Technology

The camera specs for the Pixel 10 series reveal only a small part of what's new for mobile photographers. I spoke with the head of the Pixel camera team to learn more.

In recent years, Honor has partnered with the likes of Moschino, Porsche Design, and Studio Harcourt on some of the best Honor phones, but the brand’s latest fashion-forward collaboration is undoubtedly its sparkliest yet.

Designed by the titular fashion designer, the Honor Magic V Flip 2 Jimmy Choo edition features a shimmering, glitter-coated rear panel and a metallic hinge embossed with Choo’s full name and academic title (that’s Professor Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat OBE to you).

Honor says the phone’s limited edition color evokes “crushed stardust scattered across a deep blue sea,” which is perhaps the most celestial description of a smartphone I’ve ever heard. But beyond its sparkles, the China-only V Flip 2 is a genuinely impressive rival to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 – for multiple reasons.

On the outside, it boasts a familiar 4-inch OLED cover display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is the same sort of cover screen you’ll find on both the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Motorola Razr Ultra 2025. Honor’s flip phone, though, gets a class-leading IP58 resistance rating, which means it’s slightly more resistant to dust than those two big-name models.

On the inside, the V Flip 2 sports what Honor describes as “the most invisible crease of any flip phone on the market right now,” and in our brief hands-on time with the device, this crease is indeed barely noticeable. It sits between a 6.82-inch OLED display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate and a rival-beating peak brightness of 5,000 nits.

Image 1 of 2

The Magic V Flip 2's rear panel (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

The Magic V Flip 2's 6.82-inch inner screen (Image credit: Future)

In terms of performance, Honor’s latest foldable is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and it ships with up to 16GB of RAM, which puts it in-between the latest Samsung and Motorola flip phones on the power scale (the former uses an Exynos chipset and has a lower RAM capacity, while the latter uses the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and the same 16GB of RAM).

The V Flip 2 does, however, boast an amighty 5,500mAh battery, which is the largest ever in a clamshell foldable at the time of writing.

Honor’s latest foldable also boasts some pretty impressive cameras: you’ll get a 200MP main sensor and a 50MP ultra-wide sensor, the first of which is unheard of in the flip foldable category.

So, even if the sparkly Jimmy Choo-ness of the Magic V Flip 2 isn't for you, it's hard to deny the phone's on-paper credentials. Honor has somehow managed to squeeze a class-leading crease, battery, camera, and resistance rating into its latest foldable, and while it’s not available for purchase outside of China, it certainly takes the fight to the best foldable phones on this side of the pond.

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• Asus announced and unveiled a Tandem OLED gaming monitor at Gamescom 2025
• The monitor will have two layers of pixels for better brightness, power efficiency, and OLED lifespan
• It will have a 520Hz refresh rate at 1440p and 720Hz at 1080p

Gamescom 2025 is well underway, after Opening Night Live hosted by Geoff Keighley revealed world premieres and updates to highly anticipated titles. However, Asus, known for some of the best monitors, is the star of the show so far with new hardware set to enhance gaming experiences – and no, it's not the ROG Xbox Ally.

As reported by The Verge, the new Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W was announced and unveiled at Gamescom 2025, a gaming monitor that offers users a 540Hz refresh rate at a 2560x1440 display resolution and a 720Hz refresh rate at 1080p. Both the Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W and LG's 4th Gen OLED are the fastest OLED and arguably the best gaming monitors on the market.

It's not just regular OLED either; Asus' new gaming monitor will use Tandem OLED technology, which is essentially two layers of pixels used to produce higher and (theoretically) more consistent brightness, deeper black levels, and a reduced risk of burn-in on its 'TrueBlack Glossy' display.

(Image credit: Future / Rob Dwiar)

Most importantly, this should result in lower power consumption compared to other OLEDs, since each pixel isn't working as hard as usual to produce high brightness and deep blacks. Asus claims that the Tandem OLED panel results in '15% higher peak brightness, 25% larger color volume, and 60% longer OLED lifespan'.

If these claims are accurate, this should address one of the biggest issues that OLED monitors suffer from, which is an Auto Brightness Limiter (ABL). Brightness limiting occurs whenever viewing brighter content in HDR or, for example, browsing on a pure white screen, which is done to control power consumption, and of course, reduce burn-in risks.

Since Tandem OLED is used to address OLED lifespan and brightness, it sounds like the ideal solution for ABL issues, and this could further widen the gap between OLED and mini-LED monitors, with the former in the lead.

Analysis: I was gradually getting frustrated with OLED care...

(Image credit: Asus)

The use of Tandem OLED technology may very well be used by a wide range of other monitor manufacturers, and that's fantastic news for me. For a long while, OLED care with constant pixel refreshes and ABL left me considering mini-LED, where neither of those issues (except for ABL, but it's a lot less common compared to OLEDs) exists.

Losing out on consistent high brightness and constantly worrying about burn-in with pixel refresh alerts shouldn't be an issue with Tandem OLED. Of course, it's very dependent on how manufacturers implement this technology on monitors, and whether the claim of a 60% longer OLED lifespan means OLED pixel refreshes aren't required as often.

However, it's already a step in the right direction in terms of the added benefits of deeper black levels and brightness (whether that's with ABL or not), without the cost of using more power.

There's no word on pricing or a release date yet, but I have no doubts that this will cost a fortune, so get your wallets ready if you're interested.

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• Windows 11's Copilot app just got an update for testers
• This introduces a powerful new natural language-based search
• There are also some useful changes for the app's home page

Windows 11's Copilot app is getting a deeper and more powerful search functionality, and more besides – although this is only in testing for now.

The Verge reports that Microsoft is rolling out an update for the Copilot app to Windows Insiders (those running test versions of Windows 11) who have Copilot+ PCs.

Those devices have the necessary NPU to drive this new AI search, which allows you to use natural language in queries, and will dive into files to find results for you.

So, as Microsoft points out, you can ask a conversational query such as 'find the file with the tiramisu recipe' and the Copilot app will hunt through the files on your PC to locate it. Or similarly, you could ask 'find pictures of my dog on the beach' and the AI will pick out those images specifically. Microsoft calls this functionality a 'semantic file search'.

Microsoft is also bringing in a rejigged home page for the Copilot app which surfaces recently used files, apps, and conversations, a move designed to make it easy for you to jump back into whatever you were doing previously.

You can also click on those recently-used files to query them with Copilot, or elect to get help with apps via a specific 'guided help' pane – this fires up a Copilot Vision session to guide you through said app.

Testers who want to give the new Copilot app a whirl should grab the latest update from the Microsoft Store in Windows 11.

(Image credit: Microsoft)Analysis: AI end game

Your immediate concern here may be privacy, and Microsoft has been quick to allay any fears along those lines in its blog post introducing these changes. The company makes it clear that Copilot surfaces recently-used files simply via the standard 'recent' folder that Windows 11 maintains – so the AI app isn't digging into your system any more deeply than the records which the OS keeps itself.

Microsoft clarifies that: "Copilot doesn't scan your entire system or upload anything automatically." However, when you're directly querying a file with Copilot, in that case it is uploaded for processing, but "nothing is shared unless you explicitly do so".

As for the semantic file-search capability, I assume that it functions similarly to the AI-supercharging of Windows 11's search itself on Copilot+ PCs (when Microsoft introduced natural language queries via the search box on the taskbar).

Microsoft seemingly wants to beef up search with AI across the board, and so on Copilot+ PCs we have that powered-up Windows 11 search, as well as Recall (a screenshot-based AI search leveraging the activity on your PC), and now an improved natural language search within the Copilot app itself.

What's the end game with pushing AI in search so strongly? Well, search is an obvious use case for AI, and I'd speculate that eventually, Copilot will take over all Windows search duties entirely.

There will be no basic Windows search at all, in other words – if you want to find stuff on your PC, you'll ask Copilot, end of story. And hopefully it'll complete the search without showing you 15 related 'suggestions' or 'recommendations' about what else you might need to complete whatever task the AI thinks you're carrying out.

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• Audio-Technica has revealed a new limited edition version of the ATH-M50xSTS
• It's in collaboration with virtual singer Hatsune Miku
• It will be available later this week

Esteemed audio brand Audio-Technica has unveiled a cute limited edition version of its best gaming headset in collaboration with virtual idol Hatsune Miku.

Officially called the ATH-M50xSTS-USB MIKU, it's a new variant of the excellent ATH-M50xSTS. The headset, which is based on the professional ATH-M50X monitoring headphones, scored close to full marks in our ATH-M50xSTS review.

It offers sublime audio quality that's particularly impressive for its upper mid-range price point, plus multiple comfortable ear-cup types in the box. Paired with a strong boom microphone, it's a fantastic option for gamers or streamers that want to get away from the usual gaming brands.

A post shared by Audio-Technica USA (@audiotechnicausa)

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The ATH-M50xSTS-USB MIKU comes in a special limited edition colorway inspired by the singer. This includes blue details on the headband meant to mimic her iconic hair and a colorful green ring on the outside of each earcup.

The headset is covered in little details, like the bright Hatsune Miku emblem on the inside of its ear cups and the futuristic-looking blue ring around the microphone module.

They come in special packaging featuring an illustration by the artist LAM created for the collab. It features a USB Type-A connection, so is definitely geared towards PC users, but does come bundled with a USB Type-C adaptor.

The headset will be available from August 22 for $279 / £239.

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• Users have spotted a new feature that allows free YouTube users to download videos for offline viewing
• It's the first major upgrade for free users – the feature has been exclusive to YouTube Premium subscribers until now
• However, it comes with several limitations, including video download quality

I’ve been using YouTube for free for years while harboring a lingering desire to upgrade to YouTube Premium, and now the platform has quietly rolled out a feature to free users that’s been exclusive to paying subscribers for years.

The video-sharing service has introduced a new download feature, which is the first major upgrade for free users. It was first spotted by a user on Reddit (see below), and allows free users to download YouTube videos and watch them without an internet connection.

New feature allowing users to download videos without premium (At not the best quality) from r/youtube

As well as video downloads, YouTube Premium subscribers have had access to a plethora of additional benefits, such as access to ad-free content and picture-in-picture playback. The company also recently relaunched its YouTube Premium Lite tier, which only offers subscribers ad-free viewing.

If you use YouTube’s free version and have been considering upgrading to Premium as I have, this feature could be a good reason to stick with the free plan for a little longer. However, the new downloads feature in the free version does come with a few catches.

Video quality limits is the biggest setback

Despite it being a big upgrade for free users, the biggest limitation to the feature is the download quality. If you’re using the free version of YouTube you can only download videos at 360p and 144p, which is borderine insulting compared to YouTube Premium’s 1080p and 720p resolution options – but it doesn’t end there.

Paying YouTube subscribers can reap the benefit of unlimited downloads, but if you’re using the free version there’s a capped limit on how many videos you can download, although what this cap will be isn't yet clear.

Since the YouTube Premium Lite tier only offers ad-free viewing for some videos and not an option to download videos, signing up to the cheapest plan doesn't currently grant you download access – although given that limited downloads are being rolled out for free users, YouTube may also be planning to roll out the feature to Premium Lite subscribers.

The final catch is that music videos are excluded from free downloads, and you’ll still be required to upgrade to YouTube Premium if you want to take advantage of this feature. This is particularly disappointing, especially if you rely on YouTube for music video playback as opposed to music streaming services, which I personally do.

With that said, the setbacks that come with YouTube’s latest upgrade don’t come as too much of a surprise, even if they are rather restricted. YouTube had to start somewhere with its first major upgrade for free users, and I’m hoping it will improve it's offering over time.

Is this enough for you to stick with YouTube’s free version? Or will you still consider upgrading to Premium? Let us know in the comments.

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• Hackers are using AI-powered website builders to quickly craft phishing sites
• Thousands of organizations have already been targeted
• Lovable is introduction different protections to combat the threat

Lovable, a popular AI website builder which allows users to craft quality websites by talking to the platform, is being heavily abused in different cybercriminal activities, experts have warned.

Security researchers at Proofpoint have revealed how, since February 2025, they have seen “tens of thousands” of Lovable URLs used in malicious campaigns, being distributed through phishing emails.

“Cybercriminals are increasingly using an AI-generated website builder called Lovable to create and host credential phishing, malware, and fraud websites,” Proofpoint said in its report.

Lovable strikes back

The company added it has observed, "numerous campaigns leveraging Lovable services to distribute multifactor authentication (MFA) phishing kits like Tycoon, malware such as cryptocurrency wallet drainers or malware loaders, and phishing kits targeting credit card and personal information.”

Ever since the emergence of the first ChatGPT version, security researchers have been warning about AI tools lowering the barrier for entry into cybercrime.

At first, threat actors used Generative AI to craft convincing phishing emails, or write malware code quickly and efficiently. However, since website builders started integrating AI as well, criminals found a new toy to play with.

In February 2025 alone, Proofpoint claims to have seen a campaign leveraging file sharing themes to distribute credential phishing, which included “hundreds of thousands of messages” and impacted more than 5,000 organizations.

Fortunately, Lovable isn’t sitting with its hands crossed. One credential phishing cluster with hundreds of domains was taken down by Lovable the same week it was reported.

The company also told Proofpoint it recently implemented AI-driven security protections to make building phishing sites impossible, including real-time detections to prevent creation of malicious websites as users prompt the tool, and automated daily scanning of published projects to flag potentially fraudulent projects.

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At a preview event, I got an early look at the upcoming dark fantasy game from publisher Bandai Namco.

• Where Winds Meet launches on November 14, 2025, for PlayStation 5 and PC
• PS5 pre-orders are now available, while the PC version can be wishlisted
• The Chinese fantasy game is described as "the world’s first original Wuxia open-world ARPG"

Everstone Studio has finally revealed the release date for its highly anticipated open-world action-adventure game, Where Winds Meet.

Announced as part of Gamescom 2025, the Chinese fantasy role-playing game (RPG) is set to launch on November 14, 2025, for PlayStation 5 and PC.

Set in 10th-century China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Everstone describes the game as "the world’s first original Wuxia open-world ARPG that seamlessly blends Wuxia themes with open-world gameplay".

It features authentic Eastern fantasy elements, over 20 distinct regions to explore, populated by more than 10,000 unique NPCs, each possessing their own personality and distinctive responses to the player’s actions.

"In the realm of Where Winds Meet, you will become a young martial arts hero stepping into the tumultuous Jianghu. From the vibrant heart of the imperial capital to the hidden corners of forgotten wilderness, every path is rich with secrets, sights, and stories waiting to be uncovered," the game's description reads.

"In this world, freedom is all yours. There is no singular path you must follow; whether you choose to become a hero or an agent of chaos, the world will respond to your choices. Create disorder, defy the law, and face bounties, pursuits, or even time behind bars. Alternatively, you can walk a nobler path: befriend villagers, forge alliances, and build your reputation as a hero of the Wuxia world. Beyond the main storyline, a web of hidden, fragmented subplots will guide you to discover the darker lore and hidden truths scattered throughout the land."

As a Wuxia-inspired game, Where Winds Meet offers 40 unique Martial Mystic Arts available for mastery, including Tai Chi, Toad Style, and Lion’s Roar, as well as others that can be acquired while exploring the world.

Players can also combine various weapons, Mystic Arts, and techniques learned from different sects, inspired by both traditional Kung Fu movements and fantastical martial arts styles, to create unique combat styles and strategies.

Where Winds Meet is now available to pre-order on PS5, including an exclusive bundle, which includes a customizable outfit pack and a PS5-exclusive name-card background.

PC players can also wishlist the game on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The game will be free-to-play on release.

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