Technology

• Man City vs Tottenham: Aug. 23, 2025
• Time: 7.30am ET / 4.30am PT / 12.30pm BST / 9.30pm AEST
• Best Streams: USA (US) / TNT Sports (UK)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream is a heavyweight clash this early in the Premier League 2025/26 season, not least after the sides won their respective opening fixtures 4-0 and 3-0.

City purred in winning by four goals at Wolves. An Erling Haaland brace, plus Premier League debut goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, were more than enough for the side that finished 13 points shy of champions Liverpool last season. Dutch midfielder Reijnders was especially impressive, providing the box-to-box link following Kevin De Bruyne's summer release. Pep Guardiola has his sights firmly set on returning his side to the summit again this term, even with talisman Rodri still nursing an injury.

Spurs managed to put their UEFA Super Cup heartache against PSG behind them, by putting Burnley to the sword 3-0 on the Premier League opening day last weekend. A spectacular brace from Richarlison, including a superb overhead kick, showed the Thomas Frank revolution is already taking shape in North London, but losing out to bitter local rivals Arsenal in the race for Eberechi Eze's signature has since put something of a dampener on matters. Frank may go for a back three or Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso and try to frustrate City.

Here's where to watch Man City vs Tottenham live streams in the 2025/26 Premier League online from anywhere.

Use a VPN to watch any Man City vs Tottenham streamEditors Choice

NordVPN – get the world's best VPN
We regularly review all the biggest and best VPN providers and NordVPN is our #1 choice. It unblocked every streaming service in testing and it's very straightforward to use. Speed, security and 24/7 support available if you need – it's got it all.

The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at $2.91 per month, and includes an extra 4 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important a 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

- Try NordVPN 100% risk-free for 30 daysVIEW DEAL ON

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham live stream in the US

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream is on USA Network in the US.

To watch games live on USA you can also use a cord-cutting service. Those with the channels available are Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Of these we would recommend Sling TV, prices start from $45.99/month.

Outside the U.S. for Man City vs Tottenham? Use NordVPN to access your usual EPL streams.

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham live stream in the UK

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream will be on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports broadcasts 52 matches from the 2025/26 Premier League this season and Man City vs Tottenham is one of them. You can get it by adding TNT Sports to your Sky, Virgin Media or EE TV package, or pay from £30.99 per month for a Discovery+ plan that includes TNT Sports.

If you're travelling outside the U.K. during the season make sure you use NordVPN to tap into your home streams.

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham in Australia

Australian residents will be able to watch Man City vs Tottenham for free on Channel 9 and 9Now this weekend as part of Stan Sport's attempts to reach a wider audience.

Alternatively, the game will be on Stan Sport who are also broadcasting every other EPL game this season.

Outside Oz travelling? Use NordVPN to watch Man City vs Tottenham on 9Now.

Official Man City vs Tottenham broadcasters by regionAfrica

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

The Premier League 2025/26 broadcast rights for Africa are largely split between BeIn Sports and SuperSport.

Residents of the following African countries can watch Premier League 2025/26 live streams with a BeIn Sports subscription:

Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia.

Satellite TV provider SuperSport has the Premier League 2025/26 TV rights across these regions in Africa:

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St Helena and Ascension, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• South Africa

SuperSport will host the Premier League 2025/26 on its satellite channels.

Americas

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Canada

Fubo once again has the rights to broadcast the Premier League during the 2025/26 season, including Man City vs Tottenham.

• Latin America

A combination of FOX, Tubi and TNT Sports will show Premier League action in 2025/26 across the following regions in Latin America:

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.

Man City vs Tottenham is on Tubi.

• Latin America

South American countries – including Brazil and Caribbean – will be able to watch live Premier League 2025/26 matches on ESPN.

Europe

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

The Premier League 2025/26 season will be shown by various broadcasters and streaming services throughout Europe. You can check out specific information about your country below.

• Albania

Digitalb has the rights to show Premier League action this season.

• Andorra

Soccer fans in Andorra can watch the action on a combination of CANAL+ and DAZN.

Man City vs Tottenham is on CANAL+.

• Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Romania

Premier League coverage comes from Saran Media channels in these countries.

• Austria

Sky in Austria will show coverage of the Premier League in 2025/26.

• Belgium

Telenet will broadcast the Premier League 2025/26 in Belgium.

• Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia

You can watch the Premier League 2025/26 season on Telekom Srbija channels in this set of counties.

• Cyprus

You can view the Premier League 2025/26 on Cytavision in Cyprus.

• Czechia, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia

The Premier League 2025/26 season will be shown on CANAL+ in these territories.

• Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden

Fans in these countries can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on Viaplay.

• Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

TV3 has the Premier League live stream rights in these countries this season.

• France

There will be coverage of Premier League 2025/26 in France on CANAL+.

• Germany

In Germany, the Premier League 2025/26 rights are owned by Sky.

• Greece

Greeks should head to IMG and Forthnet for the Premier League 2025/26 season.

• Hungary

Premier League 2025/26 live streams will go out on TV2 in Hungary.

• Iceland

Syn is the place to watch Premier League football in Iceland.

• Ireland

Premier Sports, TNT Sports and Sky Sports will broadcast coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Ireland.

TNT will be showing Man City vs Tottenham.

• Israel

Charlton has won the Premier League coverage rights in Israel.

• Italy

Viewers in Italy can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on Sky Italia.

• Malta

Maltese soccer fans will be able to watch Premier League action on TSN.

• Portugal and Spain

DAZN has the rights to air the Premier League 2025/26 in Portugal and Spain.

• Switzerland

Fans in Switzerland can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on CANAL+ for French language commentary or Sky for German and Italian commentary.

• Turkey

BeIn Sports in Turkey will host some coverage of the Premier League 2025/26.

• Ukraine

Setanta Sports will show the Premier League 2025/26 in Ukraine.

Asia

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

The Premier League 2025/26 rights for these Central Asian countries are held by Saran Media.

• Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand

Make your way to Jasmine if you want to watch the Premier League 2025/26 in these three countries.

• China

In China, the Premier League 2025/26 will be shown by Migu.

• Chinese Taipei

ELTA is the current Premier League rights holder here.

• Hong Kong

PCCW is the place to go for the Premier League 2025/26 in Hong Kong.

• India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Star Sports (and the JioStar app) is the Premier League 2025/26 broadcaster for India plus Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• Indonesia

Head to EMTEK channels in Indonesia for the rights to the Premier League 2025/26.

• Japan

U-NEXT will show the Premier League 2025/26 in Japan.

• Malaysia

Astro is the home of the Premier League 2025/26 in the Malaysia.

• Mongolia

Unitel will show the coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Mongolia.

• Singapore

StarHub provides coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Singapore.

• South Korea

Coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in South Korea can be found at Coupang.

• Vietnam

K+ is the Premier League rights holder in Vietnam this season.

Oceania

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Australia

Stan Sport has the rights to the Premier League 2025/26 in Australia. Prices start from $27 per month.

• New Zealand

Sky Sport is the Premier League 2025/26 TV rights holder in New Zealand.

• Pacific Islands

Coverage in the Pacific Islands comes from Digicel. That covers:

Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Middle East

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

BeIN Sports MENA is the Premier League 2025/26 broadcaster across the Middle East.

You can watch the Premier League 2025/26 live streams with a subscription to BeIN Sports in the following Middle East countries:

Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Can I watch Man City vs Tottenham on my mobile?

Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser. For example, Sky Go in the UK.

You can also stay up-to-date with all key moments from the EPL on the official social media channels on X/Twitter (@PremierLeague), Instagram (@PremierLeague), TikTok (@PremierLeague) and YouTube (@PremierLeague).

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

• Man City vs Tottenham: Aug. 23, 2025
• Time: 7.30am ET / 4.30am PT / 12.30pm BST / 9.30pm AEST
• Best Streams: USA (US) / TNT Sports (UK)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream is a heavyweight clash this early in the Premier League 2025/26 season, not least after the sides won their respective opening fixtures 4-0 and 3-0.

City purred in winning by four goals at Wolves. An Erling Haaland brace, plus Premier League debut goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, were more than enough for the side that finished 13 points shy of champions Liverpool last season. Dutch midfielder Reijnders was especially impressive, providing the box-to-box link following Kevin De Bruyne's summer release. Pep Guardiola has his sights firmly set on returning his side to the summit again this term, even with talisman Rodri still nursing an injury.

Spurs managed to put their UEFA Super Cup heartache against PSG behind them, by putting Burnley to the sword 3-0 on the Premier League opening day last weekend. A spectacular brace from Richarlison, including a superb overhead kick, showed the Thomas Frank revolution is already taking shape in North London, but losing out to bitter local rivals Arsenal in the race for Eberechi Eze's signature has since put something of a dampener on matters. Frank may go for a back three or Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso and try to frustrate City.

Here's where to watch Man City vs Tottenham live streams in the 2025/26 Premier League online from anywhere.

Use a VPN to watch any Man City vs Tottenham streamEditors Choice

NordVPN – get the world's best VPN
We regularly review all the biggest and best VPN providers and NordVPN is our #1 choice. It unblocked every streaming service in testing and it's very straightforward to use. Speed, security and 24/7 support available if you need – it's got it all.

The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at $2.91 per month, and includes an extra 4 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important a 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

- Try NordVPN 100% risk-free for 30 daysVIEW DEAL ON

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham live stream in the US

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream is on USA Network in the US.

To watch games live on USA you can also use a cord-cutting service. Those with the channels available are Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Of these we would recommend Sling TV, prices start from $45.99/month.

Outside the U.S. for Man City vs Tottenham? Use NordVPN to access your usual EPL streams.

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham live stream in the UK

The Man City vs Tottenham live stream will be on TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports broadcasts 52 matches from the 2025/26 Premier League this season and Man City vs Tottenham is one of them. You can get it by adding TNT Sports to your Sky, Virgin Media or EE TV package, or pay from £30.99 per month for a Discovery+ plan that includes TNT Sports.

If you're travelling outside the U.K. during the season make sure you use NordVPN to tap into your home streams.

How to watch Man City vs Tottenham in Australia

Australian residents will be able to watch Man City vs Tottenham for free on Channel 9 and 9Now this weekend as part of Stan Sport's attempts to reach a wider audience.

Alternatively, the game will be on Stan Sport who are also broadcasting every other EPL game this season.

Outside Oz travelling? Use NordVPN to watch Man City vs Tottenham on 9Now.

Official Man City vs Tottenham broadcasters by regionAfrica

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

The Premier League 2025/26 broadcast rights for Africa are largely split between BeIn Sports and SuperSport.

Residents of the following African countries can watch Premier League 2025/26 live streams with a BeIn Sports subscription:

Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia.

Satellite TV provider SuperSport has the Premier League 2025/26 TV rights across these regions in Africa:

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St Helena and Ascension, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• South Africa

SuperSport will host the Premier League 2025/26 on its satellite channels.

Americas

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Canada

Fubo once again has the rights to broadcast the Premier League during the 2025/26 season, including Man City vs Tottenham.

• Latin America

A combination of FOX, Tubi and TNT Sports will show Premier League action in 2025/26 across the following regions in Latin America:

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.

Man City vs Tottenham is on Tubi.

• Latin America

South American countries – including Brazil and Caribbean – will be able to watch live Premier League 2025/26 matches on ESPN.

Europe

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

The Premier League 2025/26 season will be shown by various broadcasters and streaming services throughout Europe. You can check out specific information about your country below.

• Albania

Digitalb has the rights to show Premier League action this season.

• Andorra

Soccer fans in Andorra can watch the action on a combination of CANAL+ and DAZN.

Man City vs Tottenham is on CANAL+.

• Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Romania

Premier League coverage comes from Saran Media channels in these countries.

• Austria

Sky in Austria will show coverage of the Premier League in 2025/26.

• Belgium

Telenet will broadcast the Premier League 2025/26 in Belgium.

• Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia

You can watch the Premier League 2025/26 season on Telekom Srbija channels in this set of counties.

• Cyprus

You can view the Premier League 2025/26 on Cytavision in Cyprus.

• Czechia, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia

The Premier League 2025/26 season will be shown on CANAL+ in these territories.

• Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden

Fans in these countries can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on Viaplay.

• Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

TV3 has the Premier League live stream rights in these countries this season.

• France

There will be coverage of Premier League 2025/26 in France on CANAL+.

• Germany

In Germany, the Premier League 2025/26 rights are owned by Sky.

• Greece

Greeks should head to IMG and Forthnet for the Premier League 2025/26 season.

• Hungary

Premier League 2025/26 live streams will go out on TV2 in Hungary.

• Iceland

Syn is the place to watch Premier League football in Iceland.

• Ireland

Premier Sports, TNT Sports and Sky Sports will broadcast coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Ireland.

TNT will be showing Man City vs Tottenham.

• Israel

Charlton has won the Premier League coverage rights in Israel.

• Italy

Viewers in Italy can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on Sky Italia.

• Malta

Maltese soccer fans will be able to watch Premier League action on TSN.

• Portugal and Spain

DAZN has the rights to air the Premier League 2025/26 in Portugal and Spain.

• Switzerland

Fans in Switzerland can watch the Premier League 2025/26 on CANAL+ for French language commentary or Sky for German and Italian commentary.

• Turkey

BeIn Sports in Turkey will host some coverage of the Premier League 2025/26.

• Ukraine

Setanta Sports will show the Premier League 2025/26 in Ukraine.

Asia

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

The Premier League 2025/26 rights for these Central Asian countries are held by Saran Media.

• Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand

Make your way to Jasmine if you want to watch the Premier League 2025/26 in these three countries.

• China

In China, the Premier League 2025/26 will be shown by Migu.

• Chinese Taipei

ELTA is the current Premier League rights holder here.

• Hong Kong

PCCW is the place to go for the Premier League 2025/26 in Hong Kong.

• India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Star Sports (and the JioStar app) is the Premier League 2025/26 broadcaster for India plus Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• Indonesia

Head to EMTEK channels in Indonesia for the rights to the Premier League 2025/26.

• Japan

U-NEXT will show the Premier League 2025/26 in Japan.

• Malaysia

Astro is the home of the Premier League 2025/26 in the Malaysia.

• Mongolia

Unitel will show the coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Mongolia.

• Singapore

StarHub provides coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in Singapore.

• South Korea

Coverage of the Premier League 2025/26 in South Korea can be found at Coupang.

• Vietnam

K+ is the Premier League rights holder in Vietnam this season.

Oceania

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

• Australia

Stan Sport has the rights to the Premier League 2025/26 in Australia. Prices start from $27 per month.

• New Zealand

Sky Sport is the Premier League 2025/26 TV rights holder in New Zealand.

• Pacific Islands

Coverage in the Pacific Islands comes from Digicel. That covers:

Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Middle East

Click to see more Man City vs Tottenham streams▼

BeIN Sports MENA is the Premier League 2025/26 broadcaster across the Middle East.

You can watch the Premier League 2025/26 live streams with a subscription to BeIN Sports in the following Middle East countries:

Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Can I watch Man City vs Tottenham on my mobile?

Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser. For example, Sky Go in the UK.

You can also stay up-to-date with all key moments from the EPL on the official social media channels on X/Twitter (@PremierLeague), Instagram (@PremierLeague), TikTok (@PremierLeague) and YouTube (@PremierLeague).

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The Ricoh GR IV is the premium compact and Fujfilm X100VI rival that many keen photographers have been waiting for. This week, finally, preorders went live.

You'd think I'd be happy, but as a (mostly) satisfied Ricoh GR III user for several years, I was sorely disappointed when I saw the specs and first product images – the GR IV looks like a really minor upgrade.

I put together my Ricoh GR IV wishlist a long while back, and it looks like I'm going to have to hope and pray that the next generation delivers.

Yes, my top wish for the new model was that it remained as small as its predecessor. Ricoh went one better by making the GR IV even slimmer... fractionally. However, keeping something the same is hardly a reason to upgrade, is it?

Better autofocus was another wish of mine. I've not used the new GR IV yet, but the first hands-on video by a Ricoh ambassador suggests autofocus is slightly quicker, but only by baby steps. Again, not enough of a reason to upgrade.

And here comes the real sting in the tail – Ricoh has hit fans with a huge price hike, especially for shoppers in the US. The new GR IV costs $1,499 / £1,199 / AU$2,099. Ouch.

Holding my own GR IIIX. In my book, a model from the GR III series is the thriftier purchase than the new GR IV (Image credit: Future)

There's simply no way that a camera with updates this minor can merit such a price increase (of around 20-35%, depending on where you live).

The sensor only sees a small resolution bump – from 24MP to 26MP. There's a new 28mm f/2.8 lens, but it's unclear to me yet if it is noticeably better.

I wanted a tilt screen, but we still have a fixed one. I asked for a built-in flash, but again, that's a no. Better build quality? You guessed it – nope.

Yet here we are with a steep price increase that pushes the new model into a category with much fiercer rivals, such as the powerful (if bulkier) X100VI.

The GR series has comfortably sat around the $1,000 / £900 for years (with a slight price increase due in part, no doubt, to demand). That price feels fair.

If the price of the new model were around the same as before, I'd be tempted. But if I'm buying anything this week, it's going to be Ricoh's shiny new GF-2 external flash ($119.95 / £99 /AU$ TBC).

The new flash gun slots into the camera's hotshoe and is appropriately tiny, plus it's compatible with my GR III (although at the time of release, auto exposure isn't supported for older models – Ricoh says that'll come via a firmware update).

I'd rather the flash be built into the camera, but at least there's a good external option now.

With the GR IV, I think Ricoh has been stingy and greedy in one fell swoop, even if I'm delighted it has kept the series alive.

Want my advice? If you're keen on the GR series – and you should be, the GR III is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras with top image quality from a genuinely pocketable compact – then I suggest saving some cash by buying the older Ricoh GR III instead of the GR IV. You'll need to hurry to grab one while stocks last, though. Ricoh has discontinued it.

You might also like

• I used my vintage point-and-shoot for the first time in years – here’s how it compares to my Pixel phone
• The best compact camera for 2025: top pocket choices to take anywhere
• Ricoh GR III gets a dreamy successor, but it's not the GR IV I was hoping for

The Ricoh GR IV is the premium compact and Fujfilm X100VI rival that many keen photographers have been waiting for. This week, finally, preorders went live.

You'd think I'd be happy, but as a (mostly) satisfied Ricoh GR III user for several years, I was sorely disappointed when I saw the specs and first product images – the GR IV looks like a really minor upgrade.

I put together my Ricoh GR IV wishlist a long while back, and it looks like I'm going to have to hope and pray that the next generation delivers.

Yes, my top wish for the new model was that it remained as small as its predecessor. Ricoh went one better by making the GR IV even slimmer... fractionally. However, keeping something the same is hardly a reason to upgrade, is it?

Better autofocus was another wish of mine. I've not used the new GR IV yet, but the first hands-on video by a Ricoh ambassador suggests autofocus is slightly quicker, but only by baby steps. Again, not enough of a reason to upgrade.

And here comes the real sting in the tail – Ricoh has hit fans with a huge price hike, especially for shoppers in the US. The new GR IV costs $1,499 / £1,199 / AU$2,099. Ouch.

Holding my own GR IIIX. In my book, a model from the GR III series is the thriftier purchase than the new GR IV (Image credit: Future)

There's simply no way that a camera with updates this minor can merit such a price increase (of around 20-35%, depending on where you live).

The sensor only sees a small resolution bump – from 24MP to 26MP. There's a new 28mm f/2.8 lens, but it's unclear to me yet if it is noticeably better.

I wanted a tilt screen, but we still have a fixed one. I asked for a built-in flash, but again, that's a no. Better build quality? You guessed it – nope.

Yet here we are with a steep price increase that pushes the new model into a category with much fiercer rivals, such as the powerful (if bulkier) X100VI.

The GR series has comfortably sat around the $1,000 / £900 for years (with a slight price increase due in part, no doubt, to demand). That price feels fair.

If the price of the new model were around the same as before, I'd be tempted. But if I'm buying anything this week, it's going to be Ricoh's shiny new GF-2 external flash ($119.95 / £99 /AU$ TBC).

The new flash gun slots into the camera's hotshoe and is appropriately tiny, plus it's compatible with my GR III (although at the time of release, auto exposure isn't supported for older models – Ricoh says that'll come via a firmware update).

I'd rather the flash be built into the camera, but at least there's a good external option now.

With the GR IV, I think Ricoh has been stingy and greedy in one fell swoop, even if I'm delighted it has kept the series alive.

Want my advice? If you're keen on the GR series – and you should be, the GR III is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras with top image quality from a genuinely pocketable compact – then I suggest saving some cash by buying the older Ricoh GR III instead of the GR IV. You'll need to hurry to grab one while stocks last, though. Ricoh has discontinued it.

You might also like

• I used my vintage point-and-shoot for the first time in years – here’s how it compares to my Pixel phone
• The best compact camera for 2025: top pocket choices to take anywhere
• Ricoh GR III gets a dreamy successor, but it's not the GR IV I was hoping for

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 23.

Two sides looking to build on encouraging starts to the new campaign meet at the Etihad.

The growth of AI has increased demand for semiconductors and competition among the companies that make them.

• Anthropic has developed an AI-powered tool that detects and blocks attempts to ask AI chatbots for nuclear weapons design
• The company worked with the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure the AI could identify such attempts
• Anthropic claims it spots dangerous nuclear-related prompts with 96% accuracy and has already proven effective on Claude

If you’re the type of person who asks Claude how to make a sandwich, you’re fine. If you’re the type of person who asks the AI chatbot how to build a nuclear bomb, you'll not only fail to get any blueprints, you might also face some pointed questions of your own. That's thanks to Anthropic's newly deployed detector of problematic nuclear prompts.

Like other systems for spotting queries Claude shouldn't respond to, the new classifier scans user conversations, in this case flagging any that veer into “how to build a nuclear weapon” territory. Anthropic built the classification feature in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), giving it all the information it needs to determine whether someone is just asking about how such bombs work or if they're looking for blueprints. It's performed with 96% accuracy in tests.

Though it might seem over-the-top, Anthropic sees the issue as more than merely hypothetical. The chance that powerful AI models may have access to sensitive technical documents and could pass along a guide to building something like a nuclear bomb worries federal security agencies. Even if Claude and other AI chatbots block the most obvious attempts, innocent-seeming questions could in fact be veiled attempts at crowdsourcing weapons design. The new AI chatbot generations might help even if it's not what their developers intend.

The classifier works by drawing a distinction between benign nuclear content, asking about nuclear propulsion, for instance, and the kind of content that could be turned to malicious use. Human moderators might struggle to keep up with any gray areas at the scale AI chatbots operate, but with proper training, Anthropic and the NNSA believe the AI could police itself. Anthropic claims its classifier is already catching real-world misuse attempts in conversations with Claude.

Nuclear AI safety

Nuclear weapons in particular represent a uniquely tricky problem, according to Anthropic and its partners at the DoE. The same foundational knowledge that powers legitimate reactor science can, if slightly twisted, provide the blueprint for annihilation. The arrangement between Anthropic and the NNSA could catch deliberate and accidental disclosures, and set up a standard to prevent AI from being used to help make other weapons, too. Anthropic plans to share its approach with the Frontier Model Forum AI safety consortium.

The narrowly tailored filter is aimed at making sure users can still learn about nuclear science and related topics. You still get to ask about how nuclear medicine works, or whether thorium is a safer fuel than uranium.

What the classifier attempts to circumvent are attempts to turn your home into a bomb lab with a few clever prompts. Normally, it would be questionable if an AI company could thread that needle, but the expertise of the NNSA should make the classifier different from a generic content moderation system. It understands the difference between “explain fission” and “give me a step-by-step plan for uranium enrichment using garage supplies.”

This doesn’t mean Claude was previously helping users design bombs. But it could help forestall any attempt to do so. Stick to asking about the way radiation can cure diseases or ask for creative sandwich ideas, not bomb blueprints.

You might also like

• Has ChatGPT-5's cold tone made you want to try alternative AIs? Claude just added a new memory feature
• You don’t have to explain everything to Claude anymore – it’s finally in your apps
• How Claude’s 3.7's new ‘extended' thinking compares to ChatGPT o1's reasoning

• Anthropic has developed an AI-powered tool that detects and blocks attempts to ask AI chatbots for nuclear weapons design
• The company worked with the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure the AI could identify such attempts
• Anthropic claims it spots dangerous nuclear-related prompts with 96% accuracy and has already proven effective on Claude

If you’re the type of person who asks Claude how to make a sandwich, you’re fine. If you’re the type of person who asks the AI chatbot how to build a nuclear bomb, you'll not only fail to get any blueprints, you might also face some pointed questions of your own. That's thanks to Anthropic's newly deployed detector of problematic nuclear prompts.

Like other systems for spotting queries Claude shouldn't respond to, the new classifier scans user conversations, in this case flagging any that veer into “how to build a nuclear weapon” territory. Anthropic built the classification feature in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), giving it all the information it needs to determine whether someone is just asking about how such bombs work or if they're looking for blueprints. It's performed with 96% accuracy in tests.

Though it might seem over-the-top, Anthropic sees the issue as more than merely hypothetical. The chance that powerful AI models may have access to sensitive technical documents and could pass along a guide to building something like a nuclear bomb worries federal security agencies. Even if Claude and other AI chatbots block the most obvious attempts, innocent-seeming questions could in fact be veiled attempts at crowdsourcing weapons design. The new AI chatbot generations might help even if it's not what their developers intend.

The classifier works by drawing a distinction between benign nuclear content, asking about nuclear propulsion, for instance, and the kind of content that could be turned to malicious use. Human moderators might struggle to keep up with any gray areas at the scale AI chatbots operate, but with proper training, Anthropic and the NNSA believe the AI could police itself. Anthropic claims its classifier is already catching real-world misuse attempts in conversations with Claude.

Nuclear AI safety

Nuclear weapons in particular represent a uniquely tricky problem, according to Anthropic and its partners at the DoE. The same foundational knowledge that powers legitimate reactor science can, if slightly twisted, provide the blueprint for annihilation. The arrangement between Anthropic and the NNSA could catch deliberate and accidental disclosures, and set up a standard to prevent AI from being used to help make other weapons, too. Anthropic plans to share its approach with the Frontier Model Forum AI safety consortium.

The narrowly tailored filter is aimed at making sure users can still learn about nuclear science and related topics. You still get to ask about how nuclear medicine works, or whether thorium is a safer fuel than uranium.

What the classifier attempts to circumvent are attempts to turn your home into a bomb lab with a few clever prompts. Normally, it would be questionable if an AI company could thread that needle, but the expertise of the NNSA should make the classifier different from a generic content moderation system. It understands the difference between “explain fission” and “give me a step-by-step plan for uranium enrichment using garage supplies.”

This doesn’t mean Claude was previously helping users design bombs. But it could help forestall any attempt to do so. Stick to asking about the way radiation can cure diseases or ask for creative sandwich ideas, not bomb blueprints.

You might also like

• Has ChatGPT-5's cold tone made you want to try alternative AIs? Claude just added a new memory feature
• You don’t have to explain everything to Claude anymore – it’s finally in your apps
• How Claude’s 3.7's new ‘extended' thinking compares to ChatGPT o1's reasoning

Siri's long-delayed overhaul could end up powered by Google's Gemini AI, a move that shows how urgently Apple is trying to close the gap with rivals.

• Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is looking at Gemini to power Siri
• Apple Intelligence's best bits are still delayed until possibly 2026
• No confirmation from either company, and the report put discussions at the earliest stages

Apple's efforts to deliver the smarter Siri and full Apple Intelligence we were promised "in the coming year" might get a boost from an unlikely third party if Bloomberg's latest report is true. The iPhone maker is reportedly in early-stage exploratory talks about integrating Gemini in Siri.

There aren't many details beyond that, though Bloomberg's Mark Gurman contends that the shift to these Google chats happened after Apple couldn't reach financial terms with Anthropic (maker of Claude AI).

The possibility of Apple using Gemini's much more accomplished generative AI and one of its models (Gemini Pro, Flash, Lite?) to bring the conversational intelligence lacking in Siri would immediately transform Apple's nearly 15-year-old digital assistant into a more able AI tool, but it would also mean that Apple is ceding control in what is a key digital arms race.

How we got here

While working with third parties has always been a part of Apple Intelligence's strategy, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and the company's development leadership have never mentioned ingesting someone else's generative AI models. It's also a fact that Apple Intelligence's rollout has not gone exactly according to plan.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

In TechRadar's conversation at WWDC 2025 with Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi, who is also now running Apple's AI development efforts, he explained why the company hadn't delivered full Apple Intelligence and a smarter Siri on time. After struggling to get V1 architecture working as they wanted to, Apple had a decision to make:

"...fundamentally, we found that the limitations of the V1 architecture weren't getting us to the quality level that we knew our customers needed and expected." He added, "As soon as we realized that [...] we let the world know that we weren't going to be able to put that out, and we were going to keep working on really shifting to the new architecture and releasing something."

Gurman, though, contends that Apple is still not fully committed to using its own architecture and models and will soon make the decision about whether or not to outsource to a third party like Google for at least some of the necessary intelligence. Again, the discussions he describes are in the earliest stages. And whatever comes of them, assuming they exist, it's unlikely they will have any impact on the upcoming release of iOS 26, which features a smattering of Apple Intelligence updates but virtually none to Siri.

(Image credit: Shutterstock/rafapress)Far from strangers

Apple and Google are already search partners (Google is Safari's default search engine), and in Apple's Visual Intelligence, where you can choose to use Google to search on captured images (or you can ask OpenAI's ChatGPT about them).

Still, Gemini inside Siri would mark a major turning point for Apple and an admission that it's simply not up to the task of competing in the AI sphere, at least not at the level of an OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, or Google.

This approach, though, is not unheard of; Microsoft's Copilot is essentially a reskinnning of ChatGPT (though there are questions if Microsoft will continue getting access to OpenAI's best models).

Even so, Apple put a lot of effort and marketing into Apple Intelligence. The question is, can it still be called that if a big chunk of it is powered by Google?

We contacted Apple and Google for comment. Google had no comment. We'll update this story if and when Apple replies.

You might also like

• This is what really happened with Siri and Apple Intelligence, according to Apple
• I spoke to Apple’s software engineering VP for the inside story on how iPadOS 26 finally became a real Mac alternative
• 15 things we learned at the Apple WWDC 2025 keynote

• Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is looking at Gemini to power Siri
• Apple Intelligence's best bits are still delayed until possibly 2026
• No confirmation from either company, and the report put discussions at the earliest stages

Apple's efforts to deliver the smarter Siri and full Apple Intelligence we were promised "in the coming year" might get a boost from an unlikely third party if Bloomberg's latest report is true. The iPhone maker is reportedly in early-stage exploratory talks about integrating Gemini in Siri.

There aren't many details beyond that, though Bloomberg's Mark Gurman contends that the shift to these Google chats happened after Apple couldn't reach financial terms with Anthropic (maker of Claude AI).

The possibility of Apple using Gemini's much more accomplished generative AI and one of its models (Gemini Pro, Flash, Lite?) to bring the conversational intelligence lacking in Siri would immediately transform Apple's nearly 15-year-old digital assistant into a more able AI tool, but it would also mean that Apple is ceding control in what is a key digital arms race.

How we got here

While working with third parties has always been a part of Apple Intelligence's strategy, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and the company's development leadership have never mentioned ingesting someone else's generative AI models. It's also a fact that Apple Intelligence's rollout has not gone exactly according to plan.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

In TechRadar's conversation at WWDC 2025 with Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi, who is also now running Apple's AI development efforts, he explained why the company hadn't delivered full Apple Intelligence and a smarter Siri on time. After struggling to get V1 architecture working as they wanted to, Apple had a decision to make:

"...fundamentally, we found that the limitations of the V1 architecture weren't getting us to the quality level that we knew our customers needed and expected." He added, "As soon as we realized that [...] we let the world know that we weren't going to be able to put that out, and we were going to keep working on really shifting to the new architecture and releasing something."

Gurman, though, contends that Apple is still not fully committed to using its own architecture and models and will soon make the decision about whether or not to outsource to a third party like Google for at least some of the necessary intelligence. Again, the discussions he describes are in the earliest stages. And whatever comes of them, assuming they exist, it's unlikely they will have any impact on the upcoming release of iOS 26, which features a smattering of Apple Intelligence updates but virtually none to Siri.

(Image credit: Shutterstock/rafapress)Far from strangers

Apple and Google are already search partners (Google is Safari's default search engine), and in Apple's Visual Intelligence, where you can choose to use Google to search on captured images (or you can ask OpenAI's ChatGPT about them).

Still, Gemini inside Siri would mark a major turning point for Apple and an admission that it's simply not up to the task of competing in the AI sphere, at least not at the level of an OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, or Google.

This approach, though, is not unheard of; Microsoft's Copilot is essentially a reskinnning of ChatGPT (though there are questions if Microsoft will continue getting access to OpenAI's best models).

Even so, Apple put a lot of effort and marketing into Apple Intelligence. The question is, can it still be called that if a big chunk of it is powered by Google?

We contacted Apple and Google for comment. Google had no comment. We'll update this story if and when Apple replies.

You might also like

• This is what really happened with Siri and Apple Intelligence, according to Apple
• I spoke to Apple’s software engineering VP for the inside story on how iPadOS 26 finally became a real Mac alternative
• 15 things we learned at the Apple WWDC 2025 keynote

Before buying supplements, give these 11 vitamin-D-rich foods a try.

DCI Jessica James and DI Sunny Khan return for more crime solving on the streets of London.

This month's departures from HBO Max have a color in common: red. It's the color of Hellboy and the color of Mars – and it's also the color of that famous scene in the horror classic Carrie.

My three catch-em-while-you-can recommendations for HBO Max this month have something else in common too: stunning central performances. Ron Perlman is a wisecracking delight as a hellishly powerful superhero, adding a very welcome dose of grumpiness to a genre that was starting to feel somewhat stale. Matt Damon is utterly believable and completely compelling as a scientist stranded millions of miles from home. And Sissy Spacek in Carrie is truly exceptional, delivering a performance that's heartbreakingly fragile and truly terrifying.

These are very different movies, but they're all exceptional. If you've seen them already they're well worth revisiting. And if you haven't, you're in for a movie masterclass on one of the best streaming services.

Carrie

Two Carries are leaving HBO soon: the 1976 original and the 2013 remake. The older film is vastly superior to the newer one – the remake scored just 51% with the critics on Rotten Tomatoes and has variously been called "remarkably redundant", "terrible pointless junk" and "one of the worst remakes ever made". But the original film based on Stephen King's horror classic is tremendous, with an astonishing central performance by Sissy Spacek as the titular teen who starts to suspect she has supernatural powers. It's currently sitting with a whopping 94% rating from the critics.

Carrie "is a terrifying lyrical thriller," legendary New Yorker critic Pauline Kael wrote. "The director, Brian De Palma, has mastered a teasing style – a perverse mixture of comedy and horror and tension." Looking back from the 2020s, Total Film wrote: "Brian De Palma transcends the pulpy horror feel by emphasizing the awakening-sexuality metaphor, and using some glorious trickery," while The Fright File called it "One of cinema's ultimate operatic teenage melodramas. I have seen "Carrie" more times than I can count, and yet it never loses its uncommon heartbreak and blood-curdling dramatic power."

The Martian

Matt Damon spent a lot of time in spacesuits in the 2010s: there was (mild spoiler alert) Bad Space Matt in Interstellar, and Good Space Matt in this impressive solo performance. Damon is Mark Watney, left behind on Mars after a fierce storm leads his fellow explorers to think he's dead and leave the red planet without him. But he's not dead, and he'd really like to get home.

The 91% critic rating is well deserved. Empire Magazine gave the film four stars: "Instantly joining E. T. and Bruce Dern’s Freeman Lowell (Silent Running) in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest space gardeners, Damon’s Watney is the actor at his most engaging, by turns flip and desperate... The Martian mixes smarts, laughs, weird character bits and tension on a huge canvas. The result is (Ridley) Scott’s most purely enjoyable film for ages."

Hellboy

Like Carrie, there's more than one Hellboy movie and the original is vastly better than the remake: the 2019 reboot of Hellboy got a frankly embarrassing 17% critic rating. That's partly because it didn't have Guillermo Del Toro in the director's chair or Ron Perlman in the Hellboy prosthetics. The film is "a unique romp," The New Yorker said, "with an exciting yet vulnerable superhero at the center who just happens to be the spawn of Satan."

NPR raved about it too. "Anyone can send an immense, computer-generated vegetable monster rampaging at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, but it takes a special kind of imagination to do it in a way that's thrilling, emotionally complex, and rapturously beautiful all at once." Time Out agreed. "Del Toro, in love with his source but never overawed by it, keeps things moving; Perlman ties it together with some of the driest witticisms this side of Indiana Jones."

You may also like

• When is James Gunn's Superman movie coming to HBO Max and other streaming services?
• IT: Welcome to Derry – everything you need to know about the new Max horror series
• Peacemaker season 2: everything we know so far about the HBO Max show's return (release date, trailer, cast, and plot)

This month's departures from HBO Max have a color in common: red. It's the color of Hellboy and the color of Mars – and it's also the color of that famous scene in the horror classic Carrie.

My three catch-em-while-you-can recommendations for HBO Max this month have something else in common too: stunning central performances. Ron Perlman is a wisecracking delight as a hellishly powerful superhero, adding a very welcome dose of grumpiness to a genre that was starting to feel somewhat stale. Matt Damon is utterly believable and completely compelling as a scientist stranded millions of miles from home. And Sissy Spacek in Carrie is truly exceptional, delivering a performance that's heartbreakingly fragile and truly terrifying.

These are very different movies, but they're all exceptional. If you've seen them already they're well worth revisiting. And if you haven't, you're in for a movie masterclass on one of the best streaming services.

Carrie

Two Carries are leaving HBO soon: the 1976 original and the 2013 remake. The older film is vastly superior to the newer one – the remake scored just 51% with the critics on Rotten Tomatoes and has variously been called "remarkably redundant", "terrible pointless junk" and "one of the worst remakes ever made". But the original film based on Stephen King's horror classic is tremendous, with an astonishing central performance by Sissy Spacek as the titular teen who starts to suspect she has supernatural powers. It's currently sitting with a whopping 94% rating from the critics.

Carrie "is a terrifying lyrical thriller," legendary New Yorker critic Pauline Kael wrote. "The director, Brian De Palma, has mastered a teasing style – a perverse mixture of comedy and horror and tension." Looking back from the 2020s, Total Film wrote: "Brian De Palma transcends the pulpy horror feel by emphasizing the awakening-sexuality metaphor, and using some glorious trickery," while The Fright File called it "One of cinema's ultimate operatic teenage melodramas. I have seen "Carrie" more times than I can count, and yet it never loses its uncommon heartbreak and blood-curdling dramatic power."

The Martian

Matt Damon spent a lot of time in spacesuits in the 2010s: there was (mild spoiler alert) Bad Space Matt in Interstellar, and Good Space Matt in this impressive solo performance. Damon is Mark Watney, left behind on Mars after a fierce storm leads his fellow explorers to think he's dead and leave the red planet without him. But he's not dead, and he'd really like to get home.

The 91% critic rating is well deserved. Empire Magazine gave the film four stars: "Instantly joining E. T. and Bruce Dern’s Freeman Lowell (Silent Running) in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest space gardeners, Damon’s Watney is the actor at his most engaging, by turns flip and desperate... The Martian mixes smarts, laughs, weird character bits and tension on a huge canvas. The result is (Ridley) Scott’s most purely enjoyable film for ages."

Hellboy

Like Carrie, there's more than one Hellboy movie and the original is vastly better than the remake: the 2019 reboot of Hellboy got a frankly embarrassing 17% critic rating. That's partly because it didn't have Guillermo Del Toro in the director's chair or Ron Perlman in the Hellboy prosthetics. The film is "a unique romp," The New Yorker said, "with an exciting yet vulnerable superhero at the center who just happens to be the spawn of Satan."

NPR raved about it too. "Anyone can send an immense, computer-generated vegetable monster rampaging at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, but it takes a special kind of imagination to do it in a way that's thrilling, emotionally complex, and rapturously beautiful all at once." Time Out agreed. "Del Toro, in love with his source but never overawed by it, keeps things moving; Perlman ties it together with some of the driest witticisms this side of Indiana Jones."

You may also like

• When is James Gunn's Superman movie coming to HBO Max and other streaming services?
• IT: Welcome to Derry – everything you need to know about the new Max horror series
• Peacemaker season 2: everything we know so far about the HBO Max show's return (release date, trailer, cast, and plot)

• More range, faster charging and a lower price
• NACS support means it can top up at Tesla Supercharger stations
• The Leaf arrives at a time when demand for EVs is waning in the US

Nissan has revealed pricing for its US-bound Nissan Leaf model and it claims it will be the cheapest EV on sale when it hits roads in 2026.

The updated Leaf, which the Japanese marque hopes will prove even more popular than the ground-breaking original, will start at $29,990 for the Leaf S+ and rise to $38,990 for the top spec Platinum+ trim, which manages 259 miles on a single charge.

The entry-level model is around $3,000 cheaper than the 2011 original and undercuts the outgoing 2025 version, but Nissan will also reveal pricing for the cheapest S model later this year, which could well start at under $28,000.

Redesigned from the ground up and sharing its platform with the Nissan Ariya, the US-spec Leaf S+ features a 75kWh battery pack that is capable of 303 miles on a single charge. The outgoing 2025 model managed a max range of 212 miles.

Despite now adopting the more popular SUV/crossover body shape, the new Leaf is actually a bit shorter than the outgoing hatchback and only 10mm taller, but engineers have somehow managed to declutter to the interior so there is more space to comfortably transport passengers.

Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging port has been added, allowing users to gain access to the vast Supercharger network. Charging from 10% to 80% takes around 35 minutes from the faster chargers.

Other notable new features include an electronically-dimming panoramic roof, which Nissan says is a first in the segment, a Google-based infotainment system and advanced camera technology that provides a 360-degree view of the vehicle and offers an 'Invisible Hood' view to make parking easier.

Nissan needs a big hitImage 1 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)Image 2 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)Image 3 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)Image 4 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)Image 5 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)Image 6 of 6

(Image credit: Nissan)

Despite rapid growth over the past few years, EV sales have slowed in the US in recent months, with Inside EVs reporting that America’s EV market share dropped from 7.4% to 6.6% in April of this year.

Consumer confidence has been shaken by the US government’s decision to remove subsidies, while funding for EV-related industries continues to be attacked. The support to ensure the technology goes mainstream just isn’t in place.

Nissan is also facing a crisis of its own, as its share price continues to tumble due to the continuing losses it has been posting. As a result, it has already announced deep cuts to the workforce and the closure of several plants.

The new Leaf needs to be a big hit in the US, while the upcoming all-electric Micra also hopes to have a successful run in Europe – seeing as it shares most of its components with the hugely popular Renault 5 E-Tech.

Priced as it is, the new Nissan Leaf comes about as close as the US will get to the mythical $25,000 EV (with a useable range) that the internet has been pining for.

Seeing as Tesla looks to have killed that idea, Nissan might be in the perfect position win over new customers.

You might also like

• Let the cat out of the bag there’: Elon Musk says the new, affordable Tesla coming in 2025 will just be a cheaper Model Y
• Volkswagen wants you to pay a Netflix-style subscription to unlock extra EV power – and that could be a slippery slope
• Honda's tiny EV makes official debut – and the impossibly cute microcar can power your home too

There are some very interesting Philips Hue products on the way, including new Gradient Strips, Festavia string lights, and a Philips Hue Bridge Pro that can support up to 150 devices, but one rumored release has had me scratching my head - Philips Hue Essential.

These appear to be slightly lower-spec versions of standard Hue smart light bulbs, and will presumably have a more modest price tag to match – but why? Who, exactly, is Philips Hue Essentials for?

The budget end of the smart lighting market is already dominated by the likes of Govee, Ikea, and WiZ – and that’s where things get interesting. You see, WiZ lights are made by a company called Signify – the same company that makes Philips Hue products under license. Why would it pit its two brands against one another with a low-cost version of Hue?

WiZ smart lights (such as this WiZ Gradient Floor Lamp) are made by the same parent company as Philips Hue products, but for different users (Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

Well, it isn’t – not quite. Aside from price, one of the key differences between WiZ and Philips Hue is connectivity. WiZ lights connect directly to Wi-Fi, meaning there’s no need for a hub, and they’re easier to set up. They’re a good option if you just want one or two bulbs and aren’t planning to build a sophisticated lighting system with switches and sensors.

Although you can control individual Philips Hue lights from your phone using Bluetooth, most people will use them with a Philips Hue Bridge, which plugs into your router and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to create a mesh network that links all your devices together. No Wi-Fi necessary.

Using Zigbee rather than Wi-Fi means you can have a lot more smart lights in your home (a typical home Wi-Fi router isn’t really intended to communicate with more than a couple of dozen devices), with better range without the need for a Wi-Fi extender. (Zigbee devices also use less power, though LED bulbs aren’t huge energy-hogs to begin with, so you’re not likely to notice a huge difference on that front.)

Philips Hue Essential and WiZ bulbs, therefore, aren’t filling quite the same niche. If you only ever intend to own a couple of smart lights, then WiZ would be just fine, but Hue Essential will give you the option to expand your setup much further in the future, should you choose to.

A bright idea?

"Hue stretches across indoor and outdoor, and has different variants of products in all those categories," Giuliano Ghidini, Business and Marketing leader at Signify, told me in a recent interview.

"Hue offers a more comprehensive range so you can cover all rooms, and thanks to the technology it’s based on, Zigbee, with a Hue hub, you have very good coverage indoor and outdoor, and very high reliability without putting too much stress on your Wi-Fi network."

Pick up a couple of Philips Hue Essential bulbs with a Hue Bridge, and you'll have the option to extend your setup much further at a future date if you want to (Image credit: Philips Hue)

That makes Hue appealing if you have a generous budget and can afford to deck out your entire house, but the high entry price can be off-putting otherwise. A starter kit of two White & Color Ambiance bulbs bundled with a Hue Bridge might cost as much as $140 / £130 / AU$190. When you can pick up four Govee bulbs for a quarter of the price, with no hub necessary, it’s easy to see why homeowners with more modest needs would write off Hue.

The Philips Hue Essential series, depending on how it’s priced, sounds like it could offer the best of both worlds, with a palatable asking price and the ability to expand your smart lighting setup as much as you like later on, or just keep it simple and not feel like you’re under-utilizing it.

Essential? Perhaps not quite, but certainly more tempting.

You might also like

• I swapped my alarm clock for this Philips Hue light, and I've never felt more refreshed in the morning
• If Philips Hue is too expensive, the HDMI Sync Box and TV Backlight set from WiZ is a cheap and effective alternative
• Phillips Hue lights get a free AI upgrade – and it's a feature that could take your smart home to the next level

The partnership is one of the first big moves from Meta's newly revamped AI team. Here's what we know so far.

In a clumsy T1 preview, Trump Mobile teases two entirely different phones on social media.