Technology

Executive producer James Cameron and wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory tell CNET how they captured never-before-seen moments for the docuseries.

Gather 'round, because we've got some tech tales to tell: TechRadar stories from the last seven days, covering new movie trailers, new instant cameras, new open-ear earbuds, problems for Spotify and Samsung, and more advances in artificial intelligence.

We keep waiting for the pace of tech news across gadgets, AI, and software to slow down, but it certainly hasn't happened this week. In fact, it feels like there's more news to cover than ever, and we aim to cover as many of the most important announcements as we can.

This comprehensive In Case You Missed It round-up will bring you right up to speed with everything that's happened in tech news over the past week, giving you just enough time to take a moment before we go again for another seven days of news and rumors.

8. 28 Years Later terrified us in a new trailer

More zombie mayhem is on the way (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

With the original director-writer combo of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland from the first movie making a return for this third instalment, our hopes were already high for 28 Years Later – and anticipation levels just went up an extra notch after another trailer drop.

The 191-second clip manages to give us just enough of a look at the movie to whet our appetites without giving too much away. It certainly seems as though there will be enough jump scares and zombie gore to make the upcoming movie a treat for horror fans.

• Read more: 28 Years Later looks like it will be the horror movie of the year in new trailer that shows how the deadly rage virus has evolved

7. We got our first glimpse of the imminent OnePlus 13T

(Image credit: OnePlus)

The next OnePlus phone launch is almost upon us, with the OnePlus 13T officially arriving on April 24. We can take a good, long look at the handset before then, though, because OnePlus has released a short video showing the phone in three different colors.

We can see a flat back, curvy corners, and a new button that's replacing the standard OnePlus alert slider on this handset. We've also had confirmation that the phone will sport a 6.32-inch screen, and a capacious 6,000 mAh battery as well.

• Read more: The OnePlus 13T is coming on April 24, and the company has already shown it off

6. Samsung’s One UI 7 rollout hit some serious snags

The Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Future | Roland Moore-Colyer)

Getting One UI 7 out to the masses has proved to be quite the challenge for Samsung, and just when we thought owners of Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 7 phones would be getting the update, the rollout was put on pause amid reports of a serious bug.

It's likely to mean that owners of older phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S23, are going to have to wait even longer to get their One UI 7 upgrade. With Android 16 (and therefore One UI 8) just around the corner, it's not a good look if you're Samsung.

• Read more: Samsung's One UI 7 update reportedly delayed due to a serious bug, extending the wait for Android 15

5. The music died in Spotify’s biggest outage in years

It's not been the best of weeks for Spotify (Image credit: Shutterstock / Diego Thomazini)

We found ourselves scrambling for our CD decks and radio dials on Wednesday – or maybe just YouTube – as Spotify suffered one of the most serious outages in history. Reports of unresponsive apps came flooding in from across the world for most of the day.

We still don't know exactly what happened to trigger such a major problem on Spotify's servers. Perhaps the music streaming service is too embarrassed to tell us, but the company did specifically say that it wasn't a cyberattack causing the extensive issues.

• Read more: Spotify was down – here's everything we know about its huge outage

4. Sennheiser gave us some AirPods-like open earbuds

We like the look of the Sennheiser Accentum Open earbuds (Image credit: Sennheiser)

Say hello to the Sennheiser Accentum Open, an AirPods-esque pair of open-ear earbuds that don't cost much at all: in Europe they're listed at €89.90, which should work out as around £100 / £78 / AU$161 when these attractive-looking earbuds go on sale elsewhere.

As well as being affordable, they look lightweight and promise 28 hours of battery life between charges (if you include the case). We haven't had a chance to test them yet, but we're hoping they live up to the usual high fidelity standards of Sennheiser's audio gear.

• Read more: OpenAI just upgraded memory for ChatGPT – here's everything you need to know

3. The Polaroid Flip took us back to the 90s

Old-school photography, courtesy of the Polaroid Flip (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The Polaroid Flip is the newest analog instant camera on the market, and it might just be the best, too – take a look at some of the snaps we've managed to capture with the device, and make your own mind up about this $199.99 / £199.99 camera (Australia pricing is TBC).

It's fast and fun to use, and it's a throwback to when photos weren't stuck inside your smartphone forever: these photos actually make you feel something. Our full Polaroid Flip review will give you the complete rundown on this camera and what it has to offer.

• Read more: These 8 photos made me believe the Polaroid Flip is the best analog instant camera on the market

2. Two of the world’s best fitness apps teamed up

Strava and Runna are teaming up (Image credit: Strava)

Strava, meet Runna. These are both fantastic apps for tracking runs and other activities, and now they've joined forces: Strava has announced it's purchased Runna, although nothing is going to change in terms of how the two apps operate for the time being.

The aim is to "create even greater value for our users," according to Strava CEO Michael Martin, and we can expect to see some of the AI-powered personalized training plans that Runna specializes in making their way over to users on Strava as well, in due course.

• Read more: Strava acquires powerhouse AI-training platform Runna, and Garmin should be panicking

1. ChatGPT got some serious upgrades (again)

OpenAI has some more treats for ChatGPT users (Image credit: Shutterstock/JarTee)

OpenAI has been consistent in regularly pushing out upgrades for ChatGPT users, and the latest update brings new o3 and o4-mini models across all user plans. These models are smarter, faster, and better at working with different modes (including text and images).

In fact, these models are a nod towards the eventual arrival of the big GPT-5 upgrade, which is somewhere in the pipeline, and will be able to do much more on its own. In the meantime, images in ChatGPT have also been given their own dedicated Library section.

• Read more: ChatGPT just got a massive upgrade that takes it to the next level – here are the 3 biggest changes

• Andor's lead actor has opened up about the end of the Star Wars TV show after two seasons
• Diego Luna is relieved that the Rogue One prequel series wasn't cancelled
• It was originally supposed to run for five seasons

Diego Luna believes it's the right decision on Disney's part to allow Andor to end after two seasons rather than one.

Chatting to TechRadar before Andor season 2 debuts on Disney+, Luna expressed satisfaction and relief over the opportunity to tell "the story we wanted to" in the Rogue One prequel series. Indeed, Luna was glad that Disney afforded him, showrunner Tony Gilroy, and the rest of the cast and crew the chance to wrap up its narrative, rather than cancel the show after a single season.

Luna's worries about the Star Wars TV series ending before its time aren't unfounded. Despite the critical acclaim and award nominations Andor's first season was met with, it's no secret that its development was a costly endeavor.

Originally, Andor was supposed to run for five seasons, with its final installment leading directly into the events of Rogue One, However, per a report published by Forbes last December, it's estimated that the price for creating its first two seasons was an astronomical $645 million.

Development on Andor's two seasons reportedly cost over $600 million (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

With Disney cutting costs across the board during Bob Iger's second stint as CEO, Andor's five-season plan was never going to materialize.

Thankfully, during development on one of the best Disney+ shows' first season, Gilroy had a "great idea", according to Luna, to condense four seasons' worth of character arcs and wider storytelling into one more season comprising 12 episodes.

It's a format that Gilroy discussed with me prior to season 1's release in August 2022, with the series' head writer calling them "very sexy" time jumps that would depict a single yet important event in each of the four years leading up to the start of Rogue One. Each 12-month period will span three episodes apiece, therefore allowing each narrative the same time and space to depict their individual stories.

The Empire must be stopped. Artwork inspired by Andor and illustrated by @nadamaktari.Don’t miss the three-episode premiere of Andor, streaming April 22 only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/h6vdkclbWhApril 17, 2025

"From the beginning [of this show], we knew what we wanted to do," Luna told me. "Structurally, the plan changed because we soon realized we couldn't commit to five seasons. It takes a lot of energy, time, and money to make one, because each season takes two and a half years of our lives.

"But, while we were shooting season one, Tony had this great idea of squeezing four seasons into one and essentially make four chapters.

"I also think that, today in long format storytelling and TV in general, a lot of shows start without knowing where or when they're going to end. But, from beginning to end, we told the story we wanted to tell and that's a beautiful thing to be able to do."

I'll have more exclusive content to bring you from my interviews with Diego and more of Andor's cast in the build up to, during, and after season 2's debut. In the meantime, read more of my Andor season 2 coverage below ahead of its April 22 launch in the US, and April 23 arrival in the UK and Australia.

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• New Andor season 2 trailer has got Star Wars fans asking the same question – and it includes an ominous call back to Rogue One's official teaser
• Here's how you can watch the Star Wars movies in order

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 19.

• IPVanish's malware and tracker blocking technology has been confirmed as one of the best on the market
• VIPRE Advanced Security received the highest rating in the latest AV-Comparatives' Malware Protection Test
• This achievement follows a successful independent audit confirming that IPVanish's no-log policy

Independent auditors have just confirmed that the technology behind IPVanish's malware and tracker-blocker tools is one of the best on the market.

VIPRE Advanced Security received the highest rating in the latest Malware Protection Test carried on by AV-Comparatives in March 2025. The antivirus bundle service stood out for its strong performance across several potential attack scenarios.

The results come about a week after an independent audit also confirmed that IPVanish never logs users' data, in line with what is stated in its no-log VPN policy.

A win for IPVanish users' security

In its latest Malware Protection Test, experts at AV-Comparatives checked the ability of 19 security products to detect and prevent infections from a wide range of malware threats. These include some of the best antivirus services like Avast, Bitdefender, McAfee, Norton, and more.

More than 10,000 of the most recent malware samples were tested on a fully updated Windows 11 machine, with the evaluation including offline and online scanning as well as live execution and mirroring real-world conditions.

VIPRE Advanced Security was among 10 providers to earn an Advanced+ rating from AV-Comparatives after excelling in all key metrics. Specifically, the tool detected 98.7% of threats consistently both online and offline, gaining a 99.93% protection score during live execution evaluations. It did all that while producing a minimum amount of false positives, too.

"This award is a win for all IPVanish users because the same cloud-based threat intelligence that earned VIPRE top marks is already working behind the scenes in IPVanish’s Threat Protection feature, along with our QR Code Checker and Link Checker security tools," the provider told TechRadar.

Our security just got a gold star. ⭐VIPRE, the engine behind IPVanish Threat Protection, earned AV-Comparatives’ top malware protection rating! That same power is built into your VPN. #IPVanish #CyberSecurity #AVComparatives #VPN #MalwareProtection https://t.co/k3LqbEoksTApril 16, 2025

IPVanish released its Threat Protection feature in March last year across all its apps, placing the provider alongside some of the best VPN services already offering a similar tool.

IPVanish Threat Protection works by filtering out third-party content before loading to preserve data usage while blocking third-party cookies and tracking scripts as well. At the same time, it prevents you from accessing known malicious websites, including phishing schemes and malware-embedded sites, to further protect users and their data.

Last June, IPVanish also launched a Link Checker service built on VIPRE's tech. The tool comes as a standalone website and is free to use for everyone, whether or not you're an IPVanish subscriber, to verify the safety of URLs before clicking and protect against phishing scams.

The provider has recently integrated a similar tool on its iOS and Android VPN apps. This is a QR Code Checker that allows users to scan QR codes to detect malicious links and phishing traps.

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Music has always had a love-hate relationship with technology. Every time a new tool shows up, there are some who are concerned that it will be the end of real music.

The same questions arose when the synthesizer appeared, when the drum machine became popular, and any time auto-tune is used on a popular song. But Cher proved that there was music after auto-tune, just as there is life after love.

Claims about the death of authenticity are almost always exaggerated, and accusations of 'cheating' sound absurd in retrospect. Eventually, people learn to sing along to the new tune, or at least admit that electric guitars didn't go around smashing up every acoustic version.

All that is overture for people playing the theme from Psycho over AI's presence in music. I'm not discounting the seriousness of a report by French streaming platform Deezer that 18% of songs being uploaded these days are entirely AI-generated. That’s over 20,000 robot-made tracks per day. Twice the number from just a few months ago. Cue the dramatic sting (you know the one, Dun, Dun, Dun!)

It’s easy to look at numbers like that and feel a little nervous. After all, the music industry already runs on razor-thin margins for most artists, and now the meager streaming revenue is going to go to robots? Add in the fact that major players like Universal, Sony, and Warner are actively suing AI music platforms like Suno and Udio for allegedly training on copyrighted songs, and you can see how high the stakes are.

The music industry is not the entirety of music, however. I firmly believe in robust protection for artists who face AI stealing their work or training on it to mimic them. But that's a business battle, not a war for the fate of human creativity.

AI has a place in the recording studio. Once upon a time, many people proclaimed that sampling portended the end of music, with a future of nothing but artists stealing other artists’ work. Now it’s the backbone of entire genres of music. Auto-tune has evolved from a gimmick to a legitimate tool across many music styles. And the aforementioned electric guitar was dismissed for being too loud within many people's lifetimes.

Nonetheless, here we are enjoying music made by people pushing buttons, twisting knobs, and bending sound in new ways. AI is just the latest tool. And like any tool, it’s only as good or bad as the person using it.

Allegro AI

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

What worries me isn’t the existence of AI music. It’s the idea that we might start mistaking it for a replacement instead of a collaborator. Left to its own devices, AI doesn’t make bad music, but it can feel empty or just a warmed-over imitation of real music. It’s elevator music, but more expensive.

That’s not to say it’s useless, far from it. AI can be a brilliant creative assistant. Stuck on a chord progression? It can help. Need to experiment with a new genre you’ve never written in? Fire it up. Want to turn a poem into a melody just to see what happens? Absolutely. AI can help bring the song in your head to life, but it won't do so without you as the source of the ideas.

The real debate should be about how to use AI in music, not whether to ban it outright. I'd be worried about the sheer number of AI songs appearing on streaming services if I were a musician, but not because AI created them. I'd be more concerned about where they are coming from, who's profiting from them, and if any artists' work was illicitly used to train the AI behind the songs.

And it's not like every human track is a unique snowflake. A lot of music shares DNA, and the most popular songs sometimes come across as only slightly tweaked versions of each other. Trends are trends, and algorithms have already been shaping what we listen to, nudging us toward the familiar, the market-tested, the sonically safe. AI isn’t creating that dystopia, though it may be speeding up the process.

Still, AI could be a boon to music as a whole. Imagine a rural teenager with few resources who can't hire a band, a piano teacher, or a recording studio. With a phone and some imagination, they could use free AI music tools to experiment and share the music in their minds.

AI music isn’t the death of music as a concept. It’s a powerful tool that should be handled carefully. It can be a shortcut, but it shouldn't be a thief, and it can't give a song any soul.

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Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 208, for April 19.

Want to find the best true-wireless earbuds? Start here with CNET's various top earbuds lists, curated by style, price and use case.

The minute-plus-long video displays the baby squid's see-through body, which looks as if it's made of glass.

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• Samsung Galaxy XCover7 Pro revives the removable battery for power in rugged environments
• Dual programmable keys allow instant access to essential features and field apps
• Built tough with IP68, MIL-STD-810H and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection

Samsung has officially introduced the Galaxy XCover7 Pro, a rugged smartphone that offers a rare return to basics with a standout feature missing from most modern devices – a 4,350mAh removable battery.

Powering the new smartphone is the mid-range 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card up to 2TB.

The XCover7 Pro features a 6.6-inch FHD+ TFT LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, glove-friendly touch sensitivity, and Vision Booster for improved visibility. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, offering resistance to drops, scratches, and disinfectants like ethanol and chlorine-based solutions.

A rugged smartphone built for real-world demands

Designed for frontline professionals, the Galaxy XCover7 Pro is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD-810H certified for environmental durability, a benchmark for top-tier rugged phones and rugged tablets.

“At Samsung, we understand that frontline professionals need technology that adapts to their fast-paced and demanding work environments,” said Jerry Park, EVP and Head of Global Mobile B2B Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics.

Although this device focuses on durability, it includes a 50MP wide main sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens on the rear. For selfies, there's a 13MP front camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

The business smartphone supports both physical SIM and eSIM. Connectivity options include 5G Sub-6, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC. For navigation, the device supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS, though availability may vary by region.

Weighing 240g, the XCover7 Pro includes a POGO pin interface for use with dedicated charging docks (sold separately), and two programmable hardware keys - the Top Key and XCover Key - which can be programmed to specific apps or features.

“The Galaxy XCover7 Pro combines ruggedized durability, enterprise-grade security, seamless connectivity and intuitive AI-driven features to help businesses operate efficiently in harsh conditions while maximizing productivity and minimizing downtime,” Park added

The device is priced at £559 in the UK and will be available starting April 2025. There's no word on US pricing at the moment.

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The moment when you think it's time to start charging your smartphone is probably as personal as your hairstyle. I doubt anyone fully agrees on when to plug back in, except when you're completely out of juice. While some might be fine with 50% in the middle of the day, others might panic, just a little, when they hit 38%. At least that's what a new study from Talker Research says.

In a survey of 2000 people in the US, researchers found that 38% is when the concern creeps in, and the majority of smartphone owners start searching for a charging option.

A third of the respondents wait until, for instance, their iPhone warns them the battery is running low (20% or less), and 13% are willing to wait until the power drops below 10%.

I've seen people take far riskier approaches, with as little as 1% left on their phone, and, somehow, they seem unconcerned. Perhaps they always have an extra battery backup in their back pocket.

The research, though, indicates there may be some generational differences in our battery approach. Gen Zers reach for a charging cable far sooner than their Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer counterparts, plugging in as soon as 44%.

When do you start panicking about a low phone battery life?April 18, 2025

In my own anecdotal survey on X, I found the majority start worrying about battery life when it reaches 20%. That's even more than those who seem concerned at 10%.

This makes sense to me. 20% has long been my trigger, which means I plug and rarely see 10% or less. There is, by the way, a small contingent who charge up when the battery life hits 60%. They are, I bet, part of the "ABC" (Always Be Charging) crowd.

I got a few comments on X telling me there was no need to "panic" and that they found that some phones, like the Samsung Galaxy series, had good enough battery life that they rarely worry.

What you can do

The thing is, you have far more control over the life and longevity of your smartphone battery than you might think.

First of all, Android and iOS, along with hardware-based AI and machine learning, do their fair share to manage battery life, especially the longevity of the battery. That's why your battery doesn't always charge to 100%. The system has to manage the battery's health so that the 100% battery life you experience when you first buy the phone is not radically different from the 100% battery life you get six months later.

Under Settings/Battery, you can see the health of your battery and the percentage it can actually charge to (95% capacity, 80% capacity, etc.)

For day-to-day battery life, there are a handful of well-worn tips for both iOS and Android that can significantly extend your charge while having minimal impact on the phone's operation.

So, instead of panicking about 38% battery life, you can take charge, and maybe show friends who let the battery life drop to 10% what to do so they can make it through the rest of the night without being tethered to a wall outlet.

iPhone battery tips

• Dim your brightness (under Control Center)
• Turn on Auto Brightness (Under Settings/Accessibility)
• In WiFi settings, turn off cell service
• Enable Low Power Mode (Under Settings/Battery)
• Turn off background activity (Settings/General/Background App Refresh)
• Adjust mail fetch intervals (Settings/Accounts and Passwords/Fetch new data)
• Turn off location services on an app-by-app basis (Settings/Privacy/Location Services)
• Tamp down notifications (Settings/Notifications)

Android battery tips

• Reduce screen brightness (swiped down from the top to access control)
• Adjust your screen timeout setting (usually under Settings/Display)
• Use Dark Mode (usually under Settings/Display)
• Turn off keyboard vibrations and sounds (Settings/sounds and vibration)
• Turn on Power Saving (Settings/Battery)
• Turn on Put unused apps to sleep (Settings/Battery/Background Usage Limits)
• Turn off cell service in WiFi situations (Settings/Connections)

There are more ways to manage battery life and, especially in Android phones, battery-saving features specific to each manufacturer. I suggest you dig into your settings to see what you can adjust.

If all else fails, it's always a good idea to travel with a cable and charge adapter, and also a portable charger.

ABC folks, A...B...C.

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• Opera has added its AI assistant Aria to the Opera Mini browser for Android
• Users can access real-time information, summarize text, and generate images in the lightweight Android browser
• The Opera Mini version of Aria is optimized for low data usage and older devices

Opera is giving a major AI upgrade to its Opera Mini mobile web browser. The company is embedding its Aria AI assistant into the Android version of Opera Mini, whose low-cost, data-saving approach to browsing is used by more than a hundred million people globally.

Aria will aid Opera Mini users by answering questions, generating text or software code, creating images, summarizing webpages, and pulling real-time info from the internet. Aria relies on Composer, Opera’s own AI engine, which stitches together tools and models from both OpenAI and Google, including making images with Google’s Imagen 3 model.

"AI is rapidly becoming an integral part of the daily internet experience – bringing Aria to Opera Mini is a natural addition to our most-downloaded browser," Opera executive vice president Jørgen Arnesen explained in a statement. "With the addition of our built-in AI, Aria, we’re excited to explore how AI can further enhance the feature set our users rely on every day.”

Pianissimo Opera AI

Opera Mini is popular because it can provide a web browser that doesn't use too much bandwidth. AI assistants like ChatGPT or Google Gemini tend to rely on a significant amount of energy and computational power. In many parts of the world, AI features are only available to people with the latest flagship phones, massive storage, or expensive subscriptions.

What Opera Mini is doing with Aria offers an alternative, one built to fit a browser already designed for places with unreliable connections, slow speeds, and high data costs. If you have an Android device, you can simply update the Opera Mini browser and start using Aria.

The release sets an interesting precedent. As AI becomes a staple in digital tools, developers have to consider not only how to make AI smarter and more powerful but also more flexible and accessible to people in different circumstances. Opera Mini's addition of Aria could end up being the example developers refer to when creating an AI assistant that won't eat up all your storage space or data budget.

Opera has teased that other new Mini features are in the pipeline, though it hasn’t said exactly what they will be. If the new features blend with the browser like Aria, it could end up as a semi-independent path toward AI adoption, one very different from its flashier cousins.

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The new Star Wars: Starfighter film stars Ryan Gosling as a character new to the famed space franchise.

• Ryan Gosling is officially joining the Star Wars universe
• He'll play an all-new character in Star Wars: Starfighter, which hit theaters in May of 2026
• The casting and film were announced at Star Wars Celebration in Japan

While we’ve known there are some feature-length Star Wars films in the works, up until late last night – April 17, 2025 – we only knew that the Mandalorian and Grogu would make the jump to the big screen next Memorial Day, May 26, 2026.

But hold your blue milk – there’s another brand-new Star Wars film set for May 2027, and it starts production this Fall. Even better, it’s directed by Shawn Levy, the man behind the incredibly excellent Deadpool & Wolverine, but maybe even better is the fact that Ryan Gosling is joining the Star Wars universe.

Yes, the actor with his roots in the Mickey Mouse Club and the person who played Ken in Barbie, will be playing an all-new character in Star Wars: Starfighter. The title of the forthcoming film certainly has intrigue, but not a whole lot else about the plot or the storyline is known.

Star Wars: Starfighter comes to theaters on May 28, 2027. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/dsbVb3VdBYApril 18, 2025

The casting was announced on stage at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan. Starfighter will be a stand-alone film that is set five years after The Rise of Skywalker. Gosling was wearing a hat with the phrase, “Never tell me the odds.” on it, a Han Solo quote which might hint that this will be an action-packed adventure film. And it will be turning a new page as the Skywalker saga will be concluded by this point.

Star Wars: Starfighter is slated to begin production this fall and will be released on Memorial Day 2027, which means May 28. After a year, Star Wars is set to return to big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu.

While we have footage of both Gosling and Levy on stage at Celebration 2025, the only other piece of media is a logo, title teaser for the Starfighter film. It’s a journey we’ll be following closely on TechRadar, though.

Sam Witwer has surprised fans at the Lucasfilm Animation 20th anniversary #StarWarsCelebration panel. https://t.co/l7Y4C7Zr3M pic.twitter.com/M76x28yJFSApril 18, 2025

Also announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 is a new animated series titled, Maul: Shadow Lord. And this will be excellent news for fans of The Clone Wars, among other animated shows in the Star Wars universe. Better yet, Sam Witwer will be reprising his role to voice Maul in this show. Maul: Shadow Lord will be exclusive to one of the best streaming services, Disney+, when it arrives in 2026.

If you’re looking for more of the latest news from Star Wars Celebration 2025, stick with TechRadar. We’ve already gotten a closer look at Lucasfilm’s Beyond Victory title for the Meta Quest 3S and 3, a slew of new Lego sets, and a bunch more Celebration-exclusive products that are appearing on Amazon.

That helps with the fomo a bit, but I do hope Star Wars continues the trend of the Mandalorian movie and puts the BDX Droids in Starfighter.

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Cybercriminals are trying to pass themselves off as the FBI employees tasked with helping victims of online scams. Don't fall for it.

It’s no secret that we here at TechRadar use Filmmaker or Movie picture mode, depending on the TV, during our testing when we’re reviewing TVs – we've written about why in our explanation of how we test TVs. As one of TechRadar’s TV reviewers, I find that these modes generally give the most accurate colors, contrast and textures when compared with most other picture modes, even on the best TVs.

That said, some TVs actually have a very good Standard mode, which can be useful for daytime, broadcast TV or brighter, more colorful movies. And of course, picture mode choice is subjective; not everyone will like the dimmer, warm-favoring Filmmaker Mode.

One thing that all of us here at TechRadar will stand by, however, is our feelings on Vivid modes; they're bad. Or at least they're the worst of the picture modes. Colors are often oversaturated, textures are too sharp and brightness is dialled up way too high, overblowing bright sections of the picture.

To demonstrate, I put the LG G5 OLED TV (one of the best OLED TVs of 2025 which earned five-out-of-five in our LG G5 review) next to the Panasonic MZ1500 (one of the best mid-range OLEDs of the last few years) playing the same scene from Wicked.

In the below pictures, you’ll see I cycle through the G5’s different Dolby Vision picture modes, while the MZ1500 stays in the most accurate Dolby Vision Dark mode as a point of reference – we love the MZ1500 for its natural picture and accuracy, so this provides a great baseline.

The LG G5 is on the left and the Panasonic MZ1500 is on the right for all images.

Dolby Vision Filmmaker

(Image credit: Future)

In Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, the G5 demonstrates natural-looking colors that also still deliver the vibrant, dynamic punch you’d want when viewing a colorful movie like Wicked. Textures are also true-to-life, with both Elphaba’s skin and the surrounding stone walls displayed with real accuracy.

There’s also good contrast on display here, with the blue inlays balancing well with the beige stone, and Elphaba’s black dress also contrasting well with the brighter surroundings, including the glossy pink flowers.

Dolby Vision Cinema

(Image credit: Future)

Compared with Dolby Vision Filmmaker, Dolby Vision Cinema shows a boost in brightness, which means colors have a bit more punch and the brighter tones of the picture (the beige, stone walls) appear that little bit lighter.

Crucially however, textures and details are still accurate and natural, as are colors, and contrast between light and dark tones (the walls with Elphaba’s dress) are still balanced. Although I still prefer Filmmaker Mode, this is a very close second.

Dolby Vision Standard

(Image credit: Future)

Dolby Vision Standard goes even brighter than Dolby Vision Cinema mode and favors a cooler color palette than both Filmmaker Mode and Cinema mode. The beige walls take on a slighter whiter hue, but again colors get that injection of higher brightness.

This is where textures and colors straddle the line between accurate and oversaturated, with the pink flowers now starting to take on a glossier, shinier look (which isn’t always better). Elphaba’s green skin remains mostly true-to-life however and contrast is still solid enough.

Dolby Vision Vivid

(Image credit: Future)

And then there’s Dolby Vision Vivid. Yes, there’s a significant brightness boost, which in this instance shows just how bright the LG G5’s new Primary Tandem RGB, or ‘four-stack’, OLED panel can go. While some may like the increase in brightness, this is where accuracy takes a real hit.

The pink flowers now take on an oversaturated, ‘neon’ pink color and as a result, definition between each flower is lost. Textures start to lose their true-to-life look as well, with the cracks in the walls all too well-defined, taking on an unnatural, over-sharpened appearance.

Even the blue details on the walls, which were more subtle in other picture modes, stand out too much and again take on this unrealistic tone. The details on Elphaba’s dress, such as the creases and buttons, also stick out like a sore thumb, taking on the horrible ‘uncanny valley’ effect.

Browse all the above images:

Image 1 of 4

Dolby Vision Filmmaker on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4

Dolby Vision Cinema on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4

Dolby Vision Standard on the G5 (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4

Dolby Vision Vivid on the G5 (Image credit: Future) Avoid Vivid

Interestingly, the LG G5 is actually one of the better examples of Vivid I’ve come across in my time testing TVs. But that’s because it’s an elite OLED! Even then, I’d still avoid its Vivid mode like the plague. If Filmmaker Mode isn’t for you, Cinema or Standard should offer more than sufficient enough brightness without sacrificing accuracy or true-to-life colors and textures.

Yes, Wicked is a naturally bold and dynamic movie with an exaggerated color palette (green is a pretty central theme after all) but even then, it shouldn’t look as overexaggerated as Vivid would suggest.

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