Technology

• The Android Switch tool now supports iOS Live Photos
• Available for Pixels, coming soon to other Android phones
• Follows recent improvements to the Android setup tool

Switching to a new phone can be a daunting proposition – especially going from iOS to Android, or vice versa – but the process is actually a lot more straightforward than it used to be, and Google just made it easier than ever for iPhone-to-Android switchers.

As noted by Android's Paul Dunlop (via Android Police), the latest iPhone-to-Android setup tool can now move your Live Photos over from iOS to Android. It's arrived alongside a slew of upgrades to the built-in Android setup tool updated with the Google Pixel 9 series.

Live Photos was introduced all the way back in September 2015, giving you a few seconds of video either side of a still image for a more interactive and memorable feel. Google Photos has something similar called Motion Photos – so presumably, Live Photos will now become Motion Photos during the migration process.

It's all part of a rebranded Android Switch transfer process that makes moving to Android from an iPhone less stressful. Standard photos and videos have long been included in the process, as are contacts and notes.

More improvements

The Android Switch tool (Image credit: Google)

Dunlop says the Live Photos transfer feature should be live now for all Pixel users, with other Android devices getting the update "over the next few weeks". Head to our Pixel 9 review for pointers if you're thinking about replacing your iPhone with it.

Moving from Android to Android works slightly differently. With the Pixel 9 phones, Google introduced the option to transfer photos, messages, and other data over at any point in time – not just during the initial setup.

It means if you're not sure about shifting everything over when you first set up your new Android phone, you can do it further down the line – and even pick and choose what gets transferred. The whole update process should now be faster too, with a more "reliable and complete" transfer for Google Messages moving between Android phones.

The only glaring gap that remains is iMessage: Apple doesn't let anyone else access its messaging app, so Android can't move your texts and group chats over. At least Android and iPhone owners can now communicate via RCS.

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• Samsung could be planning a big upgrade for its Galaxy Watch
• A new patent reveals a different type of strap mechanism
• It could make straps easier to attach, adjust, and secure

Your next Samsung Galaxy Watch could come with a brand-new strap mechanism that would make it easier to attach, adjust, and secure the band to your wrist, according to a new patent filed by the company.

Samsung's Galaxy Watch range makes up some of the best Android smartwatches on the planet, and its wearables currently feature a nifty quick-release mechanism to help you change straps.

However, it looks like the company is working on an updated design. 91Mobiles has spotted a new patent filed on the World Intellectual Property Organisation website. Titled "WEARABLE DEVICE INCLUDING STRUCTURE FOR ASSISTING ASSEMBLY," it reveals a new type of strap design that could make Galaxy Watches of the future much easier to use.

Samsung's next Galaxy Watch upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

As the report explains, the patent reveals a strap with three component parts. There's a core made up of two fastening portions, one of which moves and one of which is static. The strap itself is made up of two halves of a band and a frame to connect them to the core, and finally grooves, which facilitate the connection between the two.

The new design should make it easier to attach and detach watch bands at a moment's notice while ensuring they stay more securely fastened to your watch when you're wearing it.

The patent also appears to suggest that the design would enable bands to fit more comfortably and crucially states that this could lead to more accurate fitness tracking and health data.

That latter point is the most exciting detail of this potential upgrade, as getting your smartwatch to fit correctly is vital when it comes to getting accurate heart rate monitoring, sleep-tracking, and exercise readouts.

The Galaxy Watch 7, while fantastic, wasn't a huge upgrade on the Series 6. If Samsung sticks to its usual release cadence we could get a new Watch 8 next year, and rumored changes could include a move to the 'squircle' design, as well as possible blood glucose and diabetes monitoring.

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After months of rumors and leaks, and teases by Samsung itself, the company might finally be ready to showcase its next wearable: its long-awaited smart glasses. And they could be revealed alongside the Samsung Galaxy S25 in early 2025.

That’s according to new details from Korean outlet Yonhap News (translated from Korean) which says the glasses will be revealed as part of an Unpacked event set to take place in January.

While Samsung has yet to confirm that such an event is taking place other rumors point to a January 23 date (via Android Police), and this timing would match up with Samsung’s showcase schedule from previous years – it usually kicks the year off with an Unpacked focused on its new flagship phones.

However, alongside its S25 phones, Samsung will reportedly show off its smart glasses, though they won’t launch right away. Instead the prototype will give us a taste of what’s to come when the full specs are revealed later, with Yonhap News saying they’re expected to actually arrive in the third quarter of 2025 (July / August / September), but given the delays they’ve seemingly faced so far we wouldn’t be shocked if the launch slipped later into 2025.

As with all rumors we should take these details with a pinch of salt. We've been patiently waiting for an update on Samsung’s XR efforts since the company announced that we’d hear something before the end of 2024 at its last Unpacked Event, and with less than a month until January 1 2025, Samsung might miss that self-imposed deadline, but hopefully not by a lot.

What is Samsung set to release?

The RayBan Meta smart glasses Samsung must compete with (Image credit: Meta)

Samsung’s smart glasses have taken several forms based on what leaks have told us. At some point they were seemingly set to be a full-on Samsung XR headset like the Meta Quest 3 or (more appropriately) the Apple Vision Pro. Following the launch of the Apple headset Samsung reportedly went back to the drawing board, with the idea of it instead developing XR glasses being bandied about.

It was unclear if it was developing alternatives to the Meta Orion AR glasses prototype, or something simpler like the Xreal Air 2 AR glasses, but leaks have more recently solidified around the device being an alternative to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

One leak teases that they’ll basically have identical hardware, with Samsung’s glasses having a Qualcomm AR 1 chipset, a 12MP camera sensor and a 155mAh battery capacity, and weighing 50g – compared to Meta’s glasses' 154mAh battery and 48g weight. Neither pair of glasses has a dedicated display.

One key difference is that Samsung’s smart glasses would rely on Google Gemini instead of Meta AI for their AI functionality.

This is all rumor and speculation for now of course, and we don't yet know how the Samsung smart glasses will shape up, or indeed if they’ll launch at all. But even at this perhaps less-impressive level compared to what was originally teased, the Samsung specs do sound pretty exciting, and could lead to a shake-up of our best smart glasses rankings.

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• PlayStation Store’s 30th Anniversary sale is now live
• PlayStation users can save money on hundreds of titles on the PS Store
• The event ends on December 20

Black Friday might be over, but Sony isn't ready to drop its discounts just yet as it's announced a limited-time PlayStation 30th Anniversary sale.

In a recent PlayStation Blog post, Sony confirmed that to celebrate 30 years of PlayStation, it's now holding a massive sale on the PS Store starting December 2 and running through to December 20.

This is one of the biggest sales the platform has seen in a while, offering discounts on almost 500 games for both the PS4 and PS5.

Some of those games include some of the best games available on PlayStation, including The Last of Us Part 1, which is now 50% off, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy at 60% off, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which received a massive 80% off price cut.

The catalog is way too long to detail in its entirety, but we've listed some of the best available discounts on some of the best games below. You can also check out the PS Store page here.

• The Last of Us Part 1 - $29.39 / £34.99 ($69.99 / £69.99)
• The Last of Us Part 2 - $29.99 / £26.24 ($29.99 / £34.99)
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - $15.99 / £34.99 ($39.99 / £13.99)
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Deluxe Edition - $35.99 / £35.99 ($89.99 /£89.99
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - $19.99 / £24.99 (£49.99 / $49.99)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - $7.99 / £4.99 ($39.99 / £24.99)

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• The NCSC released its latest Annual Review report
• It claims the number of attacks is up, and reaching unprecedented levels
• The head of NCSC commented that the cyber risk is "widely underestimated"

The UK is being hit with more cyberattacks than ever before, with academia, manufacturing, and IT being among the most targeted verticals.

This is according to a new report published by the country’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC). In the latest iteration of its Annual Review, published earlier this week, the NCSC said that its Incident Management (IM) team received 1,957 reports this year, from a “range of sectors.”

The team triaged the reports down into 430 incidents worthy of its attention, up from 371 last year. Of those incidents, 89 were said to have been “nationally significant”, and 12 were “at the top end of the scale and more severe in nature”. This number has also increased three times, compared to last year the NCSC added.

Biggest targets

Over the course of the year, the IM team sent out 542 bespoke notifications informing businesses of a cyberattack that impacts them, and sharing advice and guidance on how to tackle the problem. This number has also doubled compared to last year (258), the NCSC added, saying that almost half of the notifications sent this year related to pre-ransomware activity.

The biggest targets this year were academia, manufacturing, IT, legal, charities, and constructions. The organization said it received 317 reports of ransomware activity, either directly from the victims, or from its partners, another statistic that increased year-on-year (297). The IM team triaged it into 20 incidents that it addressed, 13 of which were “nationally significant” and included NHS trusts and the British Library.

During the launch of the Annual Review, the head of NSCS, Richard Horne, said that the cyber risks the country is facing are “widely underestimated”.

“What has struck me more forcefully than anything else since taking the helm at the NCSC is the clearly widening gap between the exposure and threat we face, and the defenses that are in place to protect us,” he said. “And what is equally clear to me is that we all need to increase the pace we are working at to keep ahead of our adversaries.

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• Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's co-creator has confirmed the name of its main starship
• The space vessel's moniker is tied to one of the show's biggest mysteries
• The meaning behind its name won't be revealed until later in the series

One of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's co-creators has confirmed that the name of its primary starship ties directly into one of the show's biggest mysteries.

Speaking to TechRadar before Skeleton Crew's two-episode premiere, Christopher Ford revealed the title of the space vessel that the Star Wars series' child protagonists find in its first chapter.

Mild spoilers follow for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, so turn back now unless you want to know what the ship's name is!

Skeleton Crew's star ship has a cool-sounding name, according to one of its co-creators (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

Answering a question I had about whether the ship's name was, as it's been rumored, Onyx Cinder, Ford admitted that was the case. The Disney Plus show's co-showrunner also teased that its title not only relates to Skeleton Crew's biggest mystery surrounding the planet known as At Attin, but that it was also a humorous nod to the cool-sounding names of other famous Star Wars ships, including the The Millennium Falcon and Razor Crest.

"Yeah, it's called the Onyx Cinder," Ford replied. "There is a story behind it, too, but that's slightly – it's kind of ahead in the story. Whoever named it was trying to make it sound cool. You know, people come up with names in this universe and try to do some marketing for how cool their ship is."

What's the deal with At Attin? And how does the Onyx Cinder tie into the mythos surrounding it?

The seemingly idyllic At Attin is hiding a big secret (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Understandably, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, question to emerge from Skeleton Crew's first two episodes concerns At Attin. A new planet introduced as part of this show's narrative, it's home to Skeleton Crew's four kids – Wim, Fern, K.B, and Neel – and part of the galaxy that's defended by the nascent New Republic.

However, there appears to be more to At Attin than meets the eye. Indeed, when the youngsters accidentally find themselves lost in space, they enlist the help of the Onyx Cinder's rundown first-mate android SM-33 to try and find a way home. Initially, SM-33 is of little help as he tells them that At Attin doesn't exist. But, after SM-33 suggests that they travel to the space pirate haven known as Port Borgo for directions, the kids do just that.

Port Borgo is home to some of Star Wars' most nefarious individuals (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

It's here where Skeleton Crew starts to lay the foundations for the enigma that is At Attin. After getting separated from Fern and K.B, Wim and Neel learn from a group of pirates that At Attin isn't just a mythological world, but that it's also referred to as a "lost planet of eternal treasure". Hey, Skeleton Crew is a pirate-inspired coming-of-age tale, so such references aren't so outlandish.

Anyway, my guess is that the Onyx Cinder's pilot and/or crew crash-landed on At Attin as they went in search for its buried treasure. We'll find out if I'm right as Skeleton Crew's story unfolds in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, check out my Star Wars: Skeleton Crew review to get some clues about its third episode, which debuts on Disney Plus, aka one of the world's best streaming services, on December 10 (US) and December 11 (UK and Australia). Alternatively, read more from my exclusive chat with Ford and fellow co-creator Jon Watts below.

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Don't dally if you want to lock in a rate to help grow your savings.

The sooner you open a high-yield savings account, the more interest you can earn.

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• Pat Gelsinger retires as Intel’s CEO
• David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus appointed interim co-CEOs
• Intel’s most recent quarterly revenue had dropped 6% as it undergoes restructuring efforts

After a near four-year stint as CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger has announced that he stepped down as head of the company effective December 1, marking the end of four decades’ service to the company in high-ranking roles.

Gelsinger has also retired from Intel’s board of directors, leaving CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus to take on the role of interim co-CEOs for the company.

The board, headed by independent chair and interim executive chair Frank Yeary, has now formed a search committee to find Gelsinger’s replacement.

Intel’s CEO steps down

Yeary commented on Gelsinger’s departure: “As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.”

He added: “With Dave and MJ’s leadership, we will continue to act with urgency on our priorities: simplifying and strengthening our product portfolio and advancing our manufacturing and foundry capabilities while optimizing our operating expenses and capital.”

To many in the industry, the news has not come as a shock. Intel’s financial struggles have not been kept secret, with the company losing out to AMD, which has been able to undercut Intel on core data center processors, and Nvidia, which established itself as a leader in the AI market.

The company’s most recent quarterly revenue stood at $13.3 billion, marking a 6% year-on-year decrease. Gelsinger said Intel was “acting with urgency to position the business for sustainable value creation moving forward.” Zinsner added: “The actions we took this quarter position us for improved profitability and enhanced liquidity as we continue to execute our strategy.”

Prior to his most recent tenure, which started in February 2021, Gelsinger served as VMware’s CEO for more than eight years. He also spent 30 years between 1979 and 2009 as Senior VP and GM for Digital Enterprise Group at Intel, and another five years as CTO for the company between 2000 and 2005.

In a LinkedIn post, Gelsinger stated: “Leading Intel Corporation has been the honor of my lifetime.” The retired CEO has not indicated any plans for a future role.

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The Black Friday season is the busiest time of the year for tech fans looking to grab a deal on the best TVs, headphones, laptops, phones, kitchen appliances, smartwatches and more – but how was your shopping experience this year?

The fact is, not all sites are built the same when it comes to helping you to find the biggest savings on the best products. For starters, there's just so much choice – thousands upon thousands of deals at dozens of retailers, all being highlighted by dozens more websites such as TechRadar. How do you know which deals are really worth having?

Plus, some retailers at better than others at providing a seamless shopping experience, whether that's around fast loading times, making it easy to compare products or showing you the correct discount value.

We can't do anything about the retailer side of things, unfortunately, but we are always looking to improve the experience on TechRadar itself – and that's where you come in.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on how your Black Friday shopping experience was, so that we can improve our offering in the future. So, we've created a very short survey which shouldn't take any longer than 5-10 minutes to complete. Please be as honest as you can when answering, it's all very useful feedback for us. Thanks in advance – and we hope you got what you wanted this Black Friday.

Take the TechRadar Black Friday Shopping survey

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I've spent hours tracking Cyber Monday deals, and I can confidently say that the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle for just $2.99 a month takes the crown. It's not only the best Cyber Monday deal from a streaming service but the best streaming deal I've seen all year, making it the clear winner of Cyber Monday.

Disney Plus and Hulu's ad-supported plans normally cost just under $11 a month for a bundle, so today's Cyber Monday deal saves you a whopping 72% on an annual plan.

Now, I know what you're thinking: there must be a catch. The only "catch" is that you'll have to watch commercials on both streaming services, but I think that's doable for $2.99 a month. Especially considering you're saving $200 compared to if you bought both services separately, which makes watching ads a bit more bearable.

Besides the price, the most important thing to know about this incredible Cyber Monday deal is that it ends today. I can guarantee you won't find a better offer this year and probably not a price this good until next year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events.

The best Cyber Monday streaming deal

Disney Plus and Hulu annual ad-supported plan: was $10.99 per month now $2.99 at Hulu and Disney Plus
The best Cyber Monday streaming deal is hands down, this Disney Plus and Hulu plan for just $2.99 a month. Disney Plus and Hulu's ad-supported plans normally cost just under $11 a month for a bundle, so today's deal represents a saving of more than 72% on an annual plan. Sadly, you'll have to watch commercials on both streaming services, but with a saving of over $200 on offer compared to if you bought both services separately, we suspect you'll think it's a price worth paying.View Deal

More Cyber Monday streaming deals

Hulu ad-supported annual plan: was $9.99 per month now $0.99 at Hulu
Hulu's ad-supported price is normally just under $10 a month, but as part of its Cyber Monday offer, you can pick it up for a steal at $0.99 a month. If you don't mind the commercials, that's a saving of over $100 for a year's worth of Hulu, which gives you access to all the great shows of the past and all the great stuff to come in 2025. View Deal

Max 'Standard' with ads plan: was $59.94 for six-months now $17.94 at Max
It's finally back: the best Max Cyber Monday streaming deal we saw last year has returned, letting you subscribe to its 'Standard' with ads plan for just $2.99 a month for the first six months. The deal is available to both new and returning customers and represents a 70% saving on the best streaming service for originals. The Penguin, House of the Dragon, and The White Lotus are just some of the best Max shows you can access with this great saving while it lasts until December 2. View Deal

Paramount Plus with Showtime: was $25.98 for two-months now $5.98 at Paramount Plus
This deal might seem short-lived, but you can pack a lot into that time. As well as a feast of NFL and elite European soccer, you'll get access to Paramount Plus and Showtime's fearsome back catalog. For Showtime, that's all-timers like Billions and Dexter, and from Paramount, it's Frasier, Evil, Yellowjackets, and a feast of Star Trek offerings. To take advantage of the deal that saves you 76%, you just need to enter the code 'BLACKFRIDAY' when you're signing up to get it for just $2.99 a month. View Deal

Peacock 'Premium' plan: was $79.99 for 12-months now $19.99 at Peacock
This is what streaming deals are about: getting a new discounted subscription that will last you until next year's sales, and this Peacock Cyber Monday offer does exactly that. The 75% saving is also available for a monthly subscription, but with more than 80,000 hours of content available, you'll definitely need more time to get through its big catalog, and this way, you'll also have an account for upcoming live sporting events. Use the code 'REALDEAL' at the checkout before the deal ends on December 2. View Deal

Starz Hulu-add on: was $10.99 a month now $0.99 per month at Hulu
Hulu's ad-supported price is normally just under $10 a month, but as part of its Cyber Monday offer, you can pick it up for a steal at $0.99 a month. Then, you can add 12 months' worth of Starz onto that for an additional $0.99 per month. Two premium streamers for $1.98 per month? We consider that quite the bargain. View Deal

Shop more Cyber Monday sales

• Amazon: TVs, smart home & air fryers from $12.99
• Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99
• Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & iPads
• Dell: Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99
• Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $349
• Holiday: decor, lights, trees & PJs from $10.99
• Home Depot: 40% off tools, appliances & furniture
• Lowe's: holiday decor, appliances & tools from $17.31
• Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses
• Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry
• Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, watches & appliances
• Target: save on Christmas, tech & clothing
• Walmart: cheap TVs, robot vacs, & appliances

Whether for workouts or work calls, this Raycon wireless audio gear is up to 40% off on Amazon for Cyber Monday.

Light spoilers follow for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

The year 2024 has been another mixed bag for Star Wars. Ever since Lucasfilm temporarily pivoted away from movies to tell stories on Disney Plus, the legendary sci-fi franchise has experienced critical and commercial turbulence with its expanding TV lineup. Indeed, for every acclaimed series like The Mandalorian, a less successful or unpopular one like The Book of Boba Fett has subsequently followed.

This year has been no different. While animated projects like Visions season 2 and Tales of the Empire have earned acclaim, The Acolyte, Star Wars' only live-action show of 2024, failed to capture viewers' imagination. The Acolyte's cancellation just one month after The Acolyte's season 1 finale, then, was announced to little surprise.

The inconsistent reception that have accompanied Star Wars shows since 2019 means Skeleton Crew should be another dud, right? Not so. In fact, I'd wager the last of 2024's new Star Wars shows is the best of this year's graduates, with Skeleton Crew delivering a swashbuckling, intergalactic misadventure that's tailor-made to enjoy with the whole family during the festive season.

Lost in space

Skeleton Crew tells the story a group of 10-year-olds who accidentally get lost in space (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

Set during the post-Return of the Jedi era alongside The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka, Lucasfilm's latest TV project takes a break from the tried-and-tested formulae of lightsaber-wielding individuals and bounty hunters seeking redemption.

Instead, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew tells the tale of four kids who discover a star ship buried on their home world of At Attin. Predictably, their curiosity gets the better of them and, after accidentally rebooting the long-dormant vessel's system, and with its hyperdrive and autopilot re-engaged, the quartet are transported halfway across the known galaxy. With little money to their name and no parents to turn to, the group are forced to rely on their wits, plus the aid of the mysterious Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) and the ship's cantankerous, decrepit android SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost), to get back home.

The biggest compliment I can pay Skeleton Crew is that it doesn't feel like a typical Star Wars story

Having watched Skeleton Crew's first three episodes, the biggest compliment I can pay is that, like Andor, it doesn't feel like a typical Star Wars story. Sure, Law's self-professed 'Force wielder' (more on him later) and wider Star Wars references and Easter eggs, including a few to the original movie trilogy, tether it to Lucasfilm's universally popular franchise, but Skeleton Crew possesses an unmistakeable individuality that other Star Wars series – some of which feature on our best Disney Plus shows list – lack.

Indeed, whether it's centering its plot around four adorable kids – Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), K.B. (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) – or the nostalgic 80s movie feel running through its veins, Skeleton Crew distances itself from Star Wars' much weightier material. I wouldn't belittle Skeleton Crew by calling it a low-stakes adventure compared with its peers, who focus on galactic defenders of the peace, Jedi or otherwise, and those who wish to rule the known universe with an iron fist, but it's certainly more charming and sincere in its storytelling approach.

Skeleton Crew's four young actors excel in their respective roles (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

It's the freedom afforded by the general absence of Star Wars' imposing mythology that allows Skeleton Crew to prioritize its primary objective: being and having fun. Yes, its story is fraught with danger for Wim and company, and the threats posed by Star Wars' criminal underworld solidify the show's position as a borderline child-friendly series that some parents may still deem inappropriate for their kids. An Amblin-esque production along the lines of E.T, The Goonies, and Indiana Jones that's atmospheric, eerily thrilling, and occasionally dips its toe into horror genre territory, this most certainly is.

That said, there's ample whimsy, slapstick humor, and quick-witted rhetoric to balance things out. I'll admit that a lot of Skeleton Crew's comedy is telegraphed; its one-liners and clownish moments more likely to raise a smile or illicit a snigger than trigger a belly laugh. Nevertheless, the facial expressions and deadpan line delivery, especially from its young cast, are on-point throughout its early chapters.

The camaraderie born out of their shared experience feels as natural as the initial conflicts

Speaking of Skeleton Crew's child actors, there isn't a weak link in the group. The archetypal characters they portray aren't original – Wim is the wide-eyed daydreamer, Neel the loyal best friend-cum-bookworm, Fern assuming the role of the smart-mouthed rebel, and K.B. installed as the gang's earnest tech wizard. Nonetheless, it's enthralling to see their personalities clash early on, especially once they realize they'll have to co-operate after their ill-fated trip across the cosmos.

Once they do, though, the camaraderie born out of their shared experience feels as natural as the initial conflicts that arise between them. In that respect, the gang's burgeoning companionship is tonally similar – and stick with me here – to Stranger Things; the hugely popular Netflix show's collection of kids and young adults from different walks of life also collaborating to overcome a unifying threat. Considering Stranger Things was also influenced by films and TV shows from the 1980s, I don't consider that comparison to be too farfetched.

Artful allies and storytelling snags

SM-33 is one of a few allies that Skeleton Crew's group of kids can rely on (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

Skeleton Crew doesn't solely rely on its young cast to energize its narrative. While SM-33 plays to Frost's strengths as a talented comedian, the dilapidated automaton is more than just comic relief amid the series' galaxy-trotting adventure. Indeed, until Law's enigmatic Jod makes his eagerly anticipated debut in episode 2, SM-33 is the kids' primary protector-in-chief – a role he fulfils with aplomb when rescuing them from some rancorous individuals on the Outer Rim space pirate haven known as Port Borgo.

Lucasfilm's latest TV offering is disappointingly light on action

Entertaining as that backwater fracas is, it's something of an anomaly in Skeleton Crew's early entries. Three episodes into its eight-part story, Lucasfilm's latest TV offering is disappointingly light on action. I acknowledge that shows of this ilk won't be littered with wall-to-wall action but, with Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's official trailer and various TV spots teasing more from a spectacle standpoint, I expected one or two extra set-pieces. I'm sure Skeleton Crew will rectify one of its two biggest issues (I'll get to the other later) in later episodes.

The introduction of Law's Jod supercharges Skeleton Crew's story (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

It's not until the multifaceted Jod's arrival that Skeleton Crew truly catches fire – and not just as a bona fide sci-fi adventure. Indeed, Law, a self-confessed Star Wars fan, is in scintillating form as the unpredictable-yet-charismatic Jod, who surprisingly wasn't inspired by legendary Star Wars outlaw Han Solo. Bringing equal parts levity and gravitas to the role, Law has the time of his life playing such an enigmatic and mischievous individual, whose character complexities and motives rub up against Wim and company's naive and idealistic views, as well as their mission to head home. Expect plenty of melodrama, suspense-filled moments, and amusing incidents – the latter increasingly comes into play as Jod tries and fails to cajole the kids into doing his bidding – once Law's roguish and mysterious stranger has made his grand entrance.

Law has the time of his life playing such an enigmatic and mischievous individual

Another of Skeleton Crew's positives lies in its multi-genre appeal. Once Jod teams up with his young cohorts, it becomes as much a pirate-based mystery as it does a sci-fi misadventure, with two big puzzles woven into its narrative fabric. I won't spoil too much about its primary mystery because, well, spoilers. Its secondary brain-teaser, though, concerns Jod, whose duplicitous nature and various aliases will have you second-guessing his true intentions. My own attitude towards Jod changed three times in Skeleton Crew's third episode alone and, after coming up with my own wild theory about his true identity, I'm eager to see if I'm not only right in my assumptions, but also to find out if I was correct to be sceptical about him.

Port Borgo is one of the new locations that Star Wars fans will visit in Skeleton Crew (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

As for the other problem I alluded to, Skeleton Crew falls foul of an increasingly perplexing issue that's plagued numerous Disney Plus TV shows: episode runtimes. Like its predecessors and Marvel cousins, the newest Star Wars series preserves the maddeningly inconsistent nature of Disney-developed shows with an inconsistent approach to episodic length.

Yes, some instances are valid, such as a season finale needing more time to wrap up multiple plot points. Or, in the case of Skeleton Crew's first chapter, additional time is needed to establish its core characters, new locations, and overarching story. Even so, the fact that the first three installments (including their end credits) clock in at 46, 29, and 37 minutes apiece irritated me, and will likely do so to others left exasperated by incongruent episodic runtimes on one of the world's best streaming services.

My verdict

Its runtime and action-light early entries notwithstanding, Skeleton Crew is a finely balanced show that pays homage to classic 80s adventure films and feels distinct within the Star Wars universe by putting a fresh spin on the franchise's established formula.

Ahead of Star Wars Day 2024, one of my colleagues opined that Skeleton Crew had a lot of convincing to do ahead of its release. Three episodes in, this coming-of-age, pirate genre-enriched Star Wars series has assured me it'll have the stamina to serve up a tale, albeit one with sci-fi sensibilities, worthy of being told during the Golden Age of Piracy. If its remaining episodes are as strong as what I've seen and its finale sticks the landing, Skeleton Crew will be a Star Wars show worth treasuring for a long time to come.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's two-episode premiere are out now. New episodes air weekly.

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