Technology

Lanterns episode 2 is now live on HBO Max — and it introduces viewers to the most famous Green Lantern villain of all, Thaal Sinestro.

Long-time Green Lantern fans will already know plenty about this recurring antagonist, his relationship to Hal Jordan, and why he's deemed such a threat to the Green Lantern Corps and wider galaxy. However, unless you've read the source material and/or seen the disastrous 2011 Ryan Reynolds-starring Green Lantern movie, many of you won't know much, if anything, about Sinestro.

So, who is Sinestro? What are his powers? And does his DC Comics background give us any hints about his role in Lanterns? Allow me to enlighten you on the aforementioned questions and more.

Sinestro's DC comic book history and powers explained

Thaal Sinestro was first introduced in DC Comics over 60 years ago (Image credit: DC Comics)

Let's start with what the comics tell us about Sinestro.

Created by Gil Kane and John Broome, and first appearing in August 1961 in Green Lantern #7, Thaal Sinestro hails from the planet Korugar in space sector 1417.

An anthropologist, Sinestro comes into contact with the Green Lantern known as Prohl Gosgotha when the latter crash-lands on Korugar. Prohl does so after coming under attack from a Weaponer of Qward, which hails from the anti-matter universe.

Prohl gives its ring to Sinestro, who then defeats its pursuer. However, Sinestro keeps the ring, lets Prohl die, and lies to the Guardians of the Universe — aka the immortal race that founded the intergalactic peacekeeping organization known as the Green Lantern Corps — that the ring chose him as Prohl's successor.

Corrupted by the power of the ring, Sinestro abuses his position as a Green Lantern until Hal Jordan, who becomes Sinestro's student after Jordan acquires his own ring, informs the Guardians of Sinestro's evildoing.

Mark Strong played the first-ever live-action version of Sinestro in 2011's terrible Green Lantern movie (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

To punish him, the Guardians expelled Sinestro from the Green Lantern Corps, took his ring, and sent him to the anti-matter universe — more specifically, the anti-matter world Qward. There, Sinestro convinces the Weaponers, who hate the Green Lanterns, that he can use his knowledge of the space cop agency and its creators to destroy them for good, which leads the Weaponers to give Sinestro his infamous, fear-inducing yellow ring. Thus begins his never-ending quest to eradicate the Guardians and Green Lantern Corps.

As one of the Green Lanterns' most powerful nemeses, it'll come as no surprise to learn that Sinestro has myriad superhuman abilities.

Prior to being gifted his yellow ring, he already possessed genius-level intellect and was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and expert tactician. After being armed with said ring, he gained powers similar to those of his Green Lantern foes. They include — but aren't limited to — the ability to create constructs using the wielder's mastery of fear, the ability to fly, enhanced physical abilities, limited cellular regeneration, and the power to instil fear in opponents.

Not content with being the only Yellow Lantern in existence, Sinestro went on to establish the Sinestro Corps. Also known as the Yellow Lantern Corps, this group, created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, was introduced in Green Lantern vol. 4 #10 in May 2006 as a sinister counterpoint to the Green Lanterns.

Who plays Sinestro in Lanterns on HBO Max?

A post shared by Ulrich Thomsen (@ulrichthomsen)

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As for who portrays Sinestro in the DC Universe (DCU) TV show on HBO Max, that'll be Ulrich Thomsen.

The Danish actor is more widely known in his homeland than in nations like the US and UK. However, Thomsen has starred in English-language movies and TV shows you might be familiar with.

On the film front, he's appeared in the 2007 big-screen adaptation of the beloved I/O Interactive game franchise Hitman, Ridley Scott's 2005 historical epic Kingdom of Heaven, and 1999 James Bond flick The World is Not Enough, among others.

Meanwhile, on the small screen, Thomsen was a series regular in Cinemax's Banshee and had recurring roles in NBC's The Blacklist and HBO Original The New Pope.

What role will Sinestro play in Lanterns' overarching story?

(Image credit: HBO Max)

To try to answer that, let's first take a step back and look at why Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan visits his imprisoned former mentor in the DCU Chapter One TV show's latest chapter.

After John Stewart learns about the Manhunters in Lanterns episode 2, he tells Jordan what he knows before retiring to his motel room for the night. Armed with Stewart's information, Jordan puts on his Green Lantern suit and flies to the maximum-security prison where Sinestro has been kept since he was taken down by Jordan. Remember, as we learned earlier in the episode, Jordan battled and defeated Sinestro after the latter attempted a coup, went rogue after that plan failed, and killed one of the Guardians.

Anyway, upon arriving at Sinestro's cell in the extraterrestrial penitentiary, Jordan asks his former mentor what he knows about the Manhunters. After some unsurprisingly strained small talk, Jordan steers the conversation back to the topic at hand. Sinestro tells Jordan that, if there's really a Manhunter living in secret on Earth, he and Stewart are facing one of the second-most dangerous beings in the entire galaxy. Before we get more of a crash course in the Manhunters, though, Sinestro asks Jordan to tell him about Jordan's own pupil, Stewart, before the screen cuts to black.

Of course, none of this gives us any indication as to Sinestro's wider role in the plot. Is he somehow secretly orchestrating events in Rushville, Nebraska from his jail cell? Does he actually know anything about Manhunters, or is he simply suggesting he does to delay Jordan's return to Earth? And how many more times will we see him in Lanterns before this season's final end credits roll?

Even though I've seen seven of this season's eight episodes — I mentioned that in my Lanterns review — I'm not allowed to spoil, nor would I want to, how Sinestro factors into the wider plot. I know that's a non-committal answer to this section header's question, but it's the best one I can give without getting into trouble with Warner Bros, HBO, and DC Studios. You'll have to keep tuning into HBO Max, aka one of the best streaming services, every week until Lanterns tells all.

Lanterns episode 2 has made its HBO Max debut — and the sci-fi crime drama appears to have revealed that a mysterious race called the Manhunters are the villains of its 2016 storyline.

So, who are they? Where did they come from? And why are they seemingly being set up as the chief antagonists of HBO's Green Lantern TV show? Let's take a look at the Manhunters' comic book history to answer — or at least try to answer — these questions.

Who are the Manhunters in DC Comics?

The Manhunters are a sentient android race conceived by the Guardians of the Universe (Image credit: DC Comics)

Created by comic book legend Jack Kirby, the Manhunters are a race of extraterrestrial robots that made their debut in 1st Issue Special #5 in August 1975.

Built by the immortal beings known as the Guardians of the Universe, the Manhunters were the Guardians' first attempt to create an intergalactic police force that would patrol the universe and combat any threats they encountered.

Unfortunately, these supposed peacekeepers evolved to the point where they became sentient, started to resent the limitations imposed by their creators, and began carrying out their own form of justice — namely, that the only way to maintain peace was to wipe out all organic life in the known universe.

After the Manhunters committed mass genocide in a catastrophic event known as the Massacre of Sector-666, and then attempted a coup against their masters, the Guardians realized they were too dangerous to keep around and set about destroying them. However, some Manhunters survived, fled to distant planets to hide among the local population, and rebuilt their numbers in the hopes of one day crushing the Guardians and their space-cop agency replacement, the Green Lantern Corps.

What do we learn about the Manhunters in Lanterns episode 2?

The head of a group of shapeshifting aliens drops some key Manhunter lore in Lanterns episode 2 (Image credit: HBO Max)

We're only introduced to the concept of Manhunters in episode 2 of Lanterns. Nonetheless, they're seemingly being set up as the primary villains of this season's 2016 narrative, if not the full season.

So, what do we know about them so far? According to the leader of a covert group of shapeshifting aliens who kidnap John Stewart midway through this episode, the Manhunters' origins in the DC Universe (DCU) are nearly identical to those of their creation in the source material, i.e., they're synthetic beings manufactured by the Guardians.

Furthermore, the Manhunters are so technologically advanced that they can build new bodies and take the form of a world's native alpha species. That way, they can remain undetected and, using technology far beyond the limits of those they secretly live among, carry out their brutal form of justice without interference.

It's clear that the Manhunters committed atrocities in the DCU, too. Indeed, as Stewart — and, by proxy, we — learn, entire species were wiped out by the Manhunters before they mysteriously disappeared.

John Stewart experiences this alien race's collective loss through some form of memory-based device (Image credit: HBO Max)

Despite them vanishing without a trace, a Manhunter survived on whatever planet Stewart's captors are from and, in their leader's words, "lived among us as they quietly engineered a holocaust". Given the nature of this mass extermination, the Guardians soon dispatched a Green Lantern to arrest the Manhunter and ensure it would be executed.

However, Stewart's kidnappers believe the Manhunter wasn't killed and now secretly lives among Rushville's human population. Unfortunately, when they tried to get close to this Manhunter to enact their revenge, four of them were killed. Does that death count ring any bells? It should, because their murders are the same ones being investigated by Stewart and Jordan.

Unable to re-enter Rushville without being detected themselves, the group's leader gives Stewart an ultimatum: find the Manhunter in the next 48 hours, or the remaining shapeshifters will walk into the center of Rushville and blow themselves up. Yep, that means they belong to the same extraterrestrial race as the individual who was interrogated by Jordan in episode 1, and who detonated the explosive device in his skeleton at Rushville police station once he was compromised.

Reluctantly, Stewart agrees. Despite the group's leader warning him not to tell Jordan what they discussed, Stewart does so, which leads Jordan to question whether Abin Sur — aka the Green Lantern that Jordan replaced — was tasked with finding the Manhunter and executing it at the behest of the Guardians before his death, which presumably came at the hands of the Manhunter.

Manhunters vs. Martian Manhunter: what's the difference?

Hal Jordan visits his former mentor Sinestro (pictured) for details about the Manhunters (Image credit: HBO Max)

In terms of DC comic book lore, this is where things can get a little confusing.

For the uninitiated: in the comics, Martian Manhunter is a superpowered being who hails from Mars. Real name J'onn J'onzz, he's one of the few surviving members of his alien race (aka the real Manhunters) and a founding member of DC's iconic superteam in Justice League.

Because of what we'd class as this character's surname — i.e. Manhunter — you might be wondering if Martian Manhunter is a Manhunter. After all, they share a moniker, so he has to be one, right?

Well, he's not. All you need to know is that the Guardians modeled their Manhunters on the Manhunters of Ma'aleca'andra — or, to call that planet by another name, Mars. So, while these two species share a common name, they're not related in any way, nor is Martian Manhunter one of the sentient android beings that the Guardians created.

Who is the Manhunter that Hal Jordan and John Stewart must find?

Is Garrett Dillahunt's Will Macon actually the Manhunter in disguise? (Image credit: John Johnson/HBO Max)

That's the big question. Logic dictates that it's someone who was at the football game — and, right now, the only other named character we know to be present at that game was Sheriff Kerry Kane. On the basis that she's conducting her own investigation into the deaths of those four aliens, though, I think we can rule her out.

So, which other characters could be the Manhunter in disguise? Will Macon is the obvious choice — he's certainly mysterious and, based on his hostile approach to extraterrestrials, would fit the mould of someone who doesn't want to be found by, say, a group of aliens seeking revenge for their race's near-extinction.

That said, it seems that he answers to someone else — i.e., his so-called 'benefactor' — further up the food chain. As such, I'm not convinced that the Macon patriarch is the Manhunter.

I don't think we can rule out Zoe Macon, either (Image credit: HBO Max)

There are other possible candidates in the DCU Chapter One TV show. Will's son Billy is one — after all, he's cosied up to Jordan as his lawyer, which is a sure-fire way of disarming a potential opponent and throwing them off the scent about who killed the four aliens at the Nebraskan football game.

I don't think we can overlook Zoe, aka Will's wife, either. And, with Stewart being told by his kidnappers that Manhunters are deceptive beings, it's not a stretch to assume that she's trying to manipulate Stewart in a bid to drive a bigger wedge between him and Jordan, which would impact their own investigation.

Of course, the Manhunter could be someone we haven't even met yet, so we'll have to wait for future episodes to air on HBO Max, aka one of the best streaming services, to see if anyone else could be the Manhunter. Currently, though, I'm going to evoke Jordan and say my gut's telling me it's Will, Billy, or Zoe.

While we wait for more clues, get the full lowdown on Sinestro following his introduction at the end of Lanterns episode 2. Then, vote in the poll below and/or leave a comment to let me know who you think the Manhunter is.

• Trump wants US to up aims to launch over 1,000 spacecraft every year by 2030
• Only 178 launches happened in 2025, mostly carried out by SpaceX
• Federal agencies must find new land for rocket launch sites

A new presidential memorandum signed by Donald Trump sets an ambitious annual benchmark for American commercial space activity within the next four years.

The new National Space Transportation Policy wants government agencies to work together so that the US hits over 1,000 spacecraft launches and returns per year by 2030.

In 2025, there were only 178 of these missions, though that number is already ten times higher than it was back in 2013, and SpaceX was behind most of them.

Land, permits, and spectrum take priority

The order replaces a national space policy that had been in place since 2013, when the previous framework was first adopted.

Within 90 days, several departments must scout available federal land that could host new sites for launching and landing spacecraft.

Approval processes for these facilities should move faster too, with environmental reviews and permits getting streamlined under the new rules.

Access to wireless spectrum, air traffic coordination and a stronger launch workforce are also named as priorities the government must address going forward.

Agencies have further been told to step back from any activity that might discourage or undercut private companies competing in the same space.

Export policies covering space technology will also be revisited periodically, aimed at protecting American intellectual property while expanding sales abroad.

The policy also calls for regular federal reviews of launch range schedules, intended to make better use of limited windows nationwide.

"This policy meets this moment of explosive growth and positions America to lead the next era of space," said Michael Kratsios, the White House's science and technology policy director.

Beyond Earth orbit, the memorandum pushes NASA toward landing American astronauts on the moon again before the end of 2028.

Early elements of a lunar base should follow two years later, alongside continued study of robotic and eventually human trips to Mars.

A dominant player and lingering doubts

Elon Musk's SpaceX remains the industry's clear leader, having carried out 170 missions last year that placed about 2,500 satellites into orbit.

Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration said back in May that the firm hopes to reach 10,000 flights annually within the next five years.

SpaceX has separately floated plans for roughly 1 million satellites designed to capture solar energy and feed power to AI data centers.

In addition to SpaceX, the U.S. will entertain requests from foreign companies that want to launch from American soil.

These firms will be screened individually, weighing security risk, investment value and site availability.

NASA, on the other hand, has been asked to build a lunar logistics network that private companies could eventually use to reach the moon commercially.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, have kept urging NASA to stay focused on Artemis, its long-running lunar program that has already consumed billions in funding.

That pressure suggests the administration's push toward 1,000 annual launches could still meet real budgetary and political resistance in Congress.

• America now dominates the world's largest hyperscale data center markets by a wide margin
• Northern Virginia remains enormous despite signs that future development is moving elsewhere
• Texas recorded 71% capacity growth, far exceeding the worldwide increase of 36%

The United States has tightened its grip on global hyperscale data center infrastructure, now accounting for 15 of the world's 20 largest markets.

Northern Virginia remains the largest single market, housing nearly 12% of global hyperscale capacity and approximately 250 data centers within Loudoun County.

However, rapid growth elsewhere suggests America's data center expansion is spreading beyond established hubs as power, land, incentives, and opposition influence investment.

America's dominance extends well beyond Northern Virginia

The figures from Synergy Research Group show 20 state or metropolitan markets currently account for 60% of worldwide hyperscale data center capacity.

Northern Virginia and the Greater Beijing Area alone represent 17% of global capacity, followed by Oregon, Iowa, Ohio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dublin, and Shanghai.

Fifteen of those 20 leading markets are located in America, while Asia-Pacific contains four and Europe has only one, in Dublin.

The balance has shifted further toward America during the past two years, reducing the number of non-US markets within the top 20.

Tokyo and Sydney have fallen from the ranking since last year, alongside South Carolina, while Indiana, Tennessee, and Guangdong entered.

Synergy says America's advantage partly comes from corporate concentration, because 62% of the world's hyperscale operators are headquartered in the U.S.

The country's enormous cloud market also matters, with the US accounting for almost half of revenues across several important segments.

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have the broadest infrastructure footprints and together control 57% of worldwide hyperscale data center capacity.

“A range of factors influence the choice of location for hyperscale infrastructure, including customers, real estate, power, networking infrastructure, incentives, and political stability,” said John Dinsdale, Chief Analyst at Synergy Research Group.

Texas gains ground as established markets face constraints

Northern Virginia's existing scale remains exceptional, although Dinsdale said the region no longer features as strongly in future development plans.

Loudoun County expects approximately $1.3 billion next year from taxes on data center equipment, according to figures reported by the New York Times.

Yet the economic benefits must be considered alongside incentives, with one earlier report estimating that Virginia's concessions could cost $1.94 billion.

Meanwhile, Texas has emerged as one of the fastest-growing hyperscale markets, with operational capacity increasing by 71% over the past year.

The increase was substantially higher than the worldwide growth rate of 36%, while Indiana, Tennessee, Shanghai, Johor, and Jakarta also recorded strong expansion.

Synergy is currently tracking 915 future hyperscale facilities at different stages of planning, construction, development, or internal equipment installation.

It expects rankings to continue changing, particularly as established markets encounter electricity constraints and communities become more resistant to major developments.

The current figures imply overwhelming US dominance, but the pipeline suggests future growth will depend on whether individual locations can secure sufficient power.

Netflix subscribers can watch the extended preview of GTA 6 a few hours before everyone else, but patient gamers can stream it for free later. 

• China is moving its AI data centers into poor rural provinces
• Guizhou offers cooler weather, cheap land, and abundant renewable power
• New data centers must draw 80% of power from renewables

China is significantly expanding its data center capacity as artificial intelligence processing drives an unprecedented demand for computing power nationwide.

Much of this new infrastructure is being built away from the crowded eastern seaboard and placed in rural western provinces.

In 2021, the Chinese government formally named this approach the Eastern Data Western Computing strategy, marking a clear national policy shift.

Why the rural west has the advantage

Provinces such as Guizhou and Inner Mongolia offer cooler climates, abundant renewable energy, and vast amounts of empty, affordable land.

China has also mandated that all new data centers draw 80% of their power from renewable sources before the decade ends.

Regions with expanded solar and wind capacity, like Guizhou, make it easier for operators to meet those goals, according to Rystad Energy analyst Simeng Deng.

Large-scale server farms can also absorb curtailed renewable output, easing the ongoing problem of overproduced solar and wind energy nationwide.

Developing previously overlooked rural regions has become another expected benefit, though researchers remain sharply divided on its actual economic impact.

An uneven economic payoff

According to Andrew Stokols of Singapore Management University, data centers do not necessarily generate a meaningful ripple effect for local employment.

This pattern shows in Guizhou's growth figures, where heavy data center investment helped drive average annual GDP growth of 7.4% over the past decade, yet wage growth over that same period ranked second to last among all Chinese provinces, according to Taiwan-based researchers at DSET.

The province also carries one of China's heaviest public debt burdens, driven largely by heavy infrastructure spending and incentive programs.

In 2024, Guizhou also ranked 30th nationally for its debt-to-revenue ratio and 27th nationally for its debt-to-GDP ratio.

Still, residents of Guian New Area, a Guizhou district built around Huawei's largest data center, describe visible local change, including new roads, growing trade, and steady new job opportunities for residents living close by today as well.

Two universities have reportedly opened in the area since the data centers were constructed, according to local vendors.

Despite this uneven mix of growth, debt, and stalled wages, fierce global competition over computing power keeps construction of new facilities moving steadily forward.

China is expected to nearly double its total data center capacity within the next five years, industry estimates suggest, momentum which shows why Chinese policy documents were already linking computing power to national strength, even before AI's rapid growth.

"It's essential for national competitiveness in the age of digital technology," said Stokols.

Unlike in Europe and the United States, where data center projects often face local resistance, dissent in China remains tightly controlled.

The pattern suggests China is treating computing infrastructure as a matter of national strategy rather than pure local economic development.

Whether rural provinces eventually see the broader prosperity officials have long promised remains, for now, an open and unresolved question.

Via Techxplore

Razer Soma Chroma: One-minute review

I've reviewed a lot of gaming chairs, sat my butt on plenty of seats promising the best of the best comfort, or ergonomic longevity (I'm convinced noblechairs wants my posture to last me until I'm 126 years old), and I've got to say, aside from possibly the AndaSeat Novis, this might be the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in.

At least, part of it is. The seat base. The fabric, the material, lovely; the base width, great. The backrest? Right up my street. But the Soma is a bit of an odd one when it comes to everything else it's trying to do. And an even bigger issue is its launch day price tag.

It's $500/£500 (about $954 AUD), which is a lot, and yes, there's RGB lighting in this, but Razer doesn't include an integrated battery (or even an optional one at checkout), doesn't pack a long enough cable, and doesn't include an adapter. The brand doesn't even include a cushioned headrest (you have to buy that separately). For 500 bones, frankly, that's utter madness.

The RGB itself (two diffused strips that run alongside the upper part of the backrest) is forward-facing only, and you can't really see it when you're sat down. It's not like a keyboard or a mouse, which is at least in your periphery, and needing your machine on with the cable hooked up separately if you opt to go without a battery bank means you'll probably spend about 5-10 seconds every session watching it just light up.

It's great for a streamer, sure, but even then it does feel more like an advert rather than something classy.

I had the lighting on for a day when I first got it for testing, then promptly unhooked the USB cable Razer graciously provided me with and never touched it again. Best gaming chair? Well, it won't be because of its RGB; that's for sure.

(Image credit: Future)Razer Soma Chroma: Price and Availability

• Costs $500/£500 (about $954 AUD)
• Remarkably expensive given what it lacks
• Single colorway and fabric option

Right, now you can grab the Razer Soma Chroma for $500 USD and £500 GBP (about $954 AUD). It sits roughly between the Razer Iskur V2 X (at about $350) and the standard V2 (that's $600 or so).

You can pick one of these up today, although there's little in the way of choice. No different color options, no different materials, you get what you get.

Sold separately, of course, you can also get a male-to-female USB-C extension cable, headrest, and power source (you'll have to source your own on the latter).

On the warranty front, Razer's got you somewhat covered with a 14-day returns policy via the RazerStore, and as standard it comes with a 3-year warranty, which upgrades to 5 if purchased direct and registered.

Razer Soma Chroma: Specs

Price

$500/£500 (about AU$954)

Dimensions

53.1 x 26.4 x 28.1in / 135 x 67 x 71.5cm

Max user weight

331lbs / 150kg

Max seat height

20.1in / 51cm

Seat depth

18.5in / 47cm

Recline angle

Up to 155°

Warranty

3 years (free 5-year upgrade via Razer.com)

Material

Knit fabric, cold-cured foam

AndaSeat Phantom 4 Pro: Design and Aesthetics

• Bold gamer style
• Perforated channels for air (read: debris)
• Green logo on an RGB product

The Soma Chroma is unabashedly gamer. There's just no two ways about it: the sharp lines, jagged polygonal design, the channelling, the RGB, the stitching — it doesn't exactly give off this allure of premium professionalism. That's to say I'm sure 16-year-old Zak would've loved it, but me, sat here in my ‘rustic’ office, dealing with media, clients, and more on the daily, yeah it kinda sticks out like a sore thumb.

Particularly with the striking green Razer logo etched in the backrest right behind my head, in a not-so-obscure glossy green plastic. Which again I have to question. This is an RGB product, right? That means you can set that lighting (hypothetically, if you use it) to any color you like.

That's great, but certain colors clash with green quite aggressively. Bright reds, neon blue, pinks, high-saturation yellows. Basically all off limits, all because the logo's bright neon green. It's 2026, guys; we've had RGB products for a seriously long time now. I thought it was common knowledge that you don't stick colored accents on them.

The lighting is also awkwardly placed. You can't actually see it from the back of the chair, and it's solely positioned behind your head, facing forward, so you literally never see it, outside of the five to ten seconds you go to the toilet and sit back down again. It's diffused, it looks good when you do manage to catch a glimpse of the stuff, and you can easily configure it in Synapse, but honestly it just feels like a bit of a swing and a miss.

(Image credit: Future)

How'd you connect all that? Well, there's a short USB-C cable located in the back of the chair that hooks up to your battery bank, which you can then stow away in a small zip pocket in the seat base. But it's really short; that cable. If you're imagining some retractable 6-foot thing you can pull out when you need it, no, it's not that.

You're not connecting this thing to a wall plug, or anything of the sort. Razer provided me with a seriously long extension cable (two in fact) for it, but that doesn't come by default, annoyingly. And of course, there's no built-in battery, or included power bank, or the option to add one to your order. I used the extension cable to effectively run the entire chair to the back of my PC, and it does run off USB power. That said, you don't have to go that route; you can just use a USB plug, and then let the included wireless dongle handle the RGB side of things.

Now I'm done wailing on the lighting; the good news is the finish is genuinely lush, it's like a neoprene-feel soft-touch fabric, and it's a delight to sit on. I'm writing this review in the midst of yet another heat wave in the UK, and skin-on-chair contact has been genuinely lovely. Compare that to the number of AndaSeat's chairs I've reviewed recently that leave me begging for AC, and well, it's a nice change that's for sure.

Ok, we've had bad, we've had good, now it's back to bad. There are channels in the chair base, and I get the concept. The idea is that it helps air circulate your, well, back passage, to stop you heating up so quickly, and it kind of works. But it comes with a major caveat, and that's that it also holds onto all manner of dust and debris.

If you own a dog, or cat, or have a habit of sitting at your desk eating from time to time, you're cooked. You'll be getting the blow duster out you use for your PC on the chair base at least once a week.

(Image credit: Future)Razer Soma Chroma: Comfort and adjustability

• Super comfortable, wide seat base
• Generous lumbar support
• Armrests and the castors are letdowns

Fortunately for the Soma, sitting on it is a treat. The cold-foam base is comfortable as all hell, and the seat base is wide enough for the weirdos like me who sit cross-legged to do so in absolute bliss.

The armrests, however, are more basic, two-dimensional affairs. There's no four- or even three-directional setup here like you'd find on almost all of its modern counterparts from competitors at this price.

You can raise them up and down and swivel them, and that's it. They're padded and modestly squishy, but if you'd put them on an Ikea chair, I wouldn't be able to tell that they were Razer-designed and made.

Oh, and it doesn't roll. Well, it does, but it's just so frustratingly stiff it beggars belief. I wrote about this in the AndaSeat Phantom 4 Pro review earlier this year. It's basically, I think, a result of overcompliance with the EU's EN 1335-2 safety measure, which means that in an emergency any unmanned chair shouldn't move easily. I don't quite understand the logic behind that, but here we are.

(Image credit: Future)

And it frustrates me because I can't roll up and down my desk, or if I need to lightly move it to put my shoes on, or I just want to get more comfortable at my setup, it's a minor struggle. And yes, I know that's a first-world problem, but it's $500/£500 for this thing, from a seriously reputable brand.

One final flag from me before I move on. There's no headrest cushion included either. Razer will sell you a headrest, but it's at additional cost. Eugh. No magnetic freebie for you, no sir. Not even a strapped one.

Razer Soma Chroma: Assembly

• Seamless, standard build
• Missing shear bolt on recline
• Massive manual

As far as building the thing goes, the Soma Chroma is genuinely smooth. If you've built one gaming chair before, you'll get along with this one just fine. It's a bit heavy; Razer recommends you'll need two people to build it, but it's more than easy enough to do solo.

Plus the manual is massive, and printed onto a giant sheet of card, which feels a bit overkill (a book would've been fine; I'm not that old, I can read).

The only cause for concern is that you do need to be a touch careful installing the backrest, as there's no safety bolt sitting between you and the tilt angle arm. So if you do hit that lever too aggressively, there's a chance the bracket can snap forward. So do bear that in mind.

(Image credit: Future)Should You Buy The Razer Soma Chroma?Buy it if...

You want a genuinely comfortable chair
Soft-touch upholstery, impressively wide base, generous lumbar support, and that cold-density foam do the bulk of the work here. It's best at the boring bits.

You're a streamer
The one audience that actually sees the Chroma, you know, work, is yours. The RGB syncs with a good 300 games or so, and you can build out to your color scheme if you'd prefer

Don't buy it if...

You expect 500 bucks to cover everything
No head pillow, no cables, no power adapters, no battery. The things that make the Soma Chroma don't light up without an additional investment.

You actually move at your desk
Braked castors and static armrests make this a chair for sitting perfectly still rather than shifting around.

Also consider...

Make sure to consider these alternatives as well.

Razer Soma Chroma

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022

Razer Iskur V2

Price

$500 / £500 (about AU$954)

$519 / £414 / AU$724

$650 / £600 (or around AU$1,128)

Dimensions

53.1 x 26.4 x 28.1in / 135 x 67 x 71.5cm

54.3–58.3 x 27.6 x 27.6in / 138–148 x 70 x 70 cm

51.0–54.7 x 27.2 x 27.2in / 129.5–139 x 69 x 69cm

Max user weight

331lbs / 150kg

285lbs / 130kg

300lbs / 136kg

Max seat height

20.1in / 51cm

21.9in / 55.5cm

21.1in / 53.5cm

Seat depth

18.5in / 47cm

20.9in / 53cm

17.7in / 45cm

Recline angle

Up to 155°

85–165°

85–153.5°

Warranty

3 years (5 direct)

5-Years (extended warranty)

3-Years

Material

Knit fabric, cold-cured foam

NEO Hybrid Leatherette, SoftWeave Plus Fabric, Napa Leather

EPU Leatherette, Fabric

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022
The legendary Titan Evo is a TechRadar Gaming favorite for good reason. With exceptional comfort, removable magnetic lumbar support, and a size range that covers every-shaped human under the sun, it's well worth considering if the Soma just doesn't feel like the right home for your butt.

For more information, check out our full Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 review

Razer Iskur V2
Like the Soma Chroma but better. With dedicated built-in lumbar support, it's a solid trooper in the world of gaming chairs. It's even got the build quality and aesthetic chops to match albeit at a slightly inflated price.

For more information, check out our full Razer Iskur V2 review

How I tested the Razer Soma Chroma

• Used for over a month
• Fully built by hand solo
• Set up in all manner of configurations

I spent well over a month with the Razer Soma Chroma, testing the ins and outs of how it held up under serious usage. Working from home, it endured the hardships of a constant 9-5 "office" job, along with late evening gaming sessions, through normal operating conditions and heatwaves abound.

I've spent years testing gaming chairs from all manner of manufacturers, and I compared this one directly to a slew of products from AndaSeat, Noblechairs, and Secretlab as well. I also fully tested the Synapse and WiFi dongle, and tracked the real-world usage and feel of it throughout the month, documenting any moment where I thought "ahh this is good" or "ahh not so good".

I also got my five-foot-five partner to sit in and provide me with her direct feedback as well, along with a few close friends to get their thoughts and feelings on it, which directly feeds the opinions you see here as well. I questioned them intensely on the comfort, the feel, and the build quality of the Soma Chroma to get a broad picture of opinions on it.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed August 2026

• Brave1 lets Ukrainian units order drones built to exact specifications
• Military units have spent nearly one billion dollars through Brave1 Market
• Buyers can adjust seventeen different drone specifications before placing an order

A new procurement system launched by Ukraine's Brave1 defense cluster now allows Ukrainian military units to commission drones built to their own specifications.

The system operates through the existing Brave1 Market platform, where military units can request drones tailored to particular operational requirements.

Military units placed roughly $1 billion worth of orders for defense technologies through the platform during its first year of operation.

A more flexible way to buy

This digital marketplace currently has over 1,000 defense innovations spanning unmanned aerial vehicles, ground robotic systems, electronic warfare and signals intelligence equipment, specialized components, AI-powered solutions, software applications, and ammunition.

Custom ordering, however, is currently limited to a small slice of that catalog. At this stage, only three drone categories qualify for custom orders: standard FPV strike drones, fiber-optic FPV variants, and fixed-wing interceptors.

Seventeen separate specifications are open to adjustment under the new system, ranging from communication equipment and cameras to payload capacity and flight time.

Submitted requests are routed automatically to a pool of suppliers, each of whom can choose to bid or opt out entirely.

"All stages of interaction and decision-making are automatically recorded in the system," said Brave1.

If a military unit decides not to proceed with a purchase, it must provide a clearly justified reason for the decision.

Brave1 says the automated approach aims to give military units systems tailored to specific battlefield missions while keeping procurement rules transparent for suppliers.

The system also provides the state with a complete digital record and verified data for every transaction made across the platform.

The platform also allows complaints to be filed against either buyers or suppliers if disputes arise during the process at any later stage.

When multiple suppliers submit matching technical proposals, the system triggers a competitive bidding process, and the cheapest offer ultimately secures the deal.

Once bidding wraps up, the requesting unit finalizes an agreement directly with the chosen manufacturer, bypassing extra bureaucratic steps in the process.

Suppliers who decline a specific request face no penalty under the current system, according to the company's statement released this week.

Expanding categories and remaining limits

Brave1 said the procurement process is designed to remain transparent and competitive for all participating suppliers throughout every stage of the transaction.

Brave1 plans to expand the range of eligible systems considerably further in the coming months, including the eventual addition of unmanned ground vehicles.

For now, the feature applies only to purchases financed with military units' own funds, excluding the state eBaly procurement system.

Units can even request equipment that hasn't received official classification yet, something the standard state procurement process typically does not allow.

This shift toward customer-driven procurement suggests Ukraine is trying to close the gap between battlefield needs and manufacturing speed during an active war.

Other governments observing Ukraine's wartime innovations may eventually consider similar digital procurement models for their own defense industries in the years ahead.

Via United24media

If you're in the market for a capable smartwatch and a robust health tracker, then Garmin's Venu 3 is an excellent choice. While it's an older model (released in 2023), it's packed with insightful features, and in our Garmin Venu 3 review, we called it 'a near-perfect balance of smartwatch and health tracker'.

Amazon has dropped the Garmin Venu 3 to $294.99 (originally $449.99), which is the lowest price we've ever seen and a whopping $155 discount.

• Shop more daily deals at Amazon

The Garmin Venu 3 is the predecessor to the Venu 4, which currently holds the top spot in our best Garmin watch guide. Great for outdoor enthusiasts, the Venu 3 features advanced GPS tracking, a water-resistant design, and an extended battery life of up to 14 days. The smartwatch also tracks heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen saturation, sleep, and stress levels and includes a speaker and microphone so you can take calls from your wrist.

Today's limited-time offer on the Garmin Venu 3 from Amazon is not only a new record-low price, but it's also superb value for a rugged smartwatch that's packed with health and fitness features.

Garmin's Venu 3 for a record-low price at Amazon

Venu 3 Premium Fitness Smartwatch: was $449.99 now $294.99
The Garmin Venu 3 once sat atop our guide to the best Garmin watches, with our fitness experts calling it "the best for most people". The new Venu 4 has replaced it, but this last-gen model still offers an excellent balance of advanced sports metrics and communication features at a new record-low price.View Deal

Poco F8 Pro review: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

Over the past two decades, I’ve been lucky enough to test hundreds of smartphones from a range of brands around the world. Some of these brands receive the credit they’re due, others are criticized fairly or unfairly, and some fail to get the global recognition they deserve.

Xiaomi's sub-brand, Poco, falls into the latter category, and the Poco F8 Pro is another example of an extraordinary phone that should be talked about more than it is.

While its pricier sibling, the Poco F8 Ultra, packs true flagship specs and a stunning denim material finish, the Poco F8 Pro more closely follows Poco’s model: take the core features that every smartphone user needs, build a great overall experience, and offer it at a truly affordable price.

The Poco F8 Pro marries the first-gen flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. Yes, this is not the second-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that powers many of the current best Android phones, but you’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference. The Poco F8 Pro flies through day-to-day tasks with flagship-level ease, and its Bose-tuned stereo speakers deliver the same great audio experience as its pricier sibling.

There’s also an excellent 6.59-inch 120Hz OLED display, which is my favorite size for a smartphone screen, and it’s wonderful to use, with a 3,500-nit peak brightness and excellent color reproduction. As is customary with Poco phones, there’s no skimping on battery life, either, with the F8 Pro packing a 6,210mAh battery that can last for multiple days, and 100W charging that’s among the fastest on any phone.

There’s also a 2.5x telephoto camera, a first for Poco’s Pro lineup, although it does lack OIS. That’s indicative of the Poco F8 Pro as a whole; yes, there are compromises — including a lack of wireless charging, occasional slowdowns under heavy gaming loads, sluggish USB speeds, and some bloatware in apps — but if you can live with them, this phone offers the best value-for-money in its price bracket.

Poco F8 Pro review: price and availability

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Launched for £549
• The current retail price in the UK is ~£449
• Not available in the US or Australia

In terms of availability, the Poco F8 Pro falls into the "widely available outside the US" category, and if you’re in the UK, you’ll find it’s priced extremely aggressively (the phone can be imported to the US, but its network compatibility will be limited).

At the time of writing in August 2026, the 256GB model is available for just £449. That's £100 cheaper than its already reasonable £599 launch price, and exceptional value for money in 2026 (note that the Poco F9 series is likely to arrive towards the end of the year, though we're expecting to see a sizeable price hike for all models).

This £400-£500 range pits the F8 Pro directly against devices like the Google Pixel 10a, Nothing Phone (4a), and Samsung Galaxy A57. But compared to these phones, it offers the fewest compromises against a £1,000+ flagship. If you want the higher 512GB storage option, that configuration has also been discounted by £100 to £499.

The Poco F8 Pro is available in three colors: Black, Blue, and Titanium Silver. There’s no denim-leather finish, like you'll find on the Poco F8 Ultra, but my Titanium Silver unit did come with a nice silicone case in the box.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: specsPoco F8 Pro

Dimensions:

163.2 x 78 x 7.5mm

Weight:

194g

Display:

6.83-inch AMOLED (1280 x 2772), 120Hz, 3,200 nits peak brightness

Chipset:

MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra

RAM:

12GB RAM

Storage:

256GB / 512GB

OS:

Android 15, but Android 16 is now available

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.7
1/1.55-inch sensor
PDAF, OIS

Ultra-wide camera:

12MP, f/2.2, 120°
1/3.06-inch sensor,

Telephoto camera:

50MP, f/1.9, 46mm
1/2.75-inch sensor
2x optical zoom, PDAF

Selfie camera:

32MP, f/2.2
1/3.44-inch sensor

Battery:

5,500mAh

Charging:

67W wired

Colors:

Black, Gray, Rose Gold

Poco F8 Pro review: design

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Three colors
• Premium aluminum and glass design
• 6.59-inch display is ergonomically friendly

I mentioned earlier that 6.59 inches is my favorite smartphone screen size, and that’s because it's at the top end of the perfect 6.5-6.6-inch range. With these sizes, I’ve found you get the comfort benefits of a smaller phone like the Pixel 10 Pro while also getting the viewing benefits of larger flagships like the Galaxy 26 Ultra.

The F8 Pro strikes the perfect balance between those two phone sizes, and it pays off: it’s very comfortable to hold. Yes, it lacks the added grip of the denim leather finish on the Poco F8 Ultra, but the F8 Pro's is a more mature approach that appeals to everyone. Instead of a denim back, you get a flat aluminum frame paired with a frosted glass rear panel. It’s adult and functional, but deliberately less interesting than its flashier sibling.

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

What makes this design more comfortable is the overall lack of heft: weighing 199g and measuring 8.1mm thick, this is a phone that’s lighter than most, and that pays dividends in the overall experience. What's more, despite being thinner and lighter than many other phones, the F8 Pro still offers full IP68 dust and water resistance; it's one of only a few devices to do so at this price point.

At the top of the phone, you’ll find the IR blaster, which is a common feature of Chinese-made phones, and it’s brilliant. I think every phone maker should bring back an IR blaster, as it’s a feature you don’t know you need until you lose your TV remote or need to bypass a locked-down hotel TV remote. Yes, the IR blaster has solved both of those problems for me.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: display

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• 6.59-inch 120Hz OLED display
• Flagship-grade color accuracy

The F8 Pro's 6.59-inch display is not only the perfect size but also an excellent all-around panel. Poco has rightly recognized that the display is arguably the most important part of any phone, and here you get a vibrant, rich, and colorful display that’s a joy to use.

Poco claims the display can reach a peak brightness of 3,500 nits. In day-to-day use, it is apparent that this display isn’t just bright; it’s extremely colorful, with testing showing it covers 99.2% of the sRGB gamut and 96.5% of the DCI-P3 color space. This is flagship-level display performance, and it makes the Poco F8 Pro a champion for consuming content.

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

Beyond that, there’s a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. While it lacks the expensive LTPO technology found on £1,000+ flagships, the phone's software automatically cycles between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on the content you’re using. The higher refresh rate is perfect for super-smooth scrolling and gaming, but drops to save battery when you’re just reading a book or an article online.

The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which offers strong durability against general wear and tear. Across my testing, I have had no concerns about the toughness of the F8 Pro's screen.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: cameras

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• 50MP main sensor
• First Poco Pro with 2.5x optical telephoto
• 8MP ultra-wide camera

Poco’s rivals should take note of the Poco F8 Pro for several reasons — most of which are positive. Poco has traditionally ignored telephotos on its more affordable devices, but the Poco F8 Pro marks a shift in this area, likely driven by increased competition from triple-camera-toting rivals.

Although Poco has added a 50MP telephoto lens with 2.5x optical zoom, it lacks OIS, and the ultra-wide camera is an 8MP snapper that just about scrapes by. The 50MP Light Fusion 800 main camera sensor, meanwhile, takes excellent daylight photos with dynamic range and natural colors that look fantastic on the Poco F8 Pro screen.

The new telephoto lens does a decent job overall, but it’s nothing to write home about, and somewhat ironically, the 50MP main sensor enables a 2x in-sensor crop that can take better photos than the telephoto lens. The lack of OIS means you’ll get some blurry photos unless your hands are perfectly stable, so while it’s great that a telephoto lens exists, it won’t be as capable as those you'll find on a true flagship smartphone camera.

While the main rear camera can handle up to 4K video at 60 fps (and even 8K at 30 fps), the 20MP selfie camera is noticeably compromised, with Poco limiting selfie video capture to 1080p. These aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but they are compromises you need to be conscious of.

Poco F8 Pro review: camera samplesNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave GondhioaNirave Gondhioa

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: performance

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• 12GB RAM + 256GB/512GB storage
• Excellent in-display fingerprint sensor

If speedy performance is your jam, look no further: the Poco F8 Pro has the best processor you’ll find in a smartphone at this price.

The Poco F8 Pro uses the first-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which is paired with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. This processor powered many of the best Android phones last year (including the Galaxy S25 Ultra), making it extremely powerful and far superior to the mid-range chipsets used by other phones at this price point.

During day-to-day use, the chipset absolutely shines. It’s fast to respond, shows no signs of slowing down, and often reminds me of the Duracell bunny in that it just keeps on going. If you want a phone that can handle most things you throw at it, this is the best package at this price point. It’s great for everything from everyday multitasking and social media to emulating Nintendo Switch games, though it struggles under the heaviest gaming loads.

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

Many phones aren’t limited by their internals as much as by how effectively phone makers manage thermals, and Poco firmly took the approach of raw power over cool operation in the F8 Pro. This means the aluminum frame and camera island can get a tad warm to the touch, but not to the point where it’s dangerous.

Where Poco does deserve credit is for the excellent in-display fingerprint sensor, which is fantastic even with wet or sweaty fingers. This is among the best in-display fingerprint sensors on any phone, and it’s wonderful that Poco chose not to skimp on this feature like many rivals in this category.

However, the F8 Pro is an exercise in acceptable compromise, so you do have to live with sluggish USB 2.0 wired speeds. Mind you, this is a trade-off I find acceptable, especially since you can use wireless transfer apps like LocalSend to easily send files to other devices or to your Mac or PC.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: software

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• HyperOS 3.0 with Android 16
• 4 Android updates and 5 years of security updates
• Bogged down by bloatware and ads

Like all current Xiaomi phones, the Poco F8 Pro runs HyperOS 3.0 on top of Android 16. Depending on what you are used to, HyperOS 3.0 will either be comfortable or polarizing.

All phone makers are now forced to focus on longevity as well as features, especially as phones cost more and customers upgrade less frequently. For Poco, this presents an interesting challenge: it offers a respectable four years of Android version updates and five years of security updates, which provides some longevity, but it is known to be slow in pushing these updates out to users.

Look beyond this (and the final point below), and you’ll find that Xiaomi actually has some neat software features. Take Hyper Island, which looks and feels exactly like Apple’s Dynamic Island. It was inevitable that Xiaomi would be among the first to adopt (read: copy) this feature, and while the UX is unabashedly inspired by Apple, Xiaomi has executed it extremely well. Timers, voice recordings, and music playback all minimize into a dynamic bubble centered around the selfie camera.

Then there’s Hyper Connect, which makes even more sense in light of the above. Like many Android phone makers, Xiaomi is targeting Apple users, and Hyper Connect enables file sharing, clipboard syncing, and interoperability with Apple devices, as well as other Android phones and PCs.

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

Throughout this review, I’ve talked about compromises, and the biggest one comes in the software department. But first, some context: simply put, there isn’t much margin in making affordable smartphones, especially given the current AI-fueled RAM and storage shortage, which has increased the cost of these components by up to 10x.

What this actually means for you is that Poco had to either raise prices or offset higher costs with higher income from alternative revenue sources, such as ads. In native apps like Themes, Files, and Security, you’ll find annoying system-level ads that slow down the experience. There are also many preloaded apps, although you can at least remove these.

All of this serves as a reminder that this phone has compromises, which detract from the overall experience. However, the pragmatist in me also recognizes that companies like Poco already had tight margins before the current RAM crisis, which will have been eroded further, and if ads like these mean it’s possible to keep making phones like these, then this is a trade-off that becomes slightly more acceptable. I’d rather they didn’t exist, but I also recognize that the raw cost of tech has exploded in a very short amount of time.

• Software score: 3.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: battery life

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Huge 6,210mAh battery
• 100W charging gets you to full in 42 minutes
• No wireless charging

What happens when you put a humongous battery in a phone with a power-efficient display and flagship performance? You get phenomenal battery life, and when you need to top it up, one of the fastest charging speeds of any smartphone.

The 6,210mAh battery in the Poco F8 Pro is massive, and far larger than batteries offered by the mid-range competition. It features Poco’s latest silicon-carbon technology, which offers much higher energy density, allowing Poco to pack a larger battery into the same size or a smaller phone.

In practical use, it offers around 7 to 9 hours of screen time over up to two days, depending on your settings. This puts the F8 Pro on par with most flagship phones and makes it superior to others in this category.

Then there’s 100W charging, and it’s ridiculously fast, charging your phone to full in around 42 minutes. This gives it a charging rate of around 148mAh per minute (mAh/min), which is considerably faster than its rivals, and almost three times the speed of the 30W charging on the Google Pixel 10a (57 mAh/min).

Again, like any phone at this price, there are compromises, but in this case, it’s the lack of wireless charging or an included charger. The former is a dealbreaker for some, while the latter is common practice among flagship smartphone makers but a shift for Poco, which traditionally included a charger in the box. Regardless, for most people, this is the best battery life you can get at this price.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Poco F8 Pro?

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)Poco F8 Pro scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

Sleek and durable with a premium aluminum frame, IP68 water resistance, and an excellent ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, let down only by sluggish USB 2.0 speeds.

4.5 / 5

Display

The 6.59-inch 120Hz OLED panel is vibrant, exceptionally bright at up to 3,500 nits, and accurate, making it a total treat for gaming and watching content.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, daily multitasking is blazingly fast and responsive, though thermals can run warm under sustained, high-intensity 3D gaming loads.

4.5 / 5

Camera

A versatile camera array bolstered by a new 2.5x telephoto lens and solid main sensor, though lack of OIS on zoom and mediocre selfie video and ultra-wide cameras hold it back.

3.5 / 5

Battery

The massive 6,210mAh battery easily delivers multi-day endurance, paired with blistering 100W fast charging that eclipses rivals, though it lacks wireless charging.

5 / 5

Software

HyperOS 3.0 offers slick animations, clever Apple connectivity, and Hyper Island, but is held back by system-level ads, preloaded bloatware, and historically sluggish update rollouts.

3.5 / 5

Value

Unbeatable value for money. It undercuts top-tier flagships by roughly 40% while delivering flagship-level core specs, making it the premier choice in its price bracket.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want great bang for your buck
This phone offers an incredible flagship-like experience at a price tag that won’t hit your wallet as hard.

You don’t need the best camera
The camera is fine, but it's an area where Poco had to compromise slightly. It’s worth noting that the F8 Pro takes good enough photos for many people.

You want phenomenal battery life and fast charging
The Poco F8 Pro is the Energizer Bunny of smartphones. If battery life is important to you, look no further: it excels in day-to-day use and offers ridiculously fast charging.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best phone that money can buy
The Poco F8 Pro's specs are definitely impressive, but more expensive phones do offer a more complete experience overall.

You need the best camera
If photography is important to you, this camera, especially the zoom, may be a disappointment. The main camera is usually good enough, but the same can’t be said for the ultra-wide, telephoto, or selfie cameras.

You want software longevity
HyperOS has ads, questionable update timeliness, and an inferior integration of AI services like Gemini. This will be a dealbreaker for some, but not for others, and the Poco F8 Pro is definitely for the latter group.

Poco F8 Pro: also consider

There are three real competitors worth considering, but like the Poco F8 Pro, they all have their compromises.

Google Pixel 10a
The Google Pixel 10a starts at £449 or $499 with 128GB of storage. It offers the best of Google's software, and although it has only one camera, it’s proven extremely capable. The problem? It feels like a considerable compromise in flagship specs for the benefit of AI features and better updates.

Read our full Google Pixel 10a review

Samsung Galaxy A57
Then there’s the Galaxy A57, and this phone brings the best of Samsung’s Galaxy S26 to a more affordable price point. It costs $550 (or £450 in the UK) for 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, three cameras, an Exynos processor, and a large 5,000 mAh battery. It’s not quite at the same level as the Poco, but it has better updates, wider support, and greater availability.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A57 review

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
The other phone that’s definitely worth considering is the Nothing (4a) Pro. Priced at $499 or £499, it’s one of the most unique phones you’ll find, thanks to its Glyph Matrix display on the rear. Key reasons to consider the Nothing 4a Pro? A more unique design and better selfie and telephoto cameras. Both phones are pretty evenly matched, but the Poco F8 Pro has a better display, charging, battery life, and performance.

Read our full Nothing Phone (4a) Pro review

How I tested the Poco F8 Pro

• Review test period = ~2 weeks
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including navigation, web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback, and reading e-books.
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, 3DMark, CellMark, native Android stats

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

I used the Poco F8 Pro for approximately two weeks across two different stints, including over a week of consistent usage before writing this review.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: May 2026

• Over half (54%) of UK businesses say AI created new jobs, new study finds
• A similar amount (58%) plan to raise AI skills investment soon
• Some firms plan to spend up to £250,000 on Artificial Intelligence training

Concerns that AI would eliminate jobs have dominated public conversation for years, fueling fears of mass unemployment and disruption.

A report from the Lloyds Business Barometer claims over half (54%) of UK businesses say AI has already created new jobs within their organizations.

The findings arrive as firms increasingly treat AI adoption as central to competitiveness, workforce skills, and long-term business growth strategy.

Companies ramp up AI skills spending

The majority (58%) of businesses say they now plan to increase investment in AI tools and skill training over the next twelve months - and of the businesses planning to raise AI investment, 42% expect to spend between £25,000 and £100,000 during the coming year.

Another 26% expect to spend between £100,000 and £250,000, showing a clear appetite for deeper AI skills funding across sectors.

Despite this spending push, 31% of businesses admit their current workforce still lacks the AI skills the company actually needs.

To close that gap, 43% of firms are introducing formal AI skills training while 32% are expanding programs already in place.

A smaller share, 24%, say they now prioritize AI skills when hiring, while 21% are creating entirely new AI-specific roles.

A widening gap between large and small firms

Overall, nearly two-thirds (61%) of UK firms say they currently use AI in some form, though adoption varies sharply by company size and reach.

Cost, cited by 18% of businesses, remains the most common barrier, followed closely by data quality and skills access at 17% each.

Domestic-only firms cite cost as their biggest barrier at 23%, while international firms point more often to data quality at 19%.

Larger businesses with annual turnover above £10 million report AI usage averaging 79%, far ahead of smaller and domestic-only competitors nationwide.

Nearly two-thirds of larger firms say their current workforce already possesses the AI skills the business truly needs right now.

Among larger firms already using AI, 74% cite productivity gains as their main reason for continued and future investment decisions.

Nearly six in 10 businesses believe companies that fail to adopt AI risk falling behind their competitors within a few years, but this confidence in AI's competitive importance varies by size, with 73% of large firms agreeing compared with 54% of the smallest firms.

"AI has the potential to be as transformative for businesses as the internet was," said Amanda Murphy, CEO of Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking.

Murphy added that success depends far more on building internal skills, culture, and confidence than on simply purchasing new technology.

The figures suggest AI adoption across the UK economy is accelerating faster than the workforce skills needed to sustain it.

Whether businesses can close that widening skills gap quickly enough may determine which companies gain a lasting competitive advantage overall.

The concept of a hybrid speaker is rare, but not necessarily unique. However, what hybrid means when it comes to the Goldenear T44 is unparalleled. That’s because this speaker, along with its big brother, the T66, is both a powered and a passive speaker. All the best stereo speakers that I’ve come across have been one or the other, but not both.

If you’re not familiar, a passive speaker used to be the standard in homes 20 years ago (and a lot further back too). And when it comes to audiophile-level Hi-Fi, it still is. These speakers connect via speaker cables to an external amp that provides all the power and through which the audio signal is sent (whether directly or through additional hardware). You cannot use them without an amp.

Powered speakers (and their active cousins, where each driver receives its own dedicated amp unit), have become the more popular type of speaker with the advent of portable and bluetooth speakers. Powered designs integrate amplification so that all you need to do is give your speakers a power source, whether there's a battery that needs to be charged or they just need to be plugged into the wall. But you don’t need a separate amp, because it’s all inside the speaker. Just connect your phone and you’re off to the races.

So, why make a set of speakers where half of the frequency range is already powered and the other half is not? For the Goldenear T44 (and the T66), it’s the listening experience. By using a 56-bit DSP-controlled Class D amplifier for the low-end, the T44 allows for a few things.

First, the low end will always have that quick, dynamic response that one should expect from a strong solid state amp. And second, by removing responsibility for the low-end from your external amp, it puts much less stress on that equipment, which is especially important if you’re using a tube amp. By removing the low-end from the tube amp, the Goldenear T44 can extend the life of your tubes.

The bottom of the Goldenear T44 are active, while the top is passive. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)The flexible sound

If you’ve never spent any time in the audiophile world, it can be an intimidating and expensive one — the Goldenear T44 themselves retail for $5,000 (about £3,700 / AU$7,070) a pair. And that’s without that external amp needed for the high end — you should be aware that using different amps with speakers will affect the way they sound. If you get deep enough into this world, you’ll come across bickering about which cables sound the best.

Because of that, being able to play around with different amps to change the sound of the top end of the Goldenear T44, specifically the sound that’s coming out of the High-Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter (basically the same as an AMT tweeter) and the 4.5-inch mid-range driver, allows for a level of flexibility that’s just not available with other speakers.

If you want a very clean, detailed sound, you can pair them with all sorts of solid state amps, whether it’s another Class D one like what Goldenear uses to power the 5 x 9-inch bass driver (there are also two passive radiators to help with the low end) or maybe a Class A or A/B one. You can even bi-wire whichever amp you choose.

Or you can get a tube amp to add some of that sweetness, even harmonic distortion, to give a softer, more laid back sound to the high-end, while still retaining that punch in the low end. Plus, there’s a subwoofer level control so you can adjust the balance between the internal and external amp.

The drivers themselves are pretty special

Regardless of what amp you use, the fact that Goldenear uses a folded ribbon for its tweeter means exceptional detail – I’ve always found tweeters like this (again, similar concept to an AMT tweeters) means that you will be able to hear incredible nuance in the high-end. When I’ve seen speaker lines upgrade to AMT tweeters, it’s always been an improvement.

The woofer for the low-end is also fairly different. It’s a rectangular, long-throw driver that is able to move more air without needing a wider cabinet. These speakers measure less than eight inches wide. That’s not a lot of space for a big woofer. And being a planar speaker, it uses a flat diaphragm as opposed to the traditional cone, which minimizes the amount of distortion in the low-end.

To give you an idea of what these drivers do, the frequency range goes from 32Hz to 25kHz.

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My experience with the Goldenear T44

I admit that I’m pretty new to Goldenear, but the company has a strong pedigree. It was started by Sandy Gross in 2010, one of the original founders of Polk Audio and also of Definitive Technology, and is now part of PML Sound International (Martin Logan, Paradigm, Anthem).

So, when I got a chance to sit and listen to the Goldenear T44 at this year’s Audio Advice Live, I really didn’t know what to expect. But I was more than pleasantly surprised. Kacey Musgraves’ Slow Burn sounded both intimate and epic with the way the T44 handled both her vocals, the guitar, and ethereal pads, while Ghost Rider’s Make Us Stronger hit hard in the low end for just a couple examples.

While I didn’t get a chance to hear the Goldenear T44 through multiple amps (this little listen was powered by one from Anthem), I can see how separating the highs and lows really open up what you can do with these speakers. I think if you’re looking for something different with the ability to blend sounds, the Goldenear T44 should be at the top of your list.

As AI revolutionizes large parts of business processes, businesses of all sizes are looking for the best way to use it effectively and efficiently.

While AI may promise the world, making sure your company has an AI strategy which works effectively will go a long way to maximizing the chances of success.

Workday has long been at the forefront of AI tools and services for organizations everywhere, and I spoke to Max Wessel, SVP Product at Workday, to find out more.

"Uniquely suited"

In such a crowded and competitive marketplace, I ask Wessel what he thinks makes Workday stand out from the competition.

“If you think about what AI should deliver for a user, it should be a system that anticipates, advises, and reacts on behalf of intention,” he says - but that intention is "completely dependent on context”.

He notes that Workday has 20 years of context, covering more than 1.4 trillion transactions - all on a single data model and a single business process framework, so the company is, “uniquely suited to make sense of how business decisions happen, and advise and act on behalf of its users towards the ends that they want to achieve.”

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The rise of AI agents and other systems has led to much talk of a possible ‘SaaSpocalypse’ - a revolution in how software survives as an industry, and I ask Wessel how Workday can evolve to work with this.

He highlights the idea of the “jagged frontier”, noting that if you think about the kinds of work AI is suited to, it needs to deliver with predictability but also precision in terms of outcome and reliability.

Trust and reliability have become vital for all users of AI services, and Wessel points out the problem of the “lawful vs lawless agents”, noting that while it is important to ground AI in context, so you can evaluate whether its answer is correct, it’s also crucial to restrict the transactions, so AI can run to what is governed.

Fortunately, he says that the problem of creating lawful agents is "seminal to what do we do", as Workday has a concept of inherited permissions, so that when you ask an agent to take action on your behalf, that agent can only do what you are able to do in the system - ensuring its work remains “lawful”.

Work reinvention

Overall, Wessel says Workday is uniquely positioned to perform, as what it delivers requires trust, reliability and enterprise context, and it has a robust and stable platform from which to grow, creating what he says is, “an incredible opportunity to use AI to enter the automation of ancillary services that we never considered entering.”

But with increased AI usage comes concern over job replacement, particularly in areas such as HR and business development where Workday is firmly entrenched.

Wessel notes that the aim is to have agents work alongside human workers to remove time-consuming or tedious tasks - highlighting the example of the Workday talent acquisition agent taking over the tasks of scheduling interviews for a recruitment team - not high-value or desired work, which can take huge amount of time, but somewhere Workday believes it can “create meaningful savings, and meaningful opportunity” for humans to focus on the important work.

"Work hasn't been reinvented in a way that as we get more efficient, we find less of it,” he says, noting that we are still very much in the early stages of realizing the workforce transformation that needs to happen.

This includes younger workers, or those just entering the workforce, who often face challenges securing roles at companies looking to use AI to scale down their teams.

Wessel says that Workday often wants to find AI-native people entering the workforce, as they have a different way of thinking about problems, and advises all businesses to be more diverse in their hiring so as to acquire workers with different skills and knowledge - including AI natives.

“The way you're thinking about these tools if you're just coming out of university now is completely different than if you graduated 15 years ago, and every organization can use that as a superpower in driving change,” he says.

“In almost every technological revolution, there is job creation at the same time there is job destruction - and I don't think this will play out any differently,” Wessel adds, “over time, there's going to be jobs that do get automated completely and go away, and there's going to be a need for more capacity in other areas.”

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Ultimately, the company looks to help encourage the use of AI services and agents at work, with building an AI-native user experience that is easy to navigate and learn a vital part of that.

“We have a big responsibility to help our customers transform the workforces inside and outside of workday,” Wessel notes, highlighting Workday’s recent acquisition of Sana as a good example of this.

“The speed of change is so fast right now, that we need to offer technology that can create learning content at the same speed of the change that is occurring.”

With the 2026-27 season kicking off this weekend, Premier League football teams are facing a new set of rules. But these ones aren’t enforced on the pitch, they’re being enforced by the Premier League board.

As the Premier League has adapted to a new era of fan engagement and interaction, teams are holding huge amounts of personal data, including names, email addresses, credentials, and even financial information. These place them at greater risk of data leaks and make them a primary target for cyber attacks.

In order to ensure teams take the necessary steps to protect both their data and the data of their fans, the board can impose fines of up to £100,000 for teams that don’t meet the requirements across backups, incident response, risk management, security assurance and much more.

What do the new rules mean for Premier League teams?

The teams previously had to align with a non-prescriptive security baseline issued in 2024, but the new rules place requirements on teams with deadlines for their implementation.

If these deadlines are not met, the teams can be subject to the aforementioned fine, or referred to an independent commission.

(Image credit: Future)

Got an opinion for us? Here’s how you can submit your perspective

The teams will be required to meet the first set of requirements by April 30, 2027, with further requirements to be met in April 2028 and April 2029. The teams will also have to assess their own compliance by January 10 each year, with a final assessment and evidence submitted to the Premier League board by April 30.

The board can also request additional detail and evidence where needed to track a team’s progress in adhering to the new rules. If a team does not meet requirements during the interim stage it must submit a plan on how it aims to become compliant within 28 days.

Expert perspectives on Premier League cybersecurity rules

• Muhammad Yahya Patel, vCISO and cybersecurity advisor for EMEA, Huntress:

The Premier League introducing mandatory cybersecurity standards is the right move, but the detail is where the questions start. £100,000 sounds significant until you remember that top Premier League clubs generate revenues north of £600 million annually.

The phased timeline, April 2027, 2028, 2029, is pragmatic but slow given the threat environment. Waiting until 2029 for full compliance gives attackers three more seasons to find the weakest link.

£100,000 sounds significant until you remember that top Premier League clubs generate revenues north of £600 million annually.

That said, the direction is unambiguously right. Moving from a non-prescriptive roadmap to formal requirements with deadlines and evidence submissions is a meaningful structural shift.

Backups, incident response, risk management, and recovery testing are exactly the right foundations. The Premier League doing this proactively rather than reactively before a major breach forces the issue deserves genuine credit.

Most governing bodies wait for the headline incident. This one didn’t. The real test is enforcement appetite. Rules without credible consequences change nothing.

• Jamie Akhtar, CEO and Co-founder, CyberSmart:

This is an important shift for the Premier League. Cyber security is moving from being viewed primarily as an IT responsibility to becoming an enforceable element of club governance.

Football clubs hold significant volumes of sensitive supporter, employee and player data, while also relying on systems for ticketing, payments, stadium access and match-day operations. Making areas such as backups, incident response, risk management and security assurance mandatory reflects the reality that a serious cyber incident can quickly become an operational, financial and reputational crisis.

For clubs, compliance should not become an annual box-ticking exercise.

For clubs, compliance should not become an annual box-ticking exercise. They need clear board-level ownership of cyber risk, an accurate inventory of critical systems and data, tested and segregated backups, rehearsed incident-response and recovery plans, strong identity and access controls, and effective oversight of third-party suppliers.

Just as importantly, clubs should continuously collect evidence that these controls are operating effectively. The organisations that treat the new requirements as a minimum baseline for resilience, rather than simply a regulatory hurdle, will be in the strongest position when an attack inevitably tests those controls.

• Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy and CISO Advisor, KnowBe4:

Good to see the Premier League treating cybersecurity as a governance issue rather than an IT afterthought. Mandatory rules with real financial consequences (fines of up to £100,000) send the right signal: boards are expected to own this risk, not just delegate it.

As I've said before, sport is uniquely exposed because it runs on the very emotions social engineers exploit: passion, urgency, loyalty and trust.

But fines only address one side of the equation. As I've said before, sport is uniquely exposed because it runs on the very emotions social engineers exploit: passion, urgency, loyalty and trust.

A rushed transfer payment, a fan chasing tickets, an official acting on a "verified" WhatsApp message from someone posing as a coach or chairperson, these are moments of heightened emotion and time pressure, exactly when human judgment degrades. That's not a firewall problem.

It's worth remembering that one of the most costly incidents in this sector involved a Premier League club being spear-phished during a £1 million transfer negotiation. That wasn't a technical breach, but a person deceived at a moment of pressure.

Rules with teeth are a welcome start. But real resilience means pairing compliance with genuine behavioural readiness, for example helping people recognise urgency as a red flag, not a reason to skip verification.

• Cian Heasley, Principal Consultant, Acumen Cyber:

I think it’s a positive step forward. Football clubs are attractive targets because they hold large volumes of sensitive data, process significant financial transactions and rely on operational systems where disruption can have very real consequences. Moving from advisory guidance to enforceable standards creates much-needed accountability, and the financial incentive will inevitably help drive action.

Requiring clubs to have a clear plan, aligned to defined standards and delivered within a set timeframe, also gives them something measurable to work towards. The key will be making sure those standards provide clear structure rather than leaving too much open to interpretation.

The key will be making sure those standards provide clear structure rather than leaving too much open to interpretation.

The focus on backups, incident response and recovery is particularly important. Preventing every incident simply isn’t realistic, so clubs need to prove they can recover quickly when something does happen. If clubs are working towards common standards, there is also a real opportunity to share lessons around what works, where implementation falls short and how security can continue to improve across the league.

In November ‘24, Italian club Bologna FC confirmed a ransomware attack claimed by the RansomHub group, which exfiltrated sensitive data. After the club declined to meet the ransom demand, the ransomware gang published the full dataset on the dark web. The leaked material reportedly included player and sponsor information, and the attackers went as far as invoking GDPR exposure to pressure the club into paying, a tactic that turns a club's own regulatory obligations into leverage.

More recently, Dutch club Ajax was named among the organisations affected by the CEVA Logistics breach, where customer data was exposed through a shared shipping vendor rather than a direct compromise, underlining that supply-chain exposure is also as material a risk as any attack on a club's own estate.

Taken together, these incidents show why these rules were needed then, though they are pitched as proactive, they must also be driven by these football-related breaches.

The £100,000 ceiling is modest against the true cost of a serious incident and the amounts of money tied up in football clubs, so the value lies less in the sanction and more in compelling clubs to build tested backups, incident response and recovery capability before they are needed. The Bologna case in particular demonstrates that ransomware leaks can be damaging, which makes resilience and data minimisation far more important than any assumption that a club can negotiate its way out of trouble.

How do I submit my own perspective on emerging news?

If you have an expert perspective you would like to share on an emerging story or particular topic, please get in contact here: benedict.collins@futurenet.com

It's a book series which has taken over the world, but how knowledgeable really are you on Harry Potter? Let's find out.

Ever since the first books in the childrens' fiction series became a massive smash hit, Harry Potter fever has taken over the world. We all know the movie adaptations but we've also seen video games, TV shows (no, not just that famous upcoming one), Lego sets, audiobooks and a lot more.

Harry Potter fans have taken over the world too, with massive queues for the stage play, people playing Quidditch in tournaments and fans sorting themselves into Hogwarts' houses. And there's a lot more to love about the series — make sure to read our how to watch the Harry Potter movies in order guide if you're keen for a rewatch.

But how good a fan really are you? To find out, we've designed this 30-question quiz. It'll test you on every facet of the media empire that's sprung out from the books, though won't go into detail on the specific fictional world. So you don't need to know your Hufflepuff from your hippogriff (though it'll help).

We'll start with 10 easy questions, and then move into 10 medium ones, and finish with 10 difficult ones for the experts. So let's find out just how much you know:

If you need to brush up on all things Harry Potter, let's find you some schoolwork:

I don’t like ChatGPT’s latest voice model. If you don’t use voice to interact with ChatGPT, this might seem like a strange thing to get worked up about, so let me explain.

Until recently, its voices have all sounded fairly advanced. But there was still something unmistakably AI-y about them. At times, they sounded smooth and even expressive, but also stunted and, well, robotic.

The latest voice update attempts to smooth away the rest of those more robotic edges. Which means that ChatGPT now pauses, hesitates, changes intonation and adds lots of little noises humans make without even thinking about it.

There are lots of “umms” and “hmms”. There are plenty of drawn out “yeeeahs”, as well as enthusiastic “ooohs”. Sometimes it sounds like it’s taking a breath or sighing. Sometimes it pauses halfway through a thought. And often its voice rises at the end of a sentence. In other words, it’s been changed to sound more human and I find it incredibly annoying.

When I first tried it, I thought it was broken. Especially because of the way it said a filler word then paused. Once I’d heard three long “hmmms” in a row, I couldn’t pay attention to anything else it was saying in response. So I decided to turn my irritation into an experiment. I opened the different voices in ChatGPT, started talking and counted all of the filler words.

The filler word experiment

I started with Maple, one of ChatGPT’s more cheerful, female-sounding voices, and within a conversation that lasted about 5 minutes I counted 20 “hmmms”. There were also lots of elongated “yeeeahs”, a couple of “uhhhhs”, an “ooooh”, a “hmm nice” and several enthusiastic “yeah, totally” responses.

There was also a lot of rising intonation, which is when the pitch of the voice goes up at the end of a sentence. That made me wonder whether I was just getting hung up on some speech quirks that were more associated with US English than ChatGPT, so I switched voices.

Next, I tried Vale. It’s a bright and inquisitive British female voice. Interestingly, Vale had a different set of verbal habits. There were fewer “hmmms”, but plenty of “ohhh yeeeahs”, long “suuuures” and a few “riiiights”. And its intonation also seemed to rise constantly, particularly when it was asking me questions.

I thought I’d try a more obviously male-sounding voice next. I chose Arbor, another British voice, which I found calmer but much more stilted. It gave me way less of those exaggerated conversational noises that I disliked in Maple, but replaced them with strange pauses and a staccato rhythm. At times it seemed to stop talking in really odd places.

After around 20 minutes of conversations across the different voices, I'd counted more than 100 filler words and conversational noises.

(Image credit: Getty Images / VCG / d3sign)Falling for the filler words

I’d gone into these conversations with ChatGPT looking for things that irritated me. I was listening closely for every “umm”, strange pause and exaggerated “yeeeah”. I was intentionally trying to count all the quirks OpenAI had added to ChatGPT’s voice to make it sound more like a person.

But, weirdly, the conversation started to feel different. I reluctantly began talking about priorities and my week ahead to test the voices. And instead of giving ChatGPT prompts and waiting for its responses, I soon found myself slipping into a much more natural conversation. This surprised me because I still didn’t like the voices.

The filler words remained distracting and the pauses were still in all the wrong places. At no point was I convinced that there was a person on the other side of the conversation. But I had to admit that although on a conscious level I am wary about AI, and the whole point of this was to scrutinize the system, I still seemed to be responding to its more natural-sounding voice by getting increasingly wrapped up in the conversation.

Whether you find that cool or worrying probably comes down to your broader opinions about AI and its influence on us.

Why does AI need to say “hmmm”?

There’s an obvious reason for making ChatGPT sound more natural, which is that humans find natural conversation easier, and are therefore more likely to continue engaging with it.

Real, everyday speech isn’t a clean stream of information. All of us pause, hesitate, change pitch, make noises to show someone we’re listening and use filler words while we’re thinking about what to say next. These small but significant parts of speech do a lot of work.

So what are they doing when AI uses them? Because ChatGPT doesn’t need to say “hmm” when it’s gathering its thoughts or “yeeeeah” to show you it’s listening. It could just retrieve the information and respond. So these sounds are for making interactions feel more conversational, which is what makes me wary.

AI companies frequently position their AI systems as tools that can help us work, learn, create and get things done. When people like me worry about us all becoming too reliant on AI, we're often told that what matters is how we use the tool. But this is just one example of how the tool itself seems designed to behave less like a tool every day.

A calculator doesn’t need to add in a filler word before it gives you an answer and a word processor doesn’t need to pause and say “hmmm, yeah, totally!” when you start typing. But that’s what ChatGPT is now doing.

Some might argue that a voice with a more natural-sounding rhythm and intonation is simply just a nicer experience. But those same choices make interactions feel more social, potentially blurring the line between the role of AI as a tool and something we relate to more like another person.

After my experience, I wasn’t surprised to find research suggesting there might be more to this. Research suggests that voice-based interactions with AI might be associated with increase emotional engagement and anthropomorphism.

There’s also some suggestion that voice could lead people to overestimate AI, especially when a human-like voice is mistaken for understanding or competence.

This doesn’t automatically mean that adding some “umms” will make us all trust AI. But it seems that adding voice into the mix does change how we perceive and respond to it.

(Image credit: Getty Images)Annoying but effective

One more practical learning from this experiment was that if ChatGPT's voice suddenly drives you mad after the update, try another one. The differences between them felt bigger than I expected. Initially, I couldn't stand Maple's mannerisms and rising intonation, but Arbor's calmer delivery was easier for me to tolerate, even if its strange pauses created a different pacing problem.

I went into this experiment expecting to write about an annoying voice update. I thought I'd count some “umms”, complain about how artificial all of this manufactured naturalness sounded and then just return to typing. Instead, I spent 20 minutes deliberately studying the mechanisms designed to make AI sound more conversational and still found myself becoming more conversational with it.

I knew the hesitation wasn’t genuine hesitation. I knew there wasn’t anyone on the other side of the exchange thinking, listening and searching for the right words. Yet I still responded to the signals by talking more naturally and, eventually, being more open.

I don't think that means I was somehow fooled into believing ChatGPT was human. But I think what it suggests is that we don’t have to believe AI is conscious, or there’s some form of life there, for our deeply ingrained social instincts to start responding to human-like cues.

So, while I still wince at every “hmmm”, I don’t think whether I like the filler words or not really matters. It’s more about what they make us do and how surprisingly instinctive my response to them was.

The xTool M2 is priced at the entry level of the company’s fully enclosed machines, but as ever there’s no mistaking it for anything other than an xTool laser engraver. As I got into using the machine, I could see just how finely tuned it is. Whilst it’s lighter weight than many of its more expensive siblings, the laser engraving power, even from the 10W laser in my review sample, was exceptionally good.

Having reviewed these laser engravers for a few years now, there are several essentials I look for in any laser engraver for TechRadar Pro, and one top priority is that it's fully enclosed. While I might’ve looked at fully open designs earlier on, these days there’s really no excuse for an open-frame design other than cost. When it comes to running a business, safety is obviously paramount, so it makes sense to look for a fully enclosed rather than open-frame design.

Beyond the physical design, I've found a few extras that really help with the review process, simplifying the cutting, engraving, and placement of materials such as cameras. Then there are added features, such as air assist, that are essential for creating clean, crisp lines and reducing scorching.

What’s surprising for a machine of this price is that the M2 ticks all the boxes. It has dual cameras, one that gives you a good view of the entire workspace and a second that gives you a close-up view, air assistance built in, and, as ever, there’s a vent at the back that you can attach to your air filtration system.

But it goes even further by adding more head module options, so you can not only laser cut and engrave but also print and cut. Of course, coming from xTool, it also has a range of accessories that can further expand what you can do with this machine.

I’ve had the M2 for a couple of months and have really been able to give it a more extensive test than I usually would with these machines, partially because I’m interested in getting some of these for use within an educational establishment, and making sure that it’s easy, secure and robust enough is a major focus.

I’ve also been asked by several friends who have been looking at laser engraving machines and which option they should go for. At this price point and with the 610 × 569mm dimensions, it just, on paper at least, looks like a great option.

Sure enough, while I only have the 10W laser model to review in this test, I have looked at previous XTool machines with multiple module heads, and they’ve worked exceptionally well; I will take a look at the print and cutting heads later.

Initial setup was easy, and after I’d run through the unpacking, installing the module head and powering up, it was then just a case of connecting the USB cable directly to my MacBook Pro, installing xTool Studio, waiting for it to connect, allowing the firmware to update, and it was time to start.

The one slight oddity with the modular head is that it installs magnetically, although it requires a connecting cable for data from the head to the machine, which I found a little odd. Why this isn’t wireless or just uses contacts, I have no idea; possibly just to keep costs down, but once that cable is connected, getting into the utilisation of the machine is all pretty fast.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

What I like is that xTool has now introduced a safety video at the beginning, with a longer version that you can view online, and a really good tutorial which essentially enables you to get started with cutting projects such as placemats. You can see the results of this project in the pictures.

Those initial tutorials are essentially a no-brainer setup guide to using the M2, and when you run through those initial projects, which will take you less than an hour, you’ll be pretty proficient with how the machine works.

As ever, in the software you’re able to assign different parts to different cutting, engraving and scoring methods with a simple click; you highlight a path, enabling you to then assign it to whichever type of cut you want. Again, with xTool’s knowledge in the sector, this is all incredibly well thought out.

Essentially, over my two months with the machine, it sat in the corner of the workshop, attached to one of the xTool air filters, and ran seamlessly for every project I’ve thrown at it.

The workflow, from the ability to recognise the materials through to being able to preview so that you can accurately place your designs, and through to the cutting and extraction, all just works incredibly easily.

At present, if you’re looking for a new, fast, relatively cheap professional-level laser engraver for a small business, then you really can’t go wrong with the superb M2.

xTool M2: Price & availability

At present, the xTool M2 is available for $599 / £599 direct from xTool with the 10W laser. I've also often seen promotional offers on this price, so just keep an eye out.

If you’re looking for the colour print-and-cut bundle, which lets you make stickers and other projects, it's available for $749 / £749. There’s also the deluxe bundle, which includes everything, available for $989 / £989.

The laser cutter and engraver is also widely available from online retailers like Amazon.

xTool M2: DesignSpecs

Connectivity: USB computer connection confirmed; xTool software required.
Audio: Status buzzer
Camera: 5MP close-view camera + 16MP distance-view camera.
Size: 610 × 569 × 180mm
Weight: 12.3kg
Software: xTool software / xTool Studio ecosystem
Accessories: Depending on the bundle: laser module, CMYK inkjet module, RA3 Lite rotary system and other accessories.
Laser: 10W or 20W blue diode; optional 3W infrared module.
Laser work area: 426 × 320mm for 10W/20W modules.
Maximum XY speed: 600mm/s.
Maximum cutting claim: Up to 8mm basswood with 10W; up to 10mm with 20W.
Safety: Class 1 enclosed laser system.

The xTool M2 is instantly recognisable as xTool, with its sleek, simple white body and protective transparent yellow hinged lift-up lid. What’s impressive for a machine at this price is that it measures 610 × 569 × 180mm and weighs 12.3kg, which is handy, as I had to move it around quite a lot over the two months to install and remove other machines.

Part of the reason that this machine has been kept out in the workshop for so long is its manoeuvrability; when I needed it, I could just move it over to my computer desk. It was very easy to lift, carry and place, something that I don’t usually find with most of the laser engravers, other than the designs that I tend to avoid.

The full enclosure means this machine has a Class 1 laser safety classification, making it better suited to domestic small business and educational environments. If you work in a business, check whether your insurance covers this device classification.

The transparent upper cover helps keep everything safe; it's yellow and prevents the laser beams from exiting the machine. It also lets you monitor the laser engraving, and the two internal cameras let you view what’s going on remotely.

What’s impressive is that the relatively low-profile design accommodates objects up to 100mm thick. This is essentially for direct cylindrical engraving and without the use of any type of riser base.

It’s also great to see that there is built-in air assist, essentially keeping the smoke away from the beam where the laser hits the material, something which is usually done by an external pump. However, you still ideally need an air filter to use with the machine, or you can vent it out a window.

On inspection, it does feel a little more plasticky than the more expensive xTool machines. However, it’s still a great-quality, solid machine; when I moved it around the workshop, it felt robust.

Another point here is that, with such a large transparent upper cover- something that I have had issues with on other manufacturers’ models in the past, especially splitting- the design of that lid is again good on my unit, although the hinges are free and not sprung or cushioned. After what must be hundreds of openings and closings, it’s still in excellent condition.

One of the slight oddities of the design, which seems to be the case with so many of these enclosed laser engravers, is that there’s no honeycomb grid included in the box. Instead, you get four magnetic clamps that clamp onto the corners of any material you place, plus four alignment markers on the base of the machine.

At first, I wasn’t overly impressed with the design of these clamps. I would’ve preferred the honeycomb grid. However, it doesn’t take long before you realise just how useful they are, and not only do they hold offcuts of work nicely and securely, but they’re also extremely easy to use. After a few days of using them, I warmed to them and now see them as a slightly preferred method, to the point where I’ve made a few additional ones on the Prusa Core One to add to the original four.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)xTool M2: Features

What you get is a feature-packed machine from xTool, and in this review I’m focusing on the 10W laser, so that’s the entry-level version, but there is also a 20W blue laser available as well if you do need a little bit more power or, for that matter, speed.

Other modular heads are available, such as the 3W IR laser, which is designed for metal and plastic engraving. However, that’s not yet available on the market, and there’s an optional full-colour CMYK inkjet system with 1200dpi resolution and 40ml cartridge capacity. This is used alongside a cutter so you can create stickers and other printable objects.

One of the big features for me is the dual camera system. You have a 2-megapixel close-view camera and a 5-megapixel distance-view camera. These are both really useful, especially if you’re trying to refine the positioning of your designs.

From my experience with these machines, especially the F2 Ultra recently, I’d say this close-up camera is especially useful when using the 3W IR module and will probably also come in handy if you’re into printing stickers.

Like any product released today, AI plays a major role through the software. You have the automatic creation system, which is just a point-and-click system: give it a text description, and it will develop something for you.

But more than that, there’s also automatic material detection, which can essentially see what’s put into the workspace, evaluate it, and come up with a close match; through the test, I was really impressed with how well this worked. Essentially, once the material is detected, it adjusts all the settings to optimise for that material, rather than you having to look at a chart or work through trial and error.

Another major feature is the built-in adjustable air assist. You can adjust this in the software, but it essentially blows air across the laser, keeping the site where the laser meets the material clear of smoke. This means you get a much cleaner cut, and it also helps reduce scorching.

When it comes to file support, xTool, as ever, has an increasing library of assets that you can dip into to get straight into producing products. However, if you do want to import your own, then the new software supports SVG, DXF and PDF, and there’s plenty of flexibility, especially with the AI tool, to have a bit of fun with those files as well.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

One feature I really like, especially when trying to cram as many designs onto one sheet of 3mm basswood as possible, is the new smart nesting and batch filters, which, again, are activated through the software.

These seemed to work really well, optimising the spacing on the sheet of basswood well beyond anything that I could do myself, and once again this helps to cut down on costs.

In the software, when I entered a few materials that weren’t recognised by the system, there is a huge material database. This can be a little daunting, but you can take control of the settings manually if you need to. Just do a quick test chart, and then you should have the settings that you need for engraving, scoring and cutting almost any material.

As ever, being from xTool, there’s a range of accessories, including a rotary engraving system for cylindrical and spherical objects. Still, there’s a full list, and it is extensive on the xTool website.

xTool M2: Performance

As ever with these laser engravers, they’re either quick to set up and calibrate or it takes most of the day; thankfully, because this machine is from the xTool stable, it’s extremely easy to unbox and get up and running. That said, the paper manual inside was a little on the sparse side, even for xTool.

However, two very large QR codes on the packaging link directly to the online setup instructions and manual, which include plenty of pictures and information. The point is that the setup is extremely straightforward: position the M2, remove all the packaging, plug in the power, install the laser module with the connecting cable to the machine, and switch on.

Then, in the software, wait for it to connect, run any updates and follow, firstly, the safety guidance, which is a very quick video of less than two minutes, and then follow the tutorials. After completing it, you should be up and running.

Once I’d created some of the tutorial projects, including the placemats, I moved on to my own projects, creating a few boxes, a small display shelving unit and a few other bits and pieces, including a bracket that I needed for my van, and throughout I was impressed with how quick and easy this machine is to use.

This is, of course, an entry-level machine in the pro market of laser engraving, so whilst the machine is extremely competent, through use you do start to notice a few small design points. These points highlight that this is an enthusiast-level machine rather than a pro-level one.

The first of these is the overall design. Whilst the design is solid and works exceptionally well, there’s no kill switch on the side. If you want to use this in education or most workplaces, you’ll need to add something to kill the power yourself.

But really, other than that, there is very little here that doesn’t impress, even when you’re used to using something like the xTool P2. For me, the workflow from the P2 down to the M2 is similar; it’s just a smaller machine.

While it is obviously slower and less powerful, that 10W laser module will happily cut through basswood up to 8mm thick, as quoted by the company. Although I didn’t have any 8mm basswood available, the 3, 4 and 6mm basswood that I generally use cut through with absolutely no issue whatsoever in a single pass.

The maximum speed for the cutter is 600 mm per minute, which is mid-range, and in the test you obviously reduce that depending on whether it is cutting or engraving. What really impressed me was the engraving resolution. If you want to do some really fine detail work, the M2 is an ideal solution, and converting images into halftone and then bringing those in got some stunning results.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

As I went through the pack of test materials, including paper, wood and leather, I was just really struck by how easy the M2 is to use. The software is obviously great, but those two cameras do make a real difference to the precision of the laser, enabling you to get a preview of the material and really closely align the design to a fraction of a millimetre, which is far better than I have seen on even a lot of fibre lasers, where pure accuracy is definitely needed.

What strikes me about the xTool M2 is that it makes a lot of the more expensive xTool laser engravers a little bit obsolete. You get a relatively lightweight machine you can shift and move around, take off the work surface, and easily place on a lower shelf when not in use, freeing up loads of space.

You get a 10W laser for general work, and you can purchase the 20W when you need a little extra power or speed, plus a modular head system with the inkjet so you can push it for further projects.

What I liked was that the workspace area inside the machine is pretty decent, and whilst it’s not the largest out there, it’s surprisingly large for a machine of this size and far easier and safer to use than any open-frame laser engraver on the market.

While in this review I’ve looked at the M2 in isolation, it is worth pointing out that alongside the laser engraving machine, I have also added in the extractor filter, which is essential. I will update this review with the print head and cutter and possibly the 20W head at a later date.

xTool M2: Final verdict

The M2 is really easy to recommend. It’s a very well-priced, fully enclosed laser engraving machine.

A few things really make it stand out against much of the competition, including the built-in air assist, so no extra devices are sitting around on the work surface. But for me, what appealed was that I could quickly lift it and stow it away.

It’s a big machine, but at just over 12kg it’s not particularly heavy, and it’s quick and easy to disconnect and then plug back in.

Unlike some machines that require you to disconnect various pedal switches, air assist, and more, the M2 took a couple of minutes to disconnect and stash, then bring out and get up and running again.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

In the workplace, one major downside is that it doesn’t have that kill switch on the side, which will be an issue. Still, everything else is simple, and if you’re a small business, it makes a lot of sense.

Here you have a high-quality, high-end enthusiast or pro-level machine with a 10W laser. This lets you engrave plenty of materials, and you can also add the inkjet module to create stickers if you want. Plus, with a rotary tool, you can flip the head from vertical to horizontal to engrave cups, mugs, and more.

I’ve looked at plenty of these laser engravers over the last few years, and the xTool machines have always stood out for quality and attention to workflow; the M2 is especially polished for its price point and the audience it’s aimed at.

Should you buy the xTool M2

Value:

One of the most versatile machines that I’ve looked at for the price, making it exceptional value 

5

Design:

Great design; I just wish there was no need for the cable between the head and the machine

4.5

Features

Excellent range of features, and with a modular head and accessories, the possibilities are enormous

4.5

Performance

SSpeed, cutting power, and workflow are well balanced at this price range

4.5

Total

A superb, fully enclosed laser engraver at this price and a perfect option for any small business

5

Buy it if...

You want an all-in-one machine
If you have a small business or you’re a keen laser engraving enthusiast, then the fully enclosed design and flexibility to print, cut and engrave from this one machine make it a superb choice.

You need easier alignment
This is the first machine that I have seen with such accurate alignment for designs over materials, and the dual cameras just work incredibly well compared with other systems.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You only need powerful engraving.
If you need a fast, dedicated laser engraver, the 20W option will boost power, but it’s nothing compared with larger machines such as the xTool P2.

You’re working in an industrial environment.
While the machine is feature-packed, the lack of a side kill switch could be an issue, so check your safety requirements before purchasing the M2.View Deal

For more crafting tech, I've tested and reviewed all the best 3D printers and the best laser engravers.

Physical media is making a comeback, and if you fancy dusting off your CD collection, you're spoiled for choice when it comes to what to play it on. Your megablaster or discman — if it's survived over the decades (I regret to inform you, it is decades) — won't cut it, I'm afraid. Below, I've rounded up nine of the most intriguing, innovative, and downright cool CD players, including ones that have hit the market in recent months.

There's a 2-in-1 CD player and turntable that we dubbed "the turducken of hi-fi". Yamaha has a 5-disc CD changer that'll let you party like it's 2002. While not quite on the market yet, we've got our eye on this Kickstarter campaign for a transparent player that lets you showcase your CD like a piece of art.

My personal favorite is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound 9000, a labor-of-love, limited run reimagining of its classic 1996 CD player, which uses actual components from the original products. The originals were sourced at house sales, warehouses, and auctions, painstakingly disassembled, the components re-engineered, and given a new lease of life in the updated model. Really, who can put a price on that kind of craftsmanship? (Each one is $55,000).

Scroll down for a closer look at the coolest CD players around — click the More Details button to find out more about each one, then vote for your personal favorite in the quiz at the bottom, and leave a note in the comments if there are any suggestions I've missed.

Disc spinners

Fosi Audio Merak CD Player

Read more: Fosi Audio Merak CD player review

View at Fosi Audio

Pros

• Direct, insightful and quite eloquent sound
• CD ripping function
• Analog and digital outputs

Cons

• Antsy at the top end and slightly lightweight at the bottom
• Not as portable as it looks
• Convoluted user interface

km5 CP1 Death Stranding 2 Model (Limited Edition)

Read more: Hideo Kojima is celebrating his love of physical discs with a new limited edition version of my favorite mini CD player

View at km5

Mixx Analog+ Turntable & CD player

Read more: The world’s first ‘concentric’ turntable and CD player combo is the turducken of hi-fi

View at Mixx

Bang & Olufsen Beosystem 9000c CD player

Read more: Bang & Olufsen's limited-run vertical 6-disc CD player makes physical music fun again

View at Bang & Olufsen

Yamaha CD-C603 5-Disc CD Changer

Read more: Yamaha just unveiled a 5-disc CD changer like it’s 2002

View at Yamaha

Hegel Viking CD player

Read more: Forget vinyl LPs – the Hegel Viking will take your CD collection to Valhalla

View at Hegel

Syitren RM1 transparent CD player (KickStarter)

Read more: This transparent CD player puts the inner workings on full display like a work of art — it's the perfect showpiece for physical media fans

View at KickStarter

SHANLING EC Play Portable CD Player

Read more: This retro-inspired portable CD player looks super-sleek, has audiophile credentials including a headphones amp for spicier cans, lasts 12 hours, and offers Bluetooth, 3.5mm, 4.4mm and Coax output too

View at Shanling

YBA Design One

Read more: High-end hi-fi company YBA has made what it claims is the world's first transportable' CD player for SACDs — it's got the audiophiles in the office very excited, but it's not exactly a handheld model to slip in your jacket pocket

View at YBA

• Army AI agents now perform specialized cyber work under human supervision
• Human commanders still decide which operational risks machines can handle
• AI agents train for cyber roles using standards similar to personnel

The US Army is training AI agents to work alongside human forces in defined cyber roles, assigning specialized responsibilities within operational units.

According to Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), these systems are being prepared to perform technical duties alongside personnel, while humans retain responsibility for decisions involving risk.

ARCYBER is developing and deploying these AI agents through Task Force Lexington, which oversees the command’s artificial intelligence programs.

Training AI agents for specialized cyber duties

“Every agent we create is trained in a work role inside the cyber force,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank, commander of Army Cyber Command.

The training covers positions including developers, data engineers, host analysts and exploitation analysts, with agents receiving standards comparable to human personnel.

Eubank said agents must receive Job Qualification Readiness approval before being assigned missions under human supervision and required to deliver results.

When an agent makes an error, personnel correct its approach before sending it through additional training and returning it to assigned duties.

Task Force Lexington has a streamlined team of roughly 10 technically experienced personnel handling the agents’ training and technical needs.

The team recently sent personnel to the Defense Innovation Unit, where senior engineers provided additional technical training.

AI agents are already being used for network hunting, cybersecurity risk management, and other functions connected with protecting Army information systems across daily operations.

Humans retain responsibility when operations involve risk

Despite the expanded use of agents, Eubank said the Army has not authorized them to independently accept operational risk during missions.

“We have not turned any agents loose to assume risk on their own behalf,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank, commander of Army Cyber Command.

Commanders assess the safeguards around each mission and determine which tasks can be delegated to AI tools and which should remain under human control.

The process becomes more difficult as agents can complete some tasks much faster than people, creating a trade-off between speed and oversight.

Agents therefore check their work with personnel, who review the output before directing the systems toward subsequent assignments or additional analysis.

The approach allows agents to operate at machine speed while keeping human personnel involved in decisions where consequences require direct judgment.

Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6, said the Army currently operates and defends its network at human speed.

“Our adversaries are doing it at machine speed and we must catch up and we must get ahead,” Rey said.

The network supports core military functions, including communications, movement and daily operations across the force.

The Army’s current approach therefore combines faster automated cyber activity with human oversight, rather than allowing agents to control operational decisions.

Via Breaking Defense

• The Air Force wants drones spanning hobbyist toys to full stealth fighters
• Fighter-mimicking drones must fly past Mach 1.6 at high altitude
• Bomber-sized drones need matching radar, heat, and physical dimension signatures

The US Air Force is seeking industry proposals for target drones capable of imitating threats from cheap commercial aircraft to stealth fighters.

A recent Request for Information issued by the service sets a deadline of September 28 2026 for companies to submit concepts.

The requested drone series would span nearly every category of aerial threat, from small hobbyist-style platforms to heavy bombers.

A range of threats in one series

The Air Force's request describes platforms that must stand in for cheap hobbyist drones on one end and advanced fifth-generation fighters or large multiengine aircraft on the other.

For supersonic fighter simulation, the request describes speeds beyond Mach 1.6 at roughly 40,000 feet, combined with sharp high-G maneuvering.

It also calls for tightly controlled radar signatures and layered infrared and radio-frequency emissions meant to resemble a genuine combat aircraft.

Systems meant to stand in for large drones would need to operate at altitudes near 50,000 feet, matching how high those aircraft actually fly.

Midsize platforms would need to fly at speeds between Mach 0.5 and 0.8 while making sharp, forceful turns similar to real fighters.

Smaller systems, meant to substitute for compact scout-class drones, would fly well under 150 knots and support coordinated swarm behaviour.

For aircraft the size of a C-130, engineers care less about raw performance and more about matching physical scale, subsonic handling, and propulsion behaviour.

That accuracy allows engineers to test how well a missile's guidance system and warhead would perform against a realistically sized aircraft.

Cost and history shape the approach

The service is explicit that affordability matters as much as realism, describing a preference for systems cheap and simple enough to be treated as expendable when a test requires it.

Rather than relying solely on traditional defense contractors, the Air Force is inviting commercial, modified commercial, and dual-use proposals that might undercut the cost and complexity of older programs.

This approach follows nearly a century of remote-controlled target aircraft, stretching back to Britain's converted Tiger Moth trainers flown in the 1930s.

Since 2007, the Air Force has leaned on the BQM-167A, a subscale subsonic drone roughly 20 feet long, far smaller than a Chinese J-20 fighter or an H-6 bomber.

The service also operates the QF-16, a retired F-16 that has been converted to stand in as a full-scale fourth-generation threat aircraft.

Though it cannot convincingly replicate a modern stealth aircraft, it remains too costly to expend in large numbers.

After its recent military engagement in Iran, the U.S. has seen every reason to emphasize 'cheap' instead of 'performance.

In the war, the U.S. has lost approximately 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones — about 25% of its fleet — costing over $1.3 billion, to a series of comparatively cheap Iranian drones and missiles.

So, while the U.S. may or may not be winning the physical war, it is certainly not happy with the financial implications of the victories or losses.

Whether the commercial industry can actually deliver stealthy, high-speed, expendable drones at the price point the Air Force wants remains an open question.

Via Defense News