Technology

• Bitdefender finds Google Play Early Access platform could give malicious apps an easy breeding ground
• User reviews and ratings are not publicly displayed, removing the ability for users to evaluate if an app is legitimate
• Games, casinos, and utility apps are being loaded with malicious packages and downloaded thousands of times

Google has unveiled an Early Access program for the Play Store, allowing developers to list early-access apps for testing and feedback.

While great for smaller apps looking to weed out any wrinkles in their apps, Early Access also offers a lucrative way for malicious actors to lure users into downloading apps that look legitimate, but can hide malicious packages inside.

However, new research from Bitdefender notes the fact that the Early Access program hides public reviews and ratings could lead to an app ecosystem filled with scams, fake casinos, and malware-laden packages masquerading as legitimate software.

Early Access is filled with dangerous apps

When looking for apps on the normal Play Store, one of the first things users are greeted with is an app’s rating. For fake or malicious apps, users can quickly evaluate whether or not to download the app thanks to the star rating and user reviews. While there is the potential for nefarious developers to fake reviews and ratings there is at least some ability to check if an app is legitimate.

But the Early Access system does away with public user ratings and reviews entirely. There is effectively no way for users who fall victim to a fake app to publicly warn other users not to download the app.

Add to this equation that ability for developers to show off their apps through sponsored Facebook and TikTok videos, offering outrageous rewards or using deepfakes of celebrities to entice users to install their apps.

This is especially true for fake gambling apps. Bitdefender has spotted numerous adverts for casino apps using deepfakes of well known celebrities such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Jason Statham, and Andrew Tate. These apps actively push users into the Google Play Early Access store, or direct to the apps website.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Other listings mimic well-known apps, adding financial incentives for downloading such as doubling the money you invest every time you complete a task or overcome an obstacle. Other apps take advantage of the hype for upcoming game releases, such as Grand Theft Auto V and VI. These apps often use screenshots from the actual games in order to appear legitimate.

When detected as illegitimate, these scam apps will often be deleted before being replaced by exact copies that perform the same malicious functions. Some illegitimate apps have been downloaded thousands of times, Bitdefender said, but many remain available on the Google Play Early Access store.

But the scam apps aren’t limited to games and casino apps. Bitdefender also saw numerous apps offering utility functions such as QR code scanners or PDF readers. In some circumstances, the exact same apps were listed multiple times by different developers - likely to expand the reach and maximize the number of downloads.

Bitdefender notes that Google Play’s reputation relies on users being able to trust the apps they are downloading, but the Early Access program removes almost every way users can detect a malicious app before installing.

It’s not an old-school party line, but you can get some entertainment advice when you give this hotline a ring.

Amongst all the hype over Apple’s first-ever foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, which was announced at the company’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event, Apple (rather quietly) also revealed when Mac users can get the latest version of its desktop operating system, macOS 27 Golden Gate: September 14.

While pretty much all of the attention was focused on the foldable, the launch of macOS 27 is noteworthy for anyone with a modern Mac or MacBook, as this free upgrade brings some tasty new features, while also addressing some of the less popular changes that came with its predecessor, macOS 26 Tahoe.

If you have a compatible Mac, then you should be prompted to download and install macOS 27 Golden Gate once September 14 rolls around. However, if you have a Mac from before 2020 that doesn’t run on Apple Silicon (so any Intel-powered Macs), then you won’t be able to get the update.

For reference, here are all the Mac models that are compatible with macOS 27 Golden Gate:

• MacBook Air M1 or later
• MacBook Pro M1 or later
• MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 2020 or later
• MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro 2021 or later
• MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 Pro 2021 or later
• MacBook Neo
• iMac M1 2020 or later
• Mac mini M1 2020 or later
• Mac Studio 2022 and later

Apple recently announced new M5 and M6-powered Mac mini and Mac Studio products, and they'll likely launch with macOS 27 preinstalled when they start shipping on September 22.

(Image credit: Apple)Fixing past mistakes

The main focus of macOS 27, as with Apple’s other operating updates such as iOS 27, and seemingly every piece of new software these days, is AI.

The upcoming macOS 27 upgrade paves the way for Siri AI integration – the long-awaited improvements to Apple’s virtual assistant that should make it more useful. When launched, Siri AI should be able to have two way conversations with you and execute multi-step tasks quickly and easily, which could make using your Mac a lot more convenient. It will be able to interact with apps such as Calendar to complete tasks such as creating events and reminders.

AI is also coming to macOS Spotlight to make finding things on your device better, and Visual Intelligence can be brought up to get information about what’s on your screen. Other AI features, such as Image Playground, are getting improvements as well.

If you’re not a fan of AI, then macOS 27 should still have plenty of reasons to download and install. One reason that will hopefully please a lot of people is that macOS 27 Golden Gate makes tweaks to some of macOS 26 Tahoe’s most controversial changes, especially when it comes to the polarizing Liquid Glass interface. The new macOS will allow you to adjust transparency effects to make using your device more comfortable, and during the beta testing process, it was one of the things our contributor Alex Blake was particularly thankful for. I’m sure he’s not the only one.

When Apple announced macOS 27 at WWDC 2026 earlier this year, it promised lots of performance improvements, especially when it comes to how responsive the operating system feels. This alone should make macOS 27 worth installing on September 14.

If you have an older Mac and feeling left out, make sure you check out our guide on the best Macs and MacBooks, which can help you find a new macOS 27-ready Mac that suits your needs and budget.

One small step for AI, one giant leap for mankind.

• Matt Mullenweg accuses Automattic board of conspiring against him
• Former CEO is now in a period of paid leave
• His role at WordPress.org is currently unaffected

Automattic CEO and founder Matt Mullenweg has been placed on a paid leave of absence by the company's board, but while this is currently being seen as a temporary measure, Automattic has not publicly stated how long the leave will last.

The reason for the board's decision remains unclear, but TechCrunch reports that some employees were "ecstatic" or "relieved" at the decision.

However, Mullenweg is clearly unhappy with the decision, alleging that the board gave him 50 minutes' notice before the meeting and insufficient time to seek legal counsel.

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid absence

Mullenweg remains a member of Automattic's board, but claimed in a company-wide Slack message seen by TechCrunch that CFO Mark Davies had "conspired" with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider and Sue Decker to remove him temporarily. Mullenweg, a board member, voted against the change but was, of course, outvoted. Davies has been appointed interim CEO in the meantime.

"I won’t be able to make the [meeting] tomorrow. @Mark Davies has conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Toni, and @Sue Decker behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence," he said.

"Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project and I remain Executive Director of WordPress. Our teams, priorities, and work continue as planned," WordPress.org executive director Mary Hubbard wrote. WordPress.com (an Automattic product) runs on WordPress.org.

While the reasons have not been publicly shared, Mullenweg hasn't been short of the odd high-profile incident in recent years. He accused WP Engine of profiting from the WordPress ecosystem, which resulted in WP Engine suing Automattic and Mullenweg.

He also offered insiders who disagreed with his direction an exit package worth either six months' pay or $30,000, mounting internal tensions.

"Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic," a company spokesperson told us in a statement. "Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark's leadership and in the team's ability to execute against the company's priorities."

Asus Zenbook 14 (2026): Two-minute review

The new Asus Zenbook 14 is designed to be an ultra portable device with a mid-range price that doesn’t compromise on performance.

True to other models in the line, the finish of the Zenbook 14 is different to the usual fare at this kind of price point, with its soft texture and uncommon colorways that are far more vibrant than many.

More impressive, though, is the Zenbook 14’s build, which blends strength and lightness in a way very few can match. Compared to other 14-inch laptops, this has to be one of the best laptop constructions around in terms of portability.

However, it’s not quite as thin as you might expect, and the thick feet underneath only add to the bulk. What’s more, although most of the unit is remarkably sturdy, the keyboard has a tendency to flex while typing on it, which is a little disconcerting.

(Image credit: Future)

As you might expect for a laptop this portable, the Zenbook 14 isn’t loaded with interfaces, but those included are wisely chosen. You get one USB-A and two USB-C ports — the latter of which support power delivery and display signals — as well as an HDMI output and a headset jack.

The Zenbook 14 performs competently at everyday tasks. It can handle basic productivity and browsing, as well as 4K streaming. It struggles with even light gaming, but that isn’t too surprising given its lack of a dedicated GPU.

Fortunately, the Zenbook 14 remains composed even when undertaking heavy workloads. The fans are audible in such circumstances, but they’re certainly more hushed than many other examples. Temperatures also remain impressively cool, with only a few hotspots appearing — and mercifully these steer clear of commonly touchable surfaces.

The 1920 x 1200p resolution is sharp enough for its 14-inch real estate, while the OLED technology provides the vividness and contrast you’d expect. Reflections are visible at times, but the maximum brightness level should keep them from disrupting your viewing experience too much.

One of the main drawbacks of the Zenbook 14, though, is its battery life. It lasted just over 12 hours when I played a movie on a loop, which is short compared to many of its competitors. In fact, the Zenbook A14, a similar machine to the 14 in many ways, more than doubled this time when I ran the same test.

What’s more, the A14 is similarly priced to the 14, so all things considered it offers the better value. The 14 is the better the choice if you want a slightly more solid body, but in all other regards, the A14 would be the better choice.

(Image credit: Future)Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Price & availability

• Starts from £799.99 (about $1,080 / AU$1,500)
• Preorders open now (ships September)
• Some rivals offer better value

The Zenbook 14 starts from £799.99 (about $1,080 / AU$1,500) and is available to preorder now, with shipments expected early to late September. Availability in the US and Australia is yet to be confirmed, but we'll update this section once it has.

The base model gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 50Wh battery. More powerful AMD Ryzen AI 7 and Intel Core Ultra 9 models, both with 70Wh batteries, can also be preordered for £1,399.99 and £1,499.99 respectively. These two also get backlit keyboards, but the Snapdragon model doesn’t. Each model has three colorways to choose from: Zabriskie Beige, Arctic Blue, and Komodo Coral.

This is a reasonable price considering its spec. However, the already available Asus Zenbook A14 is slightly cheaper, yet has superior battery life and a marginally lighter build. Then there’s the HP OmniBook 7, which we’ve seen in recent sales with a similar price, and is a fantastic all-rounder that’s hard to beat at this point in the market.

Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Specs

Base configuration

Mid configuration

Max configuration

Price

£799.99 (about $1,080 / AU$1,500)

£1,399.99 (about $1,900 / AU$2,600)

£1,499.99 (about $2,030 / AU$2,800)

CPU

Snapdragon X (X1-26-100) (up to 2.97GHz, 8 Cores)

AMD Ryzen AI 7 345 (up to 4.6GHz, 6 Cores)

Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 386H (up to 4.9GHz, 16 cores)

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno (integrated)

AMD Radeon (integrated)

Intel Graphics (integrated)

RAM

16GB LPDDR5X

16GB LPDDR5X

16GB LPDDR5X

Storage

512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

Display

14-inch WUXGA 3K (1920 x 1200) OLED, 16:10, 60Hz

14-inch WUXGA 3K (1920 x 1200) OLED, 16:10, 60Hz

14-inch WUXGA 3K (1920 x 1200) OLED, 16:10, 60Hz

Ports and Connectivity

2x USB-C (3.2 Gen 2, display / power delivery support, 10Gbps) 1x USB-A (3.2 Gen 2, 5Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

2x USB-C (1x 4.0 Gen 3 40Gbps, 1x 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, display / power delivery support) 1x USB-A (3.2 Gen 2, 5Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4

2x USB-C (1x 4.0 Gen 3 40Gbps, 1x 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, display / power delivery support) 1x USB-A (3.2 Gen 2, 5Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4

Battery

50Wh

70Wh

70Wh

Dimensions

12.3 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches / 311 x 216 x 17mm

12.3 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches / 311 x 216 x 17mm

12.3 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches / 311 x 216 x 17mm

Weight

2.43lbs / 1.10kg

2.65lbs / 1.20kg

2.65lbs / 1.20kg

(Image credit: Future)Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Design

• Light and strong body
• Unique finish
• Reasonable port selection

The unique Ceraluminum body certainly sets the Zenbook 14 apart, as do the bright colorways. The beige finish of my review unit was more interesting than the usual monochromatic shades we’ve grown accustomed to, looking softer and more inviting as a result. This was further aided by the rounded corners and the odd texture of the material, which has a slight graininess that’s comfortable in the hand.

One of the major selling points of the Zenbook 14’s construction is its lightness. It weighs around 2.5 pounds (just over a kilogram), which is impressive for a 14-inch laptop. However, it’s not quite as thin as you might expect, with a bit more unexpected bulk at the rear. The two long bars that run underneath, acting as feet, don’t help matters, either.

(Image credit: Future)

However, some may view this a worthy sacrifice for the unit’s surprising solidity. Both the base and the lid have very little flex to them. It feels slightly sturdier than the A14 I reviewed previously, although that model is slightly lighter at 2.16 lbs / 0.98kg.

There is, though, one weak point to the Zenbook 14’s build, and unfortunately that’s the keyboard. Hammering away on the keys often depresses the whole board, which can be quite annoying and doesn't inspire much confidence. There’s also no backlighting, which is an omission I always lament.

On the plus side, there are a reasonable number of ports on the Zenbook 14. There’s one USB-A port on the right-hand side of the unit, which is the only port on this side. On the left, you’ll find two USB-C ports (both of which support external display signals and power delivery), an HDMI port, and a headset jack.

(Image credit: Future)Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Performance

• Fast everyday performance
• Vivid but reflective display
• Good for typing

Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) benchmarks

3DMark: Night Raid: 16,506; Fire Strike: 3,644; Steel Nomad: 224; Solar Bay: 6,135; Solar Bay Unlimited: 6,132; Solar Bay Extreme: 624; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 625
Geekbench 6.5: Multicore: 10,701; Single-core: 2,145
Cinebench R23: Multi Core: 7,403; Cinebench R24: Single Core: 58; Multi Core: 435
Crossmark: Overall: 1,118; Productivity: 1,047; Creativity: 1,188; Responsiveness: 1,132
Passmark Overall: 2,989.3; CPU: 12,886; 2D Graphics: 330.3; 3D Graphics: 1,848.8; Memory: 2,338.2; Disk: 37,339.4
BlackMagicDisk: Read: 3,832MB/s; Write: 2,810MB/s
HandBrake 4K to 1080p: 37.6fps
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 12 hours and 15 minutes

For everyday tasking, the Zenbook 14 is a solid performer. The Snapdragon X1 chip in my review unit was fast and smooth when conducting basic productivity workloads such as word processing. It also handled multi-tab browsing and 4K streaming with plenty of composure as well.

Sadly, but somewhat expectedly, the Zenbook 14 isn't ideal for a spot of light gaming. It struggled to run Cyberpunk 2077 even on the lowest preset, blighted by rough visuals and debilitating slow downs during chaotic scenes. The A14 I tested previously, equipped with a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip, was able to handle low presets better, although it still wasn’t a flawlessly smooth experience.

Some fan noise is evident when the Zenbook 14 is under stress, but this isn’t too distracting. For such a compact laptop, the Zenbook 14 also does well to keep temperatures from soaring. I only noticed portions above the keyboard and underneath getting hot, while the commonly touchable surfaces, such as the keyboard, only became lukewarm at most.

(Image credit: Future)

The 1200p OLED display is crisp and sharp, with plenty of contrast and vividness. It can show reflections a little too readily, especially when deep blacks are displayed. Mostly, though, the high brightness levels do well to keep reflections at bay.

Despite that aforementioned flexing of the keyboard, the Zenbook 14 is still good for typing. It may feel a little harsh due to the lack of dampening, but the keycaps are comfortable and well spaced, while their low profile and short travel make them feel snappy and easy to glide over.

Complementing the keyboard is the super smooth touchpad that allows for easy swipes and gesturing. It’s not very large, but it maximizes its real estate commendably by extending from almost the bottom edge of the unit to the bottom of the space bar, which makes navigation less of a chore than it otherwise would be.

(Image credit: Future)Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Battery life

• Middling longevity compared to rivals
• Zenbook A14 massively outlasts it
• Quick to charge

The battery life of the Zenbook 14 isn’t particularly impressive. When I played a movie on a continuous loop unplugged, its 50Wh battery lasted 12 hours and 15 minutes. While this is quite long, it falls short of quite a few of its rivals.

For context, the A14 has a 70Wh battery, and the difference shows, as that laptop lasted over 28 hours in the same test, one of the best results we’ve seen. And if you’re looking for another enduring 14-inch laptop, the HP OmniBook 7 posted a time of 26 hours. Fortunately, the Zenbook 14 is at least quick to charge, just around two hours to fully top up.

Should I buy the Asus Zenbook 14 (2026)?Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Similarly priced rivals are better all-round propositions.

3 / 5

Design

The construction is unique, super light, and high in quality, but the flexing keyboard is a small shame.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Great for everyday tasking, but don't expect more beyond that. It remains remarkably cool and quiet at all times, though.

4 / 5

Battery Life

The Zenbook 14 can last a while, but it’s disappointingly short lived compared to rivals. It’s quick to charge, though.

3.5 / 5

Final Score

The Zenbook 14 is a capable and highly portable laptop, but when rivals occupying same price point are better all-rounders, they might make more sense.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if…

You want something portable
You won’t find many 14-inch laptops more portable than the Zenbook 14, thanks to its compact dimensions and light footprint.

You want a unique design
You won’t find many constructions like this, either: it’s solid with a soft-touch finish and has some interesting colorways to boot.

Don't buy it if…

You want a stable keyboard
While the 14 is great to type with, the keyboard flexing as you do so might irk some users.

You want the best battery life
The Zenbook 14’s battery life isn’t anything special, while the A14’s is.

Asus Zenbook 14 (2026) review: Also consider

Asus Zenbook A14
The A14 is very closely matched to the 14, but it has a much better battery life — the best in class, in fact — and despite having a very similar Ceraluminum construction, it’s ever so slightly lighter (0.98KG as opposed to 1.10KG). It’s similarly priced, too, so might be the better pick of the two. Read our full Asus Zenbook A14 review.

HP OmniBook 7
The OmniBook 7 is a terrific laptop across the board. Its battery life is much longer than Zenbook 14’s, although it can’t quite match the endurance of the aforementioned A14. Its list price is quite steep, but we’ve seen it with significant discounts, bringing it more in line with the Zenbook 14. Read our full HP OmniBook 7 review.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Asus Zenbook 14 (2026)

• Tested for a few days
• Used for a variety of tasks and benchmarks
• Extensive laptop reviewing experience

I tested the Zenbook 14 for a few days, during which time I used it for all manner of tasks, from basic productivity and general browsing to 4K streaming and gaming.

I also ran our series of benchmark tests for laptops, designed to assess every aspect of performance. I ran a movie on a loop to test the battery life, too.

I’ve been using laptops for decades, and have reviewed a large number of them, ranging from small budget offerings to large gaming monsters.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

• New Incogni research has found that the privacy preferences of Americans don't really align with what they say
• Many of those with 'nothing to hide' will happily snoop on the phones of their family members and partners
• But those same people tend to get twitchy when handing over their phone to strangers, or their data to the government

A new survey by Incogni has found almost half of Americans say they have ‘nothing to hide’ when it comes to their privacy, but almost immediately change their perspective when it comes to strangers looking at their phone - or sharing their private messages with the federal government.

Even when offered substantial sums of money, many of those with nothing to hide still wouldn’t hand over their devices, and their personal habits such as covering cameras or installing privacy screens show a level of contradiction in what they say, and how they behave.

Of those surveyed as part of Incogni’s research, Gen Z were the most likely to say they had nothing to hide at 57%, whereas just 26% of Baby Boomers offered the same response.

Americans don't want strangers or the government accessing their phones

(Image credit: Incogni)

As it turns out, those who fell into the 45% of respondents who said they had nothing to hide were more likely to snoop on other people's devices. In fact, when polled on whether they looked at other people’s devices in public, people with nothing to hide were double as likely (42%) to snoop compared to their something to hide counterparts (27%).

(Image credit: Incogni)

Those with nothing to hide were also more likely to look through the phones of their partners and family members without permission. In fact, 41% who fell into this category admitted to snooping on their partners phones, and 35% had looked through their family members' phones.

(Image credit: Incogni)

Despite claiming to have nothing to hide, 39% still covered their cameras with tape, stickers, or sliding covers - especially those of Gen Z. Over a quarter of respondents also said that they deliberately obscure their personal information when signing up to online services with fake names, false dates of birth, and masked emails.

But the most interesting data comes from paying for privacy. 41% of those who said they have nothing to hide would pay more for a product if it was better for their privacy. But when offered money in return for handing over their phone to a stranger, 60% of respondents refused any amount of money. 20% said it would take an amount of $1 million or more, and just 6% offered access for $100 or less.

When breaking these numbers down by group, 58% of those with nothing to hide would not let a stranger access their unlocked phone for any amount of money.

Even when offered three months of their salary, just 26% of respondents would hand over their SMS, chat-app, and email messages with law enforcement. This number drops to 25% with Big Tech companies, 24% for local government, and a staggering 21% for the federal government.

(Image credit: Incogni)

Incogni theorizes that those who said they have nothing to hide may be equating privacy with secretiveness and secretiveness with guilt. It may also be true that many people fail to see how their seemingly innocent data, such as an email address or phone number, should be kept private.

As numerous data breaches have shown, the leaking of such information can lead to phishing emails, scams, and general harassment or doxxing. Incogni says that people fail to see why this information should stay private, especially in an era when social media and the websites we use hoover up as much information as possible to be sold to advertisers and third-parties.

“The findings suggest that the “nothing to hide” argument may therefore say less about how much people actually value privacy than about how difficult it is to see the consequences of losing it,” the report concludes.

• IBM and NASA launch open source AI model to help further lunar research
• Researchers will be able to better analyze petabytes of Moon data from last five decades
• IBM and NASA also release dataset for public usage and analysis

IBM has launched a new open source AI model it hopes will help spur on NASA researchers in their push to get humanity back to the Moon.

The new NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation model, available on Hugging Face, will allow researchers to analyze decades of lunar observation data, and identify geological features that are critical to understand for NASA as it looks to build a sustained human presence on the Moon.

The model has been trained by IBM and NASA researchers on a huge, multimodal NASA dataset, which will also be released alongside the model, providing wider access to the latest advanced AI systems in a bid to push on wider progress in lunar exploration.

To the Moon (and beyond)

At its most obvious level, the model will allow a much easier way for researchers to study petabytes of data gathered on the Moon's surface for potentially hazardous locations such as ice deposits or craters.

Currently, scientists often rely on manual analysis or low-resolution, task-specific AI models, which can be not only computationally demanding, but also often lack the accuracy needed for detailed geographic analysis.

The new release will now mean that instead of needing to build a new AI model for every potential issue, scientists can now adapt a single foundation model to investigate a range of lunar geologic features.

The model has already proved useful, identifying craters and volcanic features far more accurately (see below) and significantly reducing errors in locating potential ice deposits.

(Image credit: IBM)

IBM, which has worked with NASA for over five decades, including on the Apollo missions, believes the model could help future astronauts navigate safely and even find essential resources, as well as helping scientists better understand the Moon's geological history.

“Uncovering the mysteries of the Moon requires an ability to learn from an extraordinary volume of scientific data,” said Juan Bernabe-Moreno, Director of IBM Research Europe, UK and Ireland.

“The NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model gives scientists a foundation to explore the Moon at scale, connecting observations across instruments, revealing patterns that are difficult to see in isolation, and providing an open platform the global research community can build on.”

The release of the dataset will mark the first time a unified, publicly-available cache has been made available and ready for machine learning. It brings together over 30 spatially aligned layers from nine instruments across four missions, including tens of thousands of images and maps showing unique geophysical properties of the lunar surface from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and NASA’s GRAIL mission.

Identifying lunar ice deposits could be particularly vital, as the presence of both water and oxygen will be crucial to establishing a human base on the Moon, and even creating rocket fuel for future Mars missions.

Scanning the Moon's volcanic features, known as Iregular Mare Patches, can allow scientists to better understand the Moon's volcanic history and thermal evolution, as well as helping identify potential sites for landing and other surface operations.

Finally, studying the Moon's craters can offer a wealth of information on its history, including the age of different terrains, their geology, and even the chemical composition of the early lunar interior - as well as again helping to identify safe landing sites without hazards such as steep slopes and boulders.

Elegoo is running a massive limited-time sale on 3D printers right now - but for my money, the one you want to check out is the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo for $369 (was $449). And in the UK, Elegoo's multi-color 3D printer is down to £329 (was £398).

We awarded this 3D printer 4.5 stars and a TechRadar Pro Recommends badge after putting this one through its paces in our workshop. It's easily the best budget multi-color unit you can get right now.

The enclosed CoreXY printer uses Elegoo's excellent CANVAS system to print with up to four colors, while its 350°C nozzle opens the door to a wide range of materials. You also get automatic calibration, a 256 x 256 x 256mm build volume and printing speeds of up to 500mm/s.

• See the full Elegoo Day Sale

Today's top Elegoo 3D printer deal

Centauri Carbon 2 Combo 3D Printer: was $449 now $369
Elegoo's 3D printer offers four-color printing, a 256 x 256 x 256mm build volume, 500mm/s maximum speed, 350°C nozzle, CoreXY system, automatic calibration, Wi-Fi, and enclosed chamber.

In the UK: now £329 (was £398)View Deal

Why we recommend it

In his rave 4.5-star review, our expert Alastair said the "Carbon 2 Combo impresses, offering one of the cheapest and most reliable multifilament machines on the market."

He summed it up saying: "Not only does it stand alongside some of the market leaders, but because it's able to handle engineering materials and has that fully enclosed environment, it is one of the best-value 3D printers on the market."

The CANVAS system is fantastic if you want to create more colorful models without manually changing filament during a print. Its four-color capability gives you much more freedom for making decorative models, signs, toys, and other projects.

The 350°C hardened-steel nozzle and enclosed chamber allow the Centauri Carbon 2 to work with PLA, PETG, ABS, and ASA, and Elegoo also lists support for PC, PA, and fiber-reinforced filaments.

For more options, take a look at our round up of the best 3D printers we've tested, including the Centauri Carbon 2 which we rated as the best budget multi-color device, and the best 3D printer deals we've seen this week.

Price context & historical value

Elegoo has reduced the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo from $449 to $369, saving you $80, or almost 18%. That's the lowest price I've found for the four-color 3D printer, matching a previous $369 deal from June. It's also on sale in the UK for £329, down from its usual £398.

There's also a discount on the optional Centauri Series Accessory Kit. It's currently $30 instead of $59.99 in the US (£40.79 down from £67.99 in the UK) when purchased as an add-on.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 Combo if...

You want to move beyond single-color 3D printing without spending a fortune on a multicolor setup. CANVAS provides four-color printing out of the box, while the enclosed design and high-temperature nozzle give you room to experiment with more demanding materials as your skills develop.

❌ Skip the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 Combo if...

You primarily produce very large models. Its 256 x 256 x 256mm build volume is ample for many projects, but bigger prints may need to be divided into multiple pieces, so a large-format printer would be a better choice.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Elegoo quotes a maximum printing speed of 500mm/s, but its recommended speed is 250mm/s. I'd treat the higher figure as the printer's upper limit rather than the speed you'd expect for every model and material.

It's also a large machine. At 500 x 480 x 743mm and 19.35kg, you'll need a sizable, sturdy surface, particularly if you're used to a smaller open-frame printer.

• Shop all 3D printers at Elegoo

• Hands-on images show a visible crease on the new iPhone Duo
• It can be seen when the device is held at certain angles and in different lighting
• While Apple hasn't quite solved this common issue, its nano-texture layer significantly helps to reduce visibility

Apple finally unveiled the iPhone Duo at its ‘Surprise and Shine’ event, its first device in the foldable phone market, and from our first hands-on experiments with it I have to say, it looks rather impressive.

And yes, Apple has taken its sweet time to launch its first foldable (Samsung was ahead of the game in 2019 with the first Galaxy Fold device), but that’s likely due to Apple’s determination to solve one of the most annoying setbacks with folding phones — the display crease.

In the build-up to the iPhone Duo announcement, rumors suggested that the device’s folding display wouldn’t come with a visible crease. However, early hands-on images appear to show that Apple might not have quite got the results it was looking for.

It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the iPhone Duo was announced, and Redditors are already pointing out its partially visible crease, which you can see when the device is held at different angles and in certain lighting (see below).

Not a bad crease but the media saying there is none just doesn’t want to be canceled by Apple from r/iPhoneFold

I’m not one to be picky, but despite the matte smoothness of the folding nano-texture display — which helps to significantly reduce the visibility of the crease — there’s a clear vertical dip that runs through the centre of the iPhone Duo’s 7.6-inch screen. Apple knew this would be one of the most-asked questions, and the company has come equipped with all the answers you could need on the iPhone Duo product page.

‘iPhone Duo features a wonderfully flat and smooth inner display with custom nano-texture finish technology to reduce glare and reflections for an uninterrupted viewing experience. The optically clear adhesives let the display layers glide as the screen folds, minimising stress and creasing’.

Unfortunately, Apple hasn’t quite hit the nail on the head with overcoming one of the biggest obstacles with folding phones, but at the same time, eliminating the crease entirely is almost an impossible task. Think about it: if you’re constantly folding and unfolding the device several times a day, then this is going to have an obvious visual impact on the device over time — which is the case for all foldables.

Luckily for Apple, it appears that users aren’t entirely concerned with the slight visibility of the iPhone Duo’s crease.

Several owners of foldable phones shared on Reddit that once you’ve used a foldable for some time, the crease becomes invisible to you simply because you just get used to it being there. Others have been a bit more abrasive: ‘I'll never understand the people who make the crease a big deal,’ one user added, while another simply commented ‘I have a folding phone. The crease is a complete non-issue’. They must be a Galaxy Fold owner, surely.

@techradar

♬ Candy - Lane 8 & Quentin Quivera

Criticism aside, our first hands-on with the iPhone Duo was far from a let down. Our Editor-at-Large, Lance Ulanoff, recalls having very minimal issues with the device’s crease. From our first-look images, the crease is unidentifiable when the phone is held face-on, and the matte display helps to get rid of that annoying glare.

For its first foldable phone I have to say, Apple has done pretty much all it can for it to join the folding device market seven years behind its biggest rivals. Despite the lack of features such as Face ID and Action Button, the iPhone Duo looks like a solid beginning for Apple’s next big venture — even if I’m not the biggest fan of the name.

• The iPhone Duo animation has been recreated on a Galaxy Z Fold 8
• For now, it's only a demo — not something you can set up yourself
• Samsung would need to implement the hack for it to work system-wide

The initial reactions to Apple's new, foldable iPhone Duo seem to be largely positive, with a lot of praise for the various software tweaks that have been implemented in iOS 27 for the new form factor — including a cool transition animation that shows up when you switch between the inner and outer screens.

As you open up or close the main 7.6-inch display, the wallpaper dissolves and seems to pass through the moving half of the screen to reappear on the other side. It's a neat effect, and one Android user has wasted no time in recreating the effect on their Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 foldable.

"Felt a bit of FOMO seeing that cool iPhone Duo animation Apple showed off today, so I poked around and found that the Z Fold 8 has a really accurate hinge sensor," explains the user in question on Reddit. "I realized it would be pretty simple to take the hinge sensor values and use them to drive a transition animation on both screens."

Tried to recreate the iPhone Duo animation on my Fold 8 from r/GalaxyFold

It works really nicely too, as you can see from the video embedded above. The half of the display that's opening and closing looks like it becomes semi-transparent as it moves, revealing what's underneath — though as with the iPhone Duo, it's all trickery involving motion sensors and gradients.

@techradar

♬ unstoppable - ATALE Over to you, Samsung

Unfortunately, this is only a demo for now — as in, an app that screenshots the display, then shows how an open/close animation could potentially work. It's not actually something you can apply at the system level and use across all your apps, and the developer says only Samsung would have the necessary access for that.

The reactions in the Reddit thread are overwhelmingly positive, nevertheless. The hack gets described at various points as "great", "awesome", and "so cool" — and it's genuinely impressive that it was created so soon after Apple's event. It seems a lot of Samsung foldable owners would want this on their phones.

There is perhaps a word of warning here for iPhone Duo buyers. When asked about using the effect, the original poster says "honestly, it looks cool for the first minute, but it gets really annoying after that", adding that "the effect is also only convincing head on" and "any difference in viewing angles really breaks the illusion".

Whether or not that's the case on Apple's foldable remains to be seen, but it's worth considering. For the time being at least, the iPhone Duo is the only folding handset that has this particular animation — and if you've really got to have it, pre-orders open on Friday, October 16, with prices starting at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Images 2.5 this week, boasting of impressive upgrades to the AI image creator. The company says its latest model delivers sharper details, more natural lighting, and richer textures, while doing a better job of preserving people and objects from reference photos. It is also supposed to generate images up to 50% faster and follow complex visual instructions more reliably.

There are plenty of genuinely useful additions around it, too. Images 2.5 introduces Sketch for turning rough drawings into finished images, templates for things such as posters and product photography, and the ability to leave comments directly on an image when requesting edits. OpenAI calls it its new state-of-the-art image model, which is a reasonably high bar to set for something that inevitably ends up being asked to draw dragons before breakfast.

The early reaction, though, is much less tidy. One Reddit user delivered perhaps the most memorable review so far: “The noise patterns are awful”. Another looked at an AI generation and decided, “This…looks terrible.” The complaint is easy to understand. It's all about the fuzz

Everything is sharper, including the problem

Noise is a slightly slippery criticism when talking about AI images. In photography, it usually means the speckling or grain that creeps into an image with a poor match between lighting and photographic technique. But generative AI images can produce something similar without ever encountering a camera. Everything gets a gritty, sandy look, and nothing looks clean for some reason.

Noise is especially damaging because it can masquerade as detail. Generative models have learned that photographs contain grain, texture, tiny variations in color, and the occasional imperfection. Images 2.5 appears unusually eager to reproduce those signals, sometimes scattering them across skies, skin, feathers, and studio backdrops.

That's the opposite of the “sharper details” and “richer textures” promised by OpenAI. Despite emphasizing more natural lighting and textures, some users think ChatGPT Images 2.5 has moved backward.

“They need to get rid of these noisy artifacts. It makes it mostly useless for production,” one wrote. There is praise mixed in with the complaints, but it's far from the universal acclaim OpenAI would likely prefer.

I wanted to see whether the problem survived outside Reddit screenshots, so I tested a few images with highly detailed subjects and areas that should remain visually smooth to see if any graininess crept in. I even made sure in my prompts to ask for smooth gradients and the elimination of any visual noise.

(Image credit: ChatGPT Image 2.5)

I started with a picture of a mug in a photo studio. The peacock, flowers, fruit, and landscape wrapped around the virtual ceramic are impressive at first. Look closer, however, and the grey studio background has a persistent granular texture, while some of the smallest patterns begin to dissolve into a mess. The model has generated a great deal of visual information without always deciding which parts deserve clarity.

A similar issue occurred when I asked for a barn owl at twilight. The feathers are a perfect excuse for complexity, and Images 2.5 handled them well. Individual structures remain visible across the wings and face, the talons are convincing, and the animal avoids the plasticky quality that older AI wildlife images often had.

Behind it is a sky that should have been the visual equivalent of a clean sheet of paper. Instead, the smooth blue area has obvious fine grain across it. It doesn't ruin the picture, but once I noticed it, I couldn't stop noticing it.

(Image credit: ChatGPT Image 2.5) Mythical grain

(Image credit: ChatGPT Image 2.5)

I thought a fantasy scene might fare better as the model wouldn't be relying on actual photographs of a winged horse or dragon. But while they coexist with a rainbow at an alpine lake in a surprisingly coherent composition, the issue is visible immediately. The relentless crispness gives the picture the air of a video game loading screen.

The pale-blue sky has a faint textured quality rather than the completely clean gradient I would expect from an ideal synthetic image, while the mountains, trees, and creature details have a crunchy, heavily sharpened look when examined closely. It is nowhere near a disaster, but the image feels like an overprocessed photograph.

I was very impressed with how my request for two friends on a rooftop in the evening came out. It came closest to selling the promised leap in realism, with convincing expressions and what seems like real gravity affecting their clothes. But if you look for more than a minute, the grain creeping across the twilight sky and their hair and skin is glaringly obvious. That's especially the case since there was no poorly set lighting or malfunctioning camera sensor. If the twilight sky looks grainy, the grain is a creative decision or model artifact rather than the unavoidable physics of taking a photograph in bad light.

(Image credit: ChatGPT Image 2.5)

Judging these four images specifically on image cleanliness, I have to side with the Reddit grumblers. There is a persistent fine texture that crops up in skies, studio backgrounds, and low-light areas. Sharper is an easy quality to advertise because it looks terrific in a launch gallery, but it may have been taken to excess, landing some of ChatGPT Images 2.5's results in the uncanny valley.

Images 2.5 is fast, adaptive, and often competent, but its fondness for granular texture weakens the realism it is supposed to embody. Perhaps the next upgrade will acknowledge that the most impressive thing an AI image generator can put in part of a picture is essentially nothing.

What do you think? Take our poll above to give us your opinion.

• Lenovo offers up Eva Longoria to help solve your SMB woes
• Desperate Housewives star is an entrepreneur and serial investor herself
• Users can submit questions now, with Longoria answering on her Instagram page

If you're looking for that extra bit of business support and advice, you might seek out a mentor, someone who's been there and done it all - but how about a well-known TV and film icon?

Lenovo has teamed up with Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, who both owns her own business, and has invested in companies involved in everything from food and beverages to media, to offer her unique advice on the issues affecting fellow entrepreneurs.

Entrants will be able to submit their burning questions to the star via a special phone number or through CallEvaNow.com, with Longoria providing assistance at a later date.

Call Eva

The "Call Eva" idea is part of Lenovo’s global Backing Every Business program, which looks to "connect entrepreneurs across the world who are facing similar business challenges, creating peer-to-peer relationships where they can exchange experiences, perspectives and practical advice".

Entrepreneurs in Brazil, France, India, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States will be able to take part, with Longoria selecting the most pressing to answer on her personal Instagram feed on September 16, 2026.

“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is that you don’t have to have all the answers yourself. Some of the best decisions start with asking someone you trust for insights, a fresh perspective or even just reassurance that you’re heading in the right direction,” Longoria said

“That’s what I love about Lenovo’s Backing Every Business initiative and now Call Eva. We’re giving entrepreneurs a place to bring the questions they’re really wrestling with, because chances are, another business owner has faced similar dilemmas. If something I’ve learned along the way can help someone better navigate a challenge, make a tough decision or take their next step with more confidence, that’s incredibly meaningful to me.”

(Image credit: Lenovo)

“Technology can unlock enormous opportunities for small businesses, but technology alone doesn’t build a business. Entrepreneurs also need access to trusted advice, shared experiences and a community that understands the realities of building and growing a business,” said Emily Ketchen, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Intelligent Devices Group and International Markets, Lenovo.

“Backing Every Business brings those pieces together and Call Eva gives us a new avenue to extend that support while listening directly to entrepreneurs about the challenges they’re navigating. By understanding their questions, we can continue to find meaningful ways to help small businesses move forward and grow with confidence.”

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how software is designed, written and tested. Development teams can now use AI to generate code, produce test cases, identify likely defects and automate repetitive quality assurance (QA) tasks at a speed that would have seemed unrealistic only a few years ago.

That acceleration is valuable. But it also creates a new QA problem.

When the same class of technology is used both to create software and to decide whether that software is correct, organizations risk building a closed loop of confidence. An AI model may generate code based on a particular interpretation of a requirement, then generate tests based on the same interpretation. If the original assumption is wrong, both the code and the test can agree with each other while still failing the user.

AI, in other words, cannot be the sole judge of its own work.

This is not an argument against AI-assisted development. Errors, hallucinations and inconsistent outputs are expected features of a technology that is still maturing. The more important question is whether organizations have independent mechanisms capable of detecting those failures before they affect customers, employees or critical business processes.

Shared assumptions create shared blind spots

Traditional software assurance already recognizes the value of separation between development and testing. The people who build a system understand it deeply, but that familiarity can make it harder to challenge the assumptions on which it was built. Independent testers approach the same system from a different perspective, looking not only at what the software was intended to do but also at how it might fail.

The same principle applies to AI.

Models trained on similar data, prompted with the same requirements or operating within the same development environment may reproduce the same blind spots. A model generating a feature may overlook an ambiguous requirement, an unusual user journey or a device-specific edge case. A second model asked to test that feature may reinforce the omission rather than expose it.

This becomes particularly risky when AI-generated tests are treated as evidence of quality, simply because they run successfully. A passing test confirms only that the test’s conditions were met. It does not prove that those conditions were complete, independent or meaningful.

The result can be a technically consistent system that is practically wrong.

The most fundamental tension between generative AI and formal software assurance is repeatability. Modern AI coding agents are designed to generate and adapt. I.e. given an apparently identical objective, they may choose different steps, use different tools, interpret context differently and produce different code or tests.

This is not always because the system is learning during each run, it is also a consequence of probabilistic generation, changing context and evolving models. That variability can be highly useful when teams are exploring solutions, but it conflicts with the core discipline of QA. I.e. a controlled test must be capable of being re-run against the same version, in the same conditions, with defined expected results and evidence of a clear pass or failure.

Without that control, organizations may have AI activity rather than assurance, and outputs that look plausible, but cannot be reliably reproduced, measured, audited or defended.

Functional success is not user success

Many automated tests evaluate software through code-level signals. They check whether a service returns the expected response, whether a page contains a particular element, or whether a button can be located through an identifier or selector.

These checks are important, but they are not the same as validating the user experience. A test may confirm that a button exists even though it is hidden behind another element. It may verify that a field contains text without recognizing that the text is truncated, displayed in the wrong location or rendered in a way that makes it unreadable.

It may find a menu that is technically present but inaccessible on a smaller screen. It may confirm that a transaction completed while missing the fact that the confirmation shown to the user contains the wrong amount, account or status.

From the system’s perspective, the software may have behaved correctly. From the user’s perspective, it has failed.

This distinction matters because modern digital services increasingly depend on complex combinations of application code, browser behavior, operating systems, screen sizes, remote desktops, virtual environments and third-party components.

A change in any one of these layers can alter what appears on screen without necessarily causing a conventional functional test to fail. Testing must therefore examine not only what the underlying system reports, but what the user actually sees and can do.

Why visual validation matters

Visual user-interface validation provides an independent perspective because it tests the rendered outcome rather than relying solely on the application’s internal structure.

That independence is significant. Code-based tests often depend on knowledge of the system they are testing: object identifiers, document structures, accessibility labels, APIs or expected data responses. Visual validation can assess the final interface as presented to the user, including layout, positioning, content, state and usability across different environments.

Visual validation is not a separate phase of software assurance, nor a replacement for functional, integration, security, or performance testing. Instead, it applies across every assurance division wherever a user interface is designed, built, changed, or tested—from individual components and unit-level checks through integration, system testing, and user acceptance testing.

Functional testing confirms that an operation completed correctly; visual validation confirms that the result is displayed accurately, consistently, and remains usable. Reliable assurance requires both throughout the development lifecycle.

The need becomes more pronounced as AI generates a larger proportion of software changes. AI tools can produce code quickly, but speed increases the volume and frequency of change that quality teams must assess. Without an assurance layer focused on the rendered experience, defects can move through delivery pipelines faster than organizations can recognize them.

Visual validation acts as a check on the gap between technical execution and human experience.

Repeatability turns automation into evidence

AI is effective at generating ideas, scripts and possible test scenarios. Its outputs, however, can vary between runs. A model may interpret the same instruction differently depending on context, configuration or probabilistic variation. That flexibility can be useful during exploration, but it is not enough for formal assurance.

A test used to approve a software release must be repeatable. The same inputs should produce the same procedure, the same checkpoints and the same criteria for success or failure. Teams must be able to establish what was tested, when it was tested, which version of the application was involved and why the result was accepted.

AI is effective at generating ideas, scripts and possible test scenarios, but generative and agentic systems are not inherently deterministic controls. Their output can vary because of probabilistic generation, prompt and context changes, model updates, retrieval results and the decisions made as an agent selects tools and plans its next action. For software development, this flexibility can accelerate discovery. For formal assurance, it creates a material control problem.

A test used to approve a software release must be repeatable and auditable. The same application version, inputs and environment should produce the same defined procedure, checkpoints and success criteria, allowing teams to establish precisely what was tested, when it was tested, which version was involved and why the result was accepted.

Only then can passes and failures be measured over time, defects reproduced, and evidence relied upon in an audit or regulated setting.

This is the difference between using AI to accelerate test creation and allowing AI to become the test authority.

AI can help teams draft test cases, identify gaps and reduce the effort required to automate routine workflows. Once a test is adopted as part of an assurance process, however, it should become controlled, deterministic, traceable and auditable. Its expected results should be explicit. Changes should be reviewed. Failures should be reproducible. Evidence of passes and failures should be retained.

Without those controls, an organization may know that an AI system performed ‘some testing’ but be unable to demonstrate precisely what happened. That is a weak basis for operational confidence and an even weaker basis for accountability.

Regulated environments raise the stakes

The consequences of interface errors are not distributed evenly.

In a consumer application, a misaligned field or incorrect message may create frustration and lost revenue. In finance, healthcare, defense or government, a similar defect can influence a payment, clinical decision, operational instruction or public service. An interface that displays the wrong status, conceals a warning or presents outdated information can create consequences far beyond the screen itself.

Regulated organizations must also be able to explain and evidence their controls. It is not enough to claim that a system was tested. They may need to show that testing was consistent, that results were reviewed and that software behaved as expected in the environments where it was deployed.

AI-generated assurance that changes from one run to another makes that task harder. So does a testing strategy that concentrates on internal system responses while neglecting the final interface used by staff or customers.

Independent, repeatable visual validation can help provide a clearer chain of evidence. It shows not merely that an application returned the expected data, but that the right information appeared in the right place, in a usable form, at the point where a human decision or action was required.

This is particularly important when apparently minor presentation errors can alter behavior. A hidden warning, misplaced decimal point, incorrect unit or outdated status indicator may not prevent an application from functioning. It can still cause a user to take the wrong action.

In these environments, the interface is not simply a cosmetic layer. It is part of the operational control system.

Combining speed with control

The strongest approach is not to choose between AI and established quality disciplines. It is to assign each the role for which it is best suited.

AI can increase development speed, broaden test coverage and reduce the manual effort involved in producing automation. Independent validation can challenge the assumptions embedded in those outputs. Deterministic testing can convert useful AI-generated ideas into repeatable controls. Visual checks can confirm that technically successful software also works for the person in front of the screen.

This layered model allows organizations to benefit from AI without confusing productivity with proof.

It also recognizes that no single testing method can provide complete assurance. Code-level checks can confirm the behavior of individual components.

Integration tests can establish whether systems communicate correctly. Security testing can expose vulnerabilities. Performance testing can examine behavior under pressure. Visual validation, at all levels of UI development, can determine whether the final result remains accurate, accessible and usable.

The value comes from combining these methods, not asking one of them to stand in for all the others.

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in software delivery, assurance must become more independent rather than less. Organizations should assume that AI-generated software will sometimes be wrong, incomplete or unexpectedly inconsistent. The objective is not to eliminate every error at the point of creation. It is to make sure those errors are visible before they reach the user.

AI can help write the homework. It can even suggest how the homework should be checked. But the final mark must come from an assurance process that is independent, repeatable and accountable.

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Pixel Watch 5 leads overall, while Galaxy Watch9, OnePlus Watch 3, and Galaxy Watch Ultra2 offer better fits for Samsung users, battery life, or outdoor use.

The post 4 Best Wear OS Smartwatches for 2026 appeared first on TechRepublic.

• One in three workers laid off due to AI could need to be reemployed at a higher rate
• Context, judgment and meaning are irreplaceable human traits that AI can't bring
• Companies need to reinvest in AI – not just accept mediocre gains

Gartner has argued that the future of work is moving beyond simple AI automation – instead, it says that using AI to enhance human capability and redesigning how work gets done are far more critical for future business leaders.

Fundamental to Gartner's report is the importance of human workers and the preservation of human judgment and context, therefore the analysts warn that AI-induced layoffs could be costly in the long-term despite offering potential savings today.

In fact, the study warns that by as soon as 2029, one in three (30%) employees laid off because their jobs were replaced by AI will need to be rehired, and potentially at a higher cost to their future employers than had they just been kept on.

Gartner warns about AI layoffs and the importance of human workers

Ultimately, the analysts warn that treating AI primarily as a headcount-reduction mechanism could weaken future talent pipelines, remove institutional knowledge and expertise, reduce innovation ability, and create expensive recruitment challenges later.

First of the four upcoming trends predicted by the company is the human-AI relationship – companies are being urged to build stronger human-AI collaboration where AI and automation are largely seen as augmentation, not replacement.

It's also about a cultural change, because Gartner says workforces should adapt to AI, not just adopt it. Employees will need to learn continuously, adapt to changing roles and understand how to work effectively alongside AI.

Thirdly, human context, judgment and meaning should be protected, with Gartner increasingly worried that AI could inadvertently strip these away.

Finally, Gartner expects AI investments to be a continuous loop and not a single action – companies that reinvest will likely be the ones to see the best success.

"The competitive advantage will go to the CIOs and business executives who build an AI-shaped organization where AI value compounds by reshaping roles and allowing workflows to cross traditional boundaries, increasing velocity and reducing friction," VP Analyst Tori Paulman wrote.

If you really know your stuff about streaming services, you'll know that Apple TV is the home of consistently high-quality content — and its new Australian thriller Last Seen is no exception.

Based on Ryan David Jahn's novel The Dispatcher, we follow emergency dispatcher — and secret alcoholic — Ian Ridley (Patrick Brammall), who receives a call about a body found near his home. He thinks it may be his daughter, who went missing 11 years ago.

For those who have already read the book, there are a few big changes for its TV adaptation: most notably, that it's now set Down Under, not in Texas. Even so, a seemingly never-ending web of twists and turns is still set to unfold.

With the first two episodes of Last Seen now streaming, the remaining four episodes will drop on a weekly basis until October 7. And, according to Brammall, we're really not prepared for what's coming.

'Nothing is black and white'

"Ian is not a hero," Brammall exclusively told me about his character in the Apple TV Original. "His focus on paper is an altruistic one, but it's also mixed with hope, guilt, [and] everybody he's failed. There's a lot of collateral damage.

"Conversely, when we first see Sarah (Chloe Jean Lourdes), she's happy. Nothing's black and white. As the series goes on, you can sort of see that Ian and Henry (Brendan Cowell) are two sides of the same coin."

By the time episode 2 ends, which is where we're currently up to, this doesn't exactly feel like the case. Henry feels like an elusive villain, having clearly held onto some deeply disturbing secrets for too long, and for reasons we don't quite yet understand.

"By the end, the agency is taken away from them both and given to Sarah," Brammall continued. "I think that's completely unexpected. The ending is something that you wouldn't necessarily have anticipated, and it's not the sort of ending you'd usually get in a crime drama, either. That's a testament to how multi-layered the show is."

Intriguing. In this day and age, we should probably consider it a luxury when a crime drama is able to surprise us. If Last Seen can really put its money where its mouth over the next few weeks, then we've genuinely got some unmissable TV on our hands.

For much of the AI boom, the infrastructure conversation has centered on compute: chips, servers and the increasingly large data centers needed to support them. But as AI moves from experimentation to deployment at scale, technology leaders face another infrastructure challenge that could be just as consequential: securing enough reliable power, quickly, to keep that compute running.

AI data centers are fundamentally different from traditional commercial and industrial power customers. They are larger, more concentrated and exceptionally time-sensitive, with near-zero tolerance for interruption. That makes energy availability more than an operating consideration. Increasingly, it can determine where AI infrastructure gets built, how quickly it comes online and whether organizations can turn enormous technology investments into business value.

Natural gas is emerging as a bridge fuel for AI's power challenge

For technology leaders, the key question isn't simply whether enough electricity can ultimately be generated. It's whether firm, dispatchable power can reach a data center when and where it's needed.

That's where natural gas is playing an increasingly important role. Given constraints on other non-intermittent power alternatives, gas can provide the around-the-clock generation needed to support large AI workloads. PwC's scenario analysis shows the potential scale: even in our most conservative scenario, AI-linked gas demand reaches 5.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2030, compared with roughly 1.6 Bcf/d today. By 2035, our scenarios put demand between 7.6 and 11.5 Bcf/d.

For data center developers and technology companies, however, those numbers tell only part of the story. Having enough gas in the system doesn't mean it can necessarily reach a data center on the required timeline. It must be produced, transported, stored and delivered at the right pressure through connected infrastructure. In other words, AI's power challenge is increasingly becoming a deliverability challenge.

The scarce resource may be time, not capital

Technology companies are committing tens of billions of dollars to AI infrastructure, but money can't quickly solve many of the constraints standing between a planned data center and an operational one.

Permitting, pipeline rights-of-way, grid interconnections, turbines, water and skilled labor can all extend development timelines. Developers are simultaneously competing for critical equipment and industrial capacity while navigating local zoning and water constraints. That changes the calculus around infrastructure.

In a market defined by speed to deployment, an existing pipeline, permitted corridor, storage asset or available generation capacity can be more valuable than a theoretically lower-cost alternative that takes years to develop. For technology leaders making decisions about AI capacity, site selection therefore needs to account for much more than land, connectivity and eventual power availability. The ability to secure reliable energy on the required timeline should be considered much earlier in the process.

Energy procurement is becoming a strategic capability

We're already seeing data center developers respond differently. Behind-the-meter generation, for example, can allow a campus to pair on-site or nearby gas generation with firm fuel supply rather than relying solely on the traditional grid interconnection process. PwC estimates that more than 30% of AI-related gas demand could be behind the meter by 2035.

Other models are emerging as well, including dedicated pipeline laterals paired with generation and more integrated arrangements connecting gas supply, transportation, storage, generation and data center load. The larger lesson for business and technology leaders isn't that every data center should pursue the same energy strategy.

It's that energy procurement can no longer be treated as a back-office function that happens after the technology and real estate decisions have been made. It is becoming a strategic capability.

Building AI infrastructure will require a broader ecosystem

This shift also changes who technology companies need around the table. The next generation of AI infrastructure will require greater coordination among hyperscalers and data center developers with utilities, natural gas providers and pipeline operators. Increasingly, these parties will need to solve for the entire path from energy supply to operational compute rather than solely optimizing their individual piece of the equation.

For technology executives, that makes partnership strategy increasingly important. Securing energy infrastructure earlier, understanding regional constraints and developing relationships across the power ecosystem can help reduce schedule risk before billions of dollars of compute are waiting for power.

AI may be a technology revolution, but scaling it is quickly becoming a physical infrastructure challenge. The organizations best positioned for the next phase will be those that treat energy as a strategic capability and recognize that natural gas can play a critical role in providing the reliable, dispatchable power needed to bring AI capacity online and keep it running.

In the race to scale AI, time to power may ultimately determine time to value.

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• Apple’s announced new Pro controls and Photographic Styles for iPhone
• They’re limited to the new iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro and series
• But Apple is extending its free satellite coverage for older iPhones

I take a lot of photos on my iPhone, so watching Apple’s iPhone Duo event yesterday, I was naturally intrigued by the news of fresh Photographic Styles and the introduction of Pro controls, both of which give you more power over your smartphone images. But it now looks like there’s a serious catch that wasn’t apparent at the time of the event.

In the hours since newly instated Apple CEO John Ternus wound down his keynote speech, iPhone fans have taken to social media to point out that both Pro controls and the third-generation Photographic Styles are limited to the current batch of iPhones.

Specifically, you’ll only be able to access them if you have an iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max or an iPhone Duo. Users of last year’s iPhone 17 series — or anything released before that — will be shut out of the new features.

And that’s a shame, because they look like they could be a real boon for photography enthusiasts. Pro controls include useful tools to adjust white balance, manually tweak aperture and shutter speeds, consult histograms, and more. Photographic Styles, meanwhile, are handy presets and filters you can apply to your images and now come with precise controls for grain and texture. But if you don’t have one of the latest iPhones, they’ll be out of reach.

Extended satellite coverage

(Image credit: Apple)

Despite this disappointing development, it wasn’t all bad news for owners of older iPhones. After the event, it emerged that Apple has quietly extended its free satellite connectivity features for another year, and that applies all the way back to the iPhone 14.

Specifically, you’ll get another year of satellite coverage if you have any device from the iPhone 14, iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 ranges, despite the fact that this deal was meant to have expired for these devices. Apple originally launched its satellite features for the iPhone 14 in 2022 and said that product would get two years of coverage, but has instead repeatedly extended its free terms for the iPhone 14 as well as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.

This extension applies to features including Emergency SOS via satellite, Messages via satellite, Find My via satellite, and Roadside Assistance via satellite. There’s no news regarding how much Apple might charge if it ever decides to end its free coverage, but now that’s not something you’ll have to worry about for at least another year.

With these features remaining free for the time being, owners of older iPhones have been granted a little ray of tech sunshine. Apple might be gatekeeping new Photographic Styles and Pro controls behind its latest devices, but the arguably more important satellite tools still won’t require a pricey upgrade.

• Evidence points to Beats 360 coming later in September
• That's despite Beats' owner, Apple, having just hosted a big launch event
• We now know a lot about these new headphones too…

While the AirPods 5 upgrades offer you the best features of the AirPods Pro, they were small consolation at an Apple Event in which people were hoping for more sweeping audio upgrades. No AirPods with cameras, no HomePods upgrade despite teases, and no new Beats headphones.

However, that latter point could be addressed later in the month. How come? because according to MacRumors, Apple just released a firmware update for the Beats 360 headphones. Yes, that same pair of Beats 360 headphones we've been hearing rumors about for months, but that have yet to be officially announced.

Why is Apple updating headphones that don't exist? Well, bear in mind we've been seeing them for months, as Apple gave them to multiple soccer World Cup players to show off during the tournament. Celebrity sportspeople need their tech updating too, after all.

There's no indication of what this update does, and it doesn't really matter. It's all about what this update suggests.

A Beats 360 release date just around the corner?

Because of this recent software update, many now think that the Beats 360 are due to be unveiled at some point in September.

While Apple already has just had its big product unveiling event of the year (on September 9, around 14 hours ago at the time of writing), that doesn't rule out new Beats devices. Apple generally lets its Beats sub-brand operate independently.

In fact, it would've been pretty bizarre if we had seen the Beats 360 shown off at the Apple event, for this fact.

We know a lot about how the Beats 360 look, thanks to plenty of leaks (and, of course, the fact that they were literally on the necks, heads and bags of a few soccer players months ago). They sound like a big step up from what we've seen, but as the launch of a new range, it's hard to know how they'll stack up to existing models.

Beats' last product launch was in October 2025, when it showed off the Powerbeats Fit, so maybe we'll see the brand take the same late-September-early-October window for its new device. Or devices? We've only heard about the Beats 360, but that doesn't rule out siblings of other form factors.

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