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Bluey, Bingo and the rest of the Heeler family are in full 3D and ready for the big screen.

AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are all keen to encourage you to use their service over their rivals, and often have ways to import your history and profile from one to another to some degree. That's great if you are planning a serious relocation, but sometimes you just want to take a single chat and bring it from one platform to another.

This can be especially useful if you're using the free version of Claude, for example, and you're about to reach your usage limit. By transferring the chat to another AI chatbot you can keep it going without waiting for your limits to refresh.

ThreadPort is a new browser extension for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge designed to shorten that trip. It transfers a conversation currently open in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to either of the other two services, carrying over the text of the discussion and some basic context setup as a single prompt plus transcript so the new AI chatbot can continue the conversation.

That makes ThreadPort fundamentally different from the built-in import tools offered by all three platforms. Instead of needing to learn everything about you and your conversational history. ThreadPort simply tells another AI what you have been discussing for the past few minutes.

ThreadPort in action. (Image credit: ThreadPort )

You just need to install the extension in your browser and allow it access to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini websites. The access lets ThreadPort read the messages on one service and insert them into another, while browser storage is used for settings, temporary transfers, and the monthly usage count. The developer plans to make unlimited transfers a premium service with only 10 transfers a month for free, though at the moment the extension doesn't run out of transfers.

All you need to do then is have your chat on one of the platforms open, click on the extension, and pick another platform to send it to. The new platform will open automatically, and a transcript of the conversation, headed by an explanation from ThreadPort, will appear. You can set the extension to automatically submit the combined prompt, or leave it in draft form for your own editing first.

Vacation planning

To test ThreadPort, I opened ChatGPT and asked for help planning a three-day vacation. ChatGPT did its usual work of creating an itinerary with plenty of detail. I then clicked on ThreadPort and sent the conversation to Gemini.

A new Gemini tab opened with the entire conversation already formatted inside the prompt box, with my messages and ChatGPT’s responses clearly labeled. ThreadPort also stripped away interface debris such as buttons, citation controls, and widgets that would otherwise make a manual copy and paste messier.

Gemini received the trip plan exactly as I wanted, with a complete conversation rather than a crude summary. I then asked Gemini to assess the plan, without changing the underlying conversation before the transfer.

The process worked the same when sending to Claude from ChatGPT. ThreadPort supports all six directions among ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. But, as an additional test, I took the extended conversation from Gemini and asked ThreadPort to send it to Claude. The new Claude tab was basically the same, but it also mentioned in the opening prompt that it was a conversation "started on ChatGPT (via ChatGPT → Gemini)," and tagged which chatbot was responding in the transcript.

(Image credit: ThreadPort )

This is where ThreadPort might be at its best. Moving a live discussion preserves all the little decisions accumulated through follow-up questions. Those decisions often matter more than the initial prompt because they explain why the obvious suggestions are no longer useful.

It's also very fast, taking only seconds. Gemini's importer can take a lot longer as it requires an exported archive. Though it can absorb a much larger historical record, using it for a single vacation plan would be excessive.

Plus, Google’s tool is restricted to those with adult personal Google accounts, and you can't import your history if you're in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. ThreadPort's creator, Juan Carlos Rampoldi, lives in Valencia, Spain, so a way around that restriction has obvious appeal.

Claude’s native option doesn't even allow for importing conversations. Claude can import memory, including preferences and personal details, but not actual history. But Claude and Gemini at least have some form of importing from rival AI chatbots. ChatGPT has a way of sending conversations between ChatGPT accounts, but nothing like the native importers for Gemini or Claude. ThreadPort at least opens up one possible avenue for doing so without having to craft and iterate on specialized prompts.

Rampoldi cited his own habit of moving among ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as the inspiration for ThreadPort after getting frustrated with manually copying conversations and losing formatting or context along the way. Notably, he built it with Claude Code, so it may have other flaws, but he made its source code publicly viewable on GitHub.

Smooth moves

(Image credit: ThreadPort )

I did appreciate how easy ThreadPort made comparing the models and their responses by making them all part of one larger conversation. Of course, the simplicity means there are limits. ThreadPort transfers text, but it cannot bring attached images or files. If I had uploaded hotel screenshots or a PDF itinerary into ChatGPT, I would have needed to upload those again manually in Claude and Gemini.

And if it was a very long conversation, ThreadPort might have needed to shorten it using what it calls "smart truncation," keeping the original task and the most recent exchanges while marking a section that might be removed.

The developer says ThreadPort has no servers and briefly holds the transcript in Chrome’s local extension storage before inserting it into the destination prompt box, after which it deletes the temporary copy.

That does not mean the conversation becomes private once you send it elsewhere. A ChatGPT transcript submitted to Claude is now being shared with Anthropic, and Gemini transcripts are still sent to Google.

Despite its limits, ThreadPort does come across as a very useful tool for those who like to employ multiple AI chatbots. Even as just a ferry for individual conversations, compared to a whole moving van importing your whole history, the extension is efficient and easy. It cuts down on a small but persistent bit of AI chatbot friction without trying to solve AI portability on a grand scale.

AI companies tend to build their products as though everyone will eventually choose one assistant and stay there. But if you want to be 'disloyal' and play the field, ThreadPort smooths the path nicely.

• Another next-gen battery upgrade has been reported
• Zinc-iodine batteries are now more stable
• The tech promises a more sustainable lithium-ion replacement

Lithium-ion batteries had a good run, but the next generation of battery technologies are rapidly approaching for consumer devices and large-scale industry use. One of the leading candidates to become the new default are aqueous zinc-iodine batteries (AZIBs).

Researchers from Flinders University in Australia have published details of the latest steps forward in zinc-iodine technology. Prototype battery elements based on these materials can now manage more than 60,000 recharge and discharge cycles, with recharges in just three minutes — though that's for a small battery compartment, in a lab, not a full battery.

As they're aqueous (water-based), the batteries don't come with the same risk of explosion and fire as standard lithium-ion batteries do. However, there are challenges to overcome: these batteries tend to deteriorate as they're used because of the chemical reactions happening inside, which isn't ideal for something powering your next tablet.

In their latest paper, the researchers outline a molecular cage that's strong enough to prevent the battery's iodine from escaping, but not too restrictive that it prevents the necessary chemical reactions from working. It means batteries that are more stable in operation and which last longer.

A viable alternative

Scientists have figured out how to restrict the iodine to stop battery degradation (Image credit: (Jiang et al., Angewandte Chemie, 2026))

The tech specs shared by the researchers indicate the fast-charging, long-life potential of AZIBs. In addition to those benefits and the reduced fire risk, they could also be easier to resource and manufacture — reducing the pressure on lithium-ion materials.

There are a couple of caveats to bear in mind. The researchers acknowledge that this technology is best suited to "large-scale energy storage", at least to begin with, so we're talking more about storing the electricity generated by a solar plant than something you can slot into the back of a smartphone

The technology still has a long way to go before you'll see it appear, as encouraging as these recent steps forward are. The researchers aren't yet at the stage of building fully working, full-size prototype batteries yet — although each of these upgrades to the battery science gets us closer to that point.

"Rechargeable aqueous zinc-iodine batteries are shaping up as a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries for large-scale energy storage and our group is now working with industry to establish a prototyping platform for this battery system," said chemistry professor Zhongfan Jia, from Flinders University.

• Amazon has made Alexa+ free to use on Fire TV devices
• You can ask it to find movie recommendations and also integrate it with other smart home devices
• The best part is that you don't need an Amazon Prime membership to make the most of it

Access to Amazon’s AI voice assistant, Alexa+, has always required a Prime membership — but now the company is upgrading it as a free-to-use tool on eligible Fire TV devices.

Rolling out to Fire TV owners in the US now, users will be able to make use of Alexa+ on the big screen at no additional fee. This includes current-generation Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, and Amazon Ember smart TVs, as well as third-party smart TVs with Alexa built-in such as Hisense and Panasonic.

While the upgrade is limited to US users for now, Amazon shared that it will consider expanding to additional regions over time, so there’s light at the end of the tunnel for users outside of the US at least. It’s also great news for those who have a Fire TV device, but aren’t Amazon Prime members.

When Amazon launched Alexa+ back in February 2025, the tech giant threw Alexa+ access into its pool of Prime membership perks at no additional cost. For those without a Prime membership, a standalone Alexa+ subscription costs $19.99 a month.

Having a Fire TV device without a Prime membership is more than doable, as you can still watch titles from the best streaming services given that you’re subscribed to each of them separately. The only platform you won’t be able to access is Prime Video, as that’s one of the perks of being an Amazon Prime member.

As expected, Alexa+ on Fire TV devices is there to make your browsing experience more enjoyable and put an end to your indecisiveness when trying to find a Friday night movie or a new TV show to binge. Not only can you search for titles, but Alexa+ is also designed to better understand requests and follow-up questions.

(Image credit: Amazon)

For example, if you like a particular actor, you can ask Alexa+ to compile a selection of their movies, or if you want to dive deeper into a specific genre, you can ask something like ‘recommend me a top-rated thriller’. From there, you can narrow down your search by asking for a recently released title, or be even more precise and ask for one with a female lead.

Outside of its entertainment assistance, Alexa+ on Fire TV also helps integrate your smart home ecosystem. If you have a Ring Video Doorbell, you can launch live camera feeds on your TV with a simple voice request — and these functionalities extend to other smart home devices, too.

Want to set the ambience in your home for a dinner party or movie night? You can ask Alexa+ on your Fire TV to dim the lights on compatible devices. Need to secure your home? You can also ask Alexa+ to lock the doors when paired with your smart lock, making your Fire TV the central hub of your setup.

It’s not every day Amazon rolls out an upgrade without costly catches, as Alexa+ access on Echo devices still requires a Prime or standalone Alexa+ membership — but hey, we’re not complaining; a freebie is a freebie. With this in mind, it’s likely that Amazon is giving users a taste of Alexa’s upgraded capabilities with the hope that prospective customers will sign up for Prime.

Since Alexa+ was launched, Amazon says its popularity with users has grown exponentially. "Alexa+ customers have nearly twice as many conversations on Fire TV as they did with the original Alexa because Alexa+ understands what they're asking — and gives them useful answers back," Amazon claims.

Given this growth, it makes sense that Amazon wants to put Alexa+ at the forefront of its smart home devices and give as many users as possible a taste of Alexa’s new capabilities. Keeping Alexa+ locked behind a paywall limits exposure to those without an Amazon Prime membership, so granting some kind of free access is a no-brainer.

• Whoop has opened up its Advanced Labs blood testing service
• You can now use it without a Whoop membership or wearable device
• That brings down the costs involved significantly

Whoop’s Advanced Labs program was originally designed to let owners of Whoop devices better understand their health through a series of blood tests. It was previously limited to owners of Whoop wearables who had an active membership, but access has now been expanded to users of other health devices, including the Apple Watch, the Oura Ring, and many of the best Garmin devices.

That means a far greater pool of people can now gain insights into their health by harnessing Whoop’s system of biomarker analysis. It also provides Whoop with a wider range of responses than it would have been able to collect before.

If you take part in Advanced Labs, you can put yourself through a blood testing service that gives you artificial intelligence (AI) insights and personalized recommendations that are reviewed by clinicians. It goes beyond the standard metrics you might get from rival wearables.

As well as opening up Advanced Labs, Whoop is also providing access to the Galleri cancer detection test to non-Whoop users. This is “designed to detect cancer signals associated with more than 50 types of cancer,” Whoop says. Galleri is available as part of Advanced Labs whether or not you have a Whoop membership.

Bringing down the cost

(Image credit: Whoop)

Whoop’s Advanced Labs testing starts at $150. Combine that with the cost of a Whoop membership — which is priced at $149 for your first year and $199 a year thereafter for the most basic tier — and you’d be looking at a sizeable outlay if you wanted to start using the Advanced Labs testing kits.

But now that Advanced Labs has been opened up to non-Whoop users, that cost can be brought down significantly. Owning a Whoop device — and paying its annual fee — is no longer required, although you still have to fork out for the tests themselves.

It’s worth noting that allowing users of other wearables to access Advanced Labs does not mean that Whoop will start incorporating data from your Apple Watch or smart ring into its own platform. That all remains totally separate — it’s just that Whoop’s walled garden has been breached slightly.

If you’ve been tempted by Whoop’s Advanced Labs testing but were put off by the cost involved, this might be your opportunity to take part. It could give you better insights into your health than you were previously privy to.

The Premier League is back and, watch out, because it might be sooner than you think.

The 2026/27 EPL season kicks off with Matchday 1 this Friday, August 21, with EFL Championship victors Coventry City facing EPL champions Arsenal at the Gunners' London home.

That means the FPL GW1 deadline time is Friday, August 21, 2026, at 6.30pm BST (1.30pm ET). Don't miss it!

And if you don't want to miss the games themselves, then we've got the kick off times and streaming options for all of the EPL fixtures for Matchday 1 just below.

If you're away from your regular stream and stuck in a blackout area, then don't forget that you can use a VPN to watch the match as usual.

Right now, one of the cheapest and most effective VPNs available is IPVanish and it's currently $2.19 per month.

EPL Matchday 1 2026/27 schedule

US (all times ET)

UK

August 21 (Fri)

Arsenal vs Coventry

3pm – USA Network

8pm – Sky Sports / NOW

August 22 (Sat)

Hull vs Man Utd

7.30am – USA Network

12.30pm – TNT Sports / HBO Max

Everton vs Crystal Palace

10am – USA Network

3pm – Blackout

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds

10am – NBCSN / Peacock

3pm – Blackout

Ipswich vs Sunderland

10am – Peacock

3pm – Blackout

Brentford vs Tottenham

12.30pm – NBC / Peacock

5.30pm – Sky Sports / NOW

August 23 (Sun)

Brighton vs Aston Villa

9am – Peacock

2pm – Blackout

Man City vs Bournemouth

9am – USA Network

2pm – Blackout

Newcastle vs Liverpool

11.30am – USA Network

4.30pm – Blackout

August 24 (Mon)

Fulham vs Chelsea

3pm – USA Network

8pm – Sky Sports / NOW

In the States, four of the weekend's matches are available to stream on Peacock TV. It's $12.99 per month and there are no free trials. Only two of those games are airing on cable on NBC and NBCSN.

The other six games are all on cable for those who have USA Network. Cord cutters can watch those using Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream and Sling TV.

Of those, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV have free trials for new customers, while DirecTV Stream and Sling TV offer discounts for the first month.

To watch your US EPL streams while you're traveling abroad, you'll need to use a VPN.

Watch EPL streams with IPVanish: $2.19/month
IPVanish allows you to change your apparent internet location. That means you can set your mobile or laptop to appear to be back in the States when you're away from home. That way you won't get blocked from your usual US EPL streaming services. IPVanish is $2.19 per month over two years, paid as $52.56 upfront. You can install it on unlimited simultaneous devices and you get 3GB of eSIM data to help you travel securely over the summer months and beyond.View Deal

The EPL's blackout rules in the UK mean that none of the 3pm Saturday fixtures are televised. Instead, there are usually just four televised fixtures each weekend.

You can watch the fixtures with subscriptions to Sky TV or TNT Sports. The matches on Sky are also available to stream with one-off day passes on NOW. TNT games are also on HBO Max.

You can read the full details on how to watch the Premier League all season here.

The U.S. debt has surpassed $40 trillion. And, a new census report on noncitizen voting that President Trump is touting has ties to a think tank aligned with him, raising concerns among experts.

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan)

• Researcher inds ClarityCheck’s exposed 450GB database with 9M+ user images
• Leak included faces, profiles, and photos, risking identity theft and phishing abuse
• Company secured access quickly; no evidence of dark web distribution or misuse so far

An online reverse-lookup platform has inadvertently leaked millions of faces on the internet, putting people at risk of identity theft, phishing, and more, experts have warned.

Jeremiah Fowler, a cybersecurity researcher known for hunting exposed databases, recently found one totaling 450.2GB in size.

It contained exactly 9,042,977 image files - profile pictures, screenshots, and scans of physical photographs - all seemingly uploaded by the users. The images showed adults, teenagers, and even children, and were stored in folders labeled “faces” and “profiles”.

What happened?

Further investigation showed the database belonging to a company called ClarityCheck. This is a US-registered firm describing itself as a “reverse phone, email, image, vehicle lookup”, allowing users to identify unknown callers, verify online contacts, check photos, and decode vehicles using publicly available data from “trusted sources”.

It is a legitimate business whose use case grows more important by the day - cybercriminals create fake internet personas every day, and use them in all sorts of schemes, from romance scams, to fake job offers, to anything in between. To do that, they will either steal other people’s photos, obtain (or buy) them on the dark web, or generate them using artificial intelligence.

Being able to verify someone’s identity has become everyone’s essential due diligence, regardless of if it’s a personal or business matter.

How ClarityCheck responded

As soon as Fowler confirmed who owned the database, he reached out to ClarityCheck and responsibly disclosed his findings. The company responded quickly, barring further access, and thanking the researcher for his work.

“I completely understand your concerns regarding the exposure of sensitive images and the associated privacy risks. We greatly appreciate ethical researchers like you who bring these matters to our attention so we can act swiftly to protect our users' data and privacy,” the company’s representative told Fowler.

Unfortunately, without a deeper investigation on ClarityCheck’s end, there is no way of confirming exactly how long the database remained open, or if anyone accessed it before. However, so far there is no evidence of abuse, since a “ClarityCheck photo database” is currently not being distributed or sold anywhere on the dark web.

Exposing people to hackers

In a world where data theft and leaks are increasingly common, a cause that’s easiest to address, is also the one resulting in most exposures - misconfigured databases. Nowadays, almost every business harvests and stores data about their employees, partners, and customers. Most of them store these files in cloud databases, for easier access and better integration with business intelligence software.

However, cloud service providers work on a so-called “shared responsibility model”, which means they are responsible for providing industry-standard security features. Users, on the other hand, are responsible for using those features and properly configuring their databases (namely, setting up a strong password or encrypting the content). Unfortunately, many organizations don’t seem to be aware of the shared responsibility model, firmly believing it’s the service provider’s task to keep the data safe. Others simply keep these archives accessible by mistake.

Criminals are aware of this, and are taking advantage of the situation to steal valuable information. By using widely available tools like Shodan, Censys, or FOFA, they can scour the web for unencrypted, non-password protected databases, and exfiltrate data to be used in phishing, business email compromise, and other forms of cyberattacks.

Over the years, Fowler and other searchers have found dozens of enormous databases that have leaked sensitive data on hundreds of millions of people.

In 2026, researchers found that European cloud provider Nextcloud kept an unprotected database on the public internet, containing 367,000 records (8GB) of sensitive employee and client data.

In 2025, IMDataCenter, a Florida-based data hygiene, enhancement, and append services provider, was leaking 38GB of sensitive personal records. The unencrypted and non-password-protected database held 10,820 in total.

In 2024, sports analytics technology company TrackMan exposed sensitive customer data: 110TB and 31,602,260 records. The database had no password.

Software is being released at a pace traditional testing approaches struggle to match, while AI is moving from assisting with test design to generating, adapting, and maintaining tests across the delivery pipeline.

The question facing software testers is no longer only how to scale testing, but how to guarantee the evidence automation produces.

Fundamentally, does AI scale quality, or simply magnify inconsistency?

In this environment, the test engineer’s role is becoming more strategic. Rather than focusing on individual test cases, test professionals are increasingly expected to orchestrate quality across AI-enabled systems.

This means applying domain expertise and judgement to connect AI-generated artefacts with requirements, identify hidden risks, and ensure meaningful coverage.

As AI takes on more generation and execution work, the value of the test engineer is shifting towards governance and evidence stewardship. Without human oversight, faster delivery can create a false sense of assurance.

A fine balance: machine logic versus human control

AI-generated testing introduces new complexity for quality teams. Traditional automation executed predefined instructions, but modern AI systems can interpret requirements, generate scenarios, and make decisions about coverage. This increases speed and scale but raises questions around validity, accountability, and confidence in outcomes.

The debate has moved beyond whether AI can generate tests to whether those tests are trustworthy, explainable, and aligned with the real-world risks they are intended to uncover. This is where standardization begins to provide a foundation.

Emerging standards and methodologies for testing machine-learning-based systems – including test methodology for ML‑based systems, recent guidelines on documenting AI‑enabled systems, and novel approaches to continuous auditing‑based conformity assessment - are starting to define structured approaches for assessing robustness, bias, security, and other quality characteristics across the machine-learning lifecycle, giving teams a shared basis for judging whether AI‑generated tests are sound.

Human oversight remains the anchor of trust, ensuring automation elevates quality rather than simply increasing activity.

The era of the quality orchestrator

The test engineer’s role is evolving into that of the quality orchestrator, a profile that combines technical depth with contextual awareness to ensure AI‑produced tests are not only efficient but trustworthy.

Rather than concentrating on individual test cases, the quality orchestrator validates AI outputs, identifies gaps automation overlooks, and applies human judgement where risk or ambiguity is high. They provide the governance layer AI cannot replicate, ensuring automation strengthens quality rather than simply increasing throughput.

AI systems can identify patterns, summarize logs, and propose test scenarios at a speed far beyond human capability. Yet testing involves more than processing information. Skilled testers challenge assumptions, explore unexpected behaviors, and assess risks that may not be obvious from requirements alone.

Understanding business context and determining whether a result is meaningful requires domain knowledge and judgement beyond pattern recognition.

Adding value: where AI expectations exceed reality

AI-enabled testing delivers significant value where speed, scale, and pattern recognition matter most. It can extract requirements from standards, draft initial test cases, summarize logs, and accelerate repetitive activities that traditionally consume valuable testing time.

However, fully automated test generation remains aspirational. AI-generated tests depend heavily on high-quality requirements and documentation; ambiguity or missing context can create flawed assumptions and coverage gaps.

Consistent, structured documentation is therefore a prerequisite for dependable automation. Recent guidelines on documenting AI-enabled systems provide a practical framework for traceability and transparency, including model cards, fact sheets, and other structured artefacts, all in the service of reliable automation and regulatory alignment, most notably the EU AI Act.

While AI can accelerate generation and execution, it cannot independently confirm that tests are correct, relevant, or aligned with intended risks.

Human oversight remains essential to ensure AI-generated outputs support genuine quality rather than superficial completeness.

Continuous, context-aware, AI-enabled testing

The future of AI in testing points towards environments that are more continuous, context‑aware, and closely integrated with engineering and operations. Continuous conformance assessment is emerging as a logical extension of AI‑driven tooling, enabling systems to evaluate behavior in real time rather than at fixed milestones.

Novel approaches to continuous auditing-based conformity assessment clearly reflect this shift, replacing standalone audits with the ongoing collection of evidence and automated checks throughout an AI system’s operational life. Shift‑right practices will become increasingly important as organizations analyze real‑world logs to understand software behavior under genuine usage conditions.

The industry is also exploring AI-driven detection of standards changes and affected requirements, though strong traceability remains essential before these capabilities can be relied upon at scale. As generative and agentic AI enter the delivery pipeline, the assessment challenge will only deepen, and with it the need for common quality criteria.

This is indicative of where the discussion is in 2026, with generative and agentic AI introducing new layers of complexity that make shared quality criteria even more essential.

From test engineer to quality orchestrator: redefining the future of software testing

As AI continues to redefine software testing, confidence in quality cannot be delegated to automation. The testers who succeed will combine technical expertise with judgement and governance, orchestrating human oversight and AI capability to deliver trustworthy outcomes.

The advantage will belong to organizations that invest in orchestration capability now, in their people as much as their tooling.

AI can guarantee the speed of a pipeline; only human judgement can guarantee that the evidence it produces is reviewable, defensible, and credible.

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• Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition will reportedly launch on October 20
• Leaker 'billbil-kun' claims pre-orders will open during Gamescom on August 26
• The controller will cost $79.99 / £74.99 / €79.99

The price and release date for Microsoft's 25th anniversary Xbox Wireless Controller have reportedly leaked online ahead of Gamescom 2026.

The company revealed the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition in June, alongside the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition, both inspired by the original Xbox and the "OG green" that players remember.

We haven't heard anything about the hardware since, but now, according to reliable leaker 'billbil-kun' of Dealabs (via IGN), the X25 controller will launch on October 20, 2026.

The leaker also claims the controller will cost $79.99 / £74.99 / €79.99 / Canadian$99.99, with pre-orders opening on August 26, coinciding with its announcement at Gamescom.

We know Xbox will be at Gamescom, but its plans for Opening Night Live, where host Geoff Keighley will take to the stage to unveil world premiere trailers for new and upcoming games, are currently unknown.

However, billbil-kun claims the X25 controller details will be featured during the event, with pre-orders opening soon after.

There are no pricing details for the Xbox Series X 25 Limited Edition. Still, Xbox previously stated in an Xbox Wire post that the console and controller will be available together in select markets as a limited-edition collection in November.

Both the console and controller are a gorgeous translucent green, allowing players to see their internal builds, with illuminated Xbox buttons and "Xbox 25" branding.

"This is just one of the ways we’re celebrating 25 years of XBOX with you, the players who have made XBOX what it is. Thank you," said Jason Ronald, VP Next Generation, in the same post.

• RCS in Google Messages has stopped working for some users
• The issue mostly seems to be affecting newly set up Samsung phones
• Various fixes have been proposed, but the simplest and weirdest seems the most reliable

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a worthwhile upgrade to SMS — it brings encryption, read receipts, and more, and it’s accessible via Google Messages on Android. Except right now, it seems not to be working for a number of people.

It's not clear how widespread the issue is, but various posts on Reddit suggest there are issues with RCS on recent Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The issue most commonly seems to occur when swapping over to a new device, so people who’ve had a Samsung Galaxy S26 for a while with no issue, for instance, are seemingly less likely to run into problems than someone who just bought the phone and set it up.

But in any case, a number of Reddit users report RCS failing to connect, in some cases followed by a 3100 error code. The good news is that there are several potential fixes floating around, and one of them is quite straightforward.

That fix, as highlighted in one Reddit thread, is to turn off RCS, connect to a VPN, then turn RCS back on, and hopefully it will reactivate as normal. You can safely turn the VPN off at this point. This Reddit post says that you should connect to a VPN in Paris, France, specifically, but elsewhere, users have claimed success by using other VPN regions, so it’s unlikely you need to choose Paris — we certainly can’t see why that would make all the difference.

Anecdotally, this method seems to have the highest success rate going by the replies on Reddit, with most users exclaiming variations of “I can't believe this actually worked,” and that’s good, because not all the suggested solutions are as simple as this.

The official suggestion

Some Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 users are reporting RCS issues (Image credit: Richard Priday / TechRadar)

So we’d suggest trying this method first, but if it doesn’t work, then Google’s own support team posted a suggestion too. They say you should update to the latest version of Google Messages, then turn RCS off, clear data for Carrier Services, restart your phone, and finally turn RCS back on.

If that doesn’t work either, another user has posted a six-step process that involves stopping the Google Messages app, then removing your phone number from Google, followed by turning off two-step verification, turning off recovery phone, and removing Google Play Services updates, then turning Google Messages back on — after which, if RCS is now connecting, you should re-enable/update all of the above.

This feels like a bit of a nuclear option though, and not all users found this method worked for them. So hopefully the weird VPN trick will solve the issue for you. Interestingly, this trick first emerged two years ago when some users were having similar issues. So, while we’re not sure why it works, it has a long history of solving the problem.

Every major technological shift has required humans to assess where their value lies.

Computers reduced our reliance on memory, calculators changed the way we approached arithmetic and, today, AI is transforming how we research, analyze and create content. AI is also influencing how leaders communicate.

When Mark Zuckerberg experimented with AI avatars and Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski used an AI-generated version of himself to present the company's earnings, both instances sparked an important debate.

As AI becomes increasingly capable of replicating our words, voices and our appearance, are we ever going to automate leadership itself?

When used thoughtfully, AI has enormous potential to remove repetitive work, surface valuable insights and give leaders more time to focus on strategic decision making.

Yet, as the technology becomes increasingly capable of producing polished communications and replicating human personas, organizations need to ask a more fundamental question: which aspects of leadership are uniquely human and should remain as such?

Trust can’t be generated

Leaders have the power to shape careers, make decisions that affect livelihoods and set the direction of an organization, meaning trust is fundamental to effective leadership.

The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that employees trust "my CEO" significantly more than CEOs in general. That distinction is important because it shows trust is not automatically granted by a leadership title, but earned through consistent, authentic interactions.

During periods of uncertainty, employees are not simply listening to what their leaders say, but how they say it. If people are receiving communications or direction from AI, they will feel like a cog in a wheel, reflecting a timeless Maya Angelou quote: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Confidence, empathy, vulnerability and conviction are communicated through countless subtle signals that extend well beyond a polished speech. Pausing before answering a difficult question, acknowledging uncertainty or responding honestly to employee concerns often carry far more weight than a perfectly scripted presentation. These intuition-led moments demonstrate humanity rather than performance.

For leaders who lean on AI to generate meeting agendas, draft speeches and craft thought leadership content, the authentic, human-first details will only become more valuable.

Rather than diminishing the importance of leadership communication, AI may raise the standard by making authenticity the defining characteristic of effective leaders, giving leaders more time to focus on these people-driven moments rather than the tedious, administrative tasks.

As routine communication becomes easier to automate, the conversations that genuinely require a leader's presence will become even more significant.

Cross-border communication is more than translation

Leadership communication is significantly more complex when organizations operate across multiple countries, cultures and markets. Employees, customers and investors all bring different expectations, communication styles and social norms to the table, meaning a message designed to reassure one audience may be interpreted very differently by another.

This challenge has become more prominent as hybrid working has accelerated, with over half of employees worldwide working in hybrid environments and collaborating across borders.

While AI is already exceptionally good at translating language, translation is not complete without context. Effective leadership depends on understanding context, sentiment and intent, recognizing when to adapt a message, when greater transparency is needed and when listening is more important than speaking. These decisions are rooted in emotional intelligence, cultural awareness and lived experience rather than algorithms.

This is where AI should be viewed as an enabler rather than a replacement. It can help leaders analyze sentiment, identify emerging themes and prepare communications informed by a much broader range of information than any individual could process alone. Ultimately, however, ensuring those messages resonate with the people receiving them remains a human responsibility.

Future leaders need human mentors

The most effective leaders rely on experience and relationships to hone their skills above all else. Early-career professionals learn by observing experienced colleagues, receiving constructive feedback, navigating challenging conversations and gradually taking on greater responsibility. These everyday experiences develop judgement, resilience and communication skills long before someone reaches a leadership position.

As AI automates more of the work traditionally undertaken by junior employees, organizations should also consider what opportunities for development may be lost. If AI begins drafting every script, summarizing every meeting or even providing performance feedback, younger employees risk missing many of the mentoring moments that have historically shaped how people develop into leaders.

Rather than relying on technology to fill those gaps, businesses will need to become much more intentional about creating opportunities for coaching, feedback and real-world learning if they intend to develop the next generation of leadership talent.

The human advantage

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly transform the way leaders communicate but it should not redefine it. Instead, embrace the technology where it has proven to be most effective: removing administrative burdens and informing decisions, giving leaders more time to engage with people, exercise judgement and build trust.

If emerging technologies, such as AI avatars, begin to replace leaders in the moments that matter most, organizations risk undermining the very trust that effective leadership depends on. AI cannot replace the authenticity that employees look for during moments of uncertainty.

The conversations that earn real trust will always be most meaningful when there is a human on both ends.

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

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