• The Mac mini has emerged as an affordable system for agentic workloads
• Apple has seen "incredible demand" for the Mac mini and Mac Studio
• Apple silicon can handle an agentic AI while other architectures use a GPU and CPU

If you’re looking for the best way to explore and deploy agentic AI without breaking the budget, the Mac mini might be just what you’re looking for.

Apple’s Doug Brooks has expressed enthusiasm for how the Mac mini and Mac Studio desktop computers are capable of handling agentic AI tasks, thanks to Apple silicon, the ARM-based SoC that the company has introduced over the past half decade.

Success with local AI on these machines has been attributed to design choices made before the arrival of advanced LLMs, with the evolution of Apple’s Neural Engine highlighted as a key factor.

How the Mac mini is ideal for agentic AI

Brooks is the senior product manager of Apple silicon, and referred to the “incredible demand” for Mac minis and Mac Studios when speaking to The Deep View before WWDC 2026.

Describing the Mac mini as an “amazing system” that can “tap into the strengths of Apple silicon and unified memory in a very power-efficient way, and increasingly they're delivering compelling price-performance as well.”

The price point of a Mac mini – compared to the more expensive Mac Studio – makes it particularly suited to teams exploring agentic AI but without the budget to pay for tokens and larger systems.

Neural Engine technology dates back to the A11 chip, and its evolution and inclusion within the current generation of Apple chips, and its high-performance, power-efficient compute processes are pivotal in delivering machine learning to the desktop.

As many AI tools were available first on the Mac (or released exclusively for macOS), it seems that upgrading to the latest Mac mini or switching from Windows has been instrumental in demand.

Mac mini: amazing for AI

Apple’s work on AI has seen deployment in everyday use across computers, tablets, and smartphones, and the company has been a leading exponent of hybrid AI, where an agent can “decide what needs to happen locally and what needs to happen in the cloud based on the workload.”

“For agentic workloads, people often want a system that's under their control, isolated from their primary machine, and capable of running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

But it is the strength of the Apple Mac mini and Apple Studio – as well Apple’s notebooks – in handling AI that seems to have enthused Brooks the most. He cites security and economics as concerns for developers and creators who are now realising that they can handle AI workloads sitting at their desk – whether using a Mac mini or something more powerful.

• CERT/CC discloses CVE‑2026‑11405, a critical 9.8/10 flaw in multiple Tenda router families caused by a hardcoded backdoor credential
• Attackers can bypass normal login checks and gain full admin access with the hidden password, regardless of configured username or password
• Tenda has not responded; CERT/CC advises disabling remote web management and limiting local exposure, though these are only partial mitigations

Multiple Tenda router families carry a critical vulnerability that allows malicious actors to log in with admin privileges without knowing the credentials, experts have found.

The CERT Coordination Center disclosed a vulnerability in Tenda routers which it described as an undocumented authentication backdoor caused by a hardcoded credential.

The flaw is tracked as CVE-2026-11405 and was assigned a severity score of 9.8/10 (critical). CERT/CC allegedly tried reaching out to the manufacturer, to no avail.

How the vulnerability works

Explaining how it works, CERT/CC says that the attacker would first try to log into the router’s web management interface normally. Even if the credentials are wrong, the firmware would not automatically reject them, but would rather check a second, hidden password, stored internally. If the attacker knows the hidden credential, they get full admin access, regardless of the configured admin password or username.

The username doesn’t even matter, as long as the password is supplied. Obviously, CERT/CC did not say what the password was, but with a little reverse-engineering of the firmware, it can be exposed either on the dark web, or to the general public.

Tenda is a Chinese company building budget networking gear, popular mostly in India and adjacent markets, where its products are popular in homes and among small businesses.

The flaw thus still affects multiple firmware versions, including FH1201, W15E, AC10, AC5, and AC6 router families. To make matters worse, CERT/CC added that the full list of affected models is probably even bigger.

Tenda is yet to comment on the findings. In the meantime, CERT/CC recommended users disable remote web management, if possible, to make sure the vulnerability cannot be exploited remotely, at least. The organization also suggests limiting local network exposure, but stresses that this is not an entirely bulletproof solution.

Via Tom's Hardware

• Meta reportedly has a new AI glasses prototype
• It is helping the company finalize a super sensing AI model
• Meta execs apparently aren't yet certain what rules the all seeing AI should follow

Meta is reportedly trialling a new super-sensing AI glasses prototype that aim to offer an ultimate level of assistance, for the small price of capturing your every moment.

The basic idea is that, because personal AI assistance gets better the more the AI knows you, by having you smart specs watch every detail of your life, the assistant can then offer more insightful help.

It could, for example, know if your fridge has milk in because it has seen inside it, or remind you not to forget your keys as you go to leave home. It could remember that gift your friend was desperately hoping to get for their birthday, or remind you the name of someone you’ve met before, if you're forgotten and are too embarrassed to ask.

This kind of tool would undeniably be pretty handy, but the extreme cost would be that your glasses would have to be always on — otherwise the AI might not see or hear the crucial information you’ll need later.

However, this incredible level of insight could be very easily abused — so you’d either have to really trust the company capturing it, or just not care if it knows everything about you.

This latest super-sensing leak comes via the Financial Times (behind a paywall) which reports that Meta is currently testing a pair of specs that achieve super-sensing by capturing continuous audio, and snapping photos every few seconds.

The more staccato image feed is likely an effort to conserve battery — according to previous leaks, existing Meta glasses have all the hardware they need to pull off super sensing, but their batteries wouldn’t be able to last long enough for it to be widely useful.

According to the report, Meta is also still trying to work on some other aspects, like whether the recording light LED should be displayed or not. When you’re recording it normally would be — super sense would be capturing people around you who might wish to know if they’re on camera — though sources have told the FT that there are plans for it to not to be displayed.

Considering that Meta just made a big post about privacy, and even updating the specs to disable tricks modders have been using to allow the specs to record without the light coming on, I’d be surprised if it took the no-light approach, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Man vs machine

You might also remember a story we shared in March about Meta contractors who claimed to be able to see images and videos taken with the glasses.

Essentially, in order to use Meta’s AI you agree to allow the company to see information about your AI communications, including videos and photos. This seemingly includes photos and videos you take using hands-free voice controls — which does technically involve Meta AI, as it has to action your request.

If an always-on AI is seeing every detail of your life there’s potentially a lot more scope for you to capture sensitive data that you'd rather not let Meta's contractors (or anyone else frankly) see. Encouragingly, according to people familiar with Meta’s super-sensing technology, there are plans to never store the raw footage and audio — meaning Meta nor the user could access it.

Instead, the system would extract the metadata from the capture, and only that would be uploaded — metadata is data about data, so imagine if instead of showing someone a photo you just described what’s in it and where it is.

There’s still some room for personal data to leak through this system, but with the correct safeguards it would have far fewer privacy implications. The big obvious gap would be the privacy of those around you — people who, unlike you the glasses wearer, might not have consented for Meta to store any kind of data about them.

The FT report adds there are also debates over whether Meta’s AI should be allowed to use this metadata for training purposes, in order for it to keep up with the capabilities of OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic’s models.

While leaks should be taken with a pinch of salt, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear that he wants to offer these kinds of features on his company’s glasses. Most recently he said in an investor call that he wants smart glasses “to be a personal agent that’s with you all day long, helping you remember things and achieve your goals.”

So the advent of technology like super-sense is most likely a matter of when not if, though with battery hardware constraints persisting (especially if you want slim and light glasses), and with privacy being such a hot-button issue, I expect it might be a while before we see super sense in action.

Whenever it arrives, we'll just have to hope that it’s implemented in the right way, and with appropriate safeguards. Such a tool could potentially offers some incredible accessibility benefits, but if the privacy cost is too great the I don’t see it taking off in the way I’m sure Meta would want it to.

Best Buy is currently one of the top places to shop if you need a new laptop, as the retailer is currently offering up to $700 off a range of devices. I've looked through its latest sale and picked out the seven laptop deals that stand out above the rest, with prices starting at $199.99.

• See all the latest laptop deals at Best Buy

My top pick is this HP OmniBook 3 for $549.99 (was $949.99). With its Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD for storage, I think it's a solid all-rounder for the price. You get a fast and efficient CPU, good overall performance for general, business, and productivity needs, and incredible battery life of up to 32 hours.

If you want something cheaper for more basic needs, or something with a bit more power for creative tasks and more demanding multitasking, then do have a browse through all of my recommendations below to see if one suits you better.

My 7 top laptop deals at Best Buy

• Accenture confirms cyberattack after threat actor “888” advertised selling 35GB of stolen source code and keys from its Azure DevOps repos
• Hacker claims archive includes RSA/SSH keys, Azure PATs, storage access keys, and configs, though details remain unverified
• Accenture says the breach was remediated with no operational impact; the same actor previously tried selling Accenture employee data after a 2024 third‑party breach

Accenture has confirmed suffering a cyberattack, days after threat actors started selling an archive allegedly coming from the firm.

"We are aware of this isolated matter, and we have remediated its source. There is no impact to Accenture operations and service delivery," Accenture said in a statement to BleepingComputer.

It follows a relatively unknown threat actor called 888 posting a new thread on an underground forum, advertising the sale of an archive seemingly stolen from the global professional services company.

Accenture breach

"Today I am selling the Accenture Data Breach, thanks for reading and enjoy!," the hacker said. "In July 2026, Accenture suffered a data breach which resulted in just over 35gb of source codes getting stolen from the company."

The threat actor claims to have nabbed source code, RSA keys, SSH keys, Azure Personal Access Tokens (PAT), Azure Storage access keys, and configuration files. They also shared screenshots showing how they closed an Azure DevOps repository, but at this time these claims were not independently verified.

Accenture did not say how much data it lost in the breach, or what the nature of the stolen files is. The company also did not explain how it got breached but did stress that the hole has been plugged.

According to BleepingComputer, this same threat actor tried to sell Accenture employee data after a third-party breach back in 2024.

Accenture is one of the world's largest professional services and consulting firms, providing consulting, technology, managed services, and cloud engineering, to businesses and governments. It was founded in 1989 as a spin-off from Arthur Andersen's consulting business, and today operates in more than 120 countries with hundreds of thousands of employees.

In 2021, it suffered a ransomware attack at the hands of the infamous LockBit, who also managed to steal data from its systems.

Do you remember the metaverse? If you don’t, don’t worry. In 2026, four years into the AI revolution that’s changing the world forever, you could easily be forgiven for thinking it was a strange fever dream you had back in 2021. You might even have odd memories of seeing a blocky version of Mark Zuckerberg floating about in a Minecraft-inspired hellscape, conducting meetings with people who could walk with no legs, while the real Mark Zuckerberg was looking at the whole thing through VR goggles. At least, that’s my memory of it.

I could be suffering from the Mandela effect, but I distinctly remember something off about the legs. They fixed that in a later version, but that’s my overriding memory — no legs. Oh, and Mark Zuckerberg assuring us that this was the future. He’d spent tens of billions of dollars on it, even changing the company name from Facebook to Meta, just to let us know he was really serious about the metaverse. Even if the legs didn’t work.

The problem was, it looked laughable. While everything in the technology world to do with games and special effects was moving in the direction of hyper-realism, the metaverse was moving in the opposite direction, towards the sort of blocky graphics that small children enjoy. But even that didn’t really answer the most basic question about the metaverse. Why? What possible advantage was there for us all to meet in a VR space where clunky avatars of ourselves could interact… badly?

Then AI happened and Meta abruptly forgot about the metaverse and pivoted towards the mission of putting personal superintelligence in all our hands instead, which sounds as terrifying and dangerous as it actually is, but we are where we are. At least when Zuckerberg was obsessed with the metaverse, we could ignore him. It existed somewhere “over there”, in Meta-land, where we could let him get on with it. Now he’s right up in our business again.

The rise of a bad idea

I’ve always been fascinated by how Zuckerberg got into the metaverse and why he became so obsessed with it. The origins of the metaverse go way back. In March 2014, Facebook bought Oculus, the VR company, for about $2 billion. This was where his passion for VR started. Think of it as the seed, not the full obsession.

By July 2021, Zuckerberg gave a long interview to Casey Newton at The Verge about Facebook becoming a “metaverse company” and described it as an “embodied internet”. Then, on October 28, 2021, his obsession became the company identity. Zuckerberg announced that Facebook the company was becoming Meta at Connect 2021, saying the new company brand would focus on bringing the metaverse to life.

I can see the logic. As a business strategy, that made sense. As a product ordinary people were expected to use, it was much harder to understand. Zuckerberg did not want Meta/Facebook to be trapped inside someone else’s platform again. Facebook had won on social, but on mobile it remained dependent on Apple and Google for distribution, privacy rules, app-store policies and hardware. The metaverse looked like a chance to own the next operating system of social life: hardware, avatars, identity, payments, meetings, gaming, work, commerce — the whole stack. In his 2021 founder’s letter, he framed the metaverse as the “next chapter of the internet” and said Meta would become “metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.”

Facebook had obviously had its problems — it was scandal-ridden. It had let advertisers target vulnerable teenagers, helped fake news spread, and enabled the spread of hate speech linked to atrocities in Myanmar. Perhaps Zuckerberg was looking for a way out of Facebook, and the metaverse offered that.

What I still didn’t understand was why he didn’t see what the rest of us saw — that it looked terrible and offered no real benefit to users. Then I read Sarah Wynn-Williams’ tell-all book about Facebook, Careless People, and it all started to make sense.

To say the book made my jaw hit the floor on several occasions would be an understatement. It’s an absolute page-turner, and your reactions grow from mild amusement to shock, then disbelief, then absolute outrage the further through the book you get. I’m aware of the criticisms of Wynn-Williams: that it is a book written by a disgruntled employee, and that she dodges a lot of personal responsibility for her part in the various misdeeds of the company. However, in another perfect example of the Streisand effect, the fact that Meta obtained a legal order in the United States to prevent her from saying anything negative about the company — at all — made me want to pick it up, and I’m glad I did.

Because now I get it — Zuckerberg seems to have spent years in an environment where too few people were willing to tell him when his ideas weren’t good. According to Wynn-Williams, he was surrounded by sycophants. When he had bad ideas, like the ill-fated Internet.org, he wouldn’t let them go and persisted with them, even when they were obviously going to fail. The people around him enabled him because he was simply too powerful. They even let him win at the board games he liked to play with them at his house or on his jet, and — crucially — he didn’t notice that they were letting him win. I can imagine that in that environment, nobody inside Meta would want to tell Zuckerberg that his metaverse was the equivalent of the emperor’s new clothes, especially if they wouldn’t even risk beating him at Settlers of Catan.

Wynn-Williams only mentions the metaverse in her epilogue. It happened after she was brutally fired from Facebook. Perhaps selfishly, I wish she’d been there for the metaverse period, because I would love to read firsthand accounts of how and why Zuckerberg persisted with such an obviously bad idea.

The fall of the metaverse

Maybe I’m being too harsh on Zuckerberg. The metaverse graphics did get better over time and Apple ventured slightly into the same territory with its Apple Vision Pro, even after the metaverse had turned into a smoldering wasteland. The fact is, people don’t enjoy wearing VR goggles for extended periods of time, and for normal people, VR lacks that one killer app. There doesn’t seem to be anything you can do in a VR space that you can’t do elsewhere much more easily.

The metaverse didn’t really die with a bang, but with a whimper. It faded through layoffs, spending cuts and the AI pivot. If I had to put a date on it, I’d say early 2023 was when Meta’s narrative moved on. In February and March 2023, Zuckerberg started talking about Meta’s “year of efficiency” and announced huge layoffs and cost-cutting. OpenAI had launched ChatGPT in November 2022, and by early 2023, generative AI had swallowed the oxygen that ideas like the metaverse need to survive. Every tech company was talking about AI now, not virtual offices and avatar legs.

The metaverse was over. We all forgot about it and moved on.

I’m glad I read Wynn-Williams’ book, because now I can understand how Facebook let the metaverse happen. And if there’s one thing I learned from reading it, it’s that money and power can bring you a lot of things, but common sense requires neither.

• KDDI confirms unauthorized access affecting six ISPs, with up to 14.22 million email addresses and passwords exposed
• Some passwords were unencrypted; with estimates citing 12.2 million emails and 7.6 million passwords compromised
• Company urged rapid password updates, coordinated countermeasures with ISPs, and pledged recurrence prevention

KDDI, one of Japan’s largest telecommunications providers, has confirmed it was recently hacked and lost millions of emails and unencrypted passwords belonging to its clients’ customers.

In a data breach notice, shared last month, the company said that it confirmed “unauthorized access” on June 17 2026.

“As a result, part of the information from email services offered by these ISPs may have leaked externally,” a machine translation of the notice reads.

Coordinating countermeasures

The incident allegedly affected an email system KDDI uses to manage customer email accounts, webmail, and email storage.

KDDI says that the attack affected six ISPs: STNet, KDDI Web Communications, JCOM, Chubu Telecommunications, Nifty Corp, and BIGLOBE. Up to 14.22 million email addresses and passwords linked to these mailboxes were allegedly exposed, which includes both accounts of former customers, as well as dormant users.

“Some” passwords were hashed or encrypted, the company further said, suggesting that some - were not. It also stated that the 14.22 million number represents a “maximum estimate”, and that the investigation is still ongoing. The Record reported 12.2 million customer email addresses and 7.6 million passwords exposed.

Since spotting the intrusion on June 17, KDDI has been contacting ISPs to “coordinate countermeasures” and urged their customers to update their passwords as soon as possible. “Customers should follow instructions provided by their ISP promptly,” it said. “KDDI will continue working with ISPs to notify customers and support rapid password updates.” It also said that “many customers” have already updated their passwords.

"We are analyzing the scope of the impact and the cause, responding to customers in coordination with ISP operators, and taking measures to prevent a recurrence," the company said.

KDDI is one of Japan's largest telecommunications companies, rivaling NTT Docomo and SoftBank. It serves approximately 72 million mobile subscribers.

Via The Record

• AssuranceAmerica reports breach affecting 6,998,886 customers, with attackers stealing credentials and exfiltrating sensitive insurance and driver data
• Company reset passwords, isolated systems, and deployed enhanced monitoring; warns victims of phishing risks using stolen details
• No group has claimed responsibility, and stolen data has not yet surfaced on the dark web, though ransom pressure tactics are common in such cases

AssuranceAmerica, an insurance company operating thousands of independent agents across the US, has confirmed suffering a cyberattack in which it lost sensitive data on almost seven million customers.

The company filed a new report with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, confirming the breach and sharing a copy of the notification letter it will soon send out to the 6,998,886 affected individuals.

In the report, the company said an unidentified threat actor stole login credentials and moved into the network, grabbing names, contact information, automobile insurance policy or insurance account information, driver or vehicle information, claims-related information, and driver's license numbers.

Data can be used for phishing

The attackers were spotted on March 17 2026 and were quickly locked out of the company’s network.

Affected systems were isolated, and law enforcement notified. AssuranceAmerica also reset everyone’s passwords, deployed enhanced monitoring and threat detection tools, and warned its staff to remain vigilant.

AssuranceAmerica has warned customers to be careful about incoming emails and other communications, especially those claiming to come from the company itself.

Using the information obtained in the breach, criminals can create highly convincing emails, tricking victims into making fraudulent payments, sharing login credentials to corporate and banking environments, or even downloading malware and ransomware.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for this attack, and the data is yet to surface anywhere on the dark web. Usually, criminals would post snippets or samples on their websites, in an attempt to pressure the victim company into paying ransom for the files.

BleepingComputer notes AssuranceAmerica operates through a network of more than 9,500 independent agents, providing auto, renters, and commercial auto insurance coverage in 14 US states.

Alienware AW3426DW: Two-minute review

There's a new 34-inch ultrawide powerhouse in town, with the brand-new Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED. After testing it with several games and movies, it's clear to me that this monitor stands well above its predecessors in terms of quality.

Unlike its predecessor, the Alienware AW3425DW, this display uses 5th-gen tandem OLED technology, delivering significantly higher brightness, improved efficiency, and better text clarity. The Penta (five-layer) tandem OLED stack also solves one of the biggest issues I've had with previous QD-OLED monitors, where brightness dimming from the automatic brightness limiter (ABL) would result in inconsistent brightness levels.

Frankly, coming from a 45-inch LG 45GS95QE QD-OLED ultrawide display that utilizes an 800R curve, I wasn't expecting to be blown away with greater immersion — but the AW3426DW delivers so much that I don't think I can do without a tandem OLED display going forward.

It also helps that Dolby Vision HDR support is included, which uses dynamic metadata to help shift brightness levels and tone mapping for each scene, and it's best used on games or movies that specifically support it.

For example, Battlefield 6's visual quality is elevated to a new level, specifically in sequences with chaotic explosions and fire particles that spread across the screen. You can see how good Dolby Vision is, when bright highlights are incredibly detailed, and since tandem OLED minimizes the need for ABL, there are no noticeable brightness dimming issues.

In games that don't support Dolby Vision, you can switch this off from the on-screen display (OSD) and enjoy HDR using the HDR Peak 1300 Bright or Display True Black 500 modes, although the former might have slightly more noticeable ABL. Other than a few errors that forced me to restart my PC after switching HDR modes and losing display signal, HDR functionality is great on the AW3426DW.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best gaming monitors money can buy, and certainly one of the best ultrawide monitors in 2026.

Alienware AW3426DW: Price & Availability

• How much does it cost? $799.99 / £709 / around AU$1,150
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US and UK

For everything that the AW3426DW ultrawide has to offer, effectively making it one of the best ultrawide OLED monitors money can buy right now, the $799.99 / £709 price is more than reasonable. It's around the same price as its predecessor, the AW3425DW, but is much better, mostly thanks to its tandem OLED tech, but also thanks to its new anti-reflective coating.

Having used a far more expensive LG 45-inch ultrawide, which still sells at just above $1,000 / £1,000 (original retail price was $1,699.99 / £1,699.99), the AW3426DW is a steal in my book.

The LG display might have a virtual reality-like 800R curvature, but it's heavily limited in comparison due to its older WOLED panel, and utilizes the same 3440x1440 display resolution as the new Alienware 34-inch monitor does at 45 inches, which means pixel density is worse on the 45GS95QE.

If you're not ready to make the jump to the flagship Alienware AW3926QW 5K2K ultrawide launching later this year, especially due to the leap in GPU power requirements (it'll be more demanding than gaming at 4K), then the AW3426DW is the best monitor to opt for.

• Value: 4 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Specs

Alienware AW3426DW: Design

Dell has kept the design for the Alienware AW3426DW simple, and it's almost identical to the previous AW3426DW model. The new monitor features the same sturdy stand and base, and I love the shiny and sleek finish it has.

In terms of connectivity, it's effectively the same again with two HDMI 2.1 ports that support variable refresh rate (VRR), along with a single DisplayPort 1.4. Fortunately, you can charge your devices while using the display, thanks to the USB-C 5Gbps downstream port, with a charging output of 15 W.

I'd appreciate it if this display had a slightly deeper curvature (perhaps 1500R) over its 1800R curve; however, that's likely my own bias coming from near-constant use of an 800R curved monitor, which is overkill to say the least.

Most Alienware monitors keep OSD navigation easy via a simple button, and that's also the case here. However, one personal gripe of mine is the lack of a remote control.

Some of LG's UltraGear ultrawide displays come with a remote control, which eliminates the need to physically reach over to the monitor button to change display settings. Fortunately, though, the Alienware Command Center application on Windows acts as an alternative option to access and control some of the OSD options.

The biggest highlight of the AW3426DW's design is its new anti-reflective coating. There's almost little to no glare when using this display in a bright environment, even with sunshine beaming in from open curtains.

Yes, a lot of this is thanks to the 5th-gen tandem OLED panel and the display's high brightness levels, but the anti-reflective coating is just as important in this case, with a 30% glare reduction — and at night, brightness truly blossoms better than I've ever seen before.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Features

The AW3426DW has a wide range of features available via its OSD, notably multiple HDR modes: DisplayHDR True Black 500, HDR Peak 1300, HDR Peak 1300 Bright, and Dolby Vision. The latter is what I used for most movies, specifically those that are made for Dolby Vision, especially since it dynamically shifts brightness levels and tone mapping based on each scene — but more on HDR later.

I'm not a massive fan of Picture-in-Picture or Picture-by-Picture (PIP or PBP) modes on monitors, specifically with multiple inputs. However, there are several options available in terms of positioning and sizing, which are more than welcome on any ultrawide display, where productivity is one of the main appeals.

For competitive players, the eSports mode should come in handy, as it transforms the display into a 25-inch monitor, with the option to position the active area at the top, center, or bottom of the screen. It's a reasonable option to include in a monitor with a 280Hz refresh rate, and one that has a 0.03ms GtG response time, and helps simulate a 25-inch monitor gaming experience.

VRR works fine on both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 inputs, ensuring frame rates are high, matching the 280Hz refresh rate, and reducing screen tearing. Nvidia's G-Sync is also enabled to improve smoothness and latency, so screen tearing isn't a concern on this display whatsoever.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Performance

I tested this monitor playing several games, such as Destiny 2, Crimson Desert, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil Requiem, and Battlefield 6, and I was left amazed at how impressive the AW3426DW performs. With Dolby Vision enabled in supported games (i.e., Battlefield 6), visuals are absolutely breathtaking, with highly detailed bright and dark areas on screen amid blood-soaked action.

With Dolby Vision enabled, there are effectively no ABL issues, or at the very least, if there are, it isn't very noticeable. Of course, it's not just Dolby Vision's inclusion alone doing the heavy lifting in this respect, but also the fact that this is a 5th-gen tandem OLED display, directly increasing brightness capabilities.

Not every game or movie has Dolby Vision support, and that's exactly why the other HDR modes are vital — and I'm happy to report that HDR Peak 1300 Bright is fantastic. It doesn't come without its faults, and in particular, gamers should be ready to deal with some level of ABL.

However, again, because of the tandem OLED layers, I could play games like Destiny 2 or Dragon's Dogma 2 and enjoy very bright experiences without losing detail in bright and dark areas on screen. It's also a huge benefit that the AW3426DW is seemingly well calibrated out of the box in terms of color profile and HDR calibration, as I hardly had to configure any settings in that regard.

Essentially, Dolby Vision should only really be used for movies and games where it's supported, and HDR modes such as HDR Peak 1300 and DisplayHDR True Black 500 for most games that don't support Dolby Vision.

There aren't many games that can reach the 280 frames per second mark (at least when playing on higher graphics settings), but if you have a powerful enough rig, it's a joy to experience a game that feels so smooth when in motion.

It's also pleasing to see that text clarity issues have been solved, which stems directly from the RGB stripe subpixel layout, and that makes this a great choice for any PC user looking for a QD-OLED display that caters to both work and play.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Alienware AW3426DW?

Buy the Alienware AW3426DW if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also Consider

MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED

While significantly bigger than AW3426DW QD-OLED, the MSI MPG 491CQP arguably provides more immersion via its 32:9 49-inch wide screen. It's not a tandem OLED; however, it's currently around a very similar price to Alienware's new display and still provides great quality in HDR performance.

Read our full MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED review

How I tested the Alienware AW3426DW

• Tested for a week
• Played several modern games and watched multiple movies
• Tested mostly using Dolby Vision and HDR Peak 1300 Bright modes

I used the Alienware AW3426DW for a week, mostly for gaming and watching movies. The games I tested include: Destiny 2, Resident Evil Requiem, Dragon's Dogma 2, Dead As Disco, Battlefield 6, and Crimson Desert. Some of the movies include Avengers: Infinity War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

I also spent the same amount of time using the AW3426DW for work duties and found that it eliminates one of the biggest pain points on OLED monitors, which is text fringing. I had no issues with reading text or simply navigating on web browsers, and also found that both HDR and SDR are visually fine to use outside of gaming (or non-HDR activities).

The monitor was also placed in a brightly lit room for most of the review period, with direct sunlight positioned directly on it, and found that there was little to no glare, thanks to the anti-reflective display.

• First reviewed July 2026

• Exposed ElasticSearch cluster at Nextcloud contained ~367k records (8GB), including employee data, client contracts, and scripts
• Sensitive information such as staff emails and client company details was left unencrypted; Nextcloud secured the archive within two days after notification
• Company attributed the incident to hosting misconfiguration, stressing customer servers were unaffected, though researchers warn attackers may have accessed the data

European cloud provider Nextcloud kept an unprotected database on the public internet, exposing sensitive internal and client data to anyone who knew where to look, experts have revealed.

Nextcloud is a free, open source platform that lets users create their own private cloud. It is often described as an alternative to Google Drive, or Microsoft 365, which allows users to control where their data sits.

In mid-May 2026, security researchers from Cybernews discovered a publicly exposed ElasticSearch cluster and, after a deeper investigation, determined it contained around 367,000 records (8GB of data in total). The archive was a mix of Nextcloud employee data, client company data, contracts, and scripts built for the company’s clients.

Nextcloud reacts

The majority of files were in .PDF format (71k), followed by .PNG (53k) and .MD (23k). All of the exposed records were found in a single index, with some revealing client company information, as well as data on Nextcloud staff. Some of the information was unencrypted, as well, exposing employee email addresses, client company names and addresses, and emails of individuals who sent invoices to Nextcloud.

Cybernews reached out to Nextcloud and the company locked the archive down within two days, and notified relevant authorities. It says it found no evidence of unauthorized access, but without a deep forensic analysis, it is impossible to say if that really is the case.

“If our team managed to discover the exposed dataset, threat actors may have too,” the Cybernews team wrote. “Malicious attackers operate numerous bots on the web that scour the net looking for exactly that: misconfigured databases with data to steal.”

The company also said this was a misconfiguration issue and that its services are secure: “The issue was caused by a misconfiguration of our hosting infrastructure and is not related to the Nextcloud solution. No other Nextcloud servers belonging to our customers, partners or other users have been affected by this issue,” the company’s spokesperson told the researchers.

Razer Seiren V3 Pro two-minute review

When I look for a gaming microphone, my requirements are modest – I want my teammates to hear me clearly and my foes to know what I really think of them (just kidding, those obscene thoughts stay in my head). I’d wager that most gamers have similarly unpretentious needs.

Razer, however, thinks gamers could do with more – a lot more. And so it’s brought out the Serien V3 Pro, a microphone that’s stuffed to the gills with high-end features that take it way beyond your common-or-garden gaming mic.

But to be fair, it’s not just positioned for gamers. Razer pitches the Seiren V3 Pro as the perfect partner for “musicians, podcasters, and creators who demand more than entry-level gear,” and it’s outfitted its “studio-quality” device with a range of features that might tickle the fancy of users a little more discerning than your average CoD goon.

That includes 32-bit float. Razer has included this expanded capture range to rescue audio that’s been subject to a few too many what we might call “gamer moments.” It can handle more extreme volume spikes – the type that might be prompted by jump scares, frustrating moments and clutch kills – with the idea being that streamers won’t have to worry about clipping and distortion during their broadcasts.

Razer has supplemented this feature with a fistful of other premium addons, including dual 48kHz and 96kHz sample rates, a built-in shock mount and removable pop filter, and a 30mm dynamic capsule. There’s a digital signal processing (DSP) that enables features like an audio expander, compressor, AI noise removal, and more. Razer has also included an XLR connector in addition to USB-C, just in case you want to run your mic through a dedicated audio interface.

Again, it’s all geared towards pros and enthusiasts rather than your average video game enjoyer.

Audio performance is obviously the most important part of any microphone – you can have all the bells and whistles, but if you end up sounding muffled or distorted, they’re not much use to you.

Here, the Seiren V3 Pro impresses. My audio was crisp and clear right out of the box, with no adjustments necessary. Razer walks you through a brief set-up process in Synapse when you get started, and it’s worth doing so the mic can be tweaked to your surroundings. The AI noise suppression in Synapse did a great job cutting out the whirr of my desk fan, while the pop filter put a stop to most unwanted plosives throughout my recordings and voice calls.

The on-device controls worked well, especially the mute button. It’s large and touch-sensitive, so it’s very easy to press in a flash (just be careful you don’t accidentally activate it). Both the button and the mic’s RGB ring turn red when you’re muted, giving a clear visual cue. Only a small nub of the gain dial protrudes from the underside of the device’s body, though, which can make it tricky to find.

As far as visuals go, the Seiren V3 Pro blends understated looks with a few choice touches. Its matte black finish and angled stand are easy on the eye, while this wouldn’t be a Razer product without a smattering of RGB lighting – in this instance, it’s about halfway up. Above it is the removable pop filter cover that hides the mic’s grille and built-in shock absorber. There’s a large touch-sensitive mute button on the front and ports for USB-C and XLR on the bottom alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack and a gain dial.

The build quality feels rock solid, with plenty of reassuringly weighty metal to be found. There’s a hefty foot to keep the mic grounded on your desk, but you can opt to screw the mic onto a boom arm if you prefer. The absurdly long USB-C cable (3.15m at our count) ensures you can trail it far from your PC.

That’s the hardware, but what about Razer’s notoriously finicky software? 32-bit float is only available through Razer’s app, so love it or loathe it, you’ve got to use it to get the full experience.

Synapse is full of controls to tweak the mic to your needs. You can adjust EQ filters and frequencies, change the vocal bass and ramp up the vocal exciter, mess with the stream mixer levels for input and output, enable a noise gate, reverb and AI noise suppression, and even dial in the RGB lighting if required.

To the average gamer, this is all a bit excessive unnecessary, even daunting. But if you’re a podcaster or musician – or just someone who wants as much control over their audio as possible – there’s plenty here to play with.

And that sums up the Seiren V3 Pro as a whole, really. The mic’s high-level features and equally lofty price tag mean it’s simply off the radar for most gamers. But if you know you need it and are willing to pay, you’ll find there’s a lot on offer here.

Razer Seiren V3 Pro review: Price & release date

• Available to buy now
• Priced at $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$429.95
• Optional “Main Character Bundle” including the Seiren V3 Pro and Razer’s Kraken Kitty V3 Pro headset

The Razer Seiren V3 Pro is available now from Razer’s website or from third-party retailers. It’s priced at $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$429.95.

That makes it pretty expensive for a gaming microphone, so you should think carefully about whether you need all of its extra features before pulling the trigger. If you spend most of your time on video calls with family or yelling profanities at enemies in Call of Duty, you could probably make do with something more affordable.

Razer sells an optional “Main Character Bundle” that includes the Razer Seiren V3 Pro and the Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro headset. That’s sold for $429.98 / £429.98 / AU$759.90.

Razer Seiren V3 Pro review: Specs

Should I buy the Razer Seiren V3 Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the Razer Seiren V3 Pro

• I created test recordings and also analyzed the mic’s performance during games and on audio calls with friends
• The microphone was tested on both my PC and my Mac
• I also spent time testing out the microphone’s software features in the Razer Synapse app

I spent a week testing the microphone on both my PC and my Mac. I created various audio recordings, used it during gaming sessions and put it through its voice-calling paces with friends.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

• Valve releases Windows 11 drivers for the Steam Machine
• This means you can install Windows 11 on the console-like PC
• You probably shouldn't, though

Valve has released official Windows drivers which should mean anyone who wants to install Windows 11 on its Steam Machine compact PC will be able to do so.

However, I and many other PC gamers have been left wondering why you’d want to do that — and it’s not just because of a general dislike of Microsoft’s operating system.

Of course, Windows 11 does have its issues, with a worrying increase in bugs and performance-damaging problems. It’s also bloated, and filled with AI features that few people, especially gamers, seem to want.

So, installing it on a device designed to run a more lightweight Linux operating system is a baffling choice. Much has been made of Valve’s decisions (some of them taken because of the global memory shortage and high component prices) to fit the Steam Machine with rather underpowered hardware. There’s no dedicated GPU, just an integrated one that uses older AMD technology and 16GB of DDR5 single-channel RAM.

Those are pretty poor specs for a gaming PC, and while some of this is outside of Valve’s control, at least SteamOS, the Linux-based operating system that the Steam Machine runs on by default, is a lot more lightweight than Windows 11, and is streamlined to prioritize launching and playing games. This means it can offer better performance

Windows 11, on the other hand, is a much bigger, and some would say rather bloated, operating system that runs on a variety of different hardware, with people using it for different things, not just playing games. This means performance is often worse even if the same low-powered components are used.

So, putting Windows 11 on a Steam Machine means you’ll likely get poorer performance, and Windows 11’s interface isn’t designed to be used on a TV with a controller, unlike SteamOS’ Big Picture Mode interface. You can use Steam Big Picture Mode in Windows 11, of course, and Microsoft has been working on a similar console-like interface with its Xbox mode, but it’s not perfect.

Why would you do this?

So, why would anyone in their right mind installing Windows 11 on a Steam Machine, especially as it seems Valve hasn’t implemented dual-booting (so you can pick between Windows 11 and SteamOS when you turn the machine on, hopefully that comes later)?

Well, while SteamOS is designed for a console-like simplicity, for a lot of mainstream users, Windows 11 will be more user-friendly (if you’ve ever had to troubleshoot an issue with Linux, you’ll know it’s not for the faint of heart). If you’re planning to use the Steam Machine as a standard PC (which Valve says you can do), then installing Windows 11 kind of makes sense. Kind of.

SteamOS is also essentially Linux with the Steam store as the interface, and that makes playing and buying games through Steam very easy. But for playing games from other stores, such as Epic Games Store, GOG and even Xbox, it’s a bit more of a faff. You can install Linux or open source versions of those launchers and add them as non-Steam games, but it’s again fiddly and more complicated than with Windows 11.

Finally, if you play a lot of online multiplayer games, such as Fortnite, that use anti-cheat software, you might have no option but to play those games in Windows 11, as many anti-cheat tools don’t support Linux, and therefore can’t be played by default on the Steam Machine.

Why you shouldn’t do this

However, I still feel on the whole you just should do this, and not just because of Microsoft’s OS being unsuitable; Valve should take some blame as well.

As WCCFTech reports, because there’s currently no way to dual boot these operating systems, installing Windows 11 on the Steam Machine will overwrite SteamOS, so if you find Windows isn’t working well, it’s more of a pain to switch back to SteamOS.

As some commentators on WCCFTech’s article also point out, Valve doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to supporting Windows drivers with its Steam devices, with the Steam Deck being a prime example. Valve’s handheld also runs SteamOS and you can install Windows 11 on it, but Valve has been pretty poor at updating its drivers, with one claiming people are still having to rely on graphics and sound drivers that are two years old.

Needless to say, playing with outdated drivers is not going to be enjoyable. In better news, Valve has also made having to use Windows 11 less necessary for a lot of games by continually updating its Proton compatibility layer, which allows you to run Windows 11 games in Linux, rather than having to wait for a Linux port of the game (which rarely comes due to the discrepancies in user numbers for the two platforms).

As Neowin reports, Valve has updated Proton to support even more games than ever. It’s a brilliant tool that means there’s less need to use Windows 11 with the Steam Machine or Steam Deck.

So, while I do applaud Valve for giving users the option, as it helps show how open the Steam Machine, and gaming PCs in general, can be, I think Valve has also made this option pretty pointless, for both good and bad reasons.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #858) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #858) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• ALONG
• TIERS
• LUMP
• MUSE
• BLISS
• PLUME
• MAKER

NYT Strands today (game #858) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #858) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #858) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #858, are…

• STICK
• GLOSS
• STAIN
• LINER
• TINT
• BALM
• PLUM
• SPANGRAM: KISSANDMAKEUP

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The first sight of this theme made me think of the old weight-loss mantra “a moment on the lip, a lifetime on the hips” intended to warn dieters off the brief pleasure of a potato chip, as opposed to the lifelong delight of a slender physique.

I digress, as we weren’t looking for dieting advice but instead things that could be applied to lips — of which there are many possibilities.

Fortunately, despite the high number of words in the search they were all short and easy to spot, with the biggest challenge provided by the 13-letter-long spangram.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, July 8, game #857)

• SCAMP
• HELLION
• RAPSCALLION
• WHIPPERSNAPPER
• SPANGRAM: LITTLEDEVIL

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1627) — hint #1 — Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1627) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1627) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1627) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1627) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1627) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1627, are…

• CRUMP
• PHONE
• SHINY
• STONY

It does feel like Quordle has been going easy on us recently.

This game, for example, featured two words that began with the same letter and ended with the same two letters. I cannot remember a gift like that in months.

Daily Sequence today (game #1627) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1627, are…

• SNAKY
• GRIEF
• DRAWL
• CHIRP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1626, Wednesday, 8 July: GHOST, TREND, EXALT, ALONG
• Quordle #1625, Tuesday, 7 July: ARRAY, SUITE, KIOSK, BOULE
• Quordle #1624, Monday, 6 July: TRAWL, SPICE, PIANO, SHARK
• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN

• The first agentic ransomware attack has been dubbed JADEPUFFER by researchers at Sysdig
• Threat exploited a known vulnerability, adapted to obstacles, and targeted an Alibaba Nacos
• Unfortunately for victims, paying up means nothing, as JADEPUFFER fails to back up the data

Has ransomware become self-aware? Sysdig researchers have analyzed an attack on an internet-facing Langflow instance, and discovered what they believe to be the first ransomware infection driven not by a human, but by AI.

As the attack progressed via a vulnerability, it accessed a server, removed data, overcame challenges, and phoned home regularly – all controlled not by a remote operator, but by a large language model (LLM).

Dubbed “JADEPUFFER” the attack seems to point to the direction of travel for extortion-based cybercrime -- if not for the entire sector, then certainly for the cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) market. As highlighted in Sysdig’s conclusion: “It’s a marker of where extortion tradecraft is heading.”

Fully autonomous hack

Using a code-injection attack on a Langflow deployment, Sysdig reported that the attack was fully automated, and after exploiting the vulnerability (CVE-2025-3248) JADEPUFFER sought out credentials for LLM providers, databases cloud platforms, and cryptocurrency wallets.

It also harvested data from the Langflow instance’s Postgres database, and committed various acts of destruction before the intended Alibaba Nacos (Naming and Configuration Service) and connected MySQL database were reached.

At this point, the ransomware demand was issued, with 1,342 Nacos configuration items encrypted and crucial database tables dropped. What is interesting about this is that random encryption was applied, but no backup was made and no key or report was created – so even if the ransom was paid, the data would remain unrecovered.

(Langflow fixed the vulnerability in April 2025, so this attack could have been avoided if the instance had been patched. Ironically, Langflow is also an AI platform, providing low-code solutions to build and deploy chatbots, agents, and advanced workflows using artificial intelligence.)

A new phase in cybersecurity

Security researchers have been on the lookout for Agentic Threat Actors (ATAs) for a while now, so the arrival of JADEPUFFER is not completely unexpected. Its arrival essentially means that anyone can create and operate a ransomware (or other cyberthreat) operation, relying on intelligent prompts and low-effort, fully automated testing in the wild, from which the LLM can learn and improve.

If this does indeed represent the dawning of a new age of cybersecurity, it isn’t all bad news. This incident has demonstrated how LLM-based attacks can be detected.

It used historical vulnerabilities, for example, but the most interesting thing about it is that this attempt was pretty verbose. The Sysdig team noticed that when JADEPUFFER was presented with obstacles to its primary aim, it adapted and shared its rationale.

While this narration is common among LLMs, other threats don’t do this, which offers an advantage for detecting LLM-based threats like JADEPUFFER and the variants which will inevitably appear.

• A new update is coming to Meta's smart glasses
• It should stop modders from disabling the light that lets people know you're using the camera
• Meta is also targeting modders on and off its platform

Last month we shared details of reports that Meta glasses were being modded to bypass privacy protections and turn them into secret spy glasses. Now Meta has revealed it will update the glasses’ software to detect whether its light has been tampered with (or destroyed) to prevent recording.

Whenever you take a photo or video with Meta glasses, a white light appears on the front of the glasses to signal to people around you that you’re filming.

For creeps looking to be more secretive with their recordings, this light is a hindrance, but Meta has imposed more basic tamper-proof features since launch. That is, any attempt to use the camera while the light is blocked — such as by a piece of tape — wouldn’t be allowed. The trouble is, modders have found ways to open up the glasses and disable or damage the light and its mechanisms that prevent it from showing, without getting flagged by the system — meaning you can use the camera as you normally would, but without anyone else knowing.

This is (to put it bluntly) not good, and when the reports came out, a Meta spokesperson told me that the company was looking into ways to disable this workaround.

They also explained that Meta is working hard to stamp out advertisements for these kinds of services — some of which appeared on its own Facebook Marketplace platform — with its latest announcement explaining this means banning accounts, taking down listings, and taking legal action against people or businesses that tamper with its tech.

Beyond the detail of updating software to prevent tampering, the whole article from Meta is focused on privacy, and crucially how Meta keeps you and others safe.

Thanks to people misusing its tech, the wider notoriety these gadgets are getting again, and reports of contractors seeing recorded images and videos that Meta glasses users might not have fully realized they could see, Meta and smart glasses makers have been facing major privacy questions.

With this article, Meta seems to answer many of them, though we’ll have to wait and see if it can convince users — or if they might be tempted by the rise of cameraless smart glasses.

The only way is cameraless?

Even Realities, another smart glasses firm, recently announced it has raised $150 million in investment at a $1 billion valuation — not too shabby for a company that only launched its first XR gadget in 2024.

Instead of Meta’s camera-first approach, Even Realities went for a display-first approach. Information is shown visually as green text and basic diagrams to provide features such as AI advice, navigational directions, or a speech appearing on a virtual prompter. Its specs also lack speakers, though that’s not true for all glasses of their kind.

Losing out on the camera is, of course, a major privacy win for some, as there’s no possible way for the glasses to see something they shouldn’t or be used to spy.

The thing is, I think these kinds of glasses are pretty terrible. Having tested a few at home, the ones without a camera just aren’t worth wearing.

Smart glasses, despite being increasingly popular, are in their infancy, which in the tech world means you can expect to pay a fair sum for relatively limited features — that’s the price of being an early adopter. That’s especially true, I’ve found, for these XR glasses specifically, because while they can offer several tools like navigation, on-screen translations, a prompter, and notification pop-ups, their usefulness is pretty limited.

How often do you need a prompter? Or one-way translation tools? In the case of the latter, because these kinds of glasses often have you rely on your phone to set up the translation feature or access other features, you might as well just turn to something like Google Translate — which has conversation modes so that two people can talk and see translations through a single device.

The software I’ve found for these types of specs can also be pretty terrible with sluggishness, inaccuracies, and crashes — and if I, as someone who tests smart glasses professionally, have trouble, I can’t imagine what less techy people must think.

Additionally, the green text can be hard to make out on a bright day if you’re outside, making on-screen directions difficult to see.

While admittedly more limited feature-wise, the Meta glasses and smart specs like them feel like way better value for money. From Meta specifically, the software is generally very reliable, and more broadly, the ability to snap a photo whenever — either to capture a moment or to provide context for an AI’s response — comes in handy so often.

Even if it isn’t as good as my phone camera, the ability to record a memory, hands-free and without being taken out of the moment, is so utterly delightful.

Yes, there are privacy challenges which need to be hashed out more formally, as even without the ability to record privately there is still plenty of room for creeps to harass people with this kind of gadget, but if you want a pair of smart glasses right now there simply isn’t a better option.

• Google Earth Pro's desktop app will no longer be available to download soon
• The web and mobile versions of the app will continue to be available
• You have until June 25 2027 to download the desktop edition

Update, July 9: Google reached out to us to confirm that it's not officially discontinuing Earth Pro on desktop, but is instead halting new downloads from June 25, 2027. We've updated the headline to reflect this.

Original story follows...

When it comes to abandoning and discontinuing its own products, Google doesn’t have a particularly stellar record. So many projects have been given the boot by the tech giant that there's even a Killed by Google website that collects all 300-plus of them.

Now, we can add Google Earth Pro to the list — and the announcement has caused consternation among Google fans.

An official post on the Google Earth support forums declared that “While you can continue using the legacy Google Earth Pro desktop app, it will no longer be available for new downloads beginning on June 25, 2027.” Users are being pointed towards the mobile and web versions of the app “for the best Google Earth experience.”

Provided you’ve downloaded it, you’ll be able to continue using the desktop version of Google Earth Pro beyond June 25. If you want to bring your saved places and projects from the desktop app to the web or mobile, you’ll need to follow Google’s instructions.

Google didn’t say exactly why it was halting new downloads for Google Earth Pro on desktop, only that “We’re continuing to make Google Earth on web and mobile the best place for people to get helpful geospatial insights.” But there’s no doubt that the decision to add yet another product to the Google graveyard will not go down well with many users.

Going, going, gone

As you might expect, social media has seen scores of Google users complaining about the move. Underneath Google’s forum post, for example, one anonymous user said: “Google Earth web is functionally useless for any kind of serious project. The max number of 250,000 vertices is ridiculous. It severely limits the amount of existing datasets I'm using on the desktop version. The [user interface] is intrusive and crowds the map, forcing the user to constantly move around and zoom in and out to see anything significant.”

That feeling was mirrored by sdot-p on Reddit, who lamented that “The impact to thousands of companies across industries will be huge. Earth Pro is integrated in workflows at a scale that can’t be changed without ridiculous amounts of effort. And even then the company is likely to be in a worse position than prior. You’re talking about impact to contractors, surveyors, utilities, municipalities, archeologists etc.”

Other users were more prosaic. “They accidentally made something that created too much value they couldn't monetize,” quipped MTGuy406 on Reddit, reflecting a longstanding sentiment that Google is quick to abandon projects that don’t make enough of an impact to its bottom line, no matter how beloved they might be.

I also have a soft spot for Google Earth Pro, having first used it many years ago to download North Korea Uncovered, a Google Earth project that aimed to map and label almost every building and location of interest inside the secretive state. Whether or not that will work anywhere near as well on the web isn't cleara, given the user interface and experience criticisms of the non-desktop version of Google Earth.

If you’ve been tempted to download Google Earth Pro on your desktop but haven't got around to doing it, now is the time to make your move. You’ll find the download on Google’s website — make sure you grab it before it’s too late.

Finding the perfect budget laptop for college or university can be a tricky task. You want something that won't break the bank, but will be a great studying companion that won't let you down. At TechRadar, we've tested hundreds of laptops; this guide runs through our top affordable recommendations for college or university students.

I've focused on options that deliver strong bang for your buck, and can handle an average student's day-to-day typing, research and entertainment needs. Most offer generous battery life, so you can move about without having to worry about staying near a power outlet, and are pleasingly compact and portable too. Note, these are all affordable, relatively basic options and as a result, they're not suitable for demanding tasks — head to our general best laptop or best student laptop guides for a wider range of options for more intensive needs.

Scroll down for our top recommendations. Hit the View Details button to find out more about each one and why it's a great choice for students specifically, or hop to the bottom for a specs comparison table.

College champions

Cheap college laptops: specs compared

I started using an ergonomic mouse – along with an ergonomic keyboard – back in late 2021 to help me reduce the damage I was doing to my body by sitting at my desk all day, typing. At the time, the ergonomic mouse I was using was the Logitech MX Vertical, but that proved to be too big for my small mitts.

When the Logitech Lift was announced, I promptly swapped and I have not looked back since! I love this mouse and it's currently available at its lowest price yet of just AU$58.34 for the black variant. That's a very generous 55% off the listed price and it will ship to New Zealand for NZ$74.39 with no additional shipping fees.

The other two colour options are also discounted but nowhere as well as the black model, so if you aren't too fussed about that, this offer won't last long — not likely till the end of Prime Day on Tuesday, July 13.

• Follow my live coverage of the best Prime Day 2026 deals, many of which ship to New Zealand as well

I currently have the white Logitech Lift, but that has started to look a little grubby now. To be fair to my mouse, though, I carry it with me between home and office, and my bag can't be doing it any favours. With that in mind, I think the black colourway would be best for long-term and everyday use and I am very tempted to buy this one at this price.

I'm not the only one who likes this mouse. It scored high in our Logitech Lift review, with our tester saying it makes "toiling away on the computer for hours on end just a little easier – and much less painful". It's also our pick of the best mouse for ergonomics, thanks to the 57º twist to the vertical 'sail'.

Admittedly the Lift is best suited to small and medium-sized hands, but it might be quite comfortable for people with large hands as well. There's a rubber grip on the rear that keeps your palm from slipping, plus the buttons and the scroll wheel has been placed exactly where your fore, middle and ring finger will sit naturally when you wrap your hand around it.

The clicks are whisper quiet, so you'll never disturb anyone working beside you.

Importantly, its performance is excellent. You can use the Logitech Options app to make some adjustments, like saving two DPI presets, but don’t expect high-speed tracking resolution comparable to gaming mice. It glides smoothly and is accurate for more everyday needs. And while our reviewer had issues with its sensor while testing, I have had no such problems myself.

My only complaint with the Logitech Lift is that it requires a single AA battery, while the MX Vertical I had previously could be recharged via USB-C. Sure, the battery goes on for up to 24 months (depending on use), but it would have been nice if this too was a rechargeable option.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #857) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #857) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• HIVE
• CREED
• SPARE
• VICE
• SALE
• CRAPS

NYT Strands today (game #857) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #857) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #857) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #857, are…

• SCAMP
• HELLION
• RAPSCALLION
• WHIPPERSNAPPER
• SPANGRAM: LITTLEDEVIL

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

There were a few different ways to connect LITTLE and DEVIL and I think I tried them all before finally getting a rare, for me at least, spangram first.

The rest of the board was far trickier. After getting SCAMP I used a hint but even with it I struggled to see HELLION — not a word I’ve ever heard before.

Next the non-game word “scallion” helped me see RAPSCALLION before my misery was ended with the brilliantly old-fashioned WHIPPERSNAPPER — a great word, but possibly not one you use when reporting “trouble” to the police.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, July 7, game #856)

• CART
• BUGGY
• WAGON
• CARRIAGE
• STAGECOACH
• SLEIGH
• SPANGRAM: IGETAROUND

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1626) — hint #1 — Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1626) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1626) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1626) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1626) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1626) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1626, are…

• GHOST
• TREND
• EXALT
• ALONG

Even though I could see no other possibility other than EXALT, whenever a rare letter comes to mind there is always a moment of pause.

Fortunately I got my first three words easily, so I had plenty of space left if it didn’t work out.

Daily Sequence today (game #1626) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1626, are…

• PREEN
• BLARE
• RUPEE
• WHICH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1625, Tuesday, 7 July: ARRAY, SUITE, KIOSK, BOULE
• Quordle #1624, Monday, 6 July: TRAWL, SPICE, PIANO, SHARK
• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH

• Samsung Messages has been killed off to make room for Google Messages
• Right now it's just affecting US users, but a wider shutdown is likely to happen
• We recommend making Google Messages your default SMS service

After months of waiting, the dreaded day for Android users arrived: Samsung Messages has finally been shut down for good as of July 6.

The Korean tech company announced its decision to axe its messaging service for Galaxy Phones and tablets in April, with Google Messages taking over as the new default communication platform for devices released in 2022 and onwards.

Samsung stopped installing its flagship messaging platform on devices in 2024, so if you’re using the Galaxy S26 Ultra, for example, Google Messages will already be installed.

So what happens now?

At the moment, Samsung Messages’ demise is only impacting users in the US, according to recent reports. According to SamMobile, it may still work outside the US on devices the app was pre-installed on, but it’s likely that a wider shutdown will follow suit in other countries later — it’s been removed from the Galaxy Store and Google Play Store, and UK users on Reddit are reporting its replacement with Google Messages.

That said, if your device is running Android 11 or lower, the shutdown won’t affect you, according to Forbes. However, the outlet notes that those on a more recent version should switch to Google Messages.

Samsung Messages’ shutdown has been a long process, and though users have been anticipating the move for some time, it doesn’t mean that they’re ready to bid farewell to the app just yet.

Comment from r/S24Ultra

Across the board of reactions on Reddit, the general consensus is that Samsung Messages will be missed. “If I wanted to use Google’s POS services I would’ve bought a pixel,” one user explains, but from Samsung’s perspective, it’s all about giving users a messaging experience enriched with handy features.

The company says that the switch to Google Messages will help bring features to Samsung Galaxy devices to align with modern messaging tools used in third-party apps such as WhatsApp. This includes end-to-end encryption, AI tools, and RCS messages, which Google Messages now allows to be sent between iOS and Android devices.

Still haven’t made the switch to Google Messages? We’d recommend doing this sooner rather than later, and it’s quite a straightforward process.

Once you’ve uninstalled Samsung Messages and downloaded the Google Messages app, launch it and a pop-up reading ‘Set default SMS app’ will appear on your device. Tap this, select Google Messages from the options, then tap ‘Set as default’. You can add Google Messages to your Home screen by tapping and holding the app and selecting ‘Add to Home’.

• Microsoft's new Windows 11 recovery method is available for Windows Insiders
• Cloud Rebuild allows users to reinstall Windows 11 and necessary drivers via the cloud, without a USB drive
• The feature should begin rolling out to users on stable Windows 11 builds

Microsoft is continually making adjustments to its Windows 11 operating system through patches that address user pain points, and, fortunately, its latest move is certainly welcome.

As reported by Windows Central, Microsoft has implemented a new recovery method for Windows 11, known as Cloud Rebuild, which is available to Windows Insider users. Cloud Rebuild allows users to reinstall the operating system and drivers from the cloud without the need for a USB drive.

It's a major step in the right direction for users who need to reset their PCs, whether due to data corruption, malware, or simply wanting to start anew, especially since not all users have immediate access to another device to download a Windows image or a USB drive to install it on.

Unlike the Windows Recovery Environment's 'Reset this PC' option, Cloud Rebuild doesn't allow you to keep personal files, but Microsoft says Cloud Rebuild reinstalls Windows with the appropriate drivers and "without depending on the integrity of the installed operating system".

Notably, Cloud Rebuild can still work when users can't boot into Windows 11, making life easier in a dire situation where the operating system is dysfunctional.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Cloud Rebuild is for the acquisition of drivers, saving users plenty of time from manual downloads. This comes in handy for Windows 11 handheld gaming PCs, where reinstalling drivers can be slightly complicated, especially without the necessary peripherals being on hand for quick and easy navigation.

Cloud Rebuild isn't available to all Windows users yet, but the gradual rollout phase shouldn't be too far off. Fortunately, it's not a feature that most users urgently require (at least, I hope), so the wait for its arrival in stable Windows 11 updates shouldn't be frustrating.

In 2026, buying a new laptop, whether that's the best Windows laptop or the best MacBook, is still a fairly involved process that requires balancing an ever-expanding array of features and specs with your everyday requirements.

With the proliferation of AI, as both a new set of features and a branding exercise (think Microsoft's Copilot+ PC, for example), the list is only getting longer.

However, one universally essential feature everyone needs is above-average battery life.

A common mistake when assessing your options might be to simply rely on the manufacturer's “up to X hours” claim or watt-hour rating. Both of these are useful signals, but they don't tell the full story.

While a bigger battery can definitely help, going on pure numbers alone does not guarantee better battery life. Two laptops with similar battery sizes can actually last very different lengths of time.

A more useful frame of comparison is looking at how efficiently a laptop uses its available battery capacity, including whether its CPU and GPU are tuned to maximise battery life over raw power.

In recent years, Apple has been an expert in this domain, eking out longer and longer video playback and everyday usage times by optimising its M-series of chips specifically to use as little power as possible.

Why battery capacity still matters

Of course, we're not saying that battery capacity doesn't matter – a larger battery should offer longer times between charges in most cases, in the same way that a car with a bigger fuel tank can travel further between stops.

The rub is that laptops are rarely equal, and while a bigger machine might have more space for a larger battery, it almost certainly pairs that with a bigger display, a faster CPU and GPU, more cooling demand, and so on.

Every component of a laptop needs power, and these can eat into any advantage gained from having a purely larger battery capacity.

Physics applies its own limits, too. A bigger battery is naturally thicker and heavier, often defeating the point of modern ultraportables like the MacBook Neo that prioritise being thin and light.

There's also a practical ceiling: many laptop batteries sit below the 100Wh limit used for regular air travel, so manufacturers cannot simply scale capacity forever.

Checking the watt-hour rating and manufacturer claims of "all-day usage" is still worthwhile, but these tell you more about how much energy your laptop's battery can store, not what it looks like in practical day-to-day use.

The display is the biggest everyday drain

Any consideration of battery life has to start with the display, which can often be the easiest thing to overlook, despite being the feature you use the most.

The main factor at play is brightness. To state the obvious, a laptop used at 100% brightness – especially when working outside or under bright lights – is going to drain its battery a lot faster than on a lower setting.

On top of that, resolution, panel type, and refresh rate (especially for newer variable displays that go up to 120Hz or 144Hz) can all dramatically increase energy usage.

3K and 4K displays look absolutely fantastic, especially for creative work or watching films, but they will kill your battery life fast. OLED displays are in a similar category, offering incredibly deep blacks due to local pixel-dimming while consuming lots of power to show bright webpages and documents.

Refresh rates have become more of a factor in battery usage in recent years, too. A fixed 120Hz or 144Hz panel can naturally make scrolling and animations feel smoother, but it also refreshes the screen more often, requiring more power.

Taken together, you should at least consider the type of display and its impact on battery life when choosing a new laptop – a top-end 120Hz OLED panel sounds awesome right up until you try to work all day away from a plug.

Efficient chips change what “all-day” means

As the success of Apple's M-series chips shows, the chip inside your laptop plays a huge part. Gone are the days when processors were simply about speed; the better question is how much computation you can get for your battery draw.

Apple Silicon, found in both Macs and iPhones, is designed specifically for Apple’s hardware and software, so macOS and iOS can make very efficient use of the available power, especially during everyday tasks.

In recent times, Windows laptops have also made big strides.

Intel’s Core Ultra chips, AMD’s Ryzen AI processors, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips, utilising Arm-based designs, are all part of the same wider shift towards prioritizing performance per watt.

Modern chips optimize for extended battery life in several clever ways. For example, low-power cores can handle lighter jobs, integrated graphics can take care of basic visual tasks, and dedicated media engines can play video more efficiently than if the main processor has to do all the work itself.

Taken together, these innovations mean that newer laptops with similarly sized batteries can dramatically outlast older generations.

Windows, macOS, and apps all affect the final number

Hardware only gets you so far. A laptop can have an efficient chip, sensible display, and decent battery capacity, but the operating system and apps still decide how often those components are being pushed.

Apple has the clearest advantage thanks to its end-to-end hardware and software designs. macOS only has to run on a handful of Mac laptops and desktops, all of which are built around Apple Silicon chips, displays, and power management – everything is tightly controlled.

On the other hand, Windows has to work with a near-infinite combination of hardware and software from thousands of OEMs around the world. It must run across Intel, AMD, and Arm-based laptops, with different screens, drivers, utilities, and manufacturer settings.

This situation doesn't stop Windows laptops from having great battery life – as our extensive testing of the best laptops has found – but it is a real barrier, and there is a wider variation between makes and models.

Beyond the OS, apps matter just as much: having tens or hundreds of Chrome tabs open is very likely to nuke your battery life. Arm-based laptops also face the potential issue of running apps through compatibility layers, increasing the power demands and reducing battery life.

GPUs, AI features, and heavy workloads are the hidden traps

How you actually use your laptop makes a big difference and the rise of AI workloads – alongside traditional heavy hitters like 3D rendering, compiling code, and video editing – are surefire ways to go from 100% to 30% in no time.

Dedicated graphics are a big part of this. A powerful GPU can be brilliant if you need it, but it is also one of the most power-hungry components in a laptop.

Lots of modern machines now use hybrid graphics, switching between integrated graphics for lighter tasks and a dedicated GPU when more performance is needed.

New laptop chips increasingly include Neural Processing Units (NPUs), which are designed to handle certain AI tasks more efficiently than a CPU or GPU. That can help when software is built to use them properly, but heavier local AI workloads can still drain the battery quickly, especially if they lean on the CPU or GPU.”

Read manufacturer claims and lab tests carefully

Manufacturers understandably want to present their laptops in the best light and so make some... optimistic claims about real-world battery performance. None of these claims are untrue per se, but they do rely on lab conditions.

Video playback is a good example. Looping a film at controlled brightness with few background tasks can produce a very different result from a normal workday full of browser tabs, emails, calls, and everything else.

Brightness, volume, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, keyboard backlighting, refresh rate, and background apps can all shift the result. Even the browser you use or the number of tabs you keep open has an effect.

Treat such claims as a baseline – an ideal, if you will – and go from there. For a clearer picture, reviewers like ours at TechRadar actually put laptops through their paces and have tests that simulate messy real-world usage.

If a hypothetical laptop maker says its laptop can deliver "all-day battery life", but a review finds that the device lasts for just a few hours under heavy usage, that's grounds for being a bit cautious.

What laptop buyers should actually look for

So what should you actually look for when buying your next laptop?

Firstly, capacity is still worth checking, if only to get a sense of how big your laptop's battery is and roughly what you can expect as a baseline.

But there are lots of specs to check alongside raw watt-hours. Display type, resolution, refresh rate, chip generation, graphics hardware, and software support can all be just as important once you start using the laptop properly.

A good review is likely more useful than a manufacturer’s headline claim. Look for tests that reflect the way you actually work, which can often be in sub-optimal conditions. A laptop with slightly lower quoted battery life may still be the better choice if it performs well in ordinary day-to-day use.

Analysing your own habits can also be useful. If you are a heavy Chrome user that likes to keep 200 tabs open at once (because you never know when you might need that recipe from two years ago!), adjust accordingly.

Similarly, if you edit video, play games, or use demanding creative tools, you should expect shorter runtimes and pay closer attention to charging speed.

Battery life is more than one number and results from dozens of design and hardware choices working together, and the best laptop for you is the one that uses its battery well for the things you actually do.

• Valve has posted a fix for the 'red line of death' problem
• A small number of bug reports have surfaced online
• Leaving the PC unplugged overnight seems to help

There's good news if your newly purchased Steam Machine has been hit by the 'red line of death' — where the PC displays a solid red indicator light and refuses to boot up (reminiscent of the old Xbox 'red ring of death').

A couple of reports about this problem have appeared in recent days, although it's not clear exactly how widespread this issue is. If you have been hit by the frustrating bug though, Valve now has some official advice for you.

In detailed troubleshooting instructions posted to Reddit, the official Steam hardware feedback account advises affected users to work through a series of steps that include unplugging the Steam Machine and forcing a full reboot.

It's worth saying that the Redditor who originally reported the issue was able to get their Steam Machine up and running again by leaving it unplugged overnight — so an effective fix might not require all of the official instructions.

Here's what to do

Well, the Steam Machine was pretty cool for the 20 minutes that it worked from r/steammachine

If you do find the 'red line of death' appearing on your Steam Machine, these are the troubleshooting steps to follow, as per Valve:

• Unplug the Machine, then press the power button a few times. This ensures any stored energy in the PSU gets discharged. You may see the power indicator LED blip a moment.
• Plug the Machine back in. Note if your power LED glows (breathing pattern) white or not. If yes, please submit a Steam Support ticket and tag me, or send me a chat request with the ID.
• Hold the power button down for ~6s. You should see the power indicator LED (dot) flash momentarily. Release the power button when you do.
• The power indicator LED will start to cycle some color codes. These are designed to allow you to select various options for recovery/troubleshooting purposes. When the LED turns green, short-press the power button. This should perform a full 'CMOS reset'.
• On the next boot, you should see the RGB bar as blue - it may take a bit longer to boot due to a memory re-training.

So there you have it — if your Steam Machine works again, the Steam support account requests that you tag it on Reddit. If not, the next step is to create a support ticket so the issue can be investigated further.

It might be that a number of users have already experienced this problem and resolved it without turning to Reddit or social media, but it's not something you want to see after paying a top price for the gaming PC.

• A Reddit user manually upgraded their MacBook’s storage chips
• The process involved soldering, 12 hours and ‘some nerves’
• The move saved them $2,200 after Apple recently increased its prices

How much is too much to pay for laptop storage? After Apple’s shocking price rises, things might feel so bad that you’re tempted to roll up your sleeves and perform an emergency DIY upgrade job on your MacBook. That’s exactly what one Apple fan did — and they saved themselves a cool $2,200 in the process.

Posting on Reddit, user arduinoRPi4 explained how they took their MacBook Pro with 2TB of storage and boosted it all the way to 8TB, quadrupling their available storage with a serious improvement that means they can “store anything I want.” They spent “around $800” on parts, which saved them $2,200 (around £1,650 / AU$3,170) compared the exorbitant $3,000 (about £2,240 / AU$4,320) it would have cost to pay Apple for a similar upgrade.

Of course, this being Apple, opening a MacBook Pro and increasing its storage yourself is far from straightforward. The post revealed that it took them 12 hours “and some nerves” to make the change — and no wonder, as doing so requires removing the existing storage modules from the MacBook Pro’s mainboard and soldering alternative chips in their place.

As well as that, the poster indicated that they had to “fill in the power components on the other side as well” in order to complete the upgrade. “That was really hell,” they admitted, adding that these parts “are TINY packages.”

All the work was done while they were on vacation in Shenzhen, China, where they “borrowed a lab from a friend who does component level repair.” They used a hot air station and microscope soldering and stencils to do the work, which involved soldering power management integrated circuits into place, followed by 4TB of NAND storage chips on each side of the laptop for a total of 8TB.

‘It looks like excellent work’

If you’ve got the resolve, patience and skill for a spot of laptop surgery like this, the savings can be enormous. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip and 2TB of storage will set you back $4,099 / £4,099 / AU$6,399 at Apple’s increased prices. Change the storage to 8TB and that tweak will add a hefty $3,000 to your bill, bringing the total to an eye-watering $7,099 / £7,099 / AU$10,899.

The difference is even starker when you apply this change to Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip and 2TB of storage currently costs $2,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,949. Add 8TB of storage and the total shoots up by a colossal $4,600. That’s partly due to the expensive storage addition and partly because it requires changing the M5 chip to an M5 Max, which is the only chip that can be configured with 8TB of storage.

A $3,000 upgrade is well out of reach for most MacBook buyers (much less a $4,600 one), so it should perhaps be unsurprising that an enterprising user with plenty of experience and a little time on their hands felt motivated to manually upgrade their storage.

Most posters in the thread were highly impressed with their work, with comments like “very impressive, I could never” being typical. One user was especially effusive in their praise, saying “This kind of work blows my mind.”

That said, other users weren’t happy that a task like this is even needed at all. “Crazy that you have to go this level of modifying just to upgrade your storage,” said one, indicating that Apple’s increased storage prices are not exactly the most popular move it’s ever made.

But with the artificial intelligence (AI) goldrush pushing up component prices worldwide and Apple unwilling to compromise its famously high margins, increased costs are here to stay, at least for the time being. And while that’s still the case, there will probably be plenty more people willing to take on the considerable task of upgrading their laptop’s storage with a few off-the-shelf components and a soldering iron to hand.

• NordPass study claims older generations are more likely to change passwords than younger generations
• But younger users are more in tune with password storage services, preferring to use password managers over memory and writing them down
• All generations are failing to adhere to the best practices when it comes to password hygiene

Many people may believe Gen Z are the best when it comes to adopting new tech, but a new study by NordPass polling 7,861 respondents between the ages of 18-74 suggests that they might be the worst generation for password hygiene.

It’s not uncommon for people to pick a particular word or phrase as a password and alternate special characters, numbers, and capital letters to keep it ‘unique’, but this practice is weakened when the same central password is used for years—or even decades.

In fact, Gen Z has been found to be the generation least likely to change a password, while Baby Boomers are the most security-conscious, actively updating their passwords much more frequently.

Baby Boomers value security

When breaking down the stats, NordPass found just 54% of respondents had changed their longest-standing password in the last 12 months. Those aged 18-24 were the least likely to say they had updated their password within the last year, while those in older brackets, particularly between 55-to-64, were the most likely to update their passwords.

But there is a further trend to be examined. While those in the older age brackets are more likely to update their passwords, they rely on memory or physically writing down their passwords for storage. And those in the younger, more tech-savvy age brackets were more likely to rely on browser-based password storage or third-party password managers.

Writing down passwords or relying on memory often leads to the reuse of passwords to keep them memorable and easy to type, increasing the risk that personal accounts could be breached in the event of a cyberattack. While the average number of password has dropped from 168 in 2024 to 120 in 2026, this still leaves the average person with a significant number of possibly reused passwords that could leak, potentially compromising every account they are used on.

Opting for the convenience of a browser-based password manager also introduces additional risk, as these password vaults often aren’t subjected to the same security protocols as third-party password manager apps.

In fact, another recent NordPass study highlighted that browser-based passwords are at a significantly higher chance of being leaked or stolen thanks to malware, browser compromise, or physical access to the computer.

This is especially true for those using a browser-based password manager alongside a third-party app, because if the browser is compromised there is little you can do to protect your stored passwords.

“I’m fairly certain most internet users know they should immediately change a password that has been compromised,” said Karolis Arbaciauskas, head of product at cybersecurity company NordPass.

“So when people say they haven’t changed a password in years, either the password hasn’t been exposed, or they simply don’t know it has. I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but the second scenario is far more likely. Without tools to notify them when credentials appear in leaks or breaches, many users have passwords aging in the background while the risk grows.”

How to keep your passwords as secure as possible

There are many ways to create a secure password. These are my expert recommendations for maximizing your password security:

• Your password should be at least 15 characters long
• Rather than relying on a memorable phrase or key date, use a string of random words such as the NIST example of ‘cassette-lava-baby’
• Add in some random capitalization, numbers, and special characters, but avoid replacing certain letters with predictable special characters (such as ‘@’ for ‘a’, ‘$’ for ‘s’, and so on)
• If you are forced to regularly change a password as many people are forced to do in the workplace, always use a new, unique password, rather than relying on ‘Summer12345’ followed by ‘Autumn12345’
• Wherever possible, use an authenticator app. This can range from an app on your phone that you use to approve a login or a physical security key that you keep on your person. Many authenticators use phishing resistant passkeys that authenticate your login attempts by using your facial scan or a fingerprint
• Use a password manager to store your passwords securely. They also add the benefit of being able to autofill your credentials for you
• Use a credential exposure checking service such as Have I Been Pwned to securely check if your email address or passwords have shown up in any dark web databases
• Delete any online accounts you no longer use. If the service suffers a data breach, it could leak your username and password combination

• A Reddit user's RTX 5090 has partially melted a PCIe riser cable
• Some of the riser cable's material is stuck on the RTX 5090's backplate
• It's not as serious a concern as connector melting issues, but it's worth being cautious about riser cable and GPU spacing henceforth

Building a new gaming PC in 2026 and beyond is a tough ask for any gamer amid the RAM crisis, and that's why this case of caution around hardware components is vital.

As reported by TweakTown, a Reddit user has reported a partially melted Lian Li PCIe riser cable due to heat from direct contact with the Asus TUF GeForce RTX 5090 backplate. The material chipped away from the riser cable is evident on the GPU's backplate, but fortunately it isn't a substantial amount.

Riser cables are an ideal solution for any PC builder aiming for a small case that can fit larger GPUs by placing them in a vertical position. In this case, the user specifically notes that the riser cable was stuck against the GPU's backplate during a routine PC cleanup, suggesting that the GPU's heat melted the riser cable's insulation.

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that the RTX 5090 is involved in a case of components melting (even if it's very minimal). In case you've missed them, there have been several cases of GPU power cables melting with RTX 5090 GPUs, which stems from the high power draw (575 W).

It's important to note, though, that this can happen with other GPUs across AMD's Radeon and Nvidia's RTX cards, especially those that can get quite toasty under heavy load. However, Team Green's flagship is likely more prone to melting complications, made worse when using cheap riser cables or GPU power connectors.

Rtx 5090 melted riser cable from r/pcmasterrace

Fellow Redditors argue that this isn't a melting issue, as it appears the riser cable has been chipped away instead. Regardless of the exact cause, it's best to use this as an example to proceed with caution when mounting a new GPU.

If using a riser cable is required due to space limitations, users must provide enough clearance for both the GPU and the riser cable to avoid direct contact. It's a great thing that this user caught on to the matter before any real issue arose.

We've reached out to Nvidia to see if it has any comment on this particular case, but haven't received a response yet — but I'm sure the same warning of caution will be shared.

We've seen rare but far worse cases of GPUs melting, and given how expensive it would be to buy new PC hardware, I'd go so far as to suggest users be overly cautious.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1625) — hint #1 — Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1625) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1625) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1625) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1625) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1625) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1625, are…

• ARRAY
• SUITE
• KIOSK
• BOULE

As is often the case with five-vowel games, this was a tricky.

It took me an age of experimentation and head scratching before I finally saw KIOSK after putting the three letters I knew in the I-O-S order and seeing if anything would fit either end. What a relief to get there in the end!

Hopefully it wasn’t as painful for your noggin as it was for mine.

Daily Sequence today (game #1625) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1625, are…

• VIRAL
• CHAIN
• MIRTH
• TIARA

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1624, Monday, 6 July: TRAWL, SPICE, PIANO, SHARK
• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH
• Quordle #1605, Wednesday, 17 June: HOIST, PLUSH, GROUP, LEMUR

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #856) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #856) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• CARGO
• GATE
• SLATE
• CHAIR
• REAR
• GORE

NYT Strands today (game #856) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #856) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #856) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #856, are…

• CART
• BUGGY
• WAGON
• CARRIAGE
• STAGECOACH
• SLEIGH
• SPANGRAM: IGETAROUND

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I was having a merry old ride around this board until the final word and spangram slowed me down to a standstill.

Spangrams like IGETAROUND really are my nemesis and I came close, but not that close, to using a hint, but thankfully saw the unseasonal SLEIGH just in time before I disappeared into a letter-soup haze.

Finding non-game words was actually a good deal harder and I struggled to find the six required for this page.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, July 6, game #855)

• BLOOM
• EXPAND
• SPREAD
• FLOURISH
• THRIVE
• BURGEON
• SPANGRAM: SUMMERTIME

• Valve shares open-source files for an e-paper screen for Steam Machine
• Anyone can download, edit, and share the files
• The screen can attach to the Steam Machine's body and show useful information

I have to admit, after Valve announced the $1,049 / £879 (around AU$1,500) price of the Steam Machine, my excitement for the compact gaming PC plummeted – but a recent move by the company has gone some way to restoring my faith.

As Brad Lynch pointed out on Twitter, Valve has shared the instructions, 3D print files, software and list of needed materials for people to build their own e-paper display that can be attached to the body of the Steam Machine, which can then be used to show information such as the temperatures and performance of the PC’s components.

Dubbed the ‘inkterface’, this second screen turns the Steam Machine into a retro-looking PC, and it’s a great reminder of why PC gaming can be so fun, as well as why, despite having its own issues, Valve continues to be one of the most interesting companies in the gaming industry.

This is what Valve suggests you need:

• 1 x Adafruit ESP32 Feather with 2MB PSRAM
• 1 x Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend
• 1 x Adafruit 5.83" Monochrome eInk Panel
• 13 x M2.5 x 5mm Pan Head Machine Screws
  • McMaster
  • Amazon
• 4 x 1/4" x 1/4" x 3/16" Stepped Magnet SB443-OUT

Do it yourself

The fact that Valve is sharing these files and instructions as open source is very commendable, as it means anyone can use them and change, update, and improve them without paying a penny – as long as you have the appropriate tools and materials.

I can’t imagine Sony or Nintendo supporting, let alone encouraging, their customers to modify their consoles. Valve’s embracing of open-source (see also its use of Linux for SteamOS) shows that while it’s taking a console-like approach in some areas with the Steam Machine, it hasn’t completely abandoned the openness and customizability of PC gaming.

Being able to build your own rig, tweaking and modding your PC, is one of the things I love the most about PC gaming, so it’s great to see that Valve hasn’t completely abandoned its PC roots. Offering ways to add weird, quirky, but also useful, parts to the Steam Machine suddenly makes it a lot more interesting.

Of course, I still think building your own compact gaming PC and installing SteamOS to make your own Steam Machine is a better-value (and more fun) way of doing things, and, again, it’s a testament to how open PC gaming can be.

Even if you don’t have the time, materials or inclination to build your own ‘inkterface’ display for your Steam Machine, you’ll still be able to benefit, as other builders, and even retailers, will be able to make their own and sell them.

The future success of the Steam Machine, then, could hinge on its hackability, which could also be the key to prolonging its lifespan. While I’m not entirely sold on it yet, this does go some way to making the high price a bit easier to swallow.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX: Two-minute review

MSI has something of a mixed history with gaming laptops. I've reviewed quite a few products from the Taiwanese computer hardware brand, and in the past, I've championed MSI for its ability to provide high-performance products with very competitive price tags.

Unfortunately, it seems that the ongoing RAM crisis has caused MSI's latest high-end gaming laptop, the Raider 16 Max HX, to take a hit in this department. Needless to say, this laptop is very far from cheap, with my review configuration clocking in at a steep $4,299 / £3,999 (around AU$6,235).

I'll dig more into the pricing details further down in this review, but the days of wallet-friendly gaming laptops are truly over. That's not a pure criticism of MSI, but I'll admit I balk a bit less at a sky-high price tag on something like Razer's Blade 18; at least Razer gear has always cost a premium, while MSI has frequently offered comparable specs at more reasonable prices.

Setting aside the price tag for a moment, though: is this a good gaming laptop? Well, for the most part, I'd say yes. Performance is strong across the board, with an Intel Core Ultra processor and Nvidia RTX 5000 GPU combined with 32GB of RAM to deliver high framerates in games and power through creative workloads. It's well-equipped for AI-focused workloads too, if you're looking for a device that can pull double duty for both work and play.

The VESA-validated QHD+ screen is bright and colorful, with optional OLED models available in some regions. The chassis is pretty chunky – I certainly wouldn't recommend the Raider 16 Max HX to anyone looking for a laptop they can easily take on the go – but it makes good use of that size, with a full-scale keyboard that doesn't feel cramped in use and a great selection of ports for physical connectivity.

Pricing aside, my main criticism of the MSI Raider 16 Max HX is the overall build quality. The plastic outer casing and screen hinge feel sturdy enough, but the keyboard housing has far too much flex on firm keypresses, and the touchpad is frankly abysmal, feeling like it might break if I pressed down too hard.

I'll delve more into these issues in the design section of this review, but I will say this here: they're not absolute dealbreakers. For starters, you should really be using one of the best gaming mice with any gaming laptop anyway, so the weak touchpad shouldn't actually be a huge problem for actual gaming. Overall, I did quite like the Raider 16 Max HX – it's simply difficult to recommend such a high-end laptop in the current hardware climate.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Price & availability

• Starts from $2,999 / £2,249 (around AU$4,350)
• Available now in the US and UK
• Higher-end configurations get expensive fast

Even the base configuration of the MSI Raider 16 Max HX isn't cheap, starting out at $2,999 / £2,249 (around AU$4,350) for a version with the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and a less powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU.

The review unit I received from MSI is a high-spec model, packing an RTX 5090 and Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor along with 32GB of RAM. This configuration will set you back a rather eye-watering $4,299 / £3,999 (around AU$6,235). There's also a middle-ground model, which uses the RTX 5080, and a few interstitial configurations that swap out the CPU, RAM, or display for slightly different components (including the aforementioned optional OLED display).

In short, it ain't cheap. Sure, you can find more expensive laptops out there, but not many of them. I can't comment on it with absolute confidence since I was sent an RTX 5090 version, but my past experiences with laptop RTX 5070 Ti GPUs lead me to suspect that the lower-end models might actually provide slightly more bang for your buck than the top-spec configurations.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Specs

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Design

• Large, bulky 'gamer' design
• Bright, colorful display
• Plenty of ports and good cooling

Make no mistake, this is a gaming laptop through and through. From the translucent WASD keys to the patterned lid and RGB lightbar across the front of the chassis, the MSI Raider 16 Max HX absolutely screams 'gaming aesthetics' – so it might not be the laptop for you if you want something you can take into a serious office environment as well as gaming at home.

This advice goes double, in fact, because the Raider 16 Max HX is a bit of a chunky device, which hurts its portability. Weighing more than two and a half kilos and measuring over an inch thick with the lid closed, it's far from a lightweight laptop.

That being said, I won't knock the score down for the bulky chassis. MSI has made good use of the extra size, squeezing in a full-size RGB-backlit keyboard with a numpad, yet the main key spread doesn't feel cramped – I found it pretty good for typing, with decent spacing and a reasonable amount of travel. Unfortunately, the aforementioned flex in the keyboard housing gives a slightly spongy feel on firm presses, which may turn some users off.

The large chassis has some other bonuses, too; you get a rich selection of physical ports here, which I'm always pleased to see. In addition to multiple USB-A and USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports, you also get HDMI for connecting a second display and an SD card reader – potentially excellent for digital photographers or filmmakers who want to use their laptop both for gaming and editing work.

A bulkier design also allows for superior cooling. I'll dig into this more in the performance section, but long story short: this Raider has a pretty solid cooling solution, utilizing a triple-fan design with five large exhaust vents that help keep the laptop from getting too warm even during lengthy gaming binges. Considering that some gaming laptops can get pretty toasty when running graphically demanding titles, this is a good inclusion.

There's also a degree of upgrade flexibility here, with a removable underside panel that lets you swap in a new SSD (with an empty slot) or upgrade the RAM should you so desire. This isn't an uncommon sight in modern gaming laptops, but I always appreciate the option to boost my system a little.

Moving over to the display, it certainly feels like it belongs on a high-end laptop, delivering good maximum brightness and color reproduction even on the default IPS panel in my review unit (certain high-spec configurations swap this out for an even more vivid OLED panel instead). The QHD+ (1600p) resolution and 240Hz refresh rate are ideal for gaming – especially if you're into fast-paced esports games that demand a high framerate, like Counter-Strike or Valorant.

Above the display sits a 1080p webcam, which also includes a physical privacy shutter. In my opinion, physical shutters or camera killswitches should be mandatory in laptops, so I'm glad to see one included here.

I really do need to address the touchpad. This might be one of the worst-feeling touchpads I've ever seen on a 'premium' laptop; in fact, I've legitimately seen better pads on budget-friendly Chromebooks. Clicks feel wobbly and unsatisfying, the whole housing flexes far too much even on less forceful presses, and right-clicks sometimes fail to register unless your finger is in the extreme bottom-right corner of the pad.

It's just... bad. I acknowledge that in practice, this won't be a massive issue since all but the most unhinged PC gamers will always use a mouse over a touchpad, but considering that my review model costs in excess of four thousand US dollars, it feels egregiously poor quality.

Lastly, the speakers and microphone are decent but unspectacular. You could find a gaming laptop with superior audio features, but I won't mark the Raider 16 Max HX down for that, because much like the touchpad situation, any sensible PC gamer will be using a gaming headset anyway.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Performance

• Powerful AAA gaming performance
• Also good for creative and AI workloads
• Fans do get noisy

Shocking nobody, my RTX 5090-toting review unit of the MSI Raider 16 Max HX blasted through our benchmarking tests with aplomb, delivering top-notch performance throughout.

Naturally, that meant excellent framerates in a range of triple-A games; in addition to the ones visible in that boxout, I also tested Marathon, Elden Ring, Warframe, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and they all looked fantastic on the QHD+ display.

It was even able to average exactly 60 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 with the Ray Tracing Overdrive preset at the Raider's native 1600p resolution, using only Balanced DLSS upscaling with no frame generation – a notoriously demanding benchmark that batters many of the best gaming laptops.

So, both synthetic and real-world gaming tests went smoothly – but what about creative workloads? Well, the Raider 16 Max HX delivers on that front too, handily matching (and even exceeding, in some tests) the scores achieved by Razer's most recent Blade 18 with the same GPU. 3D rendering, video editing, statistical modelling, LLM training... you name it, the Raider can handle it.

The Intel Core Ultra 290HX Plus in my review unit is also a beast, delivering solid performance across both single- and multi-core workloads. For anyone looking to play CPU-bound games like large-scale management sims, strategy, and 4X titles, this ensures you won't encounter CPU bottlenecks that hamper performance.

I would note that during intensive workloads (predominantly games and creative software), the fans do get fairly loud. They're not the noisiest I've ever heard in a gaming laptop, but it's something potential buyers may want to bear in mind if they're planning to use the Raider in shared spaces, because they do have quite a noticeable whine that almost completely drowned out the fans of my nearby desktop PC during benchmarking. A good headset should insulate your ears from this noise, at least.

It also offers pleasingly fast SSD read and write speeds – which, in fairness, is something I would fully expect from a laptop in this price range, but is good to see nonetheless. Creative professionals who regularly work with large file sizes will appreciate how quickly you can transfer your files around.

Since this is an Nvidia RTX 5000 laptop, regardless of which configuration you purchase, you're also getting the full suite of performance-boosting software tools inside the newly redesigned (and hugely improved) Nvidia App. That naturally includes DLSS resolution upscaling, but also up to 4x frame generation – though I'd personally recommend sticking to 2x for now, for better visual fidelity – as well as features like Nvidia Reflex, in-depth system monitoring, and AI-powered filters like RTX HDR.

Unfortunately, it seems MSI couldn't resist cramming in a load of their own software as well, and to be brutally honest, this is mostly bloatware. The default MSI Center tool is... fine, I guess, letting you customize the RGB lighting as well as tweak system performance presets, but it's hardly groundbreaking stuff. Add in Norton 360 antivirus, Nahimic audio, the Intel Killer network tool, SteelSeries GG, MSI True Color, MSI App Player, and all the Windows Store nonsense Microsoft insists on pre-installing with Windows 11, and it all becomes quite annoying.

Mercifully, you can uninstall the majority of this garbage, or simply do a clean Windows install when you first set it up. But I'm never going to stop being mildly irritated by laptop manufacturers cramming as much software as possible into their devices – especially when some of them are literally mirrored by base functionality within Windows itself.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Battery life

• Great for a gaming laptop
• Good at auto-switching to the iGPU
• Can be charged via USB-C or bundled adapter

MSI has evidently pulled some funky witchcraft with the Raider 16 Max HX, because it cleared the 8-hour mark in our video playback test – an exceedingly rare sight for a gaming laptop.

Okay, there aren't actually any magic spells involved here; the trick is in the new Intel Core Ultra chip that powers this Raider, which offers stellar power efficiency compared to older CPUs from the likes of Intel and AMD. Of course, the GPU will guzzle power when you're gaming (in my online gaming test playing Marathon on the Raider 16 Max HX, it drained from full charge to 10% in just over two hours, which is still decent), but the laptop will automatically switch to the Intel chip's integrated graphics when not running graphically-intensive software in order to conserve battery life.

I also found that it held charge very well, still packing more than 50% after sitting on my desk for several days following my initial unboxing and photography. You can charge it via the (very chunky) bundled adapter, or use any appropriate USB-C charger for slower but more portable charging if you ever opt to take it out of its usual desktop-replacement environment.

Should I buy the MSI Raider 16 Max HX?

Razer Blade 18 (2026): Scorecard

Buy the MSI Raider 16 Max HX if…

Don't buy it if…

MSI Raider 16 Max HX review: Also consider

How I tested the MSI Raider 16 Max HX

• Replaced my usual system for 10 days
• Used for gaming and other tasks
• 8+ years of experience reviewing dozens of laptops

As usual for my laptop review process, I used the MSI Raider 16 Max HX as a replacement for my usual laptop and desktop PC, putting it through its paces in everything from gaming to my everyday work at TechRadar.

Naturally, I also ran the Raider through our synthetic and gaming benchmark testing suite as seen in the Performance section of this review, as well as playing several other games (just for fun!) which included Marathon, Warframe, Elden Ring, and my long-running obsession Slay the Spire 2 – though of course, that last one is hardly a hardware stress test, since it can literally run on my phone.

I've been a PC gamer since my tender pre-teen years, starting out on my dad's boxy beige home office desktop, and I've been a professional tech journalist reviewing all kinds of laptops and PC tech for nearly a decade now, starting out at Maximum PC magazine before making the jump to digital journalism and joining the TechRadar team. I've personally reviewed more than seventy laptops, so you can trust that my knowledge and experience give you reliable insights into the quality of the products I write about.

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

• Merlin Bird ID is a go-to app for bird identification, with more than 40 million downloads
• It can identify over 2,000 species of birds by sound recognition
• A future update will share sound recordings with eBird, a huge biodiversity database

If you're into birdwatching, you'll need no introduction to the popular Merlin Bird ID app, by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. With over 40 million downloads worldwide, and over two million monthly users in the UK alone, Merlin is the go-to app for bird identification for many.

I'm in my forties, and birding has become one of my recent new hobbies, after years of photographing birds while testing cameras and lenses. And while I'm learning, I simply can't identify all the birds I see or hear, especially in my local nature reserve, which is a migration route for varied and sometimes rare birdlife throughout the year, and a popular birding spot.

The app helps me to identify the birds I'm unfamiliar with by their call / song, using machine learning sound recognition, and gives me lightning-fast and almost always reliable results, with an image for each identified bird. It's super helpful.

I can also feed the app one of my photos for identification, such as those taken during a recent outing with the Sony 400-800mm lens, with the results based on location data and other information from a database of more than 2,000 bird species.

So I was delighted to hear that the app — which is free for iOS and Android, with downloadable offline bird packs by location including US, Canada and Europe — is getting an update which will help users like me give something back: integration with Cornell's own eBird database, as reported by the Guardian.

A new wave of citizen scientists

eBird is a huge citizen-science biodiversity database, with over two billion recordings logged worldwide since its 2002 launch. And it's set for an influx of new data — the Merlin Bird ID app update will in future allow bird identifications to automatically flow directly into the eBird database.

Jessie Barry, of the Merlin project, told the Guardian, "Upcoming feature developments will make an even better link to the eBird systems so that we can use the data from what users ‘hear’ with Merlin to monitor bird populations."

Bird conservation is a hot topic, what with bird numbers declining. The UK, for example, has 70 million fewer birds than it did 50 years ago. So here's the good part: these records could provide vital information to conversation efforts for at-risk birdlife around the world.

Barry added: “This data helps create tools that can be used to further conservation, inspire support and inform ecological management strategies.”

Notwithstanding the cautionary note of the app's outright accuracy, with concern from some about it occasionally misidentifying birds, the Merlin Bird ID app update could be a huge boost for bird conservation efforts.

Being directly connected to the go-to bird identification app, eBird stands to receive more data from millions of users, who don't need to make any special effort to take part; they just need to carry on using the app as before to record and identify birdsong.

I love the idea that I will be one of a new wave of citizen scientists across the world, with the recordings I make playing a small part in monitoring bird populations. And the surge in recording data will likely further improve the app's performance.

Right, I'm off out with my phone, I hear the birds calling...

MacPaw has spent years building a reputation as one of the most design-conscious developers in the Mac ecosystem. Its flagship product, CleanMyMac, has long included a malware removal module powered by Moonlock's engine. In October 2025, the Kyiv-based company spun that security technology into a standalone product: Moonlock, a full-featured antivirus app that goes well beyond a simple scanner.

Rather than leading with threat counts and detection percentages, Moonlock frames itself as security software that treats users like adults, explaining what malware is, why it matters, and what to do next, instead of firing off opaque alerts. The marketing centers on a 'care, not scare' approach, essentially promising to educate you rather than just bombarding you with red-text alerts.

While many live in the mythical belief that Macs are immune to viruses, MacPaw's own research reports that 66 percent of Mac users encountered at least one cyber threat last year, with a 67% increase in registered macOS backdoor variants in 2025. The research shows a key message: macOS is not immune, are users are being targeted more frequently than ever.

Plans and pricing

Moonlock starts at $54 per year for a single Mac, with licenses available for 2, 5, or more than 10 devices per subscription. Monthly billing and one-time lifetime license options are also available for those who prefer not to commit to an annual cycle.

Discounts of up to 67 percent are advertised on multi-year plans, which is worth exploring if you intend to stick with the product long term.

New users get a seven-day free trial, though a credit card is required to start. That is a common enough practice, but it does mean you will need to remember to cancel if the product does not suit you. To soften the blow of that annual fee, Moonlock offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is a considerably more generous safety net than the case-by-case refund process offered by some competitors.

Current Setapp subscribers get access to Moonlock at no additional charge, which may be the most compelling value proposition for those already in MacPaw's subscription ecosystem. At $54 per year for a single device, standalone pricing lands considerably higher than ClamXAV's three-Mac Home plan at $29.95, a gap worth weighing if budget is a primary concern.

Features

Moonlock is organized into six sections: Home, Malware Scanner, VPN, Network Inspector, System Protection, and Security Advisor. That framework reflects a deliberate decision to bundle a security suite rather than deliver a focused antivirus, giving the product a notably broader footprint than Mac-only rivals like ClamXAV.

Real-time protection runs continuously in the background, monitoring file activity, app behavior, and Mail attachments even when the main application window is closed. The Malware Scanner supports on-demand and scheduled scans, with built-in quarantine and removal tools. Detected threats are accompanied by plain-language explanations rather than raw file paths and specialized terms.

The bundled VPN is a simplified version of MacPaw's ClearVPN, covering around 60 server locations across more than 45 countries. Independent testing found no DNS or WebRTC leaks, and MacPaw maintains a no-logging policy. Speed retention is strong, holding around 82 percent of baseline download speeds on transatlantic connections and up to 96 percent on closer servers.

Network Inspector adds a country-level connection blocker, permitting users to block outbound traffic to specific regions. System Protection audits macOS's own built-in security settings and walks you through any gaps. Finally, Security Advisor provides a checklist for basic digital hygiene, including practical guidance on habits such as two-factor authentication and app permissions. AI assists with malware classification on the backend, helping the team update threat databases before new strains reach your device.

Privacy and Security

From a top level perspective, Moonlock was tested by the third-party laboratory AV-Test in September 2025 and earned it's AV-Test certification. It scored a 5.5/6 in Protection, 4.5/6 in Performance, and a full 6/6 for Usability (which I'll dive into in the next section).

As for the credibility of the underlying research arm, Moonlock Lab has made several notable contributions to the antivirus landscape, being the first to identify PyStealer on VirusTotal, and the lab has also been cited by the SANS Institute for discovering new variants of the Atomic macOS infostealer.

Regarding privacy, the VPN operates under a strict zero-logs policy, and all data is processed locally. MacPaw publishes a Trust Center at security.macpaw.com describing its data-handling practices, certifications, and security standards, which is a nice change in transparency from many other antivirus providers.

The one caveat worth noting is that Moonlock is a recent standalone launch. While the underlying engine has been in use in CleanMyMac for some time, the app itself has a limited history as an independently tested product. But it is worth noting that in the time since the last time AV-Test handled Moonlock, MacPaw have likely taken steps to improve protection and performance.

Interface and in use

The interface is highly polished, modern, and immediately legible, with a two-panel home dashboard that separates tasks on the left from status information on the right. Everything is where you would expect it to be, and the visual hierarchy makes it easy to tell at a glance whether your Mac is protected.

Instead of a generic 'Threat Resolved' notification, Moonlock tells you what was found, why it poses a risk, and what your options are. I found I was the one to make the final call on whether to remove a flagged item, which sidesteps the infuriating experience of automated deletion that occasionally catches legitimate software.

The system requirements make it suitable for older devices too, requiring macOS 13 or later and 515MB of disk space. The app runs quickly and, in day-to-day use, does not noticeably drag on performance. Installation requires a MacPaw account, which adds a step that competitors like ClamXAV skip entirely for home users, but the tradeoff is a unified login for managing licenses and accessing support.

Ultimately, Moonlock is a great option for those looking for an accessible and easily navigable Mac antivirus that doesn't bombard you with any overly-technical language, and performs as though you are the one in control.

Support

Moonlock support runs on MacPaw's established infrastructure, with a dedicated knowledge base that covers installation, configuration, and troubleshooting, and those with questions can submit immediate inquiries through the support portal. In-app feedback is also available via the Help menu.

As with many Mac-focused security products, live chat or phone support does not appear to be offered as a standard option. For most home users, the knowledge base and email channel will be sufficient. Teams with more complicated environments should verify support response times before committing, particularly given that Moonlock is a relatively new standalone product and the support documentation is still maturing.

The competition

ClamXAV is the most direct rival in the Mac-exclusive antivirus space. At $29.95 per year for three devices, it is considerably cheaper than Moonlock's $54 single-device starting price, and it also holds a perfect AV-Test score compared to Moonlock's test results. It does not include a VPN, network inspection, or the polished onboarding experience Moonlock offers, but for those who want focused antivirus protection at a lower cost, it is a strong option.

Intego Mac Internet Security X9 sits at a comparable price point and includes a network monitor, with a longer track record in independent third-party testing. Bitdefender Total Security and Norton AntiVirus Plus both offer wider platform coverage and larger feature sets, making them better fits for households with mixed Windows and Mac devices.

Those who are already subscribed to CleanMyMac should also note that its built-in malware-scanning module, powered by the same Moonlock engine, continues to function independently. Therefore the question is whether the full Moonlock standalone app adds enough to justify an additional subscription or an upgrade in spending.

Final verdict

Moonlock is one of the most carefully designed security apps I've encountered in the Mac ecosystem. Its interface is excellent, its feature set is broader than most Mac-specific alternatives, and the research team behind it is doing genuinely credible original work. The 30-day money-back guarantee is also a nice addition, despite the need to enter your payment details first.

At $54 per year for a single Mac, it costs nearly twice as much as ClamXAV's three-device plan. The added value of the bundled VPN and Network Inspector goes some way toward justifying that gap, but those who already have a VPN solution elsewhere may not find the extras compelling enough. Setapp subscribers, on the other hand, get all of this for free as part of a subscription they likely already value.

For long-standing CleanMyMac users who already benefit from the embedded Moonlock engine, the standalone app offers greater depth, visibility, and control, but it's not a replacement for anything missing. It is a fuller version of the protection they have already been relying on, now with a VPN, richer reporting, and a proper home for the security features that were previously contained within a Mac cleaning utility.

For Mac users who want a single subscription that covers antivirus, VPN, network monitoring, and system security guidance, Moonlock makes a strong argument. Just go in aware of what you are paying for relative to the alternatives.

You might also be interested in our report on the best Mac apps of the year.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1624) — hint #1 — Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1624) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1624) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1624) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1624) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1624) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1624, are…

• TRAWL
• SPICE
• PIANO
• SHARK

This game worked out very well for me, although that was largely due to a quartet of pretty straightforward words.

TRAWL was my only moment of doubt but felt right as I slowly tapped the letters out.

Daily Sequence today (game #1624) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1624, are…

• BLEAK
• COVET
• GREED
• DROOP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1623, Sunday, 5 July: PINEY, SWOON, TITLE, PINTO
• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH
• Quordle #1605, Wednesday, 17 June: HOIST, PLUSH, GROUP, LEMUR
• Quordle #1604, Tuesday, 16 June: SLAIN, PLUCK, PINTO, SLICE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #855) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #855) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• GRUMP
• ROLE
• DRIP
• HIVE
• MORE
• FLUE
• BIRD

NYT Strands today (game #855) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #855) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #855) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #855, are…

• BLOOM
• EXPAND
• SPREAD
• FLOURISH
• THRIVE
• BURGEON
• SPANGRAM: SUMMERTIME

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Sometimes Strands themes can be head scratchers, other times they are just plain clever and today's theme falls into that latter category.

With the word “season” in mind I quickly found SUMMERTIME thanks to the hard-to-miss double M, although the corkscrew connections provided a little challenge.

Beyond this there were a couple of tricky words — I wouldn’t have seen BURGEON had it not been for the fact that it was sandwiched by THRIVE and the spangram.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, July 5, game #854)

• POINTER
• SPANIEL
• TERRIER
• HOUND
• RETREIVER
• SPANGRAM: HUNTINGBREEDS

D-Link G572: 30-second review

Living in the south of England, you’d expect the internet speeds to be pretty decent, and at one time, not long ago, in the New Forest, they were. But then, as the area started to develop, connection speeds dropped and became increasingly unstable, meaning that if you run a business, fallbacks are needed if you want to keep running.

However, even then, the cellular networks can be hit and miss, aim for the high ground, and ordinarily, you can get a signal, so when my fibre network at home keeled over completely, I reached for my usual choice of mobile network router to get me back online.

However, this time the fibre connection has not been short and tipping over for over a week with no connection and intermittent service for the last few months, I’ve had to look for a more permanent solution. Thankfully, the G572 was in for review and has now been delivering impressive connection speeds to the 4G network from its high point in the house and office.

Unlike my high-end portable 5G router, this box requires AC power, but then it provides wireless coverage that essentially matches that of the Eero 6 routers we usually use at home. In an area where connection speeds are usually lacking, the powerful antennas do the job.

While I still can’t connect to a 5G network, the 4G connection speeds are impressive, with the speed test nearly reaching 80 Mbps and upload speeds of around 6 Mbps. Still some way off the fibre connection, but a lifesaver when you rely on that connection for work and, of course, entertainment.

But this router has not only stepped in where the fibre connection fails, in the office, but another once-sweet spot for bad fibre connection, which, on last checking, has now dropped below 10Mbps and the cellular network is close to non-existent. Using this router, the cellular network connection speeds have improved enough to enable some email, web browsing, and music streaming; video streaming might be wishful thinking. Then there’s also the ability to just plug it directly into the 10G network, fully integrating it with the office network.

The other point at home is that multiple devices can be easily connected with surprising efficiency. Most days when working at home, I’d have two to three machines, three robot vacuums, which I discovered only work when there’s an internet connection, the Alexa, and a couple of mobile phones.

In the evening, that volume of connection uplifts with my partner’s phone and laptop and the use of the Fire Stick. Ordinarily, this volume of connections would cause a slowdown of the connection speeds, especially as the usual mobile router would need to be placed in relative proximity to where the devices were being used, but here, placed on another floor, the connection speeds are still impressive, with a floor between the router and the devices used.

I looked at the previous iteration of this router, the D-Link G530, last year, and was impressed with the Wi-Fi 6 performance. This new model boosts the wireless connection speed to Wi-Fi 7 and adds three more network ports to the back. The uplift in performance is significant to the point that, for most people, with a dedicated network SIM, you can seriously move away from a wired broadband connection, even if you’re limited to the 4G connection.

In my household, while this unit came in for review, the real-world testing has been a little more real-world than I would have liked. While I’m impressed with the download speeds, the upload is a little more limited.

However, if you need a fast and reliable connection in a workshop, studio, office, or at home where you don’t have a fibre connection, or you have a good 5G connection and are happy to rely on a cellular network, then this is a great option. Most importantly, while this box is expensive and the data-only SIM also doesn’t come cheap, the impact of no internet at all makes this fallback a valuable addition to your business costs.

D-Link G572: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? £350
• When is it out? Now
• Where can you get it? Online at major retailers

At present, the D-Link G572 will set you back around £350 for the base unit. On top of that cost, you will also need a mobile SIM contract.

In this test, I used the Unlimited plan from Vodafone, which is uncapped on both usage and speed through the business plans, and this set me back around £250 for the year.

There are cheaper data plans out there, but if you rely on the internet and a clean connection, then this plan, even when limited to the 4G speeds due to local network coverage, will ensure you can keep your business going.

• Value: 4/5

D-Link G572: Specs

Antenna: 10 x Wi-Fi internal antennas, 4 x LTE/5G NR internal antennas, two of which can be substituted with external TS-9 antennas
Interfaces: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, 1 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet WAN port, 1 x SIM card slot
Wireless speed: 7200Mbps (5GHz up to 5764Mbps / 2.4GHz up to 1376Mbps)
IEEE Standard: IEEE 802.11be/ax/ac/n/g/b/a, IEEE 802.3u/ab
Size: 137 × 146 × 205mm; 660g
OS installed: Router firmware with Web UI and D-Link Falcon app management
Accessories: Power adapter
Wi-Fi standard: IEEE 802.11be/ax/ac/n/g/b/a
Wi-Fi speed: BE7200, up to 5764Mbps on 5GHz and 1376Mbps on 2.4GHz
Ethernet: 4 × Gigabit LAN, 1 × 2.5GbE WAN
SIM: 1 × Nano SIM card slot
Antennas: 10 internal Wi-Fi antennas; 4 internal LTE/5G NR antennas, with two substitutable via external TS-9 antennas
Security: WPA/WPA2/WPA3, WPS, SPI firewall, anti-spoofing, IP filtering, and DMZ support

D-Link G572 Review: Design

Like the excellent G530 I looked at last year, the G572 uses an almost identical upright white tower design that sits neatly on a shelf or windowsill. Throughout the test, I moved the router around to find the strongest connection in the home, and, just like with your mobile phone, it’s worth checking the signal strength.

As there’s no screen or readout on the router itself, you need to rely on the companion app, which, while simple, highlights basic information, including that all-important signal strength. While mine was still only three bars, flickering onto four on occasion, the performance was maximised for the area.

The relatively small footprint of 137 x 146mm enables easy positioning. However, you do need to make sure that the positioning is near an AC plug. In the house, that wasn’t an issue, with the prime location directly next to a socket.

Likewise, in the studio, a plug was easily located; however, in the office, the prime location was some distance from the nearest AC socket, so rather than using an extension cable, I used a Jackery 1000 V2 power station, which kept the router running happily throughout the day with a minimal impact on the capacity.

While the unit has a relatively small footprint, the height of 205mm means that you do need a decent-sized shelf height to position the router, and as I moved from one location to another, I actually found that this height was pretty average for most of the shelving units that I use across all locations, so the router fitted without issue.

On the back of the router is a 2.5GbE WAN and four gigabit Ethernet ports, which I was able to plug directly into the network, then there’s the all-important slot of the Nano SIM and AC power socket and the option to connect the TS-9 antenna if you need a connection signal strength boost. Locally, for me, this might have been an idea, but those were not provided for this review.

Getting started with the router is straightforward: install the Nano SIM, then plug the box into the mains. Once done, you install and connect the app, update passwords, and create or log in to your D-Link account, and then you’re pretty much set to go.

For wireless, like any router, you need the username and password; for the wired network connection, it just needs to be plugged in. I installed the DXP4800 GT and the IDX6011 Pro as part of my usual video setup.

As a cellular router, the ease of use and integration into my existing network while I wait for the fibre to be fixed was surprisingly smooth and easy.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

D-Link G572: Features

The G572 is quite an upgrade from the already impressive G530, with the main focus being the switch to Wi-Fi 7 and the inclusion of four network ports on the back. The cellular connection also offers 5G NR support, with theoretical download speeds of up to 7.01Gbps in SA mode for pure 5G potential and up to 5.67Gbps in NSA mode, where the 4G/LTE network is still the base infrastructure, which is the system by which I tested the unit.

Wi-Fi 7 BE7200 supports multi-link operation and dual-band speeds of up to 7200 Mbps, which really makes a difference as more devices are connected. It lets multiple devices connect to the same router using different bands, freeing up bandwidth and improving speeds.

On the back of the router are five network ports, with one WAN 2.5GbE set apart from the four Gigabit LAN ports that enable you to connect to your computer, NAS devices and other office equipment.

The main feature that sets this apart from a standard router is the slot for a Nano SIM. This is essentially the same type that you find in most phones, and you can get a data-only SIM package from most mobile providers.

Once inserted into the slot, it can connect to the cellular network to provide a fast internet connection. While a cellular network connection option is what differentiates this from the standard router, you can also plug directly into your standard wired fibre network connection with automatic failover.

The incoming network cable plugs directly into the 2.5GbE port; if your wired network fails, then it will automatically switch to the mobile connection, so you don’t have any downtime.

Through the test, I tried several locations, in the studio where it stood alone with the cellular network connection. In the home, the fibre internet had failed, so the box was positioned on the second story for the best hebest cellular network signal.

Finally testing in the office, where the wired connection is extremely slow and has dropouts, I put the router between the wired connection and used it as my Wi-Fi network so that when the fibre connection dropped, it automatically switches to the cellular network.

Alongside the hardware is also the D-Link Falcon app and the web UI, which enable you to set up and manage the box. The app, which is how most people will access and communicate with the router, is relatively simple and easy to navigate with access to all the settings you want. If you want a little bit more in-depth control, then you can use the web view that can be accessed directly from your browser window.

When it comes to security, the usual boxes are ticked: WPA/WPA2/WPA3 security, SPI firewall, anti-spoofing, IP filtering, DMZ, and WPS. I was also pleased to see that it offers parental controls, as well as a switch that basically turns everything off at night, so if you’re in the office and you want to switch it off completely when you leave, then you can just access the app, and it’s a simple one-touch button to switch it off.

If you’re in the home, using separate parental controls on the access, essentially saying that after 6 o’clock in the evening, all internet connections are off. The great thing here is that D-Link has really sorted this out, so it’s probably one of the quickest and easiest options I’ve come across in a long time.

The other big feature here, especially for office use, is that you can connect plenty of devices, so within the studio, I had one PC, two Macs, and two mobile phones connected. I also had two NAS systems, and the box handled everything with ease, providing fast internet and network access over the cellular and wired networks.

Even though the LAN ports only offer a Gigabit connection, as my network is isolated at 10GbE through the switch, this wasn’t too much of an issue and only limits the speed at which the wired devices to the router will connect to the internet, which, with the 4G connection, didn’t really pose an issue.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

D-Link G572 Review: Performance

The G572 sounds like a great idea on paper and can be used in several ways. Firstly, if you’re in an office, outhouse, studio or other location where there is no wired internet connection, then you can use this router to connect to the cellular network, and then all of the devices can connect to it in exactly the same way as you usually have with a wireless router.

Alternatively, if the internet connection is absolutely critical and slightly unstable, as it often is here in the New Forest, you can place it between your wired connection and use it as a wireless router in exactly the same way as all other routers of this type. However, if that wired connection falls over at any point, then the cellular connection kicks in, meaning that you have no break in network connectivity. If you plug it into your existing wireless network, as I have in this review, you'll notice very little difference in the connection, even if there is a slight drop in speed, unless it’s uploads where there will a significant slow down.

Unlike portable cellular routers that you can take anywhere, this one is designed to be plugged into mains power, so you can use it in your office, home, or anywhere else with mains power. In this review, I also had to plug it into a Jackery 1000 V2 power station because the place with our best cellular connectivity in the office was too far from a plug to connect without an extension lead. Used in this way, it actually provided a sound solution.

Getting set up and started with it was all easy enough, and once the unit was taken out of the box, it was simply a case of plugging my Nano SIM into the slot on the back and then plugging it into the mains. In the studio, this was as far as it went. I was able to connect using the app and get the rest of the unit set up; it was all quick and really straightforward.

Once connected, whilst I could only find a 4G connection, the transfer rates were almost at 80 Mbps, which was impressive on the download, although the upload speed, closer to 5 and 6 Mbps, was less impressive than my usual wired connection, but in line with what I’ve experienced in the past.

Once everything was set up, I could connect to whichever device I wanted to the router, select that network name, enter the password, wait a couple of seconds, and it would connect. What was impressive here was that every device I connected to delivered similar performance: newer Wi-Fi 7 devices were limited only by the cellular network speed, while older devices that only featured Wi-Fi 6 still produced very fast speeds. Unfortunately, there is no 5G coverage in this area.

Used off-site with no wired connection, I had the router running for around six weeks, and it provided a solid, stable connection throughout, even during the heatwave, when the wired connection at home decided to come to a grinding halt and has since failed to come back online.

While the first month of the test proved just how good this router was in the office and studio, where it provided decent internet connection for download and moderate for upload, the real test came where I had to package up the router and take it home, find a location around the house where I could actually get a mobile phone signal for that data connectivity, and then plug it in.

I’m used to network speeds of around 150 Mbps and upload speeds that are equally impressive; however, while we used to have very decent cellular connectivity, that connectivity has recently dropped out this year. In searching around the house for a decent location for the router, I finally settled on the second floor and the rear of the house, which must have had the clearest line of sight to whichever mast it’s picking up.

Once it was switched on and connected, the 4G connectivity showed at three to four bars, and testing out the transfer rates, I was again surprised to see that I was getting around 80 Mbps, not at all bad.

Now, in my second week of using it as my main internet connection, I can confirm it works incredibly well. I might not be able to test out the 5G speed, but even at 4G, with the slightly ropey connectivity of the area, I’m still getting those fast download rates, although uploads are slightly slower at about 5 to 6Mb per second, and you do have to pick your time of day, with that signal dropping to about 20Mb per second at the height of what seems to be mobile phone use in the area.

Despite that, in the evenings, we’d have at least one Alexa going, two laptops, possibly two mobile phones, and the Fire Stick playing whichever streaming channel we’d settled on for the evening. The D-Link G572 was able to supply all devices without issue, and whilst you could tell, especially with the streaming services, that I wasn’t having the usual speed of connection that I’m used to with the wired fibre connectivity, it was still incredibly impressive.

When the unit first arrived, and after I’d initially set it up, I tested it with the wall connection, installing it as the main router for the house and connecting it to the 2.5GbE WAN port at the back. I was again really surprised by the coverage it provided in the house, surpassing the Eero 6 wireless router I presently use. I also noted that those devices that utilise Wi-Fi 7, primarily a couple of mini PCs that I have for a review, saw the transfer rates vastly increased, still limited somewhat by the 2.5GbE input, but still significantly more than the other router.

Back in the office, and with it just connected to the mobile network and with one of the worst fibre connections going, I connected to the back of the D-Link G572 again, although this time it was more to see whether it could improve the connectivity I usually have in the office.

Here, I was really impressed: every time the wired connection cut out and switched to the mobile network, it was still not great and was far slower than when I was using it at home, but a definite improvement on what I’m used to.

To get a fast connection in my office, I need to cross the car park and go into the next building. There’s obviously a connection somewhere within the old building. However, having this router in between meant that when my wired connection was actually feeling like working well, I’d have a relatively decent connection, and then when it would drop out, it switched over to the cellular network, and for the first time, I was able to work nonstop using the internet connection without worrying about it dropping out partway through a call or upload.

What I really like about the router, although its speed was slightly limited, was the fact that it had those four Gigabit LAN ports, which means I can plug in my NAS boxes for archive and working, along with the network printer, which made them more easily accessible on the network, both wired and wireless. While my actual network in the office runs at 10GbE, this downgraded it to just one. For most office work, this is absolutely fine, and when I actually need faster connectivity, I can go through the switch and plug directly into the faster NAS.

As I’m used to working in an environment where the internet connection can be variable, from very good to absolutely non-existent, always having some sort of wireless router with me is an essential part of my working kit, and I usually rely on the Netgear Nighthawk M7, as it’s just a very powerful and portable solution, although even that struggles at the moment in the office.

The D-Link G572 is a far cheaper solution, which is good, especially considering the cost of a 5G unlimited data package, which can also see costs rise rapidly. With this AC-powered router, I was impressed from the outset. It is a bit of a shame that those LAN ports are limited to a Gigabit, but when it comes to one of these devices, it’s just simple. It does what it does, and you don’t need to really think about it. It’s exceptionally good, and for someone like me, who works in an older building in a town with very little internet, this makes a lot of sense.

• Performance: 4 / 5

D-Link G572: Final verdict

When I tried out the predecessor to the D-Link G572 last year, I was impressed by just how versatile it was and by the fact that it could serve as a backup to my internet connection. At that time, my wired and cellular network connections around the New Forest were exceptional, but in the intervening year, the cellular network dropped out entirely, and even the wired network that had always been so reliable became especially unreliable, meaning I had to look for alternative solutions.

Having now burnt through EE, O2, Vodafone and a few other providers, it turns out there's been an issue with our mast for almost a year, so a device with a good antenna to pick up whatever signal you can get is essential.

What I found with the D-Link G572 was that, even without the optional antenna, it still picked up a pretty decent signal as long as it was positioned correctly. That place in the house took quite some time to locate, but once I did, I was seeing speeds in excess of 80 Mbpsd, far faster than I would have thought possible and over 20 Mbps faster than the comparable rate on my iPhone 15 Pro using the same network.

I also like that I could plug it in between my wired fibre connection and use it as my wireless router, with it switching to cellular when the wired connection drops out. Even though many of my devices around the house couldn’t fully use that Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, it was fully backwards compatible and still provided all devices with a strong signal, enabling me to continue working despite cellular and wired connection issues.

As a solution for anyone working off-grid or in a location where a wired or even cellular data network can be an issue, this D-Link G572 is certainly worth the money. Whilst it might seem that it is a premium option, especially when you consider you’re also going to need a data SIM contract, actually, just the fact that it keeps you working online and able to do business makes it a valuable asset for any business.

Should I buy the D-Link G572?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more connectivity solutions, we've tested the best Wi-Fi routers.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #854) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #854) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• POLITE
• SPRITE
• LIVER
• HUNGER
• TINGE
• SPEEDING

NYT Strands today (game #854) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #854) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #854) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #854, are…

• POINTER
• SPANIEL
• TERRIER
• HOUND
• RETREIVER
• SPANGRAM: HUNTINGBREEDS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

My immediate thought was that the theme had to have something to do with dogs, but I was wary, of course, of falling into a trap and barking up the wrong tree.

After spotting POINTER it seemed clear that we were looking for dog breeds, but my canine knowledge was not good enough to know that we were searching out HUNTINGBREEDS until after I had connected SPANIEL and TERRIER and then the spangram.

Beyond the game itself there was also an interesting crop of lengthy non-game words. It’s rare that I’ll find many over five-letters long but today the board was loaded with them.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, July 4, game #853)

• BRIGHT
• COLORFUL
• DAZZLING
• EXCITING
• SPARKLING
• SPANGRAM: FIREWORKS

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1623) — hint #1 — Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1623) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1623) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1623) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1623) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1623) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1623, are…

• PINEY
• SWOON
• TITLE
• PINTO

Today felt like a Greatest Hits of Quordle game, with two very familiar words in PINTO and PINEY making their third appearances of 2026.

Meanwhile, it was nice to see SWOON. It’s one of my favorite words — the sound is nice, the meaning is great, and for a bonus it’s also the title of an excellent album by Prefab Sprout.

Daily Sequence today (game #1623) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1623, are…

• REBEL
• LEANT
• DEBUT
• BRASS

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1622, Saturday, 4 July: ARGUE, MOTEL, OPERA, TRUCE
• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH
• Quordle #1605, Wednesday, 17 June: HOIST, PLUSH, GROUP, LEMUR
• Quordle #1604, Tuesday, 16 June: SLAIN, PLUCK, PINTO, SLICE
• Quordle #1603, Monday, 15 June: GAUNT, SNEAK, ROUTE, POKER

Titan 2 Elite: 30-second review

Touchscreens have changed the way we enter text on our mobile devices, with swipes used to interact with apps rather than typing on a traditional keyboard; long gone are the days of BlackBerry.

This means that the way apps are designed has changed greatly since the advent of smartphones. However, there is still a place for physical QWERTY keyboards, especially if you do a lot of typing. Whilst a touchscreen is great for straightforward input, when it comes to shortcuts, they can be a little bit convoluted, and that’s where this type of QWERTY keyboard really starts to make sense, especially when you can customise and add your own shortcut systems into the keyboard layout.

As a smartphone, the Titan Elite 2 runs Android 16, into which you install the latest apps, and the screen itself, while small at 4.03 inches, is an AMOLED display with 1080 x 1200 resolution and a very decent 120Hz refresh rate. This means it is actually pretty good for watching back TV shows or catching up on social media, but it really comes into its own for quickly typing in messages. Actually, after I got used to the small keys, I found it much easier to respond to messages, WhatsApp, and emails on this keyboard than on the standard touchscreen.

Through the test, I found the battery life was pretty decent, and because you are generally not using it the same way you would, say, a standard touchscreen smartphone, the battery still had a decent 60% remaining when I got back home. I then just found myself using the phone less because of the design, and again, that was something that really endeared me to the design.

The other point about the design, aside from the bright orange colour, is just how small and compact it is. It fits neatly into a trouser pocket, and while it’s as wide as a smartphone, it’s shorter, making it feel slim and lightweight.

Whilst there were many aspects of this phone that I really liked, there were a few minor issues. When it came to quickly editing a photo or two, the small screen was just a little bit too small. There’s not a great deal of real estate for anything other than typing or watching back videos, and even when you come to play games, because the screen is that much smaller and with that keyboard in place, it’s not great. Then there is the issue that there is no 3.5mm jack or wireless charging, which is a little bit of a shame. However, it does feature Bluetooth and the USB-C port.

The Unihertz Titan 2 Elite is a really nicely considered phone. It won’t appeal to everyone, but for those who like the slightly retro approach to smartphone use, it is a great option.

Titan 2 Elite: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $489
• When is it out? Now
• Where can you get it? Online at unihertz.com

At present, the phone is only available for pre-order, with a full release in August. The US price is at present set at $489.99.

You can pre-order now by clicking here, and the item will start shipping soon.

• Value: 4/5

Titan 2 Elite: Specs

CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 7400, octa-core, 2.0–2.6GHz
Graphics: Mali-G615 MC2
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5
Storage: 256GB UFS 3.1, microSD support up to 2TB via hybrid slot
Ports: USB-C
Connectivity: 5G, 4G LTE, dual Nano SIM, eSIM, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo, IR blaster
Audio: Loudspeaker, FM radio, no 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera: 50MP main + 50MP telephoto rear cameras; 32MP front camera
Size: 117.8 × 75 × 10.4mm; 163g
OS Installed: Android 16

Titan 2 Elite: Design

The Unihertz Titan 2 Elite instantly differentiates itself from most smartphones, first with its colour options, my review sample was the bright orange, though it’s also available in a subdued black. Then more strikingly, with its physical QWERTY keyboard below the touch screen.

The phone itself is compact, measuring 117.8 x 75 x 10.4mm and weighing just 163g, significantly lighter than the latest intake of smartphones. Whilst that screen is smaller, as the review went on, I found that having a physical keyboard always there, partnered with an on-screen keyboard for special characters, actually made it a quick way to input text and write emails, something I always find extremely tricky on my iPhone.

The phone's build quality is also surprisingly good. Made of aerospace-grade CNC aluminium and with that anodised finish, it gives a good, high-quality premium feel.

The keyboard is well designed, with a slight bevel on each key. They just make it a little easier to find each key than if they were flat. It does take a little bit of time to convert from using a touchscreen mobile to one with a physical keyboard, and there is no doubt that those keys are really small. But even with my hands, I was able to adapt to those keys relatively easily, and I did find typing just a little bit easier. I was far less likely to mistype on this phone than I am when using the touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone.

The screen is smaller and has a slightly different aspect ratio than I am used to, and at 4.03 inches, it features an AMOLED display that is nice, bright, and easy to view in most conditions. It also has a decent resolution of 1080 x 1200 and a refresh rate of 120Hz, so whilst it is not really designed for a bit of gaming, if you do decide to opt for a few moments playing Asphalt Legends, the gameplay is actually relatively smooth.

That screen size can leave things feeling a little cramped at times, but it is quite nice to have a square screen. What really strikes you about the phone in your hand is just how comfortable it is to use. It looks a little bit wider than the standard smartphone when you take it out of your pocket, but it’s actually much the same.

It’s just the height that is much reduced, meaning that, firstly, it’s more comfortable in a pocket, and, secondly, when you have it to your ear, it’s in a really nice position for the earpiece and the microphone. I just found it much nicer to handle than my larger phone.

Design-wise, this looks like a business phone, and there is no getting around it. It also looks very retro with a modern twist. I love the bright orange color, and I really like the look of the QWERTY keyboard. It’s supported by the touchscreen, and as designs go, it all seems well balanced. Of course, like all decent smartphones these days, there is also a selection of cameras on the back and a very decent forward-facing selfie camera for conferencing.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Titan 2 Elite: Features

There is no escaping the main feature here, which is that physical QWERTY keyboard with touch-sensitive functions, both on the screen and the keyboard itself, which is quite remarkable when you start to scroll through pages, especially online, and you can do that by just swiping up and down on the keyboard itself and not the touchscreen.

This function is not available from the outset. You need to delve into the settings to activate it, but once you have, the scroll assistant and cursor assistant open up a wealth of controls I have not seen on a smartphone of this style before. It just becomes quick and intuitive to use.

Then, as you delve into the settings and you go to shortcut keys, you then have a series of function keys that you can also assign, so if you want a quick key to open up one of your apps or to copy and paste, then you can do all of that through the shortcut key menu. This is something that I always find especially tricky on a touchscreen-only device.

The point about the keyboard is that it is a decent-quality, and once you figure out that you need to push the “symb” button in order to bring up symbols and numerics, everything from that point on becomes pretty much smooth sailing.

Inside, there’s a relatively decent MediaTek Dimensity 7400 chipset, 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. As you use the phone for various apps, you realise it is more than capable of work-related tasks, including the full Google suite, where it seems especially tuned and smooth in use.

What I also like is that there is dual Nano SIM support, eSIM support, and a hybrid microSD expansion option, so you can have one Nano SIM alongside a microSD for storage expansion.

The CPU is joined by a decent GPU, the Mali-G615 MC2, which we often see in this style of mid-range smartphone. During the test, I found that this was more than enough for most productivity apps in the Google suite and handled Lightroom and gaming without too many issues, although the screen size was the main limitation. So, for the intended use, if you are mainly typing, then this GPU is probably going to keep up with everything that you need.

The cameras are not cutting-edge, but they are well-balanced, with a 50-megapixel main camera and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, which should just about cover you in most situations. They are great for site pics and taking a few snaps, but they are not cutting-edge camera quality. Likewise, the 32-megapixel selfie camera is perfect for video conferencing and video calls, and for capturing a quick picture of yourself in front of a few locations, but the quality is mediocre rather than outstanding.

What I do like is that it has the latest version of Android 16, and Unihertz has said that this will come with five years of update support and OS upgrades to Android 20, along with all security patches until 2031, meaning that your investment in this phone will be supported for a good few years.

The other point here is that whilst it might lack a 3.5mm headphone jack, which I would have liked to have seen on something slightly retro-styled like this, there is NFC, an IR blaster, fingerprint unlock, USB OTG, FM radio, Google Pay support and a programmable red side button that you can assign to something such as the camera.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Titan 2 Elite: Performance

The design of this phone is quite striking, and actually, whilst it has a decent CPU, when it comes to the main focus of this smartphone, it’s all about productivity and being able to type quickly, with the big feature being that full QWERTY keyboard.

An initial look at the phone as it’s lifted from the box shows it is exceptionally high quality. That CNC-machined aluminium just gives it a real nice finish, and with that anodised orange coating, it just looks great. It’s kind of in the same colour profile as the new iPhone 17 Pro, but if you are not into these bright, vivid colours, you will be glad to know you can also order a black version, which is a lot more sedate.

Getting started with the phone was quick and easy enough, and after a full charge, I loaded the interface, signed in to Google, and instantly, all my Google apps and everything else were available. It just shows how the Dimensity 7400, 12GB of RAM and the ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage could be when used on a phone that’s primarily designed for productivity rather than multimedia, and for messaging, browsing, email, as well as updating a couple of Google Docs, it was able to handle everything without too many issues.

The one thing that I did note from the outset was the size of the screen. There is no getting away from the fact that it is a lot smaller than your average smartphone. However using Google Docs, because you have the keyboard underneath rather than covering half of the screen being taken up by a keyboard, it feels perfectly workable despite being smaller.

As I got into using the keyboard and my thumbs started to get the muscle memory for the positioning of all the keys, I found my typing speed actually increased, or at least the number of mistakes I was making rapidly reduced. When smartphones first arrived, I used a BlackBerry for a long time, and there is still a bit of that muscle memory left, which helps me navigate this phone relatively quickly.

Obviously, with technological advancement, it’s much better than those older phones, and what I like most is that the keys are not only physical but also touch-sensitive. By activating the cursor and scroll controls in the settings, I could then use my finger to swipe left or right on the keyboard or navigate on the screen with the small cursor.

This ability to essentially use the keyboard as a trackpad just made typing and correcting what I was typing on screen so much easier than on my iPhone, which when trying to place the cursor on the iPhone will inevitably pick a spot two lines below what I want.

Trying to navigate anywhere on my iPhone screen with the cursor is near impossible, to the point where I rarely bother, often just deleting a line or two in order to correct something. Here, with the Android 16 interface within Google Docs, it just worked. It was easy to place the cursor where I wanted, then correct the text and move on without getting frustrated.

During the test period with the phone, its limitations became obvious, and if you do decide to download Lightroom, for instance, to update and edit some photos, the small screen size really starts to feel like a limitation, although the interface is incredibly well designed for small screen phones.

It’s still possible to work on an image, but your eyesight has to be pretty good, and it is obviously not designed for this sort of thing. Likewise, playing games just gets you a small screen rather than the large screens that we are used to with the latest smartphones.

However, when it came to viewing video, and this might be because I was used to an old iPod video years ago, I actually quite enjoyed watching a couple of episodes of a TV show on the small screen. Whilst yes, it is considerably smaller than the iPhone's, the screen and picture quality are still pretty good.

Through the test, I utilised the phone in and out of the office and also on a trip up to London. Because I was so impressed by its use, I used it as my main phone for about a week to see if I could really get on with a keyboard smartphone rather than a touchscreen option, and over time if that keyboard was a touch larger then yes I might have actually made the switch.

One of the things this highlighted through the use was battery life, which lasted a full day without issue, even with making a few calls, answering emails, updating Word docs, and listening to music. I wouldn’t say that the battery life is outstanding at the end of the day. It did need a good charge, but for a phone of this size, it’s certainly more than enough for a day-to-day phone that will always be charged at night.

To finish the test, I took a quick look at the camera, and there are two options. You have your wide-angle to capture large vistas and your telephoto, which lets you zoom in and, as I found, is also pretty good for portraits. Whilst the camera is not a major feature of the phone, the fact that both are set at 50 megapixels means that they are well balanced.

Whilst the cameras are not headline features, they can still capture a pretty decent image as long as the lighting conditions are right and you are not expecting too much. If you are just taking holiday snaps, or, more than likely, a few images on business trips, then this will be perfectly adequate for what you need.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Titan 2 Elite: Final verdict

There is no doubt that the Titan 2 Elite is a niche phone with that QWERTY keyboard, and it’s not trying to take on touchscreen smartphones. It’s more of an alternative to use, and it also changes how you use your smartphone because you have a physical way to interact with it, rather than that touchscreen swipe.

Through the test, I found that it’s much better suited to typing, so it’s good for writing emails, replying to social media messages, and standard messages. I found it a lot easier on this phone than on my iPhone, mainly because I am always mis-typing on that touchscreen, whereas here each press, because of that small bevel on the keys, was a little more precise despite the keys’ small size, which was surprising.

I also like that the keyboard, which features a decent backlight, could be set to be touch-sensitive, essentially using it as a trackpad or for left- and right-scroll, which again just made things easier. The fact that you can also assign some of the buttons to custom settings and applications really does help with workflow, especially if you do a lot of typing on your phone.

When it came to battery life, it was well-balanced and able to handle all of Google’s productivity apps without issue and lasted easily all day. For me, at least, I found that the touchscreen and keyboard combo was a really great way of working. I also love the retro look of the phone. It is kind of a mix of retro and modern, but I do miss a 3.5mm headphone jack. It would just have set it off nicely.

So whilst this phone is not really a competitor to the latest touchscreen mobiles, it does offer something different, and if you like the more physical way of interacting with your phone and you want something that is just a little bit smaller and lighter than what is on offer in the mainstream, then the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite is a great alternative, with a design focused on productivity rather than social, gaming and creative use.

Should I buy the Titan 2 Elite?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more professional picks, we've tested the best rugged phones for field-work.

Walk deep into Walt Disney Imagineering’s sprawling, surprisingly unassuming Glendale campus, and you’ll eventually find Studio C.

It’s where Imagineering mixes the audio for its attractions, but when I recently stepped inside, I quickly realized it was much more than a recording studio. The room is lined with dozens upon dozens of speakers designed to recreate the sound field of Disney attractions, letting Imagineers hear a ride long before guests ever do.

During my visit, I watched a live mix session for Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, Shanghai Disneyland’s trackless dark ride, and the experience was almost uncanny. Sound moved seamlessly around the room, tracking the ride vehicle as though I were actually inside the attraction.

That same room became the proving ground for one of Imagineering’s most unusual engineering challenges yet: figuring out how to mix the audio for Soarin’ Across America.

The reimagined version of Disney’s iconic flight simulator debuted this summer at both EPCOT at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, timed for America’s Semiquincentennial celebration. Disney’s Unscripted behind-the-scenes video confirmed that Imagineers used the Apple Vision Pro during production of Soarin’ Across America, but it left one obvious question unanswered: why? That’s what I wanted to find out.

So I spoke with Greg Lhotka, Sr. Manager, Audio Media Design at Walt Disney Imagineering, who walked me through the surprisingly complicated process behind mixing one of Disney’s most technically demanding attractions.

“For Soarin’ Across America, we utilized Studio C not only as a production facility, but as a proving ground for an entirely new field-mixing approach developed specifically for this film. On the sound design side, we partnered with Skywalker Sound, and together we used Studio C to prototype and validate a custom speaker configuration that closely mirrors the unique audio architecture of the Soarin’ theaters.”

If you’ve ridden Soarin’, you already know why that matters. Riders are lifted into the air in three stacked rows facing a massive curved projection screen, while sound moves not only around the theater but above and below you as well. As Lhotka explained, the attraction uses a four-tiered speaker system — upper, mid-level, lower, and a dedicated floor array — creating an audio environment that’s far more complex than a traditional movie theater.

Having now ridden Soarin’ Across America several times, it’s easy to appreciate the result. The updated film sweeps from New York Harbor and the Grand Canyon to California’s rolling hills and countless landscapes in between through soaring aerial cinematography, practical effects, and a soundtrack that glides almost effortlessly alongside you. The audio shifts just as fluidly as the visuals, making each transition feel natural as the ride carries you across some of America’s most recognizable landmarks and scenic vistas.

Studio C could simulate much of that during production, but not all of it.

“For Soarin’ films, mixing historically required the construction of scaffolding inside the theater to reach the appropriate listening height for final mix decisions,” Lhotka explained. “Even then, the process was far from ideal, as the ride canopy significantly influences the acoustics. For this project, one of the key requirements was that the theater remain fully operational and open to guests throughout production — eliminating the possibility of scaffolding altogether.”

That constraint forced Imagineering to rethink its entire workflow.

“The challenge was clear: how do you mix a show with over 1,000 audio tracks and an extremely complex panning matrix while seated in a ride vehicle? The solution came through an innovative use of new AR technologies. By leveraging advanced screen-sharing capabilities, we were able to remotely control our production system — directly connected to the theater — while seated in the ride vehicle itself. This allowed us to place virtual screens in our field of view, effectively bringing the mixing console into the theater environment.”

Before anyone tested it inside the attraction, Studio C became the test lab.

“Studio C once again played a critical role as our testbed. Over the course of a week, we evaluated multiple configurations to confirm that things could be controlled precisely in this way, and that the AR headset’s external cameras would allow us to view the film clearly in the theater’s low-light conditions while simultaneously monitoring the virtual screens. The final configuration exceeded expectations.”

Once validated, the workflow moved from experiment to production.

“This workflow was ultimately used as the solution — and it became the method by which Soarin’ Across America was mixed. The result is a soundtrack that was shaped directly from the guest’s perspective, using tools and techniques that reflect our continued commitment to innovation, immersion, and storytelling.”

Having experienced Studio C for myself, that revelation immediately clicked. The room is already designed to recreate the feeling of sitting inside a Disney attraction with remarkable accuracy. But even a purpose-built facility couldn’t perfectly replicate Soarin’s unique acoustics. The only place left to finish the mix was inside the attraction itself.

It’s an elegant solution that solved two problems at once. Guests never lost access to Soarin’ during production, and Imagineering’s audio team was able to shape the soundtrack from the exact seat every future rider would occupy. Rather than approximating the experience from scaffolding or even Studio C, the final mix was crafted where it mattered most: inside the attraction itself.

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: 30-second review

If you’re looking for a small, portable projector for business presentations or just to sit back and relax and watch a movie, this Google TV-enabled 1080p projector is a superb option. What I really liked about this projector was that as I fed a presentation from my 4K output through the projector, it was downscaled without any issue, no black screen or flickering it just worked.

Essentially, with Google TV installed, linking it to my selection of mobile phones, be that Android or iOS, was straightforward, all done through the Google Home app. Once you’ve run through that initial setup process, along with all the updates, you’ll be up and running within a few minutes.

Since it's based on Google Home, you can install any native apps you want. If you are primarily using this for entertainment, you can download Amazon Prime, Netflox, 4oD, and any other apps you want, although iPlayer and the BBC apps do need to be cast. There's also a slight compatibility issue with iPhones when trying to cast from Apps like iPlayer, but for the most part it's simple enough. It’s all very simple, as ever with anything that runs on Google Home, and the connection speeds provide fast downloads in most situations.

When the unit arrived, it came in a semi-hard case, which is great for portability, especially if you’re going to business meetings or are running a workshop, as I was. In which case, it makes it a very neat and easy way to carry. The other point that I like about the design is that it has a 90-degree rotating body, which means you can very easily tilt the projection at will, no need for book to prop it up, and with the auto keystone correction, it automatically corrects the verticals. If, however, you want to mount it onto a tripod, then there is a quarter-inch thread on the base, making things especially easy.

Considering the size, the 750-lumen projection brightness is pretty decent for a portable model, although you do still need to present in slightly subdued lighting. In midday daylight, it’s worth just pulling down the blinds so you can see the projected image clearly. But if you’re viewing this later in the evening or at night, then that projection clarity is superb, and the uplift to Full HD, not just HD as many portable projectors are, really does make a difference to the quality.

The one thing I would say is that it has an integrated 5W speaker, and whilst that is actually pretty decent and was fine for my presentation, it’s a little low on the volume stakes. However, as you’ve got a 3.5mm audio output jack, if you do want to plug in a louder soundbar, then thankfully, that’s very easy to do.

The point here is that, alongside the Home integration, which is great for entertainment, when it comes to business use, you also have the HDMI input. So, you can connect it straight into a laptop, in my case, the MacBook Pro M1 Max, or there’s a USB Type-A port as well, so USB keys can be plugged directly in.

There’s also the built-in 66Wh battery, which is rated for up to three hours, which is enough to watch most films and get through most presentations without too many issues, but you can be cutting it a little bit fine. I found that just plugging it in via USB-C into the mains was the best way to keep the projection topped up and running, and, when out in the field, I used the Jackery 1000 V2 power station, which proved a great option.

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? £799 TBC
• When is it out? Now
• Where can you get it? Most large high street retailers and online

The TCL PlayCube is widely available in the US, UK, and beyond, from retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Argos, and Richer Sounds. I generally found it selling for around the $799 / £799 mark.

• Value: 4/5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Specs

CPU: MT9630 processor

Graphics: DLP projector, 0.33-inch DMD chip, RGB LED light source

Rear / main ports: 1 x HDMI, 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1 x 3.5mm audio output, USB-C power connection, IR input

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, Google Cast

Audio: Integrated 5W speaker, Dolby Digital Plus, four EQ sound modes

Size: 5.9 x 3.8 x 3.8 inches / 150 x 97 x 97mm; 2.87lb / 1.3kg

OS Installed: Google TV

Accessories: Power cord and user manual

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Design

I absolutely love the design of the PlayCube portable projector. It just looks great once you remove the semi-hard case it arrives in, unzip it, and the cube-like projector inside is revealed, along with the remote, plug, and USB cable that supplies AC power when not utilising the battery.

The design is somewhat unique, earning it the PlayCube name: part of the body rotates 90° to let you tilt the projector up onto a wall when it’s on a desktop, making it extremely portable and easy to use in different locations.

I used a workshop I was running to fully test this projector and even the set up process that was as simple as popping it onto a desk, tilting the body to project onto a wall was extremely quick and straightforward.

With the auto keystone and focus correction, I could literally get on with setting up without worrying too much about the projector. It’s just a very nice, neat design.

At just 5.91 x 3.82 x 3.82 (150 x 97 x 97mm) and weighing 2.87lb (1.3kg), it’s also relatively light, so you can easily position it on a desk if giving a presentation. Equally, if you’re at home or out camping and want to watch a movie, it’s very easy to position and place. Great if you’re just taking it with you to watch a sporting or music event this summer, or to kick back and watch a movie at the end of the day.

In my case, it’s brilliant for workshops because you never know how much room you’ll have or what you can project onto. Just having something small and versatile like this is especially useful, even more so when it has a quarter-inch thread on the base, letting you mount it on any standard tripod.

Design-wise, it looks ultra-modern, extremely stylish, and well-made, and with that semi-hard case, it feels good and durable. So, if you are using it as a professional piece of kit rather than just for entertainment, then, stashed away in a Peli case for transport, it should survive more than a knock or two. it feels well made and robust, and durability has certainly been a consideration.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Features

Considering this is a portable projector, the feature set is quite impressive, with a step up to 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, which is far better than the standard 720p resolution we often see with this style of portable projector. What’s more, it also supports 4K input, so if you’re outputting from your laptop at 4K directly to the projector, or from a media player, it will downscale it to the correct resolution without issue.

The other point here is that 750lm is exceptionally high for a small portable projector, which means you can use it in slightly brighter conditions than you would usually consider. For myself, running a workshop, that brightness was just enough to produce a clear image in daylight conditions that was easy for everyone attending to see.

The brightness was matched by decent clarity and sharpness, and the autofocus really does lock on. Again, with that auto keystone correction, you’ve got a nice rectangular visual, even when you’re projecting up at an angle towards the wall.

The size of the projection is dependent on how far you move the projector back from the wall, you can go from a relatively small 30-inch projection to a 150-inch one. Obviously, the closer you are to the wall, the brighter the projection, so during the day you’re probably going to want that close-range projection of just 30 inches, which is still relatively large in small workshop situations, all the way up to about 150 inches if you’re kicking back of an evening and watching a movie.

Checking the quality of the projection, the image is produced via an Aura RGB LED light source, which the company claims has a 124% Rec.709 colour gamut. I’m also pleased to see that it’s got autofocus, auto keystone correction, auto screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance, meaning the screen will actually resize to avoid certain obstacles like light sockets and doors, all helping to make the setup nice and straightforward.

As we see with quite a few of these projectors now, safety guards, including the TOF active guard eye safety feature, help reduce the risk of direct eye exposure. As a multi-use projector, you get Google TV, Netflix certification, Google Assistant voice control and Google Cast, meaning you can cast directly from an Android phone to the projector, making things ultra-simple.

When it comes to connectivity options, if you don’t want to use Google Home and just want to use it as a straight projector, there are HDMI and USB ports, and I was pleased to see a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting external speakers. You also have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity to stream to online services and connect to external devices such as speakers.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Performance

Getting started with the PlayCube is extremely easy. After all, it has Google TV, and the setup and installation process is exceptionally quick. The only thing I would say is that during use, my home internet connection completely failed, so I had to rely on a mobile network. Still, the connection speeds were exceptionally good using the D-Link G572 5G router, which I highly recommend as a backup for your home internet if it’s slightly temperamental.

Once I’d run through the setup process, installed all the apps that I wanted, connected my Google account and run all of the updates, which did actually take some time, I was then able to use Google TV to project from all of my favourite streaming apps, and this all worked as expected, with a few notable exceptions.

While the projector works with most main stream apps, there's no option to download iPlayer and trying to cast to the projector from my iPhone through the iPlayer app also proved a non event. All other apps worked incredibly well.

What I liked here was that the remote control is really well thought out and very responsive in use. The quality of the projected image was also exceptionally good, and compared with some of the portable projectors that I normally use for workshops, the higher-resolution 1920 x 1080 display, alongside the 750lm brightness, really did make a difference to the clarity and internal gradation, even in relatively bright daylight conditions.

As the afternoon and evening drew in, the quality of the projection really stood out, and for presentations and workshops, this projector is an ideal solution. Coming in that small semi-hard case, this is easy to transport and even easier to set up.

There are several things that really appeal to me. First, the semi-hard case keeps everything neat and tidy, and the second is just how easy and quick it is to set up. Essentially, place it onto a desktop, rotate the cube around so you get the tilt onto the wall that you want, power on, and then you can connect whichever device you want, be that through the Wi-Fi connection for streaming services or, in my case, connecting my MacBook Pro through HDMI directly into the back of the projector so that I could project my presentation as well as examples.

The speakers are only 5W, and while they’re relatively decent quality, I did plug into an old pair of Fostex monitors just because they gave me better, louder audio.

I also found that, as I was setting up, the autofocus, keystone and object avoidance all happened automatically and extremely quickly. Once you get enough distance from whichever surface you’re projecting onto, it is very easy to get it to sit within a projection screen or wall, from the relatively close quarters of the workshop to pulling the projector right back for watching a movie later on that evening.

The fact that it’s got that quarter-inch thread on the base, enabling me to mount it onto a tripod, just made it far easier to manoeuvre around, and whilst the battery does last a good two and a half to three hours, for safety, especially while I’m watching the movie, I plug it into a Jackery 1000 V2 power station just to ensure it doesn’t power down right at the end of the movie.

Through the tests, the projector just worked exceptionally well, and whilst there is quite a bit of fan noise, especially in these weather conditions, it’s just about bearable, and in workshops where there’s plenty of chatter, so that fan noise really wasn’t an issue. However, when I was watching a few movies, the fan's background noise was a bit distracting at first, but you soon get used to it and kind of block it out.

When it comes to the visuals, they are clear and bright, and for such a small projector, it certainly packs in a great deal of power. For entertainment on the move, on holiday, or at home, the small projector is a great option because it packs away easily, unlike larger home projectors that take up a lot of space.

You can use it at home when you want to watch a film big on the screen or a sporting event, and then just simply pack it away in a cupboard when that’s over. Likewise, if you’re off on holiday, you can easily pack it, take it with you, and it doesn’t add too much weight to your luggage.

More importantly, if you’re away on business or you’re running a workshop, then having a small projector like this is an ideal solution. It enables the entire group to easily see what you’re talking about without needing to connect up to a TV screen, monitor or large projector. Because it’s small, lightweight and extremely versatile when it comes to connectivity options, it gives you plenty of flexibility.

The ease of connection really won me over during the test, as did the image's brightness and clarity. What I also really liked was that it would last for a good two and a half hours without issue, and with most of my workshops lasting around three hours, it meant that I wasn’t having to be too precious about switching the projector on and off, of which the boot-up process can take up to a minute.

When the projector does indicate that the power is running low, it can always be powered via USB-C. For the most part, because I have other kit that also needs to be plugged in, I take the Jackery 1000 V2 along with me just to have some extra power when needed.

For both home and business use, the small projector, with its premium build quality and matching pricing, makes a great option. It might not be as bright as the larger desktop projectors, but if you’re looking for one of the best portable options on the market at present, then this certainly fits the bill.

• Performance: 4 / 5

TCL PlayCube Portable Projector: Final verdict

From the outset, the TCL PlayCube impressed, firstly with a semi-hard case that instantly gives it an ultra-portable, premium feel. As it was opened, the projector inside had a decent weight and build quality, and it looked pretty stylish too.

As I ran through the test, checking out how Google TV and all the apps worked, it all seemed very fluid, exactly what I expect from anything based on the Google TV system. But then, branching out from just pure entertainment and streaming, I checked it out for the more serious business of work.

Connected out to my MacBook Pro M1 Max and a couple of the mini PCs that I’ve had on test recently, I was impressed to see that it was able to scale the video output instantly, ready for projection. There was no fiddling around with options or settings. It adjusted automatically, ready to project on the wall as and when needed.

Setup was exceptionally easy, with battery power, which provided plenty of projection time. This is one of the easiest projectors I’ve used: just set it on a desktop, project it onto the wall, plug in the HDMI, and off you go. If I wanted a little more audio volume than those 5W speakers provide, I could simply plug in a set of monitors and aim to vastly improve the output volume.

As ever there are a few issues with app compatibility for the likes of BBC iPlayer which isn't available, and trying to cast from iPlayer to the device from my iPhone just wasn't possible.

However, that aside as a compact and highly versatile portable projector, the PlayCube is a superb design and ideal for entertainment, both at home and away, as well as for business use, presentations and workshops.

Should I buy the TCL PlayCube Portable Projector?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more top performers, we've tested the best portable projectors you can get.

• Google Maps may soon let you order food inside the app
• It could work as an extension of the Ask Maps feature
• Right now it's not clear how it would rival apps like Uber Eats

Google Maps may soon offer you the option of ordering food from a restaurant ready to pick up, as well as directing you to that restaurant on the map, according to hidden code found inside the latest version of Google Maps for Android.

The code was found by the team at Android Authority, and includes text strings such as "ask Maps to order food", "say what you're craving", and "Maps will order for you — even while you're on the go".

This feature isn't live yet, so it's difficult to say exactly how it would work, but it certainly looks as though you would be able to quickly request something on the menu at a restaurant and then pick it up yourself.

Presumably there might be the option to dine in, or to have your food delivered to you if you weren't traveling — so maybe this will work in partnership with apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats rather than replacing them.

AI working for you

The 'Ask Maps' feature referred to in the code leak is the recently introduced Gemini-powered tool that lets you have a natural conversation with Google Maps about anything you've found or are looking for.

It appears that this same part of the interface is where the food ordering will be placed as well, using Gemini's agentic capabilities to take action for you — though as Android Authority points out, it's not clear just how much autonomy the AI would have.

It might even be restricted to certain phones, like the Magic Cue feature that's currently exclusive to the Pixel 10 series. However, it seems more likely that Google would want to make this as widely available as possible.

We'll have to wait and see how this works, if it does make it to the app at all. The next big announcements from Google should come along with the Pixel 11 launch, which is expected sometime in August.

At long last, Valve has finally announced the Steam Machine price to the world, and it's upset a fair amount of people. Originally billed as a console-sized (and performing) rival, many prospective buyers were expecting an MSRP in line with the likes of what Microsoft and Sony had done. Given the ongoing RAM crisis, and the continued price hikes of key components, chiefly RAM and flash storage, things haven't quite panned out that way.

That's because the cheapest Steam Machine configuration available will cost you a staggering $1,049 / £879 for the 512GB configuration, and up to $1,349 / £1,149 for the 2TB variant. That's shipping just as is, meaning you don't get the new Steam Controller bundled in, and you can forget about a Valve-branded keyboard and mouse for that rate as well. It isn't controversial to say that it's overpriced given the specs inside, the projected performance, and the longevity, which is a far cry from the otherwise pro-consumer (and more cost-effective) Steam Deck / Steam Deck OLED.

Factoring in the price-to-performance of the incoming Steam Machine, things aren't looking too good for Valve's second crack at the home computing hardware market. I'm showing you how you can build a far more viable and capable computer, going over the expected performance capabilities and other considerations that you can make instead.

What are the Steam Machine specs?

The Steam Machine positions itself as a mid-range gaming PC that's wrapped up in a small form factor chassis. Specifically, the "cube" measures in at just six inches. The size comes at the cost of what you can actually put in the box, though. Valve has opted for a "semi-custom" approach, going all-in on AMD hardware, specifically, the previous-generation RDNA 3 architecture for its APU, which is, sadly, now outdated.

Here are the full Steam Machine specs that you need to know as our baseline here:

What could the Steam Deck performance realistically look like?

When the Steam Machine was first revealed, Valve confidently claimed that its little black cube could deliver 4K60 due to it having "six times the horsepower of the Steam Deck". If you go to the Steam Machine page in its current iteration, however, it's a different story. The new listing, which also includes a strict waitlist policy, now states "Up to 4k gaming with FSR 4.1". This is a far more realistic depiction of what the rig can actually do, and it sounds as though AMD's FSR will be doing the bulk of the heavy lifting to achieve those lofty claims.

It's the same technicality that both the PS5 and Xbox Series X have touted since they were both released nearly six years ago. Those systems are technically capable of outputting in 4K, sure, even if it is checkerboarded (dynamically scaled) and sent to your gaming TV or monitor through the HDMI 2.1 port. The same can be said of the Steam Machine.

Unless you're running an indie or a select AA game, you're very unlikely to achieve true 4K, let alone consistent 4K at 60FPS or above. An older AMD iGPU just can't deliver the same level of performance as the best graphics cards, and discrete GPUs will always be more capable due to the increased power draw, die size, advanced cooling, and faster VRAM, among other considerations.

Fundamentally, the Steam Machine is severely limited by having just 8GB of slower GDDR6 VRAM, even if it is bolstered by 16GB DDR5 RAM, the bare minimum in 2026. Recent benchmarking results, such as those conducted by Gamers Nexus, have confirmed as much. Sticking just to gaming, the PC appears to be CPU-hamstrung. Baldur's Gate 3 in 1080p and Low settings achieved an average of only 60fps stock. Black Myth: Wukong fared a little better with averages of 73FPS in 1080p and Low settings. Considering that Steam Machine Verified games only need to hit 1080p at 30FPS for the green tick, this is not massively surprising.

How to build a Steam Machine 512GB alternative for under $1,049

This is where things get tough. Building a viable Steam Machine alternative means taking a few considerations into account. Chiefly, opting for an AM4 build in combination with a newer GPU, to prioritise graphical performance without much bottleneck from the CPU side. I've outlined everything inside of this entry-level machine which should offer superior performance to what Valve's incoming computer can do for less.

How to build a Steam Machine 2TB alternative for $1,349

If you want a current-generation, no-compromises 2TB Steam Machine killer, you can get one for about the same price as Valve's black box. This build gets you the stellar Ryzen 5 9600X, a more powerful Be Quiet! Pure Rock LP air cooler, and superfast DDR5 memory that's ready for the future of PC gaming. Here's my full build below, along with the real-world street price, since the components are now available.

Alternative components to consider for your build

While I've outlined two viable build alternatives to the Steam Machine, the great thing about PC gaming is that you aren't limited to what you can put inside a rig, provided space (and cash) aren't a problem. If you're looking for some alternative hardware to slot into the build instead, these are some viable and cost-effective, combinations you can try as well.

GPUs:

CPUs:

CPU coolers:

• Be quiet! Pure Rock LP - $37.90
• Thermalright AXP120-X67 59 CFM - $32.50
• ID-Cooling IS-47-XT V2 - $29.99

Motherboards:

• MSI Pro H810I WiFi Mini ITX LGA 1851 DDR5 - $149.99
• ASRock A520M ITX AM4 A520 - $149.99

Cases:

• Gamedias Athena - $79.99
• Lian Li DAN A3 mATX - $89.99
• Corsair iCUE Link 2500X RGB - $98.87

Storage:

• Silicon Power 1TB UD90 - $165.97
• Acer Predator GM7 1TB - $184.99
• Crucial P310 1TB - $174.99
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Gen 4.0 2TB - $299.99
• Acer Predator M.2 GM7000 - $309.99

PSUs:

• Cooler Master V850 Small Form Factor - $139.98
• NZXT C850 Gold - $139.99

Performance expectations for these Steam Machine alternatives

The real-world performance difference between DDR4 and DDR5 for gaming, including a generational uptick in FPS from the CPU isn't going to be as big of a difference when comparing the two Steam Deck alternative builds. The largest deciding factor when looking at gaming performance is the RTX 5060 and 16GB RAM. If the Steam Machine Verified games only need to reach 1080p at 30fps for the green tick, then the hardware inside these builds will eclipse that and then some.

If we look at how the RTX 5060 performs with a similar configuration to this one, in the benchmarked games as previously mentioned, we can see how much better these SFF builds can do. We can see the instant performance increase natively, with Black Myth: Wukong running at an average of 65 FPS with High settings, rather than struggling in minimum settings (via Gamers Nexus).

Baldur's Gate 3 also sees a huge uplift in performance, averaging 121 FPS averages in 1080p and 87 FPS in 1440p. 4K, it falls just short at a still playable 46 FPS (via TechPowerUp). These are native numbers, so using Nvidia DLSS 4.5's Multi-Frame Generation will help get you those smoother frames. Either build is considerably more capable, and retains the compact nature that the console-friendly look of the Steam Machine is catering to.

Windows 11 is being fixed, you heard it here first.

Of course, we're all very much aware that Microsoft is busy addressing a plethora of issues with Windows 11, and has been for some time now. In fact, the campaign to right the wrongs of the OS began late in March 2026, and so Microsoft has now had three full months to get its act together with the initial work towards making Windows 11 better.

So, what's been done to that laudable end throughout April, May and June? And how has Microsoft fared in general during this first quarter of the effort to mend the operating system? This will be my first quarterly report on how fixing Windows 11 is going, and hopefully, I'll have plenty of good things to say about the initiative as it rolls onwards throughout 2026.

I'll pick out my highlights of the top changes made to Windows 11 so far – those moves that are really going to make an impact – and then provide my evaluation of how Microsoft is progressing overall. Then finally, I'll talk about what else the company might do, and what's notably missing thus far.

Key changes and features to fix Windows 11

There's been a lot of work done in this first quarter of Microsoft's campaign, with some huge moves for the Windows 11 interface that spring immediately to mind.

For starters, Microsoft has delivered what many Windows 11 users have been asking for since the OS first arrived – the ability to move the taskbar to the top or side of the screen (just as you can in Windows 10). As well as taskbar repositioning, we'll also get the ability to make it more compact, too.

Microsoft is revamping the Start menu to allow for a much greater level of customization – which is a theme with the interface changes in this fixing campaign – and that includes turning it into a compact, streamlined box with not a 'recommendation' (read: advert) in sight, if you want. This is one of the absolute highlights for me, and it comes alongside a lot of smoothing over of interface wrinkles, including modernizing legacy parts of the UI that look jarringly old.

The widgets board is also being made a calmer place, with no MSN feed (which comes with ads) by default, and Windows 11 search results are being tuned so you no longer have to suffer websites being surfaced in them, removing that clutter and unnecessary promotion (those results were opened in Bing, of course).

Windows updates have been heavily worked on, including something I must admit that I never thought I'd see Windows 11 Home users get the choice to do – namely to delay an update indefinitely. More updates are going to be bundled together, too, meaning you won't have to reboot to install them quite so often. On top of that, Microsoft is putting mechanisms in place to ensure that installation failures don't happen so often with updates.

Performance in Windows 11 has been another major focus for Microsoft in these early days, and that includes boosting the responsiveness of File Explorer with various optimizations and 'foundational' tuning to speed up this critical part of the Windows 11 interface (which drives the folders on your desktop). This includes a faster overall launch speed for File Explorer, as you might hope.

Away from File Explorer, another key performance enhancement is a 'Low Latency Profile' trick to give the CPU a brief boost when launching apps or Windows 11's menus, to make sure they run in a much snappier manner. Additionally, Microsoft is honing the contemporary framework employed by Windows 11's interface (WinUI 3) to be more performant, and the sum total of all this fine-tuning is that it should make a big difference to the overall feel of how Windows 11 runs in general, eliminating the sluggishness experienced in certain scenarios.

Other notable introductions include a 'turbo mode' for a much quicker installation of Windows 11, and a new 'Driver Quality Initiative' to usher in improvements with OS drivers (including ensuring that they don't excessively drain laptop battery life). A new point-in-time restore feature also gives you an extra recovery option to roll back your PC to a previous state when things go wrong, and that could be very useful should disaster strike.

Microsoft's progress with fixing Windows 11

As you can see, there's been a lot going on in terms of revamping, honing, and new features. Granted, a good deal of this is still happening only in testing, but of course it takes time to bring through this work, and it's best not to rush vital changes to the innards of Windows 11.

What's also good to see is that Microsoft is engaging with the broader Windows community online, taking on feedback, and acting on it too (in some cases). The company really does appear to be listening, and sessions where it actively solicits the opinions of testers on certain aspects of the desktop OS are a commendable move.

Beyond this, Microsoft has set up a system of panels whereby certain testers are brought in to contribute to studies designed to improve various facets of Windows 11.

Overall, I'm pleased with the scope of the work Microsoft has taken on here, and I'm impressed with the changes, as well as the new attitude towards feedback. All in all, what Microsoft has done in this first quarter of fixing Windows 11 is to resolve a lot of the most pressing issues with Windows 11 (or at least kicked off those resolutions).

Not all of them, mind, and I'll come onto that next.

What else should Microsoft be doing?

On the subject of what I think is missing from the drive to fix Windows 11, my biggest issue here is that there's not been much talk of how Microsoft is tackling bugs.

Yes, we've heard about working towards a more reliable Windows 11, an OS with better stability – the mentioned driver quality program is part of that, of course – but what about the actual core quality assurance processes?

The fact is that there are still too many bugs creeping through with each monthly update for Windows 11, and while some may be niche in their impact, they're happening too regularly, and some glitches are very odd in nature.

Just in the last couple of weeks we've seen the Recycle Bin weirding out, leading to accusations of 'well Microsoft, this is what happens when you get AI to code', and a strange bug with a Windows component eating up storage space in a mystifying manner (the fix is coming in the July update, and is in preview now, in case you were curious).

These kinds of oddities shouldn't be happening in the first place, though, and what I want to see from Microsoft is some concrete information on how it's revamping QA and bug fixing to be a more organized, thorough, and successful set of processes. This is absolutely key to fixing Windows 11 in my book, so get to it, Microsoft.

As far as crowd-pleasing features that are not yet on the boil, I'd like to see more ditching of 'recommendations' (those pesky ads that pop up here and there), the option to install Windows 11 with a local account should you wish, and the ability to switch off all telemetry with the Home version of the OS (well, save for the barest of details that need to be sent back to Microsoft's servers for security reasons).

And while you're at it, Microsoft, have a word with the marketing team responsible for Windows, and get them to tread a bit more carefully around AI. Overall, though, I can't complain, and as I recently discussed, I'm a lot more optimistic about the future of Windows 11 given what's happened so far in 2026.

Keep it up, Microsoft – but let's not forget about the bugs and QA stuff.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1622) - hint #1 - Vowels

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

Quordle today (game #1622) - hint #2 - repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1622) - hint #3 - uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1622) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)

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

Quordle today (game #1622) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1622) - the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1622, are…

• ARGUE
• MOTEL
• OPERA
• TRUCE

I found ARGUE the hardest word to get today.

U-E is a reasonably common ending, but for some reason I struggled to think of any also containing an R. I got there in the end, though.

Daily Sequence today (game #1622) - the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1622, are…

• VITAL
• JOINT
• HELLO
• BILGE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1621, Friday, 3 July: AVERT, MOTOR, MANIC, WORDY
• Quordle #1620, Thursday, 2 July: BULKY, PARSE, BELOW, MOVIE
• Quordle #1619, Wednesday, 1 July: EASEL, OTTER, LYRIC, SHACK
• Quordle #1618, Tuesday, 30 June: HALVE, DRYER, THERE, MINTY
• Quordle #1617, Monday, 29 June: SLURP, CRACK, CRANK, PHONY
• Quordle #1616, Sunday, 28 June: RUPEE, TOPAZ, FULLY, BEING
• Quordle #1615, Saturday, 27 June: PRINT, MARRY, SADLY, BICEP
• Quordle #1614, Friday, 26 June: JUICE, ARRAY, BONEY, SKIFF
• Quordle #1613, Thursday, 25 June: SHELF, TAWNY, HYPER, SOLVE
• Quordle #1612, Wednesday, 24 June: SOBER, ECLAT, GOOSE, NINNY
• Quordle #1611, Tuesday, 23 June: ARDOR, DADDY, SERVE, SHEAR
• Quordle #1610, Monday, 22 June: WAXEN, APNEA, CHIME, WAVER
• Quordle #1609, Sunday, 21 June: ABBOT, NOTCH, DREAD, LURID
• Quordle #1608, Saturday, 20 June: SLAIN, TAMER, VIPER, FALSE
• Quordle #1607, Friday, 19 June: ALOUD, POINT, GLOBE, GROIN
• Quordle #1606, Thursday, 18 June: LATCH, BRAWL, STEEL, CRUSH
• Quordle #1605, Wednesday, 17 June: HOIST, PLUSH, GROUP, LEMUR
• Quordle #1604, Tuesday, 16 June: SLAIN, PLUCK, PINTO, SLICE
• Quordle #1603, Monday, 15 June: GAUNT, SNEAK, ROUTE, POKER

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #853) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #853) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SING
• LURK
• FOUR
• RAIL
• PAIR
• DARE

NYT Strands today (game #853) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #853) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #853) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #853, are…

• BRIGHT
• COLORFUL
• DAZZLING
• EXCITING
• SPARKLING
• SPANGRAM: FIREWORKS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

Talk about a theme that could mean absolutely anything at all.

Totally in the dark, not an entirely unusual feeling to be truthful, I worked my way around the board in search of non-game words to earn a hint. Instead, I saw the spangram FIREWORKS and remembered today’s date.

I went to a fireworks display recently that was underwhelming, in part due to the murky conditions but also because the drones that made up a large part of the display had to be viewed from a particular angle in order to impress; a case of “uh?” rather than “ooh!”. 

Meanwhile, it was nice to see a bit of color in Strands for a change. A rare treat.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, July 3, game #852)

• OBSTINATE
• STUBBORN
• WILLFUL
• FIRM
• HEADSTRONG
• SPANGRAM: NOTBUDGING

With the price of some PC components right now, it's arguably better to go for a prebuilt rig. The iBuyPower 4th of July Mega Sale could help with that, as you can get up to $350 off any custom or RDY prebuilt PC over $999 with the coupon code 'JULY4'.

Out of all the options, I think that this RDY Element 9 Pro R08 is the best value prebuilt PC overall at $2,299 (was $2,549). Use the coupon code and it drops even further to $1,949 — a solid price for a mid-to-high-end gaming PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GPU, and 32GB of DDR5-6000MHz RAM.

Today's best gaming PC deal

Let's get into some of the components. First, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a couple of years old now, so not the newest, but not ancient, and still widely regarded as one of the best gaming CPUs you can buy. The Radeon RX 9070 XT, meanwhile, is the flagship card from AMD's latest graphics card series.

Together, these components can capably run modern and demanding games, as well as popular esports titles like Valorant, Marvel Rivals, and Fortnite above 1080p without dipping below 120fps. Most of them can even support up to 1440p.

As for storage, its 2TB NVMe SSD offers enough space for a variety of games without deleting old files every few months.

RAM is still scarce, so now might not be the best time to build your own gaming PC. If you're curious about other options, I'd recommend browsing our best gaming PCs and best budget gaming PCs.

It seems that Microsoft explored the idea of building Windows fully around AI in the past, based on a leaked video from a couple of years ago.

Windows Central highlighted a video (see below) that's a few minutes long and was leaked via the BetaWiki Discord server, with our sister site's Zac Bowden noting that sources have provided assurances that the clip is real. It shows an AI-focused version of Windows built around Copilot and apparently codenamed Aion.

The concept shown is a lightweight web-based OS, meaning it's built on web apps rather than native Windows apps. In other words, it won't run standard Windows (Win32) software, with the idea being to stream those apps to the desktop if they're required (meaning they're run from the cloud, or more specifically, Windows 365, Microsoft's cloud PC offering).

It's kind of like Microsoft's take on ChromeOS, then, leveraging the cloud, except that it's built around the Edge browser and Copilot.

Copilot runs the show, and is the central player in the Start menu, and the idea is that AI provides contextual suggestions here, recalling previous interactions to try and anticipate what the user might need.

In the video, Microsoft explains that Aion aims to break down the "traditional app-centric" approach to grouping on the taskbar, instead using 'Spaces' that act as groups into which apps, websites or files that pertain to the same goals are deposited.

Analysis: AI-on or AI-off? It seems most lean towards the latter

The themed approach of Spaces sounds rather like the idea of Sets that Microsoft toyed with in Windows 10 the best part of a decade ago now, only to abandon the concept. Except this time around it's grouped content that's organized and curated by AI.

The Aion concept hasn't been well received by the computing public as you might guess. One commenter on the video simply states: "This company has completely lost the plot."

Another observes that it's "like ChromeOS for people who don't know how to use a computer at all."

And yet another notes: "How did they manage to even make simple web apps look slow and laggy? One of the strong points of ChromeOS is that it is very fast even on old, slow machines."

In fact, there are a few people who aren't impressed with how clunky and sluggish the operating system appears to be in the video. In fairness to Microsoft, though, it's just a concept illustration and early working code (although the evident lack of smoothness isn't a good look, it must be said). Bowden explains that the video was recorded at some point in 2024, and that it's "unclear if this was just a Hackathon project or something more."

The ideas explored within Aion could well be a hint of where Microsoft is headed with next-gen Windows, though. Which may be worrying for some, of course, but you might as well get used to these ideas.

While Microsoft has promised to trim back AI excesses in Windows 11, that's more about streamlining submenus here and there, and removing Copilot features from certain apps, than it is some kind of wholesale change of philosophy regarding AI. Windows 11 is getting AI agents, and indeed they are the next big thing for the OS, if Microsoft has anything to do with it (and, strangely enough, it does).

Indeed, with Project Solara, Microsoft plans to bring AI agents to all manner of devices in the world, beyond mere PCs and phones. Bowden theorizes that maybe Aion evolved into Solara.

Whatever the case, Aion is still a thing, believe it or not: Microsoft revealed a new family of local AI models running with the same name at Build 2026. These are a "new generation of small language models that are smaller, faster, and more efficient than our previous Windows OS SLMs", as Microsoft explains here. Apparently, Aion lives on in some form, then, even if it's a very different idea to the notion of a full-on Copilot-based operating system.

Early last month, when I was planning this half-year look at the best laptops that have so far been released in 2026, it was easy for me to pick the number one spot: the MacBook Neo.

Launched in March for $599 / £599 / AU$899, it was a shot across the bows of other laptop and Chromebook makers, as Apple showed that you could have a stylish and well-built budget laptop that didn’t have to feel cheap.

Sure, there were compromises, such as the 8GB of memory and slow USB ports, but those were easily forgiven thanks to such an affordable price — especially when so much of the MacBook Neo puts similarly priced budget laptops to shame.

However, at the end of June, Apple announced a Neo price increase, taking it up to $699 / £699 / AU$1,049. While that’s not the biggest price rise in a world that, at the moment, seems to be full of them, it’s enough to make the MacBook Neo less of an easy recommendation. Suddenly, all those compromises are harder to accept.

The MacBook Neo still earns a spot in this list, however, due to the huge influence it’s had on the laptop market. Since its launch, I’ve seen numerous laptop makers, including Acer and Dell, release products directly aimed at challenging the MacBook Neo; offering slim and stylish designs, strong performance and screens, all for around the Neo's original $599 / £599 / AU$899 price. While Apple has raised the price of the MacBook Neo, many of those new challengers haven’t — yet — done the same, which makes them even better value in comparison.

Now, it’s probably inevitable that those new MacBook Neo rivals will eventually increase in price too (thanks, AI, for gobbling up all the RAM and making price rises an everyday reality for a lot of tech). However, due to the variety of Windows 11 laptops available and where they’re sold compared to MacBooks, if you shop around you should find prices remain relatively competitive.

So, Apple might have just inspired its rivals to make better, and cheaper, alternatives. That might not be great for Apple, but for us consumers, it certainly is. So, as we’re at the halfway point of the year, let’s look at the five best — or most influential — laptops that have been released so far in 2026.

5. HP OmniBook 7 Aero

• Reviewed: February 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a brilliant example of how Windows laptops are looking to beat Apple at its own game. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a thin, light and stylish laptop, with a capable AMD AI 5 or AI 7 CPU, integrated graphics, and a starting RAM configuration of 16GB, plus a 512GB SSD.

It launched at $949.99 / £649 (around AU$1,420), undercutting the MacBook Air and even (in the UK) the MacBook Neo after the price rise. For such a nicely designed laptop, this price is incredibly good value.

In our review we were impressed with the clear, bright, and vibrant screen and huge 26 hour battery life. Depending on the tasks you use it for, this laptop could go for multiple work or school days on a single charge, which is seriously impressive. It even manages to play games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, and while you certainly wouldn’t want to buy it as a gaming laptop, it shows how far Windows laptops, and the mobile components they use, have come in recent years.

4. Razer Blade 18 (2026)

• Reviewed: June 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

This year’s Razer Blade 18 is another hit from the gaming laptop pros, which my colleague Christian Guyton, in his review, claimed "annihilates the competition". It features cutting edge mobile components such as an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX or Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti – RTX 5090 laptop GPUs, up to 128GB of RAM and a stunning 18-inch Dual UHD+ 240Hz / FHD+ 440Hz screen, which allows you to switch between resolutions to get even higher refresh rates. All of this is packed into a slim and stylish body that once again proves that gaming laptops don’t need to be big and bulky these days.

Gaming-wise, it’s a beast, hitting up to 160fps when playing Cyberpunk 2077, and 218fps with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Basically, it’ll handle any modern game you throw at it, and allow you to play at 4K resolution and the highest of settings. Its battery life — often the Achilles’ heel of gaming laptops — is pretty impressive, hitting almost eight and a half hours in our tests.

What’s the catch? Well, there’s the price, starting at a whopping $3,499.99 / £3,299.99 (around AU$4,870), but going up to $6,999.99 (around £5,200 / AU$9,735) for the highest specification. Ouch.

Razer’s devices are premium products, and when you combine that with some of the most powerful components you can get, and the ongoing memory crisis driving up prices, you end up with a brilliant laptop that’s wildly expensive. It’s a brilliant investment if you can afford it, it’s just a shame so few of us can.

3. Apple MacBook Neo

• Reviewed: March 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

As I mentioned earlier, if I’d written this article before Apple’s price rises, the MacBook Neo would probably be number one in this list. When it launched, it really was a game-changer. It proved that affordable laptops could still feel premium, with exceptional build quality, modern features and solid performance.

Unlike other recent MacBooks, the Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip (which powered the iPhone 16 Pro), rather than Apple’s more powerful M-series chips. Compared to chips found in budget Windows 11 laptops and Chromebooks, the A18 Pro proved impressive on test, handling regular macOS apps with ease.

It's possible to use an iPad as a second screen, and see your iPhone’s messages and answer calls all from the desktop — features we’ve come to expect from more expensive MacBooks. The bright and vibrant screen makes a mockery of other cheap laptops that often feature dim, low resolution screens, to keep down prices.

When it first launched, this budget laptop (from a brand that’s more associated with luxury devices), which undercut and outperformed the competition, was a surefire hit. Apple has commented about how well the Neo sold, and even more importantly, it seemed to light a fire underneath many of its competitors. Not only was the MacBook Neo one of the best laptops of 2026, it was one of the most impactful.

What a difference $100 / £100 makes. While the new price doesn’t completely undermine the MacBook Neo’s value proposition, it makes it harder to recommend to everyone.

It makes some of Apple’s compromises to keep the price down, particularly the rather paltry 8GB of memory, slow USB speeds (it has two USB-C ports, but uses older USB 3.0 and the practically ancient USB 2 technology) and lack of a backlit keyboard, much harder to justify as well.

Worse, those competitors that Apple ‘inspired’ are fighting back. Acer’s Swift Air 14 (2026) will launch at the same original price of the Neo, with a great-looking display, and an Intel Core Series 3 processor. An Acer employee I spoke to at Computex 2026 was particularly pleased to point out that the Swift Air has faster USB-C ports than the Neo, an extra USB-A port and is thinner and lighter as well. The fact that it’s also now cheaper spells trouble for Apple, and it’s why the MacBook Neo has slipped down in my ranking.

2. Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

• Rating: 4.5/5
• Reviewed: February 2026

I’ll be honest: I was torn between putting the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra or the MacBook Air (M5) in this spot. The reason I went for Samsung’s ultrabook in the end is that while the latest MacBook Air is undoubtedly a fantastic device (it sits atop our best laptops list for a reason), it’s also a bit… well… boring. It’s a simple spec update to the M5 chip, with no new design flourishes, but a new, higher price (which has since risen even higher after Apple’s price hikes).

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, on the other hand, feels a lot more ambitious. Samsung's laptops have never particularly impressed me, but with the Galaxy Book series, that’s changed.

As with Samsung's Galaxy phones and tablets, Galaxy Book laptops are high-end, premium devices, and as the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is the pinnacle of this. It’s thin, light and powerful (especially if you go for the option with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU), and with a strong battery life of over 15 hours, this is a great choice for anyone seeking a stylish workstation laptop that can handle heavy duty tasks such as 3D modeling.

Its AMOLED screen is also stunning, and easily one of the best displays you can get on a laptop (another category that Apple was once untouchable in).

What I really like about the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is how Samsung has been working on integrating its ecosystem of devices, so its laptops, earbuds, smartphones, and tablets can all work nicely together. It leads to some very Apple-like features, such as the ability to use a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet as a second screen for the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, simply by moving the devices close together.

It’s not quite as seamless as Apple’s implementation, mainly because Samsung doesn’t make the software its products run on (Windows and Android), but it’s come a huge way. If you have a few Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is particularly great, then, but even if you don’t, this is still a brilliant laptop that’s doing new things, not just resting on its laurels.

1. Dell XPS 16 (2026)

• Rating: 4.5/5
• Reviewed: May 2026

The Dell XPS 16 is a remarkable laptop for many reasons. It’s a beautifully crafted device with a stunning OLED screen, as well as premium — and powerful — components, and it’s a great showcase for how good Windows 11 laptops can be.

It’s also noteworthy for bringing the XPS lineup back with a bang. Last year, Dell made the baffling decision to drop its XPS branding. It was one of the few product names outside of Apple that had mainstream recognition, and had long been associated with Dell’s most premium laptops. Thankfully, Dell realized its mistake and has resurrected the XPS brand for 2026, and the new Dell XPS 16 makes a fantastic statement: XPS is back, and it’s better than ever.

In our review, we gushed over this laptop's slimline design and high resolution OLED display, whilst also praising its performance. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, which has an Arc B390 integrated GPU, the Dell XPS 16 can handle demanding tasks, and even a spot of gaming. Battery life is also superb, with the Dell XPS 16 (2026) lasting well over 17 hours in our tests.

It’s pricey, but the quality on offer helps justify the investment. Welcome back, XPS. You’ve been missed.