada.

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 - Preview

The penultimate race of the Flemish 'Holy Week' pits the peloton once more against the famous cobbled roads of Belgium over 185 kilometres from Roeselare to Waregem.

Taking in 12 climbs and 7 cobblestone sections including the famous Hellestraat, Mariaborrestraat, Côte de Trieu, Nokereberg and Eikenberg it's a brutal course as always. With the final climb just 9 kilometers from the finish the action will go right down to the wire and only the very strongest will survive to contest for the win.

The start list is a heady mix of cobbled classic specialists like Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen and Tobias Lund Andresen to out and out sprinters like Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen or Biniam Girmay who will be hoping their teams can control the race and keep it all together. Although Team Visma | Lease a Bike will be betting on van Aert to shine, if he doesn't then they have an ace up their sleeve in the shape of young British sensation Matthew Brennan, already the winner of this year's Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne.

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.

You’ve just got a shiny new MacBook Neo and you’re keen to see what it can do. But before you go racing off to browse the internet or play some games, there are a few things it’s worth doing first.

Here, we’ll show you 7 of the best changes you can make to your Mac, from strengthening your privacy to customizing it to your liking. These quick fixes and adjustments will make all the difference to your macOS experience, and these tips are great for anyone new to macOS, no matter what Mac or MacBook you have.

Secure your Mac

The last thing you want to happen to your new Mac is for it to be compromised. Luckily, privacy and security are two of Apple’s core strengths, and macOS is well equipped to keep your digital life safe and sound.

First, you’ll want to enable automatic updates to ensure your Mac always has the latest security patches and new features. To do so, open the System Settings app and head to General > Software Update in the left-hand sidebar. From there, click the i button next to Automatic Updates and switch all the toggles on.

While the entry-level MacBook Neo lacks Touch ID, the more expensive model comes with Apple’s fingerprint recognition system. To register your fingerprint with macOS, go to the Touch ID & Password section of the System Settings app and click Add Fingerprint, then follow the instructions.

If your MacBook Neo model doesn’t have Touch ID, you can still protect your login details with Apple’s Passwords app. This is the free, built-in password manager that comes with macOS, and you’ll find it in your Mac’s Applications folder that’s accessed using the Finder. Just open it up and follow the on-screen instructions. Make sure you click Passwords > Get Browser Extension in the app’s menu bar to install it in your favorite web browser. That way, you can save and fill passwords on the web without needing to leave your browser.

It’s also a good idea to turn on FileVault. This encrypts your files so that even if you lose your laptop, no one else can access your private documents and information. To set it up, open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security > FileVault in the sidebar, then enable the toggle to start protecting your files. Just make sure you make a note of your Mac’s password so you don’t get locked out. Your Recovery Key is also synced to every Apple device you own with iCloud Keychain enabled.

All about apps

While iOS is very restrictive about where you get your apps (although that’s beginning to change), Mac users have long been able to install apps from anywhere they like. But in order to do that, you’ve got to change a simple setting first.

Go to the Privacy & Security section of the System Settings app, then scroll to the bottom of the page. Under the Security header, you’ll see ‘Allow applications from.’ Click the pop-up menu and select App Store & Known Developers. This gives you wider access to apps from outside the App Store while maintaining the security of your device.

Once you’ve installed a few new apps, it’s a good idea to change which ones are used to open certain files. After all, you might not always want videos to open using QuickTime, for example. There are a few ways to change your default apps.

Firstly, let’s say you want to change the app that’s used to open JPG images. Right-click a JPG file, click Get Info, then expand the Open with section and pick an app from the pop-up menu. Click Change All to make sure every JPG file opens with this app rather than just the one you selected.

To switch to a different default web browser, open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar, then scroll down to the Widgets section. There, next to ‘Default web browser,’ click the pop-up menu and pick a new app.

Finally, you can change your default email client by opening the Mail app and clicking Mail > Settings in the menu bar. Now click the General tab and choose a new app from the ‘Default email reader’ pop-up menu at the top of the page.

Customize your Dock

The macOS Dock permanently houses all your favorite apps, shows recently opened apps, and has spots for downloaded items and the trash. It’s a pretty powerful tool when you know how to use it.

To rearrange app icons in the Dock, just drag them to a new position. You can add new apps by dragging them onto the Dock and remove apps by dragging them out until the word Remove appears, then letting go.

By default, the Dock shows recent apps on the right-hand side. That can be handy, but can also clutter the Dock. To change this, open System Settings and navigate to Desktop & Dock in the sidebar, then disable the toggle next to ‘Show suggested and recent apps in Dock.’

You can also hide the Dock itself by adjusting the ‘Automatically hide and show the Dock’ toggle. It disappears by default and will reappear if you move your mouse pointer to the bottom of your Mac’s screen.

Finally, Apple’s standard configuration has apps use a ‘Genie’ effect when they’re minimized. This sucks them down into the Dock at an angle, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. If you don’t like it, change Genie Effect to Scale Effect next to ‘Minimized window animation’ in the same System Settings window.

I’ve written about the Dock in more detail, including highlighting some clever tricks to help you get even more out of it. Check that guide out if you want to learn a bit more about this macOS feature.

Set up Time Machine

If anything was to go wrong with your Mac, you don’t want to find out you’ve lost all your files. One way you can prevent that is by using Time Machine to back up your Mac. For this, you’ll need an external storage drive with enough space to hold your Mac’s files.

Now, ensure your drive is connected to your Mac, then open System Settings and go to General > Time Machine > Add Backup Disk. Choose your external drive from the list and click Set Up Disk. Once you’ve followed the on-screen instructions, you should be good to go. Your Mac will now automatically back up as long as your drive is connected.

Make full use of your trackpad

Apple’s MacBook trackpads are some of the best in the business, and even though the MacBook Neo doesn’t use a Force Touch trackpad, its offering is still incredibly well refined. You’ll find a range of intuitive gestures are enabled by default, like pinching your fingers together to open the Applications pane or moving four fingers upwards to show all your open app windows.

But you can unlock extra trackpad gestures that are hidden in your Mac’s settings. The first one can be found in System Settings by scrolling to the bottom of the sidebar and clicking Trackpad. From there, click More Gestures, then click the pop-up menu next to App Exposé and choose a gesture. App Exposé shows all the open windows of just the foremost app – rather than those of all currently open apps – allowing you to quickly flick between them.

The second secret gesture relates to dragging and dropping files. Sometimes, you might find you run out of space on your trackpad when moving a file. But if you go to System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options, you’ll find some handy ways to fix that. At the bottom, enable the toggle next to ‘Use trackpad for dragging,’ then pick one of the options from the pop-up menu. These choices let you do things like let go of the trackpad to reposition your fingers as you move a file, all without dropping it, making the process a lot easier.

Keep your battery going for longer

The better you look after your MacBook Neo’s battery, the longer it’ll serve you. Apple’s laptop batteries are already some of the most effective in the industry, but a few quick tweaks could help you get even more out of them.

The first thing to do is head to System Settings > Battery. Next to Charging, click the i button, then enable Optimized Battery Charging. This learns your daily usage routine and charges at optimal times to prevent overcharging.

Back in the Battery section, scroll to the bottom and click Options, then enable ‘Slightly dim the display on battery’ to make sure your screen isn’t eating into your battery too much while you’re not using a charger.

If you really want to eke as much juice out of your laptop as you can, click the pop-up menu next to Low Power Mode and select a scenario. This disables certain features to prolong your battery as much as possible.

Tune up your display

MacBooks have beautiful displays, and the MacBook Neo is no different. A few little changes here and there, though, can make it even better.

If you tend to use your laptop at night, you know how painful it can be to have your eyes blasted by a bright screen. To put that right, go to System Settings > Displays > Night Shift, then click the pop-up menu next to Schedule. Night Shift automatically changes your screen’s color temperature, which helps ease the strain on your eyes. You can either set up a custom schedule or use Apple’s Sunset to Sunrise option.

Back on the Displays pane, enable the toggle next to ‘Automatically adjust brightness.’ As the name suggests, this detects the brightness of your surroundings, then changes your display to match. It can help ensure your screen is never too bright or too dark for your needs.

OpenClaw is one of the fastest-growing open-source projects in history, and it's easy to see why. Connect it to your messaging apps, give it access to your email and calendar, and you have an AI agent that actually does things around the clock instead of just answering questions. For IT managers, operations leads, and developers exploring automation, that's a compelling pitch.

The catch is that OpenClaw's power comes directly from the permissions you give it. Set it up carelessly, and you're handing an AI agent root access to your machine, your credentials, and potentially your company's data. With the right approach, though, you can explore what it can do without taking on unnecessary risk.

How does OpenClaw work?

OpenClaw is a self-hosted agent runtime that acts as a personal AI assistant running on your own machine. It's a long-running Node.js service that connects chat platforms like WhatsApp and Discord to an AI agent capable of executing real-world tasks. You interact with it through messaging apps you already use, and it acts on your behalf: browsing the web, managing files, running scripts, and calling external APIs.

The agent is model-agnostic. You can connect it to Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, or a locally hosted model using your own API keys. Its capabilities come from "skills," which are extensions that let the agent interact with browsers, file systems, messaging apps, and productivity tools. Some installations ship with over 100 prebuilt skills, and developers can add their own.

The architecture is deliberately simple. Persistent memory is stored as Markdown files on disk, so you can view and edit the agent's notes directly. It also runs on a schedule. It can check your inbox each morning, flag anything urgent, and keep working on longer tasks while you're away.

Is it safe to use OpenClaw?

In its default state, no.

OpenClaw requires access to email accounts, calendars, messaging platforms, and system-level commands, which creates a wide attack surface. A Kaspersky security audit from early 2026 identified 512 vulnerabilities, eight of them critical. Researchers around the same time found nearly a thousand publicly accessible OpenClaw installations running with no authentication at all.

The most persistent risk is prompt injection. Every email, message, and webpage your agent reads is a potential attack vector. A malicious actor can embed instructions inside content the agent processes, tricking it into leaking credentials or executing commands you never authorized. This isn't a fringe concern; it's architecturally baked in, and the project's own creator has acknowledged it as an unsolved problem.

The skills marketplace adds another layer of risk. Bitdefender found that around 20% of ClawHub skills were malicious. Installing a skill is essentially installing privileged code, and unverified skills have been linked to credential theft and data exfiltration. A critical vulnerability from early 2026, CVE-2026-25253, enabled one-click remote code execution via WebSocket token theft, and researchers found over 17,500 internet-exposed instances affected before it was patched.

Even with individual vulnerabilities addressed, the underlying architecture keeps the risk real. Broad permissions, external content ingestion, and a public skills marketplace are features, not bugs, and they require ongoing attention rather than a one-time fix.

Yet none of this puts OpenClaw out of reach. We've seen developers run it securely using isolated environments, scoped credentials, and active monitoring. The way you deploy it is what determines whether experimenting with OpenClaw is a manageable risk or an open door.

How to use OpenClaw safely

Running OpenClaw on your primary laptop with full system access is a very different proposition from running it in a sandboxed container on a dedicated machine with tightly scoped credentials. The deployment choices you make upfront shape almost every other risk factor, so it's worth getting those right before you do anything else.

Choosing a deployment environment

Your first decision is where OpenClaw actually runs. Each option offers a different tradeoff between convenience and isolation.

Dedicated hardware

If you want to experiment on physical hardware, use a spare machine, not your primary laptop or a work device. A dedicated Mac Mini or Raspberry Pi keeps the agent off machines that hold sensitive data and makes it straightforward to wipe and rebuild if something goes wrong.

Docker containers

Docker is a good option for developers who want isolated, reproducible setups. Configure it to run OpenClaw as a non-root user, use a read-only root filesystem, drop all Linux capabilities, and bind the gateway port to 127.0.0.1 so it's only accessible from the host or over an SSH tunnel. Mount only the directories the agent actually needs.

VPS hosting

VPS servers add network isolation that's hard to replicate on a local machine. Hostinger's Docker-based OpenClaw deployment automatically assigns a random port and enables gateway authentication. DigitalOcean offers a similar hardened image that removes two common configuration mistakes. Both are reasonable starting points, but they still need the additional hardening steps below.

Locking down network access

Keep the gateway off the public internet. Bind it to localhost or a private network, use a firewall, and access it remotely over a VPN like Tailscale. OpenClaw's gateway runs on port 18789 by default, and leaving that exposed is one of the most common misconfigurations we've seen documented in the wild.

If you're running OpenClaw in Docker, note that Docker has its own forwarding chains that bypass standard host firewall rules. Route your rules through the DOCKER-USER chain to ensure they apply. On shared networks, also consider disabling mDNS broadcasting: the gateway advertises its presence with TXT records that can expose filesystem paths and hostname details to anyone else on the network.

Credentials and permissions

Never connect OpenClaw to your primary accounts. Create dedicated accounts for any messaging apps or services you link to it, use separate API keys per service, and set spending limits where your provider allows. Store credentials in environment variables rather than plain-text config files, and restrict file permissions so sensitive files are only readable by the OpenClaw process owner.

Apply the same restraint to skills. Only enable what OpenClaw genuinely needs for the task at hand, and review the source code of any ClawHub skill before installing it. Given that roughly one in five skills in the marketplace has been found to be malicious, treating it as untrusted by default is the safer starting position.

Sandbox mode and tool policy

Enable sandbox mode.

Without it, commands execute with far fewer restrictions, which significantly widens what a successful prompt injection could do. If you're using Docker, also disable external network access for sandboxed tasks unless you have a specific reason to allow it.

On top of sandboxing, configure a restrictive tool policy. Block dangerous commands by default, use allowlists rather than denylists where possible, and for anything that touches production systems or sensitive data, require explicit human approval before the agent acts.

Ongoing oversight

Safe deployment isn't a one-time setup. Enable session and action logging from the start, so you have a record of what the agent executes, when, and why. Review logs regularly, particularly in the early stages when you're still getting a feel for what normal behavior looks like.

Keep OpenClaw updated, watch the project's security advisories, and run an OpenClaw security audit after any configuration change or change to your network setup. If the logs show something unexpected, take it seriously. The agent has access to your credentials and files, and catching anomalies early is much easier than investigating after the fact.

• Gent-Wevelgem 2026: Sunday, March 29 at 10am BST / 5am ET
• FREE streams: SBS On Demand (AUS) / Sporza/VRT Max, RTBF (BEL) / NOS (NED)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere - 73% off today

Watch Gent-Wevelgem 2026 live streams as the climbers try escape the sprinters on the cobbles of the Kemmelberg in one-day Belgian Classic now officially called In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem. Or will the race come down to a bunch kick into Wevelgem after 240 tough kilometers across Flanders Fields?

Read on and we'll show you how to watch a 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem live stream from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for FREE.

How to watch 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem for FREE

Cycling fans in Australia, Belgium and The Netherlands will get to watch the In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem 2026 live stream for FREE. Here's where:

• SBS On Demand — Australia
• VRT Max — Belgium
• RTBF Auvio — Belgium
• NOS — The Netherlands

If you're a resident of Australia, Belgium or The Netherlands and you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing the action – all you need to do is download a VPN to re-connect to your home streaming coverage. Details above.

2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem event preview

Recently renamed ‘In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem’, what is effectively the 88th edition of Gent-Wevelgem is the second race of the Flemish Holy Week coming just two days after the opener, the E3 Saxo Bank Classic.

Its name change is reference to the area of Flanders the route crosses and a nod to the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War trenches. The name may have changed but the race is still dominated by the vicious cobbled climb of the Kemmelberg, which the riders must tackle three times, the final ascent coming 35 kilometers from the finish.

There is still no guarantee last year’s winner Mads Pedersen will be on the start line as he recovers from a broken wrist, and even if he has recovered (he lined up in the Milan-Sanremo), will he be in top form? Top form or not he’ll still have a job on his hands to beat Mathieu van der Poel, though, who heads a stellar start list which also includes Wout van Aert, Jonathan Milan, Paul Magnier and the British sensation Matthew Brennan, if he recovers from a recent illness.

Use a VPN to watch 2026 Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke live stream

In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem 2026 is streaming on lots of platforms around the world, but what if you're abroad and don't want to take out a new subscription just to watch the race, or you want your familiar, favourite commentary?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from wherever you find yourself. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

How to watch 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem live streams in the US

Cycling fans in the US can watch the 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes will set you back US$155.88 for the year or US$39.99 on a monthly basis.

If you're out of the US but still want to watch the 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem then don't forget to explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your subscriptions from anywhere.

How to watch 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem live streams in the UK

The Gent-Wevelgem 2026 will be on TNT Sports in the UK, just like many UCI WorldTour races are over the course of the season.

You can still sign up with your regular TV package but, starting March 26, 2026, TNT Sports and its cycling streaming coverage in the UK, moves from discovery+ to the HBO Max app, requiring a subscription with options for a £30.99 standard monthly fee or a £25.99 "saver plan" for a 12-month term.

Those with an existing discovery+ subscription will be moved over automatically.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual service from abroad.

How to watch 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem live streams in Canada

Cycling fans in Canada can watch the 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem on FloBikes.

A subscription will set you back CAN$215.88 for the year or CAN$49.99 on a monthly basis.

Not at home? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to make your device think you're still in Canada.

How to watch 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem live streams in Australia

Australian cycling fans are in luck as they can watch the 2026 In Flanders Fields - from Middelkerke to Wevelgem for FREE via, SBS On Demand .

SBS also has the rights to the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Paris-Roubaix, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Eschborn-Frankfurt and Paris-Tours, as well as many more.

Outside of Australia? Use a VPN to watch coverage of the UCI WorldTour cycling.

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.

Of all the features in macOS, the Finder will feel like one of the most familiar if you’ve recently made the switch from Windows. It’s Apple’s equivalent of Microsoft’s File Explorer, so finding your way around should feel simple and familiar.

Beyond being a basic file organizer, though, the macOS Finder is a surprisingly deep tool, and it can put a lot of power in your hands if you know how to use it. To help with that, we’ve put together this beginner’s guide to give you everything you need to quickly master the Finder on your brand-new Mac.

What is the Finder?

The Finder’s icon – a blue and white smiley face – is one of the most recognizable symbols of macOS. The app is permanently housed in your Dock (the bar of icons that runs along the bottom of your Mac’s screen). To open the Finder, click its icon in the Dock.

When the Finder launches, you’ll see a left-hand sidebar listing common locations (such as your Applications folder, your desktop and your downloads). There’s a toolbar along the top, while the main body of the Finder window displays your files and folders.

The Finder can show items in various different ways. On the right-hand side of the app’s top toolbar is an icon depicting four boxes in a square shape. Click it, then pick either “as Icons,” “as List,” “as Columns” or “as Gallery” to change how files are displayed. When you’re using the List view, you can also sort files by clicking the column headers at the top of the Finder window.

To the right of this square button is an icon for grouping your files (it looks like six squares arranged in two rows). Click this to group items by name, kind, date modified, and more. And if you want files to adhere to a grid in the Icons view, right-click an empty space and select Sort By > Snap to Grid, then right-click again and pick the Clean Up option.

What if you want to sort your files into folders? That’s easy enough. Just right-click an empty area of the Finder window and select New Folder. You can also press the … button in the top toolbar followed by New Folder; click File > New Folder in the Finder menu bar; or press Shift + Command + N on your keyboard. Give the folder a name, then press Return. Rename a folder by clicking it, pressing Return, then entering a new name.

Moving files is as simple as dragging and dropping them into folders. By default, files will be moved, not copied. To copy a file into a folder, click it, press Command + C on your keyboard, then double-click the destination folder and press Command + V.

To move several files at once, drag your mouse pointer over the files or hold Command and click them individually, then either move or copy them in place. If the files are next to each other, you can click the first one, hold Shift, then click the last one to quickly highlight them all.

Items can be viewed and edited in the Finder without opening them – just click the file and a preview pane should open on the right showing the item’s details, including a larger view if it’s an image. If you don’t see the preview pane, click View > Show Preview in the Finder’s menu bar (that’s the bar of control menus that runs along the top of your Mac’s screen).

Alternatively, click the file in the Finder and press the Space bar to open a preview (this feature is called Quick Look). When the preview pane is enabled, click View > Show Preview Options to customize what information is displayed in the preview window.

Dive deeper

Finder has many advanced controls that can speed up your work, of which Smart Folders are particularly handy. Smart Folders automatically add files that meet your set criteria. To create one, click File > New Smart Folder in the Finder menu bar. In the search bar, type a criterion (for example, type “recipe,” then click “Contains ‘recipe’” under the Content header. This will find any files whose contents contain the word “cake”), then click the + button to add further refinements (like the type of file you want to include). When you’re done, click Save.

Tags are a similarly useful way to organize your files in the Finder. Right-click the file you want to tag, then pick one of the colored dots, or click Tags to add your own (for the latter, enter a name and click a color to create the new tag). You can find tagged items by searching for the tag name in the Finder’s search box (in the top-right corner), clicking the tag name in the left-hand sidebar, or by clicking the grouping button in the top toolbar and picking Tags.

Not to be confused with tags, tabs are another helpful Finder feature. They let you keep two separate Finder instances within one window, aiding organization. Just press Command + T or click File > New Tab to add one.

Don’t like how folders look? Their appearance can be changed by selecting one, clicking the … button in the top toolbar, then choosing Customize Folder. Here, you can change the folder’s color and add a symbol or emoji to it for quick identification.

You can even add a photo to a folder’s icon by opening the image in the Preview app, clicking Edit > Copy in the menu bar, then right-clicking the destination folder and selecting Get Info. From here, click the folder icon at the top, then press Edit > Paste from the menu bar. The image should now be displayed over the folder.

We spoke earlier about moving files, but Finder offers a lot of advanced ways to do this. To keep a file in its original location and put a copy somewhere else, for example, click the item, press and hold the Option key, then click and drag the file into a new folder.

To duplicate a file within its parent folder, select it and press Command + D. Or to move an entire folder’s contents somewhere else in one go, move your mouse to the immediate left of the folder’s name in the top toolbar until a folder icon appears, then click and drag this folder wherever you want it to go.

And given how deeply Apple integrates all of its devices, it might not be a surprise to learn that the Finder can be used to sync files from one Apple product to another. When you connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, it’ll appear in the left-hand sidebar of the Finder. Click it to sync items – such as movies or music – onto your device.

How does the Finder compare to Windows 11?

Both the macOS Finder and Windows’ File Explorer have a lot of similarities, which should make it fairly painless to switch between them.

For instance, while Windows has shortcuts, macOS’s Finder has aliases. Despite the different names, they do similar things. An alias (or shortcut) lets you create a virtual copy of a file and place it anywhere you want. Double-click the alias and you’ll open the original file. To create an alias, click the file, then select File > Create Alias from the Finder’s menu bar. You can then move the virtual copy wherever you want.

There are some small differences, though. For one thing, your current folder’s location is at the top of the File Explorer in Windows, whereas it sits at the bottom of the macOS Finder (if you don’t see it, open the Finder and click View > Show Path Bar in the menu bar).

And unlike the File Explorer in Windows, the Finder’s left-hand sidebar does not let you navigate through folders. Instead, the folder view is found in the main Finder pane. You can see the folder structure by using the List view or the Columns view.

How do you customize the Finder?

We’ve already covered a few ways you can customize the Finder to your needs. That includes changing the view, adding custom colors and images to your folders, and more. But those aren’t the only ways you can adjust Apple’s file organizer.

Let’s start with the Finder’s sidebar. To add a folder to the sidebar, just drag and drop it into the Favorites section. Apps and files can be added by holding Command before moving them to Favorites.

You can remove a folder from the sidebar by dragging it out until an X icon appears, then letting go of your mouse pointer. Similarly, sidebar items can be rearranged and reordered using your mouse. For a more comprehensive way to change what’s in the sidebar, click Finder > Settings > Sidebar in the menu bar.

To hide the sidebar entirely, click View > Hide Sidebar in the Finder’s menu bar. To resize it, move your mouse pointer to the sidebar’s right-hand edge until the pointer changes to a left-and-right-arrow icon, then click and drag.

The top toolbar can also be changed as required. You can hide it by clicking View > Hide Toolbar and show hidden items by clicking the >> button (this only appears if your Finder window is too small for the entire toolbar to fit). Rearrange items by holding Command and dragging them around. Like the sidebar, you can add apps and files by holding Command and moving them into place. To add or remove toolbar buttons, click View > Customize Toolbar.

If you want changes you make to one folder to apply to every folder on your Mac by default, click View > Show View Options, make your changes, then click Use as Defaults at the bottom.

And that should be everything you need to get to grips with the macOS Finder. Its beauty lies in its ability to be both simple and deep at the same time, giving you a quick way to manage your files and power tools when you want something a little more advanced. It’s easy to see why it’s become such an iconic part of macOS.

• Stream every March Madness Sweet 16 game FREE on DAZN (UK)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 77%)
• Sweet 16 round: Thursday, March 26 – Friday, March 27

March Madness has found its groove, and just in time for the Sweet 16 round. Florida have become the first No.1 seed to be eliminated, at the hands of No.9 Iowa, while No.11 Texas are still going strong as the sole double-digit seed still standing. The Longhorns, who had to play their way into the 64-team field by navigating the preliminary First Four stage, have set up a regional semi-final encounter with No.2 Purdue.

Overall No.1 Duke bounced back from their awful opening display with a beatdown of TCU to set up a clash with No.5 St. John's, a game in which Caleb Foster could return. The starting point guard has been out for several weeks with a foot fracture, and the Blue Devils have missed him.

Through the first two rounds, there's no question that No.1 Arizona have set themselves up as the team to beat. the Wildcats cruised to a 34-point win over LIU and a 12-point victory over Utah State. They'll take on No.4 Arkansas and the Razorbacks' standout guard Darius Acuff Jr. – who's dropped 60 points so far – next for a place in the regional finals.

Read on for our guide on where to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round online, on TV and potentially for free wherever you are.

Sweet 16 schedule 2026

Thursday, March 26
7.10pm – No.2 Purdue vs No.11 Texas (CBS/Paramount Plus)
7.30pm – No.4 Nebraska vs No.9 Iowa (TBS & TruTV/HBO Max)
9.45pm – No.1 Arizona vs No.4 Arkansas (CBS/Paramount Plus)
10.05pm – No.2 Houston vs No.3 Illinois (TBS & TruTV/HBO Max)

Friday, March 27
7.10pm – No.1 Duke vs No.5 St John’s (CBS/Paramount Plus)
7.35pm – No.4 Alabama vs No.1 Michigan (TBS & TruTV/HBO Max)
9.45pm – No.2 UConn vs No.3 Michigan State (CBS/Paramount Plus)
10.10pm – No.2 Iowa State vs No.6 Tennessee (TBS & TruTV/HBO Max)

(All times ET)

How to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round using a VPN

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 a 73% discount, an extra four months for free and an Amazon Gift Card thrown in on some plans.

How to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round in the US

Four of the eight Sweet 16 round games are being shown on CBS (also streaming on Paramount+), with the other four available to watch on both TBS and TruTV (also streaming on HBO Max).

The full Sweet 16 schedule is listed above.

It's worth noting that select March Madness games are exclusive to TBS.

The Sling TV Orange plan carries TNT and TBS, with prices starting from as low as $4.99 per day, $9.99 for three days, $14.99 per week or $45.99 per month.

Alternatively, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV each carry all four channels and let new customers take advantage of a free trial.

Paramount Plus subscribers will need the Premium plan to watch CBS' Sweet 16 coverage. Prices start at $13.99/month, but you can get a 30-day subscription for just $1 by signing up to Walmart+ instead.

HBO Max prices start at $18.49 for the standard plan, which carries live sport.

Eligible cable and cord-cutting customers can also live stream the action via the March Madness Live app, available on a multitude of platforms.

How to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round in Canada

In Canada, all eight Sweet 16 games are being shown on TSN.

You can also live stream them via TSN+, which costs CA$8 per month or CA$80 per year.

If you're already a subscriber but you're outside Canada right now, download a VPN to watch March Madness as if you were back at home.

How to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round in the UK

In the UK, all eight Sweet 16 round games are free-to-air on DAZN.

All you need to do is register an account.

Outside the UK? You’ll need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to tap into your free March Madness streams from abroad.

How to watch the March Madness Sweet 16 round in Australia

College basketball fans can watch the Sweet 16 round on Disney+, which is live streaming ESPN's March Madness coverage.

All eight games are also available to watch on ESPN via Foxtel, which itself can be live streamed through Foxtel Now.

That means you can also stream the Sweet 16 round through Kayo Sports – from about $30 AUD a month after a 7-day free trial or introductory offer.

Not in Australia? Use NordVPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual college basketball coverage from anywhere.

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.

While macOS and Windows have plenty of similarities, the menu bar is one area where anyone who has switched from Windows to macOS – perhaps in light of the new MacBook Neo – might feel a little lost. That’s because it takes a slightly different approach to what Windows fans might be used to, combining app controls with features commonly found in the Windows taskbar.

But don’t worry, because like most features in macOS, the menu bar is very easy to adapt to. With our helpful guide by your side, you’ll be acclimatized in next to no time. Read on to see what the macOS menu bar is, how it works, and how you can adjust it however you like.

What is the menu bar?

Simply put, the menu bar is a control strip located at the top of your Mac’s display. It’s divided into two sections: on the left are app menus, whereas the right-hand side houses status icons.

Starting with the left-hand menus, these are relevant for your currently open app. For example, you’ll find common menus like File, Edit and View here, alongside app-specific menus (that includes Format when using Pages or the Song menu in Apple Music). You can use the menu bar to change app settings, perform tasks and more. If you need assistance with your app, click the Help menu at the far right-hand side.

You always know which app the menus apply to because the currently active app’s name is shown on the left next to the Apple logo. For instance, if you’re using Safari, you’ll see “Safari” in the menu bar. All the menus to the right of the app name are used to control that app. The app name is itself a menu – click it to see options like closing the app, accessing its settings, and more.

Now, about that Apple logo on the left-hand side of the menu bar. This contains controls for your Mac rather than for the app you have in the foreground. That means you can use the Apple logo for tasks like restarting or shutting down your Mac. It also provides a shortcut to the System Settings app.

On the right-hand side of the menu bar are your Mac’s status icons, such as the date and time, the Spotlight search icon, your battery level (if you’re using a MacBook), and more. Think of this area like the Windows taskbar. You can add or remove icons from this section by opening the System Settings app and clicking Menu Bar (in macOS 26 Tahoe or later) or Control Center (in macOS 15 Sequoia or earlier) in the left-hand sidebar. Click the date and time to open the Notification Center, which houses widgets and recently displayed alerts.

Among the status icons is the Control Center. Its icon looks like two toggles, one on top of the other. The Control Center provides quick access to common macOS functions, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop and Focus modes. It can show your currently playing music, adjust display brightness and system volume, and more.

Finally, the menu bar also lets you know when potentially sensitive Mac features – like your webcam or microphone – are being used. It does this by showing colored dots on the right-hand side of the menu bar.

An orange dot indicates that your microphone is in use. A green dot means an app is using your webcam. And if you see a purple dot, it means that system audio is being recorded. Most of the time, these dots will probably relate to expected app usage, such as when you’re on a video call with a friend. But if you see these dots appear for no good reason, it might mean your webcam or microphone is being used without your knowledge. In that case, you might want to run a virus scan to ensure your Mac has not been hacked, just in case.

How does the menu bar compare to Windows 11?

In Windows 11, app control menus are stored at the top of each app window. Each app window has its own control bar, letting you adjust settings for that app on the fly.

In macOS, things are a little different. App controls (menus like File, Edit and View) are stored in a bar that permanently sits at the top of your screen. That means these controls are not attached to app windows but instead exist separately. There’s only one menu bar (as opposed to the multiple control bars in Windows) and its contents change when you switch apps.

When you click the X button to close an app window in Microsoft’s operating system, in most cases the app is fully closed. In macOS, clicking the red X button in an app only closes that particular window – the app itself is still open. You can see this by the fact that the menu bar will still say the name of the app, even after its window has been closed. If you want to close the app completely, you should either press the Command + Q keyboard shortcut or click the app’s name in the menu bar, then click Quit [App Name].

Aside from that, though, the menu bar should be fairly familiar to Windows users. Both it and the Windows control bar house important app controls and settings, so the learning curve should not be particularly steep.

While Microsoft is apparently experimenting with a feature much like the macOS menu bar (found in the Command Palette section of Microsoft PowerToys), it’s not a mainline feature of Windows 11 just yet.

How do you customize the menu bar?

As we noted earlier, you can add or remove status icons from the menu bar by opening the System Settings app and going to either Menu Bar or Control Center (depending on your macOS version). You’ll find System Settings by clicking the cog icon in the macOS Dock at the bottom of your screen or by clicking the Apple logo in the menu bar and selecting System Settings.

In macOS 26 Tahoe, the Menu Bar section has a few options at the top. Here, you can automatically hide and show the menu bar (it will disappear by default and reappear when your mouse moves to the top of the screen). You can also show or hide the menu bar’s background and limit the number of recent documents and servers that can be displayed there.

Under Menu Bar Controls, you’ll see a list of status icons that can appear on the right of the menu bar. These relate to Apple’s own features and functions (like Wi-Fi status or the Weather app), not those of third-party apps. Tick or untick whichever icons you want to see. Some icons have further options, such as always appearing in the menu bar or only when they are active.

At the bottom is a section called Allow in the Menu Bar. This is where you can decide which third-party apps can show controls in the menu bar.

If you want to change the order of the menu bar status icons, just hold the Command key on your keyboard and click and drag them around. Let go to drop an icon into a new position. Similarly, you can quickly remove a status icon from the menu bar by holding Command and dragging it out of the menu bar. When you see the word “Remove” appear above the icon, let go of your mouse button and it’ll disappear from the menu bar.

That’s how you customize the menu bar, but to adjust the Control Center in macOS 26 Tahoe, you’ll first need to open it and click Edit Controls at the bottom. Drag an item out of the Control Center or click the minus button (-) to remove it. Alternatively, drag a control from the main Control Center window (called the Controls Gallery) to add it. You’ll find various categories of controls that can be added in the left-hand sidebar.

In macOS 15 Sequoia, Control Center settings are found by opening System Settings and navigating to Control Center in the sidebar.

To reset the Control Center back to factory settings, open System Settings > Menu Bar and click Reset Control Center at the bottom of the screen, then click Reset.

With that, you’ll have everything you need to master the menu bar on your brand-new Mac. As with a lot of things in macOS, it’s intuitively designed and straightforward to learn. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’ll feel like second nature.

If you’ve just switched from Windows to macOS (possibly because the affordable MacBook Neo has won you over), there’s a lot to learn. While the two operating systems have plenty of similarities, there are many ways in which they do things a little differently – and you might have questions about how exactly Apple’s software works.

One of the key elements you’ll want to learn about is the macOS Dock. On the surface, this might look similar to the Windows taskbar, and that makes it a good place to start learning about macOS. Here, we’ll show you what the Dock is, how it works, and how you can customize it to make it your own.

What is the Dock?

Like the Windows taskbar, one of the Dock’s primary functions is to store your favorite apps. That gives you a quick way to launch apps, switch between them, and shut them down. To open an app, just click its icon as you would in Windows. Flicking between apps is as simple as clicking the Dock icon of an open app (you can tell it is open by the small dot that appears below its icon). To close an app, right-click its icon and select Quit. Depending on the app, this right-click menu might show extra choices, like opening a new window in Finder.

By default, the macOS Dock is loaded with a selection of Apple’s apps, the Downloads folder, and the Trash (unlike Windows, the Trash sits in the Dock rather than on your desktop). You can change which apps are present in the Dock – we’ll come back to that later – so you don’t have to stick with Apple’s layout.

As the Downloads folder shows, the Dock can hold more than just apps. The right-hand section of the Dock, which is divided by a separator, can hold files, folders and more. That gives you quick access to items that you regularly use, saving you the need to regularly rummage through folders in search of them.

Any apps that want to alert you to something will have a red badge on their Dock icon. For example, if you have an unread message in the Mail app, you’ll see a red ‘1’ appear on the Dock icon. That way, the Dock doubles up as a basic notification system.

Finally, it’s also a way to close unresponsive apps. When an app freezes, you can close it – or ‘force quit’ it – by right-clicking the icon of the frozen app in the Dock and clicking Force Quit.

How does the Dock compare to Windows 11’s taskbar?

As we alluded to earlier, the Dock and Windows 11’s taskbar have some common aspects. Like the taskbar, for example, the Dock is also a way to quickly access and open apps. By default, both the Dock and the taskbar sit at the bottom of your screen, too.

One of the most famous parts of Windows’ taskbar is the Start button. The Dock, on the other hand, has the Apps button (in macOS Tahoe or later) or the Launchpad (in macOS Sequoia and earlier). These work in slightly different ways but are broadly similar in that they’re a quick way to find all of your installed apps.

One key difference is that the Windows taskbar has a search box, which the Dock lacks. That doesn’t mean macOS lacks a search feature, though – in macOS, you can bring up the Spotlight search feature by pressing the Command + Space keyboard shortcut. In macOS Tahoe or later, you can also find a Spotlight search bar by clicking the Apps icon in the Dock.

Apple is known for the tight integration of its devices. If you are using an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch alongside your Mac (and you’re using the same Apple Account on all your devices), you’ll see an app icon of your currently open iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch app appear in your Dock. Click this icon and you can open the app on your Mac. This feature is part of Apple’s Handoff system.

There are other useful Dock features that are a little different to Windows. If you drag a file over an app icon in the Dock and then let go of it, for instance, macOS will open the file in the app you chose. If you hold the Command key and click a Dock app or file, Finder will open with the app/file’s location shown. Or hold the Option key and click a Dock item to hide that app and show the previously open app instead. Finally, if you want to switch to an app and hide every other open app, hold both Option and Command, then click the app icon that you want to switch to.

How do you customize the Dock?

So, how do you start making changes to the macOS Dock? After all, you might not want to just stick with Apple’s preset look and feel.

One of the most basic changes you can make is to add apps and remove others that you no longer need. Adding an app or file is easy – just drag it onto the Dock and let go (you can drag apps from the Applications folder, which is found on the left-hand side of the Finder app, or by clicking the Apps icon in your Dock). Or open an app, right-click its icon in the Dock, then select Options > Keep in Dock.

If you want to reorder Dock apps rather than add more, they can also be dragged into new positions.

To remove something from the Dock, all you have to do is click and hold it, then drag it out of the Dock. After holding it outside the Dock for a second, you’ll see the word Remove appear above the icon. Let go of your mouse button, and the app will be removed from the Dock. And don’t worry, the app itself is not uninstalled from your Mac when you do this. Alternatively, you can right-click an item in your Dock and select Options > Remove from Dock.

There are a few other ways to adjust the Dock. First, move your mouse pointer over the vertical dividing line on the right-hand side of the Dock. The pointer should become an upward and downward-facing arrow. Now right-click. You’ll see some options:

• Turn Hiding On will automatically hide the Dock until you move your mouse pointer to where the Dock used to be (usually the bottom of the screen), whereupon it will reappear
• Turn Magnification On scales up app icons as you mouse over them, making them easier to identify
• Position on Screen will move the Dock to the left, bottom or right-hand side of your display, depending on your choice
• Minimize Using gives you two choices: Genie Effect, which makes apps appear to flow into the Dock as they’re minimized, or Scale Effect, which uses a simpler effect to shrink the app when it is minimized
• You can open the Dock’s controls in the System Settings app by clicking Dock Settings. We’ll address that in more detail below

Adjust Dock settings

If you want to dig deeper, you’ll find a large array of options in the System Settings app. There are a few ways you can open the System Settings app. It’s the cog icon in the Dock, for one thing. Or click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings. Once System Settings opens, click Desktop & Dock in its left-hand sidebar.

The Dock’s settings are located at the top of the Desktop & Dock section. Use the Size slider to increase or decrease the size of the Dock. The Magnification slider next to it controls how large icons are magnified when you mouse over them. You’ll need to enable magnification first, as detailed in the ‘How do you customize the Dock?’ section above.

Below the two sliders are several more options. You can change the Dock’s position on your screen, alter the minimizing animation, and choose whether apps minimize into the right-hand section of the Dock or into their own app icons.

The ‘Window title bar double-click action’ determines what happens when you double-click the top of an app window (this is the title bar – it stretches across the top of an app at around the height of the red, yellow and green buttons in the top-left corner). You can increase the window’s size, minimize it, make it fill the screen, or set it to do nothing.

There are a few more options at the bottom of the Dock section in System Settings. These include automatically hiding and showing the Dock; adding a bouncing animation to icons when you open an app; showing dots under Dock icons to indicate that an app is open; and showing suggested and recent apps on the right-hand side of the Dock.

As you can see, the Dock is a very feature-rich aspect of macOS, despite appearing unassuming at first glance. Learn how it works and you’ll have a powerful operating system tool at your fingertips.

• World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 run from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22
• FREE streams: BBC iPlayer (UK) / CBC Gem (Canada) / 9Now (Australia)
• Stream on Peacock (US)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

Watch World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams to see the planet's superstars of track and field gather in Torun, Poland, for three days' elite action from 674 athletes contesting 26 events at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena. Men's pole vaulter world record holder Mondo Duplantis, women's Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson and Julien Alfred, who won gold and silver in the 100 and 200m respectively at Paris 2024.

Duplantis is arguably the biggest athlete on the planet right now. The 15-time world record holder first broke new ground in Torun six years as a 20-year-old and will have another new height in his sights after soaring over 6.31m a week ago in his native Sweden.

Hodgkinson broke the indoor 800m women's world record recently and has high hopes for gold, while British compatriot Georgia Hunter Bell goes in the 1500m. Another Brit, Jeremiah Azu defends his world indoor 60m crown.

Alfred is favorite in the women's 60m, but won't have it all her own way, with Italy’s Zaynab Dosso and Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken her main challengers.

Arguably the most stacked field comes in the women's high jump. Okraine's Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, world champion Nicola Olyslagers of Australia and Serbia’s Angelina Topic are all capable of jumping two meters plus. Don't miss it.

Keep reading to discover how to watch World Athletics Indoor Championship 2026 online from anywhere – starting with those FREE options. And there's a full schedule of every single event at the bottom of this page.

• BBC iPlayer – UK
• 9Now – Australia
• CBC Gem – Canada
• RTÉ Player – Ireland
• Outside these countries — use NordVPN (73% Off)

Depending on your country, you may also be able to watch if you sign up with a FREE World Athletics+ account. This is only if no broadcasting deal exists in your country. Follow this handy link and click on the drop down menu listing countries – if yours lists no broadcaster, then you can watch the action on World Athletics+.

Use a VPN to watch World Athletics Championships for free on your usual streaming service if you are away from home.

Use a VPN to watch any World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 stream

Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships on your usual subscription?

You can still watch the track and field action live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market:

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. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual local streaming service and watch the games.

How to watch World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams in the US

Live streams from World Athletics Championships 2025 are on NBC channels and Peacock in the US.

The Peacock streaming service has the most comprehensive coverage of live action and highlights. You'll need at least a Peacock Premium subscription for access, with the Peacock price starting at $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year.

Another option is to get Peacock via the Walmart+ 30-day trial for $1.

Outside the US during the world indoor athletics? Use NordVPN to access your Peacock streams.

How to watch World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams in Canada

CBC has the rights to broadcast the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 for FREE.

You can watch some events on TV via the free-to-air CBC Sports or, for much more comprehensive live and on-demand coverage of the athletics, head to its online CBC Gem streaming platform.

If you aren't in Canada for the games simply use a VPN to tune in from overseas.

Watch FREE World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams in UK and Ireland

As we've mentioned above, BBC iPlayer in the UK and RTÉ Player in Ireland are showing hours of World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams – and all for FREE!

With daily live action and highlights shows going out on BBC and RTÉ channels, you can use the UK's BBC iPlayer and Ireland's RTÉ Player to watch all the big events and medal moments online for free.

Make sure to use NordVPN if you're out of Blighty or Ireland during the games.

How to watch World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 live streams in Australia

Australians can watch plenty of live World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026 action thanks to the free-to-air Nine network.

You can also watch online for free through the 9Now streaming website and app.

If you're currently out of Australia but want to watch free indoor athletics live streams, you'll need to get yourself a VPN as per the instructions above.

World Athletics Championships 2025 schedule

Below is the daily schedule of events taking place at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026.

We have used the official schedule listed, which is in GMT. Clocks go forward in the UK on Sunday, so the schedule will be an hour different in Blighty.

Friday, 20 March: Day 1

Morning Session

10:05, M, 60 Metres, Heptathlon

10:20, M, 60 Metres, Heats

10:53, M, Long Jump, Heptathlon

11:08, W, 400 Metres, Heats

11:39, W, High Jump, Final

12:01, M, 400 Metres, Heats

12:51, W, 800 Metres, Heats

12:57, M, Shot Put, Heptathlon

13:26, M, 800 Metres, Heats

Evening Session

18:10, W, Shot Put, Final

18:16, M, High Jump, Heptathlon

18:22, W, 1500 Metres, Heats

18:54, M, 1500 Metres, Heats

19:35, M, Triple Jump, Final

19:42, W, 400 Metres, Semi-Final

20:16, M, 60 Metres, Semi-Final

20:44, M, 400 Metres, Semi-Final

21:22, M, 60 Metres, Final

Saturday, 21 March: Day 2

Morning Session

10:05, M, 60 Metres Hurdles, Heptathlon

10:20, M, 60 Metres Hurdles, Heats

11:05, W, 60 Metres, Heats

11:10, M, Pole Vault, Heptathlon

12:00, X, 4x400 Metres Relay, Final

12:15, M, High Jump, Final

12:22, W, 800 Metres, Semi-Final

13:08, M, 800 Metres, Semi-Final

Evening Session

18:25, M, Pole Vault, Final

18:34, M, 400 Metres, Final

18:52, M, 1000 Metres, Heptathlon

19:04, W, 3000 Metres, Final

19:22, M, 3000 Metres, Final

19:38, W, Triple Jump, Final

19:48, M, 60 Metres Hurdles, Semi-Final

20:14, W, 60 Metres, Semi-Final

20:40, W, 400 Metres, Final

21:02, M, 60 Metres Hurdles, Final

21:20, W, 60 Metres, Final

Sunday, 22 March: Day 3

Morning Session

10:05, W, 60 Metres Hurdles, Pentathlon

10:20, W, Long Jump, Final

10:43, W, High Jump, Pentathlon

10:48, M, 4x400 Metres Relay, Heats

11:30, M, Shot Put, Final

12:05, W, 4x400 Metres Relay, Heats

12:55, W, 60 Metres Hurdles, Heats

13:21, W, Shot Put, Pentathlon

Evening Session

17:40, W, Long Jump, Pentathlon

17:55, W, Pole Vault, Final

18:38, M, 1500 Metres, Final

18:52, W, 60 Metres Hurdles, Semi-Final

19:12, M, Long Jump, Final

19:22, W, 1500 Metres, Final

19:38, M, 800 Metres, Final

19:53, W, 800 Metres, Final

20:03, W, 800 Metres, Pentathlon

20:13, W, 60 Metres Hurdles, Final

20:26, M, 4x400 Metres Relay, Final

20:47, W, 4x400 Metres Relay, Final

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.

• March Madness 2026: Tuesday, March 17 → Monday, April 6
• Best free trial: YouTube TV (10-days)
• Unlock your free stream with NordVPN (save 74%)

There's no use resisting March Madness, even if the broadcasting arrangements are a touch maddening. Although comprehensive coverage is available in the US, games are spread across four separate channels: TBS, TNT, TruTV and CBS.

However, getting your fix needn't be as difficult nor as expensive as you might suspect. Numerous cable-replacement services carry all four channels – and some of them allow new customers to take advantage of a free trial, amongst other perks.

So whether you're a Duke, Arizona, Michigan or Florida fan expecting your team to go all the way to the National Championship, a seasoned bracketologist, or a romantic holding out for a Cinderella story, we’ll walk you through the best free trials for watching March Madness 2026.

How to watch March Madness 2026 free trials from anywhere

Although free trials are available to watch March Madness 2026, they're only readily available to US residents.

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 a 74% discount and Amazon Gift Card thrown in on some plans.

How to watch March Madness 2026 with free trials

In the US, March Madness coverage is split between TBS, TNT, TruTV and CBS.

If you don't have the channels on cable, a free trial is available on each of the following cord-cutting services:

March Madness 2026 schedule

(All times ET)

FIRST FOUR

Tuesday, March 17
6.40pm – (16) UMBC vs (16) Howard | TruTV
9.15pm – (11) Texas vs (11) NC State | TruTV

Wednesday, March 18
6.40pm – (16) Prairie View A&M vs (16) Lehigh | TruTV
9.15pm – (11) Miami (Ohio) vs (11) SMU | TruTV

FIRST ROUND

Thursday, March 19
12.15pm – (9) TCU vs (8) Ohio State | CBS
12.40pm – (13) Troy vs (4) Nebraska | TruTV
1.30pm – (11) South Florida vs (6) Louisville | TNT
1.50pm – (12) High Point vs (5) Wisconsin | TBS
2.50pm – (16) Siena vs (1) Duke | CBS
3.15pm – (12) McNeese vs (5) Vanderbilt | TruTV
4.05pm – (14) North Dakota State vs (3) Michigan State | TNT
4.25pm – (9) Hawaii vs (8) Arkansas (TBS)
6.50pm – (11) VCU vs (6) North Carolina | TNT
7.10pm – (16) UMBC/Howard vs (1) Michigan | CBS
7.25pm – (11) Texas/NC State vs (6) BYU | TBS
7.35pm – (10) Texas A&M vs (7) St. Mary's | TruTV
9.25pm – (14) Penn vs (3) Illinois | TNT
9.45pm – (9) Saint Louis vs (8) Georgia | CBS
10pm – (14) Kennesaw State vs (3) Gonzaga | TBS
10.10pm – (15) Idaho vs (2) Houston | TruTV

Friday, March 20
12.15pm – (10) Santa Clara vs (7) Kentucky | CBS
12.40pm – (12) Akron vs (5) Texas Tech | TruTV
1.35pm – (16) LIU vs (1) Arizona | TNT
1.50pm – (14) Wright State vs (3) Virginia | TBS
2.50pm – (15) Tennessee State vs (2) Iowa State | CBS
3.15pm – (13) Hofstra vs (4) Alabama | TruTV
4.10pm – (9) Utah State vs (8) Villanova | TNT
4.25pm – (11) Miami (Ohio)/SMU vs (6) Tennessee | TBS
6.50pm – (9) Iowa vs (8) Clemson | TNT
7.10pm – (12) Northern Iowa vs (5) St. John's | CBS
7.25pm – (10) UCF vs (7) UCLA | TBS
7.35pm – (15) Queens (NC) vs (2) Purdue | TruTV
9.25pm – (16) Prairie View/Lehigh vs (1) Florida | TNT
9.45pm – (13) Cal Baptist vs (4) Kansas | CBS
10pm – (15) Furman vs (2) UConn | TBS
10.10pm – (10) Missouri vs (7) Miami (FL) | TruTV

SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 21 – Sunday, March 22 | TBS, TruTV, CBS

SWEET SIXTEEN
Thursday, March 26 – Friday, March 27 | TBS, CBS

ELITE EIGHT
Saturday, March 28 – Sunday, March 29 | TBS, CBS

FINAL FOUR
Saturday, April 4 | TBS/TNT/TruTV

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Monday, April 6 | TBS/TNT/TruTV

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.

In case you’ve not updated yet, macOS Tahoe is here, and it’s packing more than just a new Liquid Glass style for your Mac computer.

Aside from the arrival of the Journal app and a customizable Control Center, there’s a big new update for Spotlight. Apple’s launcher has been relatively unchanged for years now, and many users will no doubt have gravitated toward third-party alternatives like Alfred and Raycast.

Still, this latest update adds a lot of power-user functionality to the long-running tool, and I’ve put together this handy guide to help you make the most of it.

Set up your keyboard shortcut

Before we do any tweaking of Spotlight, you’ll need to know how to enable it. By default, it’s CMD and Space on your Mac’s keyboard, but if it doesn’t open then you’ll need to adjust that setting.

To do so, open System Settings and search ‘Spotlight’, then look in the sidebar for Keyboard settings. Make sure the ‘Show Spotlight search’ checkbox is ticked.

Launch some apps

It’s not new functionality, but if you’ve not used Spotlight before, then you might be surprised how much quicker it is to open apps using your keyboard as opposed to grabbing your mouse and navigating to the relevant folder.

Simply start typing, and you’ll be presented with a list of options. Move down with the arrow keys and hit return to jump into any of them.

Select what Spotlight surfaces

In System Settings, Spotlight’s sidebar entry will allow you to toggle on and off what you want to be able to find.

This includes results from apps, apps themselves, or files from certain folders and drives. If you don’t want to be able to look through certain folders or want to disregard, say, a Google Drive folder, this is the way to do it.

Enable Clipboard History

We’ve all been in that awkward spot where you’ve copied something from a page or app and can’t find it because you’ve hit CMD + C in the seconds since then, but Clipboard Search makes things much simpler.

By default, this is switched off, but at the bottom of the Spotlight section of System Settings, you can find a toggle for Clipboard Search. Enabling it will keep clipboard items available for eight hours, and you can find them by pressing CMD + 4.

Why’s it off by default? Because, as Apple mentions, it can involve storing personal information and having it available to paste. That’s worth considering if you share your Mac.

Use the Spotlight toolbar

New with macOS Tahoe is a subtle toolbar that appears if you start typing something in Spotlight.

Think of this as a filter of sorts, helping you drill down to the action you want to achieve. For example, being able to search for just folders or files can help save time rather than combing through apps, photos, and anything else.

You can trigger these filters with a ‘/’ command on your keyboard, which brings us nicely to…

Experiment with keyboard shortcuts

Apple has done a great job of putting keyboard shortcuts front and center when you jump into Spotlight, and it’s worth remembering them.

CMD with numbers 1 - 4 will bring up different options. CMD + 1 will give you your applications for quick launching, while CMD + 2 will do the same for Files. CMD + 3 triggers Actions and Shortcuts (more on that in a moment), while CMD + 4 is for clipboard history.

You can also use the up arrow to see your search history.

Have fun with Shortcuts

Shortcuts are a pretty intuitive way to set up Mac automations, and the whole system has progressively gotten more useful in recent years.

With that said, Spotlight’s new version gives a great way to trigger these automations since they’re always visible right when you need them. Can’t remember the keyboard shortcut you set to enter a meeting mode? Now you can hit Spotlight and trigger it from there with ease.

It’s not that you couldn’t do it before, but it’s just much easier to do so now without being flooded with a barrage of results when you hit CMD + Space.

Watch March Madness 2026 live streams as 68 schools battle it out over the course of 67 games in 21 days to determine this year's NCAA national champion. Below we have all the info on how to watch college basketball from anywhere in the world with details on worldwide TV channels, broadcasters and free streaming online.

How's your bracket looking? And did you have UConn vs Michigan in the National Championship Game? They playoff for the glory on Monday, April 6 at 8.50pm ET / 5.50pm PT at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

For the Huskies and coach Dan Hurley, it's the opportunity to take a remarkable third championship in four years. After their remarkable last-second victory over Duke, they enjoyed a more comfortable time against the plucky Illinois in the Final Four. They face the No 1 seeded Michigan Wolverines, who were led to the final by a superb individual showing from Aday Mara. His 26 points and nine rebounds instigated a dominant 18-point win over Arizona in the semifinals.

Here's where to stream March Madness 2026 live online and watch college basketball from anywhere, including ways you can watch every game for free.

Use a VPN to watch any March Madness 2026 stream

How to watch March Madness 2026 live streams in the US

National coverage of March Madness 2026 is shared between CBS (also streaming on Paramount+) and TBS, TNT, and truTV (also streaming on HBO Max). You can see the split in our 'Schedule' section at the bottom of this page.

If you're a cord cutter, Sling TV's Orange plan carries TNT and TBS and prices start from as low as $4.99 for one-day access, $9.99 for three days, $14.99 a week or $45.99 a month.

Alternatively, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV both carry all four channels and feature free trials for new users.

Paramount Plus subscribers will need the Premium plan to watch CBS live. Prices start at $13.99 a month, but you can also get an active 30-day subscription for just $1 if you sign up to Walmart+.

HBO Max prices start at $16.99 for the standard plan which is required for live sport.

Cable subscribers can also watch online via the March Madness Live app, available on a multitude of platforms.

How to watch March Madness 2026 live streams in Canada

In Canada, coverage of March Madness 2026 from the US is shown by TSN.

That means you can also watch online thanks to its TSN+ ($8 a month / $80 a year) streaming platform.

If you already subscribe to this services but find yourself outside Canada, download a VPN and watch NCAA championship games as if you were back at home.

How to watch March Madness 2026 live streams in the UK for FREE

As explained above, specialist sports streamer DAZN has the rights to show March Madness 2026 in the UK.

What's more, it will do so for FREE. You just need to create a free account in order to stream every single game for free.

Alternatively, Disney+ will broadcast every game from the tournament with prices starting at just £5.99 a month.

Outside the UK? You’ll need to download a VPN, as detailed above, to watch your free college basketball streams from abroad.

How to watch March Madness 2026 live streams in Australia

Aussies can watch NCAA March Madness 2026 on Disney+, which now streams the tournament live in Australia as part of its ESPN coverage.

Games are also available on ESPN via Foxtel, which can be live streamed through Foxtel Now.

That means you can also stream games through Kayo Sports – from about $30 AUD a month after a 7-day free trial or introductory offer.

Not in Australia? Use Norton VPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your usual college basketball coverage from anywhere.

March Madness 2026 Schedule and TV Channels

Selection Sunday
March 15 – CBS/Paramount+ (Free on DAZN in UK)

First Four
March 17-18 – truTV/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

First Round
March 19-20 – CBS/Paramount+ & TBS/truTV/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

Second Round
March 21-22 – CBS/Paramount+ & TBS/truTV/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

Sweet Sixteen
March 26-27 – CBS/Paramount+ & TBS/truTV/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

Elite Eight
March 28-29 – CBS/Paramount+ & TBS/truTV/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

Final Four
April 4 – TBS/truTV/TNT/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

National Championship Game
April 6 – TBS/truTV/TNT/HBO Max (Free on DAZN in UK)

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.