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• EA has confirmed that the next Battlefield game is targeting a release by March 31, 2025
• It is being helmed by Battlefield Studios, a group of five EA developers
• You can currently sign up to Battlefield Labs for a chance to play early and give feedback

EA has confirmed that the next entry in the Battlefield franchise will likely be released before April 2026.

The news comes from the company’s latest earnings report, which refers to the new Battlefield Labs initiative and states that it will allow for “player-driven testing and innovation ahead of the franchise’s expected fiscal year 2026 release.” Fiscal year 2026 runs from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, so we now know to expect it to come out some time between those two dates.

If you want an early taste of the next Battlefield game, EA is currently accepting registrations for the aforementioned Battlefield Labs. Described as the company’s “most ambitious community development collaboration ever”, the initiative will give a select few fans the chance to playtest the next Battlefield game and directly influence its development through feedback.

The game is being developed by the newly formed Battlefield Studios, a group of four EA developers. This includes Criterion Games, known for helming the Need for Speed series, original Battlefield creators Dice, Battlefield Portal studio Ripple Effect, and Dead Space developer Motive.

EA also recently showed off a sizzle reel of early gameplay footage, which suggested a return to a modern day setting and a more grounded, gritty atmosphere. This is in stark contrast to the most recent instalment, Battlefield 2042, which focused on larger-than-life hero characters in colorful futuristic environments.

Despite receiving several major updates intended to address its overall mechanics and tone, Battlefield 2042 failed to find much of a footing with long time series fans. Although highly promising, we’ll have to wait and see whether the next Battlefield game can truly deliver the grounded military experience that many seem to crave.

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• The Google TV free channel count is down by 9
• One of the culled channel is the Bob Ross Channel
• Dozens of new channels were added last year

The trend of Google TV adding more and more free channels for audiences in the US had to come to an end sometime, we suppose – and so it's come to pass that nine channels have been cut from the selection.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, the cull doesn't include the most recently added, holiday-related batch of channels, which is something of a surprise. The Bob Ross Channel has been heartlessly cut though, so fans will have to get their painting fix elsewhere.

The other channels that have gone are The Hill TV, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan, the Dove Channel, Comedy Dynamics, the Bob Ross Channel, Shades of Black, OutTV Proud, Dazn Ringside, and Dazn Women’s Football.

This free channel offering comes via the Freeplay app on Google TV devices (although that app has temporarily been paused), and Google has never ditched so many free channels at once – usually it's just one or two that are removed quietly each time.

Let's go FASTer

The Google TV Streamer (Image credit: Google)

The rise of Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST) has been a rapid one, and Google hasn't been alone in offering a ton of ad-supported content for viewers who might be tiring of paying for their streaming services.

Our best free streaming service list will guide you to platforms including Tubi, Pluto, and Roku, where you can enjoy a wide range of movies and shows without paying a dime (and some operate internationally too, unlike the US-only Google TV Freeplay).

However, these free, ad-supported services share something in common with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney Plus: content can leave the platforms as quickly as it arrives, so it's never certain how long you've got to finish your binge-watching.

Given how many FAST channels Google TV still offers, it's still in credit – dozens of new channels were added over the course of 2024, and Google also launched its Google TV Streamer device in August.

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More riders will have the chance to book a driverless vehicle, right from the Uber app.

While the AirPods Pro 2 are already the best AirPods available, it looks like future versions could get better in ways we hadn't really expected.

On February 4 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a new patent (via PatentlyApple) relating to its line of in-ear audio hardware, which could see a future AirPods Pro model get more extensive touch controls – even if you’re using them with a pair of gloves, theoretically.

Touch controls are a tricky thing for in-ear headphones: unlike the roomier over-ear models, which have plenty of space to accommodate large touch panels, in-ear headphones need to react to quite small, precise movements.

The existing AirPods Pro 2 earbuds do support touch controls for volume, playback, and ANC modes, but through a limited series of presses and vertical swipes along the protruding stem.

This new patent, however, looks to replace the small vent in the AirPods Pro casing with an external touch sensor, likely enabling more controlled adjustments to volume, playback, and the like.

The diagrams included in the patent seem focused on vertical movements, like those used to adjust volume along the stem of existing AirPod models. It's possible that this sensor would allow Apple to ditch the stem sensor for a more reliable, responsive version, though the end product could potentially allow for a wider variety of inputs.

(Image credit: Apple / United States Patent and Trademark Office)

Crucially, this sensor doesn't seem to require capacitive touch inputs, like those enabled by the conductive touch of your finger, but rather through the motion of an 'object' moving up or down along the sensor's 'geometric' edges.

This suggests that users can deploy touch controls even with a gloved hand, allowing for easier volume and/or playback adjustment in colder weather – something at the forefront of our mind in the ongoing winter.

At the moment, you can play/pause/change ANC modes on the AirPods Pro 2 by pinching the stems, and this works with gloves on – but the volume control doesn't, which is a slightly frustrating inconsistency.

It’s been three years since the launch of the AirPods Pro 2, and it’s highly likely we’ll see the AirPods Pro 3 release some time in 2025. Just because something is patented, of course, doesn’t mean it’s about to be imminently deployed, but if Apple were able to squeeze this smart tweak to touch controls into the next version, it would be a nice quality-of-life upgrade.

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• Acrobat AI Assistant adds new "contract intelligence" feature
• Consumers and business owners often find unexpected terms after signing
• Contract intelligence will generate summaries and generate citations to validate them

Adobe has updated its Acrobat AI Assistant with a handy new feature that will help its users break down and understand important contractual information in PDF files.

The aptly-named contract intelligence update automatically detects contracts and summarizes complex language to make them easier to understand, highlighting key terms and generating citations as it goes to validate the summaries it produces.

The AI tool is also designed to compare up to 10 contract versions, checking for consistency and any discrepancies.

Acrobat AI gets contract intelligence

According to Adobe research, seven in 10 (69%) consumers have signed a contract without fully understanding what’s inside, with nearly two in three finding unexpected contract terms after signing on the dotted line.

In the announcement, VP for Product Marketing at Adobe, Michi Alexander, details how contract intelligence can reveal deposit rules and pet policies on apartment leases, cancellation policies within gym contracts and hidden fees in phone contracts.

Apart from consumers, the tool is also designed for small business owners, 91% of whom work with contracts at least monthly. Just like consumers, three in five SMB owners have discovered unexpected terms in their contracts after signing.

Common reasons for mistakes include the length and complexity of contracts, which are addressed with Adobe’s updated service.

The upgrade forms part of the wider Acrobat AI Assistant, which costs $4.99 per month with an annual commitment, and it’s already rolled out to paying customers.

Alexander summarized: “With AI, individuals and businesses can approach contracts with greater transparency, turning what was once a source of stress into an opportunity for inquiry, clarity and confidence.”

The launch of contract intelligence comes not long after Adobe upgraded its e-signature experience in Acrobat, by preserving document structure to improve reliability across all device types and adding new visual progress indicators to prevent users from missing fields.

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Every year, the end of Autumn marks a period of major sales. Starting with Singles Day and Black Friday and continuing to the Christmas shopping spree, consumers are desperately searching for big discounts. According to a UK-based survey, 67% of respondents feel that growing living costs pressure them to look for deals, and 71% believe this helps them save money. But does it, really?

For years, tech products have been among the most susceptible to manipulative pricing, figuring in previous fake discounts research in the UK, France, and the US. Conducted during Black Friday 2024, the latter study found that 37% of the hottest tech products saw significant price hikes just before the event, making Black Friday’s offer look like a major deal. However, the study tracked fewer than a hundred products, prompting the question of whether this trend can be observed more widely.

To get a more comprehensive review of the tech market deals, we decided to employ Oxylabs’ extensive data collection infrastructure and examine the prevalence of manipulative discounts in two major US marketplaces. We used our Web Scraper API to track almost 10 thousand unique tech products from August 13 to November 29, 2024, and here is what we found.

What is a fake discount? From legal definition to consumer utility

During our research, we tracked publicly available pricing data from 9714 unique products using US locations. We were especially interested in Black Friday 2024 and the discounts offered on this particular day. We based our research on legal definitions established in California, as it is considered to have the most explicitly defined rules — under Californian law, a ‘fake discount’ is observed if the seller cannot prove that discounted items have been regularly offered at their advertised former prices for a period of 3 months right before the discount.

After analyzing case law and recommendations, we decided to treat advertised former prices as “regularly offered” (or prevailing) in those cases when they were explicitly present at least 50% of the time during the 3 months period right before the discount. The drill was simple: if product X's advertised former price was 270$ on Black Friday day, we checked if this product was actually offered for 270$ at least 50% of the time (45 days) in the 3-month period prior to the event.

We observed pricing data on an hourly basis, meaning that every unique product URL has been monitored 24 times per day. All tech products were randomly selected from different product departments; however, we made sure our analysis covered the most popular tech categories, such as video games, computers, cell phones, wearable technology, etc.

Furthermore, when analyzing data, we noticed that some discounts might not violate the laws but still be exploitative and unethical towards the consumer. Thus, we decided to perform additional research and check if consumers really benefited from the Black Friday promotions in major US marketplaces. To do so, we analyzed whether people could buy discounted Black Friday products for less money one week, two weeks, a month, and two months prior to this event. Because if they really could, waiting for Black Friday to hunt a major tech deal saved them no money.

Suspicious discounts — 75% of cases

The first thing that struck us when analyzing data was that out of 4645 discounted tech products offered on Black Friday day, only 2786 met the main criterion — they were sold in the marketplace for at least 90 days during the observed 3-month period. All others occurred on the marketplaces fleetingly, sometimes being listed for a few days only.

Out of these 2786 products, 75% (2099 tech products in total) didn’t meet the main legal criterion — their advertised former prices were not regularly offered for a substantial period of time before the Black Friday discount. The worst situation could be observed in the following categories: wearable technology (86.1%), cameras and photography equipment (81.1%), computers and their accessories (81.2%), and video games (80.4%). The cell phones category saw the least violations — 65% of cases.

Seeing these numbers, we wondered how tech categories compare to non-tech ones. During the entire research period, starting with August 13, 2024, we monitored prices for over 61 thousand different products in both tech and non-tech categories. Aggregated analysis of tech and non-tech products showed that 60% of the deals didn’t meet the main legal criterion, compared to 75% when analyzing only tech products. It roughly confirms that tech products are more susceptible to ‘fake’ deals — a suspicion already raised by previous research.

At this point, we can draw two conclusions. First, three out of four discounted tech products in two major US marketplaces on Black Friday could have been fake discounts or, at best, manipulative deals. Unfortunately, we cannot prove it undeniably due to the reasons presented below, which brings us to the second part of the research.

Legal yet exploitative? The consumer utility

If the product was listed for a shorter period than 90 days, to see if the discount is genuine, one must check whether the advertised reference price was a prevailing market price, i.e., perform competitor analysis. However, anyone with experience in ecommerce web intelligence knows that acquiring reliable competitor pricing data retrospectively is nearly impossible. There is also an option to check if the seller clearly and conspicuously stated in the advertisement the date when the alleged former price did prevail. However, it is unclear where and how this data should be presented on the marketplace’s website.

Thus, we witness a huge gap in legal regulation, at least in the US. In the case of digital commerce, the 90-day period is excessive as the majority of small sellers do not keep the products in the marketplace for so long — global ecommerce is too dynamic. However, in cases when sellers do not follow this requirement, it is extremely complicated for consumers or regulatory institutions to factually prove a ‘fake discount.’

To see if consumers really benefit from the questionable Black Friday tech ‘deals,’ we performed additional analysis and checked whether the consumers could save money buying the same products before the Black Friday event. Web intelligence we gathered showed that the discounted Black Friday price was the lowest price during the entire week prior to Black Friday in only 27% of cases. The remaining 73% of tech deals were not saving consumers any money.

The situation looks more positive when we look at product prices at least a couple of weeks before Black Friday event:

• 2 weeks prior to Black Friday — Black Friday price was the lowest price in 72% of cases;
• One month prior to Black Friday — Black Friday price was the lowest price in 78% of cases;
• Two months prior to Black Friday — Black Friday price was the lowest price in 83% of cases;
• Three months prior to Black Friday — Black Friday price was the lowest price in 85% of cases.

And yet, we can still infer from this data that only 1 out of 4 consumers could undoubtedly benefit from waiting specifically for the Black Friday instead of buying a product on any other day a week before the event. Moreover, we cannot be sure that the product’s price wasn’t artificially inflated at some point before the Black Friday as the first part of our research showed most deals do not strictly comply with legal regulation.

Hunting for deals in the age of AI

Although a significant percentage of suspicious discounts in major US marketplaces indeed surprised us, the trend isn’t new. Moreover, it has already been observed in other countries. In 2022, the European Commission inspected Black Friday sales, revealing that around 25% of price reduction announcements were inconsistent with EU law. An earlier study that monitored Black Friday deals in the UK showed that 85% of the discounted products had cost the same or less six months earlier.

Unfortunately, legal regulation alone is not enough to protect consumers. On the one hand, AI-driven web intelligence solutions enable regulators to keep tabs on thousands of websites simultaneously and monitor pricing changes on a large scale with relatively small resources. On the other hand, if the laws are too vague or don't meet the new reality of the digital economy, they become fictional documents preventing efficient ways to enforce the rules.

AI tools make it easier for sellers to perform complex pricing manipulations. Unfortunately, manipulative discounts aren't the only trap awaiting online shoppers in 2025. A recent study by originality.ai showed that during Black Friday, almost a third of product reviews from major ecommerce platforms, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, were likely AI-generated. This makes it even harder for consumers to understand if the seller is reliable and the product is worth the money.

With AI bringing both positive and negative effects to the e-commerce industry, consumers should stay aware of many different manipulation tactics and think twice before getting caught in the hunt for ‘deals.’ Major tech news websites have regular articles about good tech deals in big marketplaces — this information might help if you are planning to buy some gadget. It feels just rational to try to save a penny, but it's worth remembering that some tech deals, especially during major shopping events, might be nothing more than ghost discounts.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Convert distance, currency and more in Calculator without Wi-Fi or using another app.

Amid all the Super Bowl hype, professional football teams are noticeably absent from the Twitter-like platform.

The game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, with a halftime show by Kendrick Lamar, takes place on Sunday February 9. Here's how to tune in.

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• A new Garmin public beta has dropped for the Fenix 7
• It features a new heart rate tweak and fixes to mapping
• Garmin has disabled the ECG feature in its public beta

After a disastrous week that saw an outage render most of its devices useless for 24 hours, Garmin is trying to get back on track with its continued rollout of beta features. The latest is the 20.14 public beta for owners of one of the best Garmin Watch models, the Fenix 7 range.

The change log includes some fixes and tweaks to a couple of key features, but installing beta software on the Fenix 7 series still disables the ECG feature.

Starting with what is included, Garmin notes the following updates:

• Added open connections notification to heart rate broadcast app.
• Fixed abnormal cadence issue when using metronome.
• Fixed color of BMX cycling profile.
• Fixed map not fully drawing.
• Fixed map settings not updating when changed.
• Various bug fixes and improvements.

That's a welcome list of fixes for mapping and a nice heart rate update, but as mentioned, installing the latest public beta will see you lose access to ECG. Here's what we know right now.

Garmin's Fenix beta drops ECG

(Image credit: Michael Sawh)

"Moving forward, the Beta software available for the Fenix 7 series will have the ECG feature disabled," Garmin said on its website. So if you want to continue using the ECG feature on your Fenix 7 series, you should steer clear of the public beta for now.

Garmin has confirmed that if you install the beta and change your mind, you can backdate your watch to restore its functionality.

Garmin also says that the feature "ECG feature will be made available again on versions of beta software that we anticipate becoming Live updates," and says users should see the ECH feature become enabled again in Beta software "toward the end of our quarterly beta cycles."

Garmin has been noting this for a while in its beta updates, but it has caught users out before, so it's important to be aware as many people rely on the ECG feature to monitor medical conditions.

Garmin recently rolled out its ECG feature to the EU and Australia, with support for models including the Garmin Venu 3 and the new Fenix 8.

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• EA's CEO has hinted that Madden and EA Sports FC are destined for Switch 2
• He believes the sports franchises "could bring real energy" to the console
• The full Switch 2 reveal is due to happen on April 2, 2025

Yep, you can probably expect the two biggest sports games in the world - Madden and EA Sports FC - to come to Nintendo Switch 2.

As reported by VGC, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson was posed the question of which franchises could make the jump to Nintendo's upcoming console at a recent earnings call.

Wilson stated that having a new platform available "gives us the ability to access and acquire new players. Typically, we’ve had franchises perform very well on Nintendo platforms."

Then, on the topic of the company's two largest sports franchises, Wilson added: “Certainly, our expectation is that products like FC and Madden and others might find real energy on the platform, as they have done in the past."

While Nintendo's current console has yet to receive any version of Madden, it has played host to a number of FIFA and EA Sports FC titles. Typically, though, these have been severely scaled back in terms of features and/or visual fidelity. It does seem that a more powerful Switch 2 could open the doors for more of EA's franchises to make the cut.

Wilson stressed that nothing is set in stone as of yet, saying there's "nothing in our models at this juncture. But our expectation is that any time a great new console comes into the marketplace that gives us access to new players and new communities, that we have the IP that will benefit from that.”

It remains to be seen just how much Electronic Arts will support the Nintendo Switch 2, but it certainly would be nice to have series like Need for Speed, Battlefield, and of course Madden available for play on the go.

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In today’s fast-paced world, businesses face a perfect storm: rising customer expectations, talent shortages, and economic turbulence. The playing field isn’t level - while legacy organizations struggle to adapt, nimble start-ups are leveraging cutting-edge tech to disrupt industries. For established players, digital transformation isn’t just an option - it’s a lifeline.

However, even with the most detailed roadmaps and the best intentions, business transformation is not a guaranteed success. In fact, around 70% of these projects fail to deliver positive results – something that has already cost over $2.3 trillion globally. Early buy-in is crucial, but difficult to achieve when stakeholders do not see tangible results in the initial phases of a project.

Therefore, those looking to undertake transformation projects need to look for technologies and techniques that will enable them to achieve long-term ambitions as well as the first quick wins. This could generate more excitement around the transformation – both internally and externally - and ultimately help to prevent future failure.

Marketing Tech: The Game Changer for Business Transformation

Business leaders are often under heavy scrutiny when it comes to justifying investment in marketing technologies, even those that help businesses to better understand their customers. Advocating for buy-in internally can be tricky, with some stakeholders incorrectly viewing marketing as a cost burden rather than a revenue generator. However, this antiquated way of thinking is not in line with today’s reality.

Just as marketing has become a key driver of business strategy, marketing technologies are emerging as a crucial component of business transformation. The data and insights provided by next-gen marketing tools alongside techniques such as market landscaping are enabling businesses to map out long-term goals as well as effectively respond to immediate market shifts.

Why Data is the Cornerstone of Transformation

No good decision is made without data. Every business operating in today’s digital world knows its value. However, despite this, recent research discovered that only half (51%) of businesses believe that they have their data set up in a way that enables them to make the most of their customer insights.

In today’s landscape margins are tight and mistakes are costly. Knowing your audience inside-out could be the difference between a transformation that soars and one that stumbles. This is why human-led data-driven insights should be the guiding force behind any business transformation.

Often, marketing teams are light years ahead when to comes to using such insights. This is because their success depends on knowing exactly what makes customers tick. After all, a campaign’s success is reliant on understanding the people it is trying to reach. The data-driven insights into human behavior already being used by marketing can inform wider business transformation strategy and help businesses to predict future trends, strategize more effectively, and be more proactive in catering to their audience’s needs.

Imagine a global fashion retailer struggling to stay competitive in a rapidly shifting market. By leveraging marketing data, the company identifies that a growing segment of its audience is prioritizing sustainable and ethically sourced products. Marketing teams can use these insights to craft highly targeted campaigns that emphasize the brand’s eco-friendly practices and new sustainable product lines.

But the data's impact doesn’t stop there. These same insights can spark a broader business transformation: it can be the catalyst for restructuring the organization's supply chain to align with sustainability demands, introducing a recycling program, and offering greater transparency on material sourcing. As a result, not only will customer loyalty surge, but the retailer will also capture a new, eco-conscious audience, doubling its revenue in this category within two years.

Building Agility Through Marketing Tech: Strategies for Success

Markets are volatile and what’s relevant today might not be tomorrow. Businesses should adopt an approach of ‘agile resilience’ to be better prepared for whatever comes next. This means designing flexible frameworks that will allow for recalibration as new data and insights emerge, staying aligned with long-term objectives, while still being able to respond to immediate shifts.

By integrating marketing technologies like Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), with artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, business leaders can analyze in real-time, and predict future, structured and unstructured data at scale. These tools make it easier than ever to pre-empt consumer behavioral changes and plan for where, when, and what shoppers will spend money on. This enables business leaders to become scenario planners, anticipating market shifts and pre-empting competitors’ next moves, to create business transformation strategies that are directional, but also agile.

Similarly, through scenario planning and market landscaping, businesses can be ready to react if competitors move into new markets and spaces. A dynamic market view not only sets a strong foundation for future campaigns, but it also sustains momentum in transformation initiatives. For instance, scenario planning can feed into a future-back approach, starting with a clear vision of what the business needs to become in the long run and then defining the tangible steps required to get there. This keeps every transformation initiative aligned with the end goal, even as market conditions shift.

As new technologies emerge, so do new ways to track success. Leaders undertaking business transformation projects should remain inquisitive and look beyond traditional metrics. For example, the attribution models traditionally used by marketers can be utilized to track which channels are proving most effective or carry out churn analysis. It’s even possible to incorporate real-time information – such as weather patterns and geopolitical data – into these models, to build a more holistic view. For example, an ice cream brand might choose to incorporate data on weather patterns. This would enable them to predict where and when the next spike in demand would be and ensure that stock and marketing materials can be proactively directed to the right places at the right time.

Ensure all decisions are data-driven

There is no doubt that change is on the horizon - and business transformation projects are set to feature heavily for businesses of all shapes and sizes moving forward -with almost 2 in 3 businesses believing that at least half of their future revenue will come from offerings that are not yet in their portfolio.

However, it’s important to recognize that business transformation is an ongoing process. It is a journey, in which businesses strive to better understand their audience’s needs, rather than the final destination. The future belongs to businesses that dare to evolve. By marrying bold vision with agile execution, and letting data lead the way, organizations can unlock a new era of transformation - one that’s as resilient as it is revolutionary.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Rumors suggest that a Canon PowerShot V1 is en route, with a 24MP sensor that's "close to Micro Four Thirds" in size
• It could be joined later this year by a PowerShot SX70 HS bridge camera successor
• Those two additions would make for a hugely varied PowerShot V-series lineup

There's a lot of hype right now about the rumored Canon PowerShot V1. The new point-and-shoot camera is supposedly set to land as early as March, and would signal a renewed commitment from Canon to making compact cameras – which could be a smart move, given that compacts are enjoying something of a comeback.

We don't have too much product info to go off right now, but the suggested sensor size is only going to get compact camera fans more excited. According to Canon Rumors, the PowerShot V1 will feature a 24MP sensor that's "close to Micro Four Thirds" in size, together with a 3x optical zoom lens.

For perspective, that sensor size is a fair bit larger than the 1-inch type used in existing point-and-shoots like the viral PowerShot G7X Mark III, and other models like the PowerShot G5X Mark II. However, it's not the largest sensor Canon has gone with for its compact cameras – that award goes to the APS-C sensor used in the PowerShot G1 X Mark III.

So which sensor size is the sweet spot? I reckon that Canon is onto a winner if it is indeed taking the middle option of Micro Four Thirds for its upcoming point-and-shoot – here's why.

The Leica D-Lux 8 is a compact point-and-shoot, and its features could inspire the rumored Canon PowerShot V1 (Image credit: Leica) Not too big, not too small

Sensor size has a big impact on both image quality and design, especially with point-and-shoot compacts that feature a built-in lens. The larger the sensor size, the more pleasing image quality is overall, but there are also design drawbacks.

The PowerShot G7X Mark III has a 20MP 1-inch sensor with a 4x optical zoom 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 lens. That sensor size measures 13.1 x 8.8mm and only select smartphones can match it for size, such as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra – Canon's camera has the image quality edge, but not by a long way.

Canon's PowerShot G1 X Mark III has a bigger-still APS-C sensor that measures around 22.3 x 14.9mm, but it's a bigger camera, and its 3x optical zoom 24-72mm lens has a much more limited f/2.8-5.6 maximum aperture and inferior close focusing skills, making it less handy in low light or for macro photography. I remember testing the G1 X Mark III and wishing that I could open up the lens more.

Then there's the rumored PowerShot V1's Micro Four Thirds sensor, which would measure around 18 x 13.5mm. I reckon this is the sweet spot for image quality, camera size and lens design. I expect the suggested 3x optical zoom lens to measure up to the one found in the Leica D-Lux 8, a point-and-shoot camera that also has a Micro Four Thirds sensor, and which has a 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 lens.

That camera was a minor update of the D-Lux 7, and its tech is essentially based on the dated Panasonic Lumix LX100 II. The D-Lux 8 is one of a few high-quality compacts that you can buy today, but it costs around $1,595 / £1,450 / AU$2,790. Canon's PowerShot V1 is rumored to cost somewhere between $600-800. Even at that upper price end, there would no other compact camera to match the V1, assuming the rumored specs are true, in which case it's set to be an absolute treat.

And it could be joined by another new PowerShot later in 2025 – a modern-day successor to the aging PowerShot SX70 HS bridge camera. Canon Rumors is pouring cold water on the chances of another 65x optical zoom model, and suggests that the zoom range will be much less. Still, if the next PowerShot turns out to be in the mold of Panasonic's 'travel zooms', such as the Lumix ZS99 / TZ99, that would be no bad thing – and Canon would have an enviable compact camera lineup once more.

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I have to admit I was a latecomer to Hacks, the multi-award-winning comedy-drama that stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder as a world-famous stand-up comedian and her assistant / aspiring comedy writer, respectively. Within the first few episodes, I could immediately tell why it had won so many awards: the writing is sharp, the delivery of jokes is even better, and there’s a healthy dose of character development that has you both rooting for (and against) the pair throughout.

Considering a lot of Hacks’' three-season (and almost fourth) success – including earning a spot on our list of the best Max shows – is down to the writing, I thought I’d check out some other shows from the team behind the camera while I eagerly await the new season.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to look too hard, as my partner already knew of The Other Two, which lists Paul W. Downs – one of the main writers and stars of Hacks – as a screenwriter. Paul is also heavily involved in another excellent sitcom Broad City, a sitcom I had previously heard of, and subsequently binged (which also deserves your attention).

I hadn’t come across The Other Two at all, but given Downs was a part of the team, I figured I a sleeper hit on my hands. And boy was I right.

A familiar story, ripe for satire

The Other Two is pure satire through and through. It follows the lives of aspiring gay actor Cary and his sister Brooke in the wake of their teenage brother Chase’s overnight rise to fame through social media. Chase’s meteoric rise to internet stardom is immediately a storyline many of us will understand. Every man and his dog now has a podcast, TikTok account or a jam-packed Instagram feed, with many hoping to achieve global notoriety (and freebies from companies and brands).

Due to the ubiquitous nature of social media and how quickly someone can become a viral influencer, it’s apparent that Cary and Brooke are, deep down, jealous of Chase’s overnight success. Despite working hard, they never seem to be able to catch their big break.

On the side, they have their loving and doting mother (played by Molly Shannon) who, at first, struggles to split her time between her adult children and making sure 13-year-old Chase is safe in ‘the industry’. That is, before she uses Chase’s fame to catapult herself to the title of the most famous woman in the world.

The whole story arc across the three seasons (10 episodes per season, all around 30 minutes each) is easy to follow. There’s no “wait, who’s that again?” going on here. This allows the jokes to take center stage, and man are there a ton of jokes in this show. Take a look at the trailer for the first season below.

• Watch The Other Two on Max in the US
• Watch The Other Two on Binge in Australia

Dumb can be clever

I love dumb humor, and it’s littered throughout The Other Two. So many of the jokes are akin to your typical dad joke, but they’re not just random words thrown together in the hope they’ll get a laugh (something I personally find industry heavyweight Will Ferrell guilty of). Instead, they’re far more intelligent and so cleverly written. Throughout the entire show I found myself saying to my partner, “I wonder how many rewrites that one joke had” because I could just tell that specific words or references were chosen for distinct reasons. The result is one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen.

Pin-sharp comedic timing

Of course, good writing is only as good as the cast delivering the lines and I think the casting here is absolutely perfect. Heléne York and Drew Tarver, who play Brooke and Cary Dubek are totally believable as brother and sister, with an instantly likeable nature. Although, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say my partner and I did find ourselves struggling to side with Cary’s in the final season. He’s a narcissistic character, but the narcissism levels are dialled up to 11, which did become a little grating.

Molly Shannon is an excellent mom to her kids, taking on the role of ‘most famous woman in the world’ like a duck to water. Ken Marino, who has an endless list of TV and film acting credits, plays Chase’s manager and I can only liken him to a golden retriever. He has oodles of love to give, but can be so hilariously dim-witted that you're always excited to see him on-screen.

Wanda Sykes and Richard Kind also have recurring roles in the series and given their comedic backgrounds, you just know they’re going to deliver some knockout jokes. There's a whole host of guest stars throughout the show’s run, including “Marvel’s Simu Liu” (how he’s referred to in the show) as Molly Shannon’s boyfriend in season three.

A true weekend watch

To top it all off – and as I’ve already alluded to – it’s such an easy TV show to binge-watch, with three seasons comprising 10, roughly 30-minute episodes. That’s approximately 15 hours all up — meaning you could feasibly watch the entirety of it in one weekend. I did, and I have no doubt I’ll do it all again in the future.

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For more Max-based recommendations, read our guide on all of the new Max movies to arrive this month. Alternatively, see what the best Max movies are or get the lowdown on how much a Max subscription costs.

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As part of new tariffs on Chinese imports, President Donald Trump eliminated an exemption for small packages, vastly increasing the amount of parcels US Customs and Border Protection needs to inspect.