TechRadar News

• POLSA announces it suffered a data breach
• Agency says it shut down its IT systems following alert
• Insiders claim incident was due to email compromise

The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) has confirmed it recently suffered a cyberattack which forced it to pull IT infrastructure offline.

The agency confirmed the attack via an X post, in which it said that relevant authorities have already been notified.

“There has been a cybersecurity incident at POLSA,” the machine-translated X post reads. “The relevant services and institutions have been informed. The situation is being analyzed. In order to secure data after the hack, the POLSA network was immediately disconnected from the Internet. We will keep you updated.”

Russia stands accused

Such a short announcement left plenty of room for speculation, and surely enough, some media started discussing if this was a ransomware attack. After all, it is standard practice in ransomware attacks to disconnect affected infrastructure from the internet, to prevent data leaks and quickly sever connections to any persistence mechanisms.

However, an anonymous source told The Register that POLSA’s emails were compromised, and that the staff was told to use phones for communication, instead of emails.

The news was later confirmed by Poland's digitalization minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who said the Polish government was engaged in "intensive operational activities" to understand who the attackers are. Gawkowski added that POLSA was getting a helping hand from the country’s two computer security incident response teams, CSIRT NASK and CSIRT MON.

The identity of the threat actors, or the goal of the attack, is not known at this time. Reuters reports Warsaw has “repeatedly” accused Moscow of attempting to destabilize Poland because of the military support it is providing to Ukraine, with whom Russia is at war right now.

Russia has denied all allegations, Reuters added.

POLSA supported Poland’s involvement in European Space Agency (ESA) projects, including participation in the ExoMars mission and the development of satellite technologies. POLSA also played a role in launching Poland’s first scientific satellites, such as PW-Sat and BRITE-PL, which focused on space debris mitigation and stellar research.

Via The Register

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• The OnePlus Watch 3 was recently unveiled and then delayed by two months
• OnePlus has since confirmed that the new wearable will only receive two years of software support
• The company also confirmed that Wear OS 5 support for the OnePlus Watch 2 is coming in Q3

The OnePlus Watch 3 will only get two years of software support from launch, the company has confirmed – and the news for OnePlus Watch 2 owners isn't much better.

The OnePlus Watch 3 was billed as one of the most exciting smartwatch launches of this year, and a contender for best Android smartwatch thanks to its excellent battery life.

However, the launch was stymied somewhat by an unfortunate 'Meda in China' typo that has seen the release delayed by a full two months. Amongst the hubbub of the bungled launch, the company has now announced two very disappointing pieces of software news concerning the future of its smartwatch line.

As reported by our friends at Android Central, OnePlus says the Watch 3 will only get two OS updates, and two years of bi-monthly security updates. As for OnePlus Watch 2 owners patiently waiting for Wear OS 5, that's coming in Q3, fully one year after leading Android models like the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 get the update.

OnePlus Watch 3's disappointing software revelation

(Image credit: Future)

As an Apple Watch veteran, I'm constantly bewildered by the rather fragmented and lacking approach to software on Android smartwatches, and even the best Garmins.

To begin with the latter announcement, OnePlus has essentially confirmed that OnePlus Watch 2 owners will get Wear OS 5 fully one year after it launched on leading models from Samsung and Galaxy. Just to rub it in, Wear OS 6 will likely debut in the meantime.

Perhaps more concerning, the new OnePlus Watch 3 has a confirmed software support cycle of just two years. As Android Central notes, that's a year shy of OnePlus' previous three-year commitment to the OnePlus Watch 2, a lifespan I'd already posit is pretty disappointing for a smartwatch.

The only upside is that, given the OnePlus Watch 3's delay, most people likely haven't bought one yet and so can reconsider their purchase. Both Samsung and Google offer better support in terms of software lifespan, ensuring that their smartwatches last longer and work more effectively thanks to updates, including important security fixes to protect your personal data. Given the price parity in the mainstream smartwatch market, software support of three or even four years drastically improves the value for money of your purchase.

Prospective OnePlus Watch 3 owners who are serial upgraders might be less concerned, but this revelation also indicates that it might be a full year before Wear OS 6 arrives on that model, which is surely another reason to reconsider buying one.

In more positive news, OnePlus has confirmed that a smaller model of the Watch 3, and a version with cellular support, are on the way later this year, although whether that's enough to assuage concerns around software support and longevity is another matter.

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Seemingly channeling his inner Phil Collins, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to X (formerly Twitter) to post the words "This week" alongside a six-second teaser video that features the words "There’s something in the Air" and a thin blue line that cuts through the last word.

To me and my esteemed colleagues here at TechRadar that would point towards a somewhat imminent announcement of a new MacBook Air, like a refreshed version of the current 13-inch and 15-inch Air laptops with the core addition being Apple's latest M4 chip.

Such specualtion is backed up by Bloomberg reporter and accurate Apple tipster Mark Gurman reporting that Apple is set to announce the MacBook Air M4 any day now.

Gurman also noted that the rumored iPad 11 and a next-generation iPad Air “probably won’t come in the next few days.” Which would indicate what Apple may reveal this week are new MacBook Airs.

Of course, I and others don't know this for sure as Apple remains as tight-lipped as ever, so this article will act as a one-stop-shop for the latest rumors, opinion and speculation so far building into what could be a decent-sized Apple announcement on the horizon.

Let's get into it.

Hello. Mobile Computing Managing Editor Roland Moore-Colyer here to take you through the Apple rumors and TechRadar musings so far. I've been covering such Apple announcements and major Apple events for years, so I feel I'm qualified to have a good ol' stab at speculating what we might see from Apple this week.

Thinking differently...

(Image credit: Apple)

In days gone by, Apple would normally have a couple of big events a year with an in-person or live streamed event that would usually see the reveal of a handful of products around specific categories, such as phones, tablets and computers.

But as the crew at Cupertino have started to push out ever-more iterative updates to Apple's product lines, these events have given away to announcements on social media and Apple's own newsroom page. To me this lacks the spectacle but does give us regular Apple announcements to chew over.

The last Apple announcement of the newsroom ilk came in the form of the iPhone 16e reveal. Apple simply posted an information drop on its website and had the phone up for pre-order pretty sharpish.

There was a decent amount of information to chew over but one could argue the announcement lacked Cupertino's normal appetite for showmanship. I expect the announcement this week to be very similar to that of the iPhone 16e's.

Expect M4 chip power

(Image credit: Future)

So what do I and others expect to see from the Apple announcement? Well as discussed it'll very likely be a pair of new MacBook Air laptops.

While the current pair of MacBook Airs are hardly old, having been refreshed last year with the M3 chip, they don't sport the very latest chips; those can be found in the MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch.

Those models rock the 'Pro' version of the M4 chip, so we can expect to see non-pro version come to refreshed Airs.

As someone still using the MacBook Air M2, which is a fantastic little laptop that's going very strong after two years of consistent use, I'm not overly convinced Apple really needs to refresh the Air lineup on just a specs basis.

But Apple is Apple, and minor refreshes to its products are to be expected... if not exactly desired.

I'd like a new design for the MacBook Air please Apple

The design of the MacBook Air could do with a refresh (Image credit: Apple)

Having said that I love the MacBook Air M2, I'd not mind a few tweaks to the slim laptop's design. A 14-inch display, perhaps facilitated by some narrowing of the display bezels and a trimming down of the display notch, would definitely get my attention.

I love the LCD Retina display on my Air M2, but it can feel a tad cramped at times when I'm trying to get work done on the go and at speed.

But there are no rumors indicating to a reworked MacBook Air design. So I'm not going to hold my breath and expect the display notch to have been given a nip and a tuck.

Equally, one can never be 100% sure when it comes to Apple. And the MacBook Air's design language is a bit long in the tooth for tech standards. So perhaps we could be in for a surprise.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 has a great keyboard that Apple could draw inspiration from. (Image credit: Future)

Other areas for MacBook Air improvement could come in the form of a refreshed keyboard. I love the keyboard on my Air, and my fingers fly across it when I'm writing at speed.

However, there's not the deepest of key travel and sometimes I feel the keyboard lacks the tactile feel of the amazing keyboard on the Microsoft Surface Laptop models; those balanced snappy responses with a decent bit of travel to make for a wonderfully tactile experience; I feel nostalgic for my old Surface Laptop 2.

On the flipside, I'd not want Apple to mess with the Force Touch trackpad, which is basically the best trackpad I've used on any laptop.

It's big, smooth and responsive and I adore it. Force Touch is an odd name however...

Other design changes and upgrades I'd like to see could come in the form of faster charging; the MacBook Air is by no means a slouch when sucking up electrical juice but it's not amazingly quick either.

I'd also not mind a few more ports. An extra USB-C slot would be appreciated, especially if Apple adds it to the right-hand side where there's seemingly loads of spare space.

And while I doubt Apple will ever do it, I'd love to see a full-sized SD card slot on the next-generation MacBook Air, as that would make transferring photos from my DSLR to macOS far easier than it currently is for me.

A final request for a MacBook Air upgrade would be a move to OLED displays. I feel Apple could thread the line of balancing bolder display tech with energy efficiency.

But if such an upgrade was coming this year I reckon the rumor mill would have been churning it out by now; we've heard no whispers.

When I'm in the office I use a Samsung laptop with an OLED display and adore how rich its colors are, and that deep contrast OLED offers. So there's potential here, but I suspect Apple will keep OLED panels for its MacBook Pros for a good few years still.

(Image credit: Apple)

Dialing in my specualtion, the obvious upgrade for the MacBook Air, and one that I've mentioned earlier, would be an M4 chip.

We've already seen this system-on-a-chip get used in the latest versions of the iPad Pro, Mac mini and iMac, so it makes sense for new MacBook Air models to get it.

I highly doubt Apple will have tweaked the silicon to work any differently for the MacBook Airs than these other devices, though there's sure to be more headroom to push the chipset a little harder in a laptop chassis than in the iPad Pro.

Speaking from my experience with the MacBook Air M2, I'm rather unfussed on the next-generation Air having a dollop more power.

My Air has enough grunt to deal with basically any everyday task I throw at it. I opted for the model with 8GB of RAM and I don't think it's ever felt slow. Sure, it won't churn through the handful of proper PC games macOS supports, but it can run the excellent Baldur's Gate 3 so one might argue what more does one need...

Then again, I'm not a huge user of the AI-powered Apple Intelligence tools, which I suspect will only get more demanding as they advance.

So having M4 power could certainly make a new MacBook Air more futureproof.

(Image credit: Apple)

Speaking of AI, I'd expect Apple announcement to lean hard on talking about Apple Intelligence and its integration into macOS, along with how an M4 chip-equipped Air will be poised perfectly to crunch through onboard AI tasks.

Not sure that'll rock my world but I stand ready to be entertained and informed.

Right, enough chatter about my thoughts on the MacBook Air. Let's take a closer look at the video Tim Cook posted. Check it out below.

This week. pic.twitter.com/uXqQaGNkSkMarch 3, 2025

As I mentioned earlier, the blue line that strikes through the word 'Air' has the look of a MacBook Air when closed, so would point towards a revealed of a new Air models.

Don't expect a new iPad Air this week

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

But then maybe Apple could go a bit rogue and reveal a new iPad Air.

However, putting aside Gurman's speculation that new iPads won't get revealed this week, I'm not convinced we'll see a new iPad Air this week. The Apple iPad Air 13-inch got launched last year to critical acclaim from TechRadar and others.

That iPad uses the M2 chip, so is arguably due a specs boost. But I'm not sure the iPad Air necessarily need a lot more power. For power-users the M4-equipped iPad Pros exist, albeit at pretty high prices.

Then again, giving a refreshed iPad Air an M3 chip would be one way for Apple to use up any M3 chips it had lying around and give it something else to announce. If that's the case, then I tend to agree with Gruman and don't expect to see a new iPad Air get revealed today; likely Apple will keep such an announcement in its back pocket for a reveal later.

I reckon Apple's announcement will come on Wednesday

(Image credit: Getty Images)

So when do I think Apple will make an announcement? I'm predicting Wednesday.

Historically, Apple has favored Tuesdays for its product launches, but the iPhone 16e was launched on Wednesday, February 20. And my gut instinct tells me Apple could drop its announcement tomorrow, which would be two weeks on from the last announcement.

I feel that makes sense as it give some room for the nws to breathe before we get into the weekend. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

As an FYI, I'm keeping an eye on the Apple Newsroom webpage, just in case Apple suddenly drops its announcement today.

The page for the MacBook Air M3 is still up and running. Usually if there's a product drop that's imminently imminent, then Apple tends to have a message saying its updating the store.

Equally, pre-orders for a new MacBook Air might not go live on the same day as the announcement. Watch this space.

• AMD says its new RDNA 4 GPUs will only support UEFI
• This means compatibility modes on older motherboards are now ruled out
• Only a seriously niche set of gamers with very old PCs will be affected

AMD’s new RDNA 4 graphics cards will only support UEFI officially, which is the modern take on the BIOS, the company has made clear.

As you may be aware, the BIOS is the firmware on your motherboard that’s necessary for your computer to boot up and work, facilitating communication between the hardware components and the software operating system. And as mentioned, the UEFI is just the most recent spin on this (though it should be noted, it has been around for a long time at this point).

AMD tells us: “To fully leverage the benefits of UEFI, only UEFI Mode will be officially supported starting from the AMD RDNA 4 generation of graphics cards (Radeon RX 9000 Series Graphics and later).”

So, in short, your PC will need to be running in full UEFI mode, and not a legacy compatibility mode (known as CSM or Compatibility Support Module) which is an alternative on non-UEFI motherboards that some folks have used to run AMD graphics card on older hardware.

Team Red also outlines the benefits of UEFI firmware compared to ‘legacy’ (pre-UEFI) BIOS firmware, which includes the following boons:

• Greatly improved security
• Fully specified interfaces that ensure interoperability and testability
• Dependable firmware updates from the internet with minimal user interaction
• Support for hard drives larger than 2.2TB
• Support for many new types of PC hardware, including NVMe SSD boot support
• Windows Secure Boot for malware prevention
• Faster shutdown, startup, sleep, and resume times

(Image credit: Shutterstock / DC Studio) Analysis: What does this mean for would-be RX 9070 buyers in practical terms?

If you’re confused at this point, don’t worry. Any modern PC will support UEFI and will be fine with a new RDNA 4 graphics card (the RX 9070 models are about to land, of course). You may, however, need to enable UEFI mode and AMD’s FAQ on this matter provides a full explainer on how to do so.

If you’ve got a Windows 11 PC, it requires UEFI anyway – note the Windows Secure Boot feature AMD mentioned above, well, that’s required for better security on Windows 11 machines. (I should note that while Secure Boot is part of Microsoft’s official Windows 11 system requirements, it’s possible to fudge your way around it, but it’s not recommended).

Those with a PC so old it doesn’t offer a full UEFI mode on the motherboard are not likely to be wanting to run a cutting-edge GPU in the system anyway. There may be some niche cases where this happens, mind you, which is why AMD is issuing this warning – but the vast majority of folks don’t have to worry here. They simply must ensure that they are running full UEFI mode (very likely the case), not a legacy compatibility mode with their motherboard firmware.

Indeed, an RX 9070 GPU may even work with said legacy mode, but as it’s officially unsupported now, you can expect flakiness of all kinds and a generally poor experience (and some key features will certainly be missing, like SAM or Smart Access Memory).

Via VideoCardz

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• BleeqUp has debuted the world's first 4-in-1 AI cycling camera glasses at MWC 2025
• They feature one-tap video editing and record in 1080p
• They also have headphones and a walkie-talkie feature

At MWC 2025 this week, BleeqUp debuted its new 4-in-1 cycling glasses, packed with technology including an AI-powered camera and headphones.

The new glasses, which the company says are the world's first 4-in-1 AI cycling glasses, offer some serious eye protection for cyclists. They've got a UV400 rating for use in sunlight, anti-fog design, Zeiss lenses, and a wraparound design reminiscent of brands like Oakley.

They're also IP54 rated and compatible with prescription lenses by way of clip-on inserts, and are crafted from lightweight, durable TR90 plastic.

They certainly look the part, but they sound even more impressive under the hood.

BleeqUp Ranger: On paper

(Image credit: BleeQup)

The rather strange name aside, BleeqUp's Ranger glasses boast several tech features that cyclists will love. Specifically, they come with an action camera that can record an hour of 1080p video on a single charge. You can get four more hours of content with an additional helmet-mountable battery pack, but suffice to say they're perfect for recording trail runs, stunts, or of course, road-rage incidents.

There's no need to sift through hours of footage either, as BleeqUp says AI-powered video editing can highlight important moments including "scenic vistas, tense instants, and sudden braking emergencies," overlaid with trip details including your time and route. All of that video can be edited into a single highlight reel with just one tap.

An on-board algorithm also ensures that the video looks like your POV, rather than having the slightly elevated perspective of the action camera, which is a nice touch.

Other features include built-in open-ear headphones that feature walkie-talkie functionality. They probably aren't going to challenge the specialist audio of the best bone-conduction headphones on the market, but it's a nice touch nonetheless, leaving your ears open to ensure maximum awareness while you ride.

There are also hands-free voice controls, a Bluetooth handlebar-mounted remote, and even onboard navigation provided by Google Maps in the US. You don't get a display, but all of the on-board party pieces are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5 chipset.

Launched on Kickstarter in March, BleeqUp's Ranger prices start at $349, with $50 discounts available for early birds.

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• Wasabi report claims 49% of cloud storage spend could just be fees
• Three in five overspent on their cloud budgets in 2024
• Customers are staying because of cost, not what matters to them

Half of UK businesses are overspending on cloud storage because they’re being discouraged from exiting with high egress fees, new research has claimed.

Figures from Wasabi say this is leading to a misalignment between companies’ planned costs and their actual costs, leading firms to go overbudget.

Now, more than two-fifths (44%) of UK businesses are adopting a hybrid approach to storage, combining cloud and on-prem solutions, to control costs.

Cloud storage billing practices continue to be criticized

Although the survey’s findings aren’t particularly shocking (we already know about high egress fees and technical limitations that discourage migrating data between providers), antitrust bodies including the European Commission have already sought to deal with these issues to encourage competition.

Wasabi’s research shows these trends are clearly continuing despite Microsoft’s months-long turmoil in settling on an agreement to enable its users to switch.

Alarmingly, the research revealed almost half (49%) of a typical organization’s cloud storage bill is exclusively spent on fees, with the remaining 51% being allocated to the actual storage capacity. This has led to three in five (62%) either massively or slightly exceeding their public cloud storage budgets within the past 12 months, up from 53% last year – only one in three (33%) were able to align spend with budget, with a tiny 6% spending less than anticipated.

"If you’re familiar with the legacy billing models of cloud object storage services, or IaaS in general, this finding will not be surprising," noted Wasabi Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence, Andrew Smith.

Moreover, Wasabi found despite the priority given to data protection, security, performance, scalability and sustainability when selecting a cloud provider, many organizations are actually citing pricing as the key reason that they’re staying with their current provider.

Wasabi’s VP & GM for EMEA, Kevin Dunn, summarized: “Organisations are being unfairly penalised for using and moving their data by anti-competitive practices like high egress fees and complex pricing models. This is consequently stifling innovation, as data is the lifeblood for unlocking full growth potential.”

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For businesses, data is their one constant. In the age of AI, data itself has not changed, but how it is delivered, and what companies can do with it has. Think of the arrival of Netflix and its effect on Blockbuster. The core product remained the same, but the way it was delivered and consumed was completely new, and that meant Blockbuster ceased to exist.

Data is becoming a key tool for businesses hoping to weather today’s tough economic climate and overcome common industry challenges, from inflation to supply chain issues. Those who have not yet got to grips with their data are more at risk from economic difficulties, as data, underpinned by a robust data strategy and paired with artificial intelligence (AI), can deliver the insight and foresight needed to remain competitive and manage market fluctuations. Companies that fail to engage with their data or those that implement AI ineffectively may face the same fate as Blockbuster.

Building the foundations

Data is as valuable to a company as any other asset on a balance sheet. Organizations cannot be valued by revenue alone, but also by the data they own and the impact it has on the business. All companies have data at their fingertips, but to turn that into business value, it has to be correlated, analyzed and used correctly. Organizations can’t make the most of their data if it is sitting in siloes.

Businesses must have a strong data foundation in place: this is the jumping-off point for data exploration and analysis. Once organizations have onboarded onto a modern data platform to serve as this foundation, it’s time for leaders to think carefully about what sort of AI they want to use. As a first step, they should consider enterprise AI tools, which can be applied to organizations to enhance various business functions. To enable this, businesses need to build a consolidated and open data strategy to run these AI models.

Generative AI (genAI) excels at creating new content based on inputs, often fueled by huge data models. While it has many uses, the vastness of the data required can result in issues within an organization's data foundation if they are unable to ingest and analyze such quantities of data. While there is mass excitement around genAI, companies should avoid rushing into implementation, as the models will not be properly trained on all the data available. This can result in inaccuracies and hallucinations, turning AI investments sour and leading business leaders to cut back on spend.

Enterprise AI should instead be the first port of call for businesses, as it is based on smaller data sets, for a certain purpose or benefit as opposed to having potentially infinite uses. For example, since building an enterprise data foundation, Zoom has built enterprise-grade AI applications for everyone within the company, enabling smarter business decisions as teams have access to the right data at the right time.

Now, anyone within the business can chat with their data in natural language to glean key business insights and increase productivity. Enterprise AI is also more energy efficient, using AI for purpose and leveraging the technology where it makes the most sense. While GenAI will see more mainstream use, the two are not mutually exclusive and businesses will likely need to consider both on their AI journey.

The right culture

Technology, by its very nature, is disruptive and aims to drive automation within an organization. This can have a big impact on people, but business leaders need to minimize any uncertainty around AI as much as possible and work to dispel the natural fear that the technology might herald an era of job losses. The latest research from PwC shows that the opposite will happen: AI will bring an era of gradual job growth, helping to ensure there are enough workers so that organizations can find the people they need. What will change are the skills required by workers.

Traditional skills are already disappearing from job adverts, and new skills are appearing, with this change happening 25% faster in roles where AI automation is having an impact. Businesses need to consider the right people for the job and hire them into roles where they can develop their existing skills while giving them learning opportunities to gain new skills.

Culture is hugely important when it comes to implementing technologies such as AI. Business leaders need to first ensure they have access to education and resources so they can get to grips with the technology themselves. Then and only then should they aim to educate their workforce on the benefits of the technology and the skills they will need to engage with it.

This will help establish an open dialogue for employees and leaders to discuss AI use within a company and its purpose, resulting in an increased appetite for engaging with the technology. Businesses can then assess the right tools, policies and data processes and how they will use AI.

Data and survival

Today, the goal for many businesses is to implement AI and reap its rewards. While AI is the current destination, it’ll become a stepping stone to the next destination that all companies are vying to reach. This is a cycle all industries go through, some organizations survive, and some don’t. To be one of the companies that thrive in the age of AI, leaders need to steer their organizations in the right direction, and ensure there is a strong foundation in place to support a consolidated data strategy, enabling them to differentiate themselves from the competition and deliver for customers.

Doing so requires careful planning, and a shift away from siloed approaches, as well as a step change in company culture. By building this foundation, and avoiding the pitfalls of adopting AI too rapidly, business leaders can build companies fit to grow into an AI-powered future.

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

• Polaroid's Now instant cameras get a refresh with new third-gen models
• Now+ model can connect to Polaroid's app for wireless control
• Available from March 4 in new colors and made from 40% recycled materials

Polaroid has refreshed its Now instant camera series with third-gen Now 3 and Now 3+ models. They are the latest in the line of low-cost instant cameras that shoot onto Polaroid's gorgeous (and largest) square film, like the premium I-2 does. Consider them super-sized Polaroid Go's.

Little changed between the original Now and Now+ from 2020 and second-gen models that came two-years later and, truth be told, these latest models are pretty familiar too.

That's no bad thing, we really rate the Now+ and it has featured in our best instant cameras buying guide for several years. But what exactly is new in the Now 3 and Now 3+?

New features are neatly summarized by Polaroid, who describes its latest Now 3 and Now 3+ as, "a refined instant camera with an upgraded two-lens autofocus system, improved ranging sensor, and better light metering for sharper images, even on the sunniest days."

In other words, upgraders should expect sharper focusing and better-exposed prints, whatever the weather, wherever you are.

What's also new is that both cameras are made with 40% recycled materials – kudos Polaroid for that – and come in a range of new colorways. They are available immediately (from March 4, 2025) at the Polaroid website and select retailers, with prices starting from $119.99 / £119.99 for the Now 3 and $139.99 / £139.99 for the Now 3+ (Australia pricing TBC).

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Polaroid)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Polaroid) + = ?

There has always been two coexisting Polaroid Now models; the regular Now and the Now +. So what's the difference between the two versions? Well, they are identical in every way save for one thing; the Now+ version can connect to your smart device for wireless control.

The Now 3+ can be controlled through the Polaroid app, with creative tools such as double exposure, remote timer and an aperture priority mode. Combine those skills with colored lens filters (available separately and in various bundles), and there's much creative fun to be had.

It's also possible to scan and share prints through the app. Naturally, the plus model costs a little extra, but not by much and we think it's worth the extra outlay over the standard version.

As cameras, both are excellent value, but when considering an instant camera you need to factor in the running costs of buying film, and Polaroid's premium film is costlier than Instax (and with good reason – it's stunning).

We are yet to get our hands on the new versions, but we'll conduct a full review when we do. Our expectations are tempered – we don't expect to see much difference between the Now+ and Now 3+ but, again, that's no bad thing. We'll let you know soon.

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A key challenge in conservation and decarbonization today is gaining real-time, verifiable insights into environmental impact from the first-mile. This is the origin point for commodities like agriculture, timber, and minerals— and often where the most significant environmental and ecological risks exist, yet it has traditionally been the most opaque.

AI is transforming this by making massive datasets—satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and environmental risk models—actionable in near real time. With the ability to analyze everything from land-use changes to methane emissions, AI enables companies and regulators to detect deforestation, illegal activities, and sustainability risks with unprecedented accuracy.

Beyond monitoring, AI plays a role in risk forecasting and compliance. It can model climate risks—such as drought, wildfires, or extreme weather—and help organizations proactively adapt their operations and sourcing strategies. As regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) become more stringent, businesses will increasingly rely on AI-powered analysis to ensure compliance and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities.

How does AI technology improve the accuracy and reliability of carbon offset measurements compared to traditional methods?

Historically, carbon markets have relied on manual verification and estimates based on projections rather than real-world impact. This has led to concerns about credibility and market integrity.

AI and remote sensing technologies revolutionize this process by enabling near real-time measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV). For example, AI can detect deforestation and land-use changes, ensuring that credits for forest conservation are genuinely additional and permanent. Advanced models can quantify carbon tracking - such as methane emissions and reductions - particularly in agriculture and landfill projects. AI-powered analysis of soil carbon sequestration ensures that carbon farming and regenerative agriculture credits are measurable and defensible.

This milestone-based approach, where credits are issued based on verified progress rather than speculative claims, is helping shift the market toward greater transparency and trust.

What are the biggest challenges in applying AI and machine learning to forest conservation and carbon credit verification, and how can these be addressed?

One of the biggest challenges is data integrity. AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on, and for environmental applications, gaps in first-mile data have historically led to inefficiencies and unverifiable claims.

To address this, there is a growing emphasis on combining multiple data sources – satellite imagery, LiDAR scans, ground-truth observations, and machine learning models – to ensure that carbon sequestration, deforestation, and biodiversity impacts are measured accurately.

Another challenge is the time and cost of project verification. Traditional methods can take years for a carbon credit project to be audited and approved. AI-powered automation is now reducing project registration times from multiple years to just weeks, significantly accelerating climate action.

Regulation is also catching up. Emerging policies are increasingly requiring verifiable, high-resolution environmental data to ensure that credits issued in the market represent real, additional carbon reductions.

How will AI shape the fight against climate change over the next 5-10 years?

AI tools are already proving its value in climate risk management and emissions reduction, and over the next decade, its impact will only expand.

For example, AI will improve carbon tracking, particularly for Scope 3 emissions, which remain the hardest to quantify and manage. It will also optimize nature-based solutions, such as regenerative agriculture and reforestation projects, ensuring they deliver measurable carbon benefits. AI can also enhance climate risk forecasting, helping businesses and governments anticipate disruptions and adapt before crises hit.

We are also seeing a growing intersection of AI and blockchain in sustainability. By integrating AI-powered measurement and monitoring with immutable records on blockchain, businesses can create auditable, tamper-proof sustainability claims – critical for regulatory compliance and investor confidence.

How has technology directly contributed to more effective decarbonization efforts or improved sustainability practices?

Transparency has long been a challenge in sustainability efforts. While satellites and AI can provide visibility into environmental impact, the real issue is verification and accountability.

Historically, registering and verifying a carbon project – whether a reforestation effort or a methane reduction initiative – was an expensive, slow process. But with AI and blockchain-backed registries, project validation timelines have been cut from multiple years to just a few months.

This acceleration is critical because it increases the speed at which capital can flow into high-impact climate projects. Whether it’s reducing emissions from land use, improving soil carbon storage, or transitioning to regenerative supply chains, technology is making it possible to measure, verify, and scale these efforts faster than ever before.

We list the best IT management tool.

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

Interest in AI agents that can peruse the internet on your behalf has ticked up of late, partly thanks to OpenAI's Operator, along with Browser Use and the recently released Proxy 1.0. Popular browser provider Opera has joined in to offer a tool that will actively do tasks on the web for you. If this catches on, the way we interact with the internet might never be the same, especially if it's baked right into the browser like Opera's is.

The idea for the Operator is that, instead of just answering questions or giving you information like Opera's Aria AI assistant, it can go out onto the web and do things on your behalf. You can tell it to buy concert tickets, book a hotel, track down the best deals on a gadget, or research a topic, and it will navigate sites, fill out forms, and complete tasks for you while keeping you updated.

You’re still in control, but now you have a digital errand runner handling the tedious stuff. And that could change a lot about how we use the internet. Here are five ways it could shake things up.

Shop for me

(Image credit: Opera)

Online shopping could become radically simpler with Opera's Operator. Right now, finding the perfect item can require having ten tabs full of reviews, price comparisons, and shipping data. With the Browser Operator, you could just say, “Find me the best-rated wireless earbuds under $150 and order them to my address.”

Instead of doom-scrolling product pages for an hour, you’d get a curated recommendation, approve it, and be done in seconds. Imagine never dealing with sketchy third-party sellers again because your AI assistant already weeded them out for you.

Trip AI

The Operator could make planning travel actually fun instead of stressful. A simple weekend trip requires juggling flight options, hotel rates, rental car bookings, and activity reservations, all while praying you don’t accidentally book a 10-hour layover.

With the Browser Operator, you could say, “Plan a weekend getaway to Chicago with a hotel near downtown and a rental car,” and it would handle the legwork, presenting you with an itinerary to approve. No more agonizing over which travel site has the best deals or whether that budget hotel actually has walls. The AI would be able to do the tedious searching; you just decide what sounds good.

Subscribe AI

Managing subscriptions and online accounts could stop being a nightmare using AI. These days, half of our digital lives are spent trying to remember where we signed up for what, why we’re still being charged for something we don’t use, and how to cancel a subscription before it renews for another year. Normally, you have to dig through emails, track down obscure account settings, and fight a desperate battle with “Are you sure you want to cancel?” pop-ups.

With the Browser Operator, you could say, “Find all my active subscriptions and show me what I should cancel.” It could even handle the cancellations for you, sparing you from guilt-tripping retention prompts. Suddenly, your bank account isn’t a graveyard of forgotten free trials turned full-priced commitments.

Bills to pay

(Image credit: Opera)

Even the most mundane online tasks could become hands-free with the Operator's help. Paying bills, managing subscriptions, downloading bank statements are all the little things that chip away at your day. The annoyance of having to remember which day you need to log in, navigate a website, and remember your passwords is just part of life.

However, you can set up the Browser Operator to handle routine tasks automatically. Imagine just getting a notification that your phone bill has been paid instead of remembering to do it yourself. That’s not just convenience but fewer minor annoyances cluttering your brain.

Information filter

Keeping up with the internet’s relentless firehose of content might actually become manageable using the AI Operator. Staying informed today means subscribing to newsletters, following a bunch of blogs, and hoping the algorithm decides to show you nothing but cat videos. But the Browser Operator could act as your own personal news curator.

You could tell it, “Keep me updated on the latest breakthroughs in space exploration,” and it would regularly collect and summarize the most relevant articles. Instead of wading through an endless news feed, you’d get just what matters to you, neatly packaged. That way, you can stay informed without feeling like the internet’s infinite scroll has hijacked your entire day.

Operator opening

The internet has always required us to be the operators; clicking, searching, navigating, managing. But with AI tools like this, that might be changing. Opera’s Browser Operator takes the first real step toward making the browser an active participant instead of a passive tool. It doesn’t just give you a new way to browse; it changes what browsing is. Sure, this could make everything more efficient, but it also raises questions about what happens when we offload so much of our online activity to AI. If the internet can browse itself for us, how much do we really need to engage with it? Will we still know how to search for things manually in a few years, or will that start to feel as outdated as dialing a rotary phone?

For now, though, it’s hard not to be excited. This is the kind of innovation that makes you wonder how we ever lived without it. If AI can start handling the tedious parts of the internet, maybe we’ll finally have time for the things we actually enjoy. Or, more realistically, maybe we’ll just use that extra time to doom-scroll even more efficiently. Either way, the future of browsing just got a lot more interesting.

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• Lego debuted its first Steamboat building set at Toy Fair
• It's filled with details and is quite large at 27 inches
• The River Steamboat made its debut alongside a new Jurassic Park set

Lego Ideas sets are some of the most fun to shop for and build simply because fellow fans think of and then vote on them in hopes of making these models real. The River Steamboat is the next set to arrive in a port from Lego Ideas and looks incredible.

While Lego has made all sorts of vessels – a massive model of the Titanic and a submarine included – this is the brand's first steamboat. It’s done right, at least from our early look at Toy Fair 2025. The River Steamboat is constructed from over 4,000 pieces – 4,090 to be exact, stretches over 27 inches in length and stands 15 inches tall at its highest point.

The Lego Ideas River Steamboat will run you $329.99 / £289.99 / AUS $499.99 when it launches on April 10, 2025, but Lego Insiders – a free rewards program – can purchase it early on April 7. It’s expected to also be available on Amazon at launch.

(Image credit: Lego)

As you might expect with a steamboat model, you’ll be building a range of features across the interior and the exterior of the steamboat. On the rear, you’ll build a large, vibrant red paddle to push this vessel down a river or even up one. Like most other Lego boats, though, this one will not float.

While not visible once the set is fully built, you’ll also make the steam engine, which connects to the steamboat's tall standing plumes. It’s quite impressive, and while not a Technic set, some significant details are included here, and you’ll find some working gears.

Of course, you’ll also build various quarters for the staff, including the captain and for guests. There’s a “Texas deck,” a restaurant, and even a music deck. You can remove each deck to let you explore each one after the build is complete. That makes this set for display and play.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

This Lego Ideas set was created by fan Aaron Hall, who’s from Illinois in the United States, and thanks to reaching the needed number of community votes, Lego made it into a real set. It’s a really neat program that Lego offers, and some other sets, including Jaws, the Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera, and countless others have come for this program.

While Lego isn’t taking preorders for the Ideas River Steamboat, it’ll go on sale on April 10 for everyone and April 7 for Insiders members on its online store for $329.99 / £289.99 / AUS $499.99.

@techradar

♬ Rock and Roll Session - Canal Records JP

Also unveiled at the New York Toy Fair was the Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex set from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World universes. While a T-Rex will undoubtedly be in the upcoming film, this set includes two Minifigures from the 1993 Jurassic Park movie.

This Tyrannosaurus rex is massive, even longer than the Steamboat, with a posable tail and limbs. You can, of course, simulate a chomp by moving the mouth of the T-Rex. This set launches on March 15, 2025 for $249.99 / £219.99 / AUS$399.99..

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• CWWK S7 mini PC offers up to 48GB DDR5 RAM and 12TB storage
• Fanless design minimizes noise and dust
• Dual internal fans enhance the passive cooling system

There are many unique mini PC options available, and the new CWWK S7 is set to join them, running on the Intel Core i3-N355 processor with eight cores, eight threads, and a maximum speed of 3.9 GHz.

Per AndroidPC (originally in Spanish), the chip is built using Intel’s 7nm process and has a maximum TDP of 15W, ensuring efficient power use. The integrated UHD graphics, with 32 execution units running at 1.35 GHz, supports multimedia playback, light gaming, and design applications.

Unlike many mini PCs that use active CPU cooling, the CWWK S7 has a fanless design (though it does include two internal fans to maintain performance under heavy workloads), with an aluminum alloy housing that helps dissipate heat and reduces noise and dust build-up — making it suitable for industrial use, digital signage, and home office setups.

Connectivity and networking

The S7 includes two 10Gb Ethernet ports (AQC113-B1-C controller) and two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports (i226-V controller), offering strong networking performance for NAS setups, firewalls, and virtualization.

It supports up to three 4K monitors at 60Hz via HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB-C port with video output.

Additional connectivity options include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (10Gbps), a USB-C port (with power delivery) for data transfer and display output, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The CWWK S7 supports up to 48GB of DDR5 RAM via a single SO-DIMM slot, operating at a maximum speed of 4800 MHz.

It also includes two M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD slots, allowing for a maximum storage capacity of 12TB. One of these slots can also be used for an M.2 Wi-Fi module.

The S7 comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed, but also supports the best Linux distributions. It is priced at approximately 558 euros (about $579) on Amazon, with free shipping available in some regions.

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I have spent a lot of time talking to AI. I’ve tested every voice assistant, every chatbot, and every “next-generation” conversational AI that tech companies love to hype up. But I’ve never encountered anything quite like Sesame. This AI companion isn’t just good, it’s eerily accurate at mimicking how people talk because of the very imperfections it imitates.

Let’s start with what Sesame actually is. Unlike the AI voices we’ve come to know from ChatGPT, Gemini, or going back to the early days of Siri and Alexa, Sesame is designed to perform like a human in its failures, not like a perfect customer service agent. The AI’s speech is fluid, expressive, and unpredictably human. It briefly chuckles when it says something mildly amusing, hesitates before answering a question, and even seems to change its 'mind' mid-sentence, pausing and starting a new sentence. It not only lets me interrupt it, it can interrupt me as well, and will even apologize for doing so.

(Image credit: Sesame)

The secret sauce is Sesame’s Conversational Speech Model (CSM), which blends text and audio into a single process, meaning that it doesn’t just generate a sentence and then “read it out.” Instead, it creates speech in a way that mirrors how humans actually talk, with pauses, ums, tonal shifts, and all. ChatGPT and Gemini’s voice options, while impressive, still operate in a structured way, generating text and then converting it into speech. Sesame, on the other hand, speaks as if it’s thinking, making its responses feel incredibly natural.

I decided to put Sesame through a series of tests to see just how human-like it could get. The results were impressive, if not a little unsettling.

Talk me through it

I wanted to see if Sesame could handle a real-world, anxiety-inducing problem, so I gave it an imaginary but realistically tough scenario: “I have this big opportunity at work, but I’m nervous I’ll mess it up.”

Instead of immediately launching into a generic pep talk, Sesame paused. Just a tiny beat, but enough to make me feel like it was actually considering what I said. Then, in a voice filled with artificial sympathy, it responded, “That’s completely normal. Big opportunities can feel overwhelming. What about it makes you the most nervous?”

It didn’t assume anything, and it engaged before offering any bland advice. Sesame suggested, “Have you practiced in front of a friend or recorded yourself? Sometimes hearing yourself back can help you tweak your delivery.” The voice isn't exactly foolproof, the hesitations and other foibles felt a little measured, but overall it was an impressive effort

Interruptions

For this one, I wanted to see how well Sesame handled a truly natural, messy conversation, the kind where people talk over each other, change subjects abruptly, and circle back to things they mentioned ten minutes ago.

I started with: “Tell me a story about a detective who’s also a magician.”

Sesame immediately jumped in with a classic noir setup: Okay. Here's one. Picture this smoky jazz club. Dimly lit. The smell of bourbon. And regrets hanging in the air. This detective. Call him Jack Harrow. He's got a fedora at a rakish angle, cigarette smoldering in a holder and a look that could melt steel. But Jack's not just any gumshoe. See, he's got a secret. He's got the touch. A dame shuffles in all nerves."

I interrupted then to ask, "Wait, what's his favorite trick?"

Maya responded with: "Mm. Good question. Jack's signature. It's a sleight of hand that's more than meets the eye. He calls it The Vanishing Witness. He can make a person seem to disappear right before your eyes. Just for a moment. Long enough to slip them a note. Plant evidence or just make them question what they saw. It throws people off balance. You know, a good magician knows. Perception is everything."

I jumped back in to tell Maya to go back to the story, to which it said "Right. Where was I? Oh, yes. The dame slides into the booth across from Jack, all worry lines and trembling hands. She whispers something that a stolen ruby, a jealous husband, and a shadowy figure lurking in the fog."

The AI seamlessly continued the story, weaving that detail back in as if I hadn’t just derailed the whole thing. That’s the part that floored me—most AI assistants would stumble or restart, but Sesame's conversational AI model handled it like a person telling a story at a party.

Party Planning

Speaking of parties, for the final test, I wanted to see if Sesame could help me plan something useful. “I want to plan a surprise for my best friend’s birthday, but I don’t know what to do.”

Instead of rattling off a lifeless list of ideas, Sesame asked, “What kind of things does your friend love?” I told it sci-fi movies and adventurous food, and after a thoughtful pause, it suggested: “How about a ‘Sci-Fi & Snacks’ night? You could book a themed escape room, then hit a futuristic-style restaurant, maybe one with molecular gastronomy?”

When I told it I had a budget of $100, Sesame adjusted. “You could do a home movie night with their favorite sci-fi films and make themed snacks, like ‘Galactic Popcorn’ or ‘Alien Sliders.’ I can find recipes for you if you’d like.”

It wasn’t just spitting out generic recommendations. It was collaborating with me. And that’s what made it feel different.

What's real?

Sesame didn’t just pass these tests, I'd say it nailed them. The pauses, the hesitation, the filler words, the way it would change its mind mid-sentence—it was all eerily real. I’d start talking, expecting the usual AI smoothness, and then hear a sudden “Uh, actually, no, wait, let me rephrase that…” and immediately forget I wasn’t talking to an actual person.

If AI is this realistic in its speech, would we even know we were talking to an AI? With Sesame, there are telltale audio issues that give the game away, but ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode and Google Gemini's own voice options are good enough to mostly skip past those issues. Combine their voice powers with the speech patterns of Sesame, and it might genuinely get difficult to tell when you are talking to an AI, at least in short conversations.

Sesame is still niche, but this technology won’t stay niche forever. The cliché today is that younger people never make phone calls, but if they start, they may have to figure out if the person on the other end is real before anything else.

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• BMAX MaxPad I10 S Pro has a massive 10,000mAh battery which reduces frequent recharges
• Stay connected with 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi, and GPS
• Unisoc T616 SoC may not be the fastest, but keeps costs down

While rugged tablets are common, finding one priced under $200 is rare - enter the BMAX MaxPad I10 S Pro, a reinforced Android device with dual 4G SIM support, allowing users to make calls and browse the internet without Wi-Fi with full mobile connectivity; beating Apple's iPad range to the punch.

Per BMax (via AndroidPC, originally in Spanish), it features IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, along with a rugged build that can withstand drops of up to 1.2 meters.

However, this added protection comes at a cost - the tablet weighs 881 grams, making it heavier than the best business tablets.

Performance powered by Unisoc

The MaxPad I10 S Pro uses the Unisoc T616 processor, an octa-core chip featuring two high-performance Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz. Graphics are managed by the Mali-G52 MP1 GPU, enabling it to handle multimedia applications.

The tablet comes with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card up to 1TB.

The MaxPad I10 S Pro features a 10.1-inch IPS In-Cell display with a resolution of 1920 × 1200 pixels, offering relatively thin bezels for its price range.

It also includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera, which should be sufficient for casual photography and video conferencing.

Keeping it running is a 10,000mAh battery, charged via a USB Type-C port. It's not currently clear as to whether it'll support fast charging.

The MaxPad I10 S Pro was originally listed at $404.03 on AliExpress, but it's currently available at a 50% discount, bringing the price down to $202.01.

Additionally, using the coupon code “VX9TWLCSD2BH” between February 24 at 00:00 (GMT+1) and March 3 at 08:59 (GMT+1) allows for an extra $31.90 discount, reducing the final price to $170.11.

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• Google is working on a new Shielded Email feature, similar to Apple's Hide My Email
• The new tool hides your main email address from service providers when creating accounts
• There's no release date yet, but testers have been able to activate the feature pre-release

If you’re anything like me, your Gmail inbox has slowly filled with promotions, pointless updates, and newsletters from accounts you probably never use, simply because you use the same email address for logging in as you do for actually writing and receiving emails.

Luckily, Google appears to be taking steps to remedy this annoying issue by taking some inspiration from its long-time competitor, Apple.

The new Shielded Email feature for Android phones creates an alias when signing up for new accounts, immediately issuing a new single-use or limited-use email address to use in the sign-up process.

The feature was successfully enabled pre-release by Android Authority which reports that the new tool exists as part of Google’s autofill features, alongside the same pop-ups that appear at the top of your keyboard to automatically type out phone numbers, credit card information, and addresses.

Emails sent to an alias address are automatically forwarded to your main email address, which you can turn off at any point. Using an alias address creates a buffer between you and the service provider, which means fewer people have their hands on your main email.

That buffer also means bad actors can be easily removed from your inbox without having to jump through hoops: you don’t even have to block or unsubscribe from these emails to get them to stop showing up. It’ll also make your online presence harder to track, as your identity will be largely hidden from data collectors who seek to build an image of your activity across various sites and platforms – easily done if you're using the same email address in multiple places.

As mentioned, Shielded Email is effectively the same tool as Apple’s Hide My Email, and seeks to offer a very similar result – though given how much inspiration the best iPhones have taken from the best Android phones over the years, I’m sure we can let Google off this time. There’s no release date yet, though.

What do you think of this new feature? Would you use Shielded email, or do you not care so much about your digital footprint? Let us know in the comments.

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• Rugged indeed with IP68/IP69K and MIL-STD-810H ratings
• Supports a 50MP Sony sensor, night vision, and thermal imaging
• Massive 10,600mAh battery supports 120W fast charging, and 50W wireless charging

Ulefone has unveiled the Armor 28 Ultra, a rugged Android smartphone designed to deliver high-end performance in a durable body.

Ulefone, known for similarly rugged smartphones like the Armor 25T Pro and Armor 27T Pro, claims the Armor 28 Ultra is the first-ever AI-enabled rugged smartphone with Google Gemini built into the system for seamless app interactions.

This durable smartphone is thought to be the first of its kind to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, thought to outperform the A17 Pro found in Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Built for extreme conditions

Ulefone equipped the Armor 28 Ultra with 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage and 32GB of RAM, combining 16GB LPDDR5X with an additional 16GB of virtual RAM for smoother multitasking.

As expected from a rugged phone, the Armor 28 Ultra meets MIL-STD-810H certification, offering protection against shocks, drops of up to two meters, and harsh environments. It also holds IP68/IP69K ratings for dust, water, and high-pressure spray resistance.

The device measures 6.86 x 3.29 x 0.76 inches and has a reinforced frame with rubberized port covers for the USB-C charging port and headphone jack.

The Armor 28 Ultra features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. A peak brightness of 2200 nits helps maintain visibility even in bright sunlight.

A rear secondary 1.04-inch AMOLED screen provides quick access to notifications and essential functions, similar to the iPhone Dynamic Display.

Rugged phones often sacrifice camera quality for durability, but Ulefone have fitted the Armor 28 Ultra features a prominent rear camera module with three sensors and an LED flash.

Its primary camera is a 50MP Sony IMX989 sensor, with a 1-inch sensor size for enhanced light capture and image quality. It also includes a 64MP night vision camera with an OV64B sensor and a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 117.3° field of view, which supports thermal imaging. The front camera is also 50MP, ensuring high-resolution selfies and video calls.

Under the hood, this device houses a massive 10,600 mAh battery that It supports 120W fast charging for rapid recharging, along with 50W wireless charging. Reverse charging capabilities allow it to function as a power bank for other devices.

The Armor 28 Ultra is the first rugged smartphone to support Wi-Fi 7. It offers dual SIM functionality and supports 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G networks, though availability may vary by carrier.

It includes NFC for payments, an IR blaster for remote control, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Ulefone confirmed to TechRadar Pro the Armor 28 Ultra will be available for purchase on AliExpress, with the standard version priced at $749 and the thermal imaging variant at $899. Sales are set to begin on March 17.

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What if your laptop could get a full hour’s worth of charge simply by leaving it in sunlight for 20 minutes? That’s the promise of Lenovo’s latest concept laptop, a Yoga model featuring a photovoltaic solar panel on the rear of the screen, converting light into charge for the laptop’s battery.

I’ve seen a lot of great concept devices from Lenovo and other laptop makers at events like MWC 2025, and I’m usually pretty excited about them. So let me be absolutely, unequivocally clear about this one:

THIS RULES.

I am curious as to whether the Lenovo logo in the middle affects the solar panel's performance... (Image credit: Future)

I’m serious. To be honest, I can’t believe it took this long for a tech company to strap a solar panel to the back of an ultrabook. We need more of this. It feels like such a straightforward idea; naturally, the Yoga Solar PC can be charged conventionally via a cable, but just being able to close the lid and let it soak in the solar rays is brilliant - and basically ensures that you’ll never be stranded without any charge again (unless it’s the middle of the night, I suppose).

The power of the sun, in the palm of my hand

I can’t be the only one who’s gone on a trip or even just off to work, only to find that I’ve forgotten my laptop charger. Thus begins that stressful game of watching the battery life tick down, turning on efficiency mode, lowering the brightness, and praying.

But with Lenovo’s Solar Yoga? I could just leave it on a windowsill for an hour while I have lunch, and come back to a freshly-charged battery.

It’s also just a general triumph of eco-friendly engineering. The solar panel on the rear of the display (which, incidentally, doesn’t appear to make the laptop noticeably thicker than Lenovo’s other Yoga ultrabooks) offers an energy conversion rate of more than 24%, which is among the very best you’ll see in any type of photovoltaic solar cells.

Lenovo also designed a ‘Dynamic Solar Tracking system’, which continually monitors the influx of electricity and adjusts the laptop’s battery consumption to prioritize the solar energy to better preserve your battery life.

Despite packing an entirely new energy source atop its lid, this laptop is still impressively thin and light. (Image credit: Future)

Solar-powered devices aren’t a new thing, of course - fellow laptop manufacturer Acer sells a foldable 200W solar panel that you can hook up to a power bank, ideal for charging your devices when you’re out in nature (or in a Mad Max-style apocalypse). But the Yoga Solar PC is the first ultrabook in the world with a fully-integrated solar power solution - and even though it’s just a concept right now, it’s one that I seriously hope makes it beyond the prototyping phase.

Having handled the device in person at MWC, it certainly looks and feels like it could be retail-ready. I can practically picture myself taking this bad boy camping, or even just down to the cafe.

The downsides?

Alright, okay, as much as I love this, I will admit that there are some potential stumbling blocks to this sort of tech being widely implemented in our laptops. For starters, solar panels aren’t exactly the most durable things in the world - and I have to imagine that replacing an integrated panel like this would be a costly and difficult affair. Having a laptop with glass on the outside does feel a little bit like a recipe for disaster. Drop it once, and it might be game over.

Heat buildup also feels like a natural problem here. After all, you generally don’t want your laptop to be too hot. But surprisingly, Lenovo had the Yoga Solar PC sitting under a bright lamp on their stand at the expo (presumably for hours at a time), and while the back panel itself was a bit warm to the touch, the rest of the laptop didn’t feel hot at all. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that a metal exterior lid would probably cook your laptop more if you left it out in the sun.

The Yoga Solar PC is also partially constructed with recycled and eco-friendly materials. (Image credit: Future)

Lastly, I suspect that if it were to make it to general production, the Yoga Solar PC would be very expensive. I’ve looked into getting solar panels installed on my house - and sure, this is just one solar panel, and it’s a lot smaller, but it’s also part of the laptop chassis rather than a standalone item - oh, and these Yoga laptops aren’t exactly bargain-basement hardware to begin with.

Still, as someone who enjoys a good foray into the great outdoors, I think this proof-of-concept is a fantastic idea and I’d gladly throw money at Lenovo to own one. A laptop that’s more eco-friendly and can save my bacon if I forget my charger? Sign me up.

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• Meta's Aria Gen 2 glasses are on their way
• They bring some major battery and sensor upgrades
• These upgrades could tease improvements for Meta's consumer specs

Meta has just launched new AI smart glasses: Aria Gen 2. The bad news is you probably won’t get a pair unless you’re an AI or robotics researcher, but the good news is the upgrades the glasses boast might tease updates we can expect to see from its next-gen consumer specs that are rumored to be landing this year – and the consumer versions of its Meta Orion AR glasses. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.

Aria is Meta’s researcher-focused AI glasses line used by researchers to help them improve their own hardware and software development, with the glasses being outfitted with all sorts of sensors Meta’s consumer specs lack. Aria Gen 2 boasts eye tracking cameras, a barometer, a PPG sensor for measuring heart rate, and a contact microphone to distinguish the wearer’s voice from that of bystanders to name just a few.

The PPG and contact microphone are new to Aria Gen 2, and they’re two sensors I could see Meta’s next-gen consumer specs adopting. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are already very good at picking up when I’m talking to them – I was on vacation with them recently and even in a crowded space with a crowd around me they could pick up and answer my questions on Rome’s Colosseum – but even better voice detection wouldn’t be a bad thing

Meanwhile, a heart-rate sensor would be an ideal inclusion in the rumored Oakley smart glasses Meta is said to be making, which are aimed at athletes. Meta’s existing specs don’t seem super athlete focused in terms of hardware or software, and this would be one immediate remedy to that issue.

A big battery boost

(Image credit: Meta)

Sensors aside, the biggest benefit of Aria Gen 2 is that the glasses are apparently capable of six to eight hours of continuous use, which is at least four times longer than the roughly one and a half hours you could expect from Aria Gen 1.

I’m not expecting the same degree of battery life improvements from Meta’s consumer specs (in part because Aria’s design is typically more bulky, allowing for a function over fashion approach, such as bigger heavier batteries) but if even some of Aria’s battery improvements can make it to Meta’s other glasses then that would ease my concerns over its leaked Meta Ray-Bans with an inbuilt display.

The current display-less model only lasts for about three hours of use, and I could see the display-equipped version running out of charge much faster. But with some battery upgrades borrowed from Aria Gen 2, the new Meta glasses with a screen might be able to maintain the three-hour battery life we’ve become accustomed to.

Lastly, Meta claims its Aria glasses are packing best-in-class open-ear force-canceling speakers. The Meta Ray-Bans can leak a fair amount of audio, so an improved design would be excellent for privacy – and better speakers in general would make them more capable headphone alternatives.

We’ll have to wait and see what Meta has in store for us if and when its next smart glasses launch. There’s of course no guarantee that any of these Aria upgrades will come to Meta’s consumer specs but I’ll have my fingers crossed that at Meta Connect 2025 in September we’ll see at least a couple make their way to new smart glasses.

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At MWC 2024, ZTE subsidiary Nubia unveiled the Nubia Flip 5G, a bona fide budget alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, which launched just a few months later. Now, at MWC 2025, Nubia has returned with the Nubia Flip 2 5G – a slightly more expensive model that still undercuts its premium competition by some margin.

The first thing to note is the new phone’s design, which looks akin to that of the Oppo Find N2 Flip. The original Nubia Flip’s circular front-facing display has been replaced by a more conventional-looking 3-inch OLED display, and despite its modest size, this front-facing panel can host almost all of the same built-in apps that you’ll find on the phone's 6.9-inch, 120Hz-capable AMOLED inner display.

At 193g, the Nubia Flip 2 5G is significantly lighter than last year’s model (209g), and with a 1.2m drop resistance, it’s also much more durable (the Galaxy Z Flip 6, for reference, weighs 187g). In the camera department, there’s a 32MP selfie snapper on the front, and a 50MP wide lens on the back, which is joined by a 2MP depth sensor.

@techradar

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The Nubia Flip 2 5G is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7300X chipset, and – surprise, surprise! – you’ll find plenty of baked-in AI features straight out of the box, like real-time call translation and integrated Google Gemini functionality.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

Battery size (4,300mAh) and charging speed (33W) are largely unchanged versus last year’s original Nubia Flip model, as are the RAM and storage capacities (128GB and 6GB, respectively).

One thing that has changed, though, is the phone’s price. Where the Nubia Flip 5G launched for the local equivalent of $599, the Flip 2 5G costs €699, which equates to around $730. US pricing probably won’t be like-for-like, but it’s safe to expect a sizable price increase in regions like the US, UK, and Australia for the Nubia Flip 2 5G this year. We’ll update this article once the phone’s international pricing and availability have been confirmed.

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• Lenovo's AI Stick connects to non-NPU PCs, adding AI-powered abilities
• Showcased at MWC 2025, pricing and availability remain unknown
• The device is compact, around 9cm long, and requires a Thunderbolt port

If you want to benefit from on-device AI capabilities but aren’t currently in the market for one of the many fancy new laptops with built-in NPUs, Lenovo is working on a couple of intriguing solutions.

The first of these is the AI Display, which is a screen that has a built-in discrete NPU that not only adds intelligent features to the monitor but can also add AI functionality to non-AI laptops or desktops. The other is the AI Stick, a small brick-like device that connects to any non-NPU-equipped PC.

Both of these concepts were showcased at MWC 2025, and while there’s no word on pricing or availability for either device yet, I can’t imagine Lenovo will want to hang around too long before launching them.

Thunderbolt required

Although we don’t know the dimensions of the AI Stick, based on the render that Lenovo has shared with a USB-C cable plugged into it, it looks to be about 9cm long - so pretty tiny.

Lenovo says of the AI Stick that it will give “users with a non-NPU-equipped PC access to advanced AI features such as local Large Language Models (LLM) and AI-enhanced graphics apps on their device.”

The company goes on to explain that the device “contains a 32-TOPS NPU that connects to a PC via a USB-C Thunderbolt port to allow the PC to use Lenovo AI Now functionalities and can also be plugged into a wall socket to unleash maximum performance for demanding AI tasks.”

Lenovo AI Now is the PC maker’s personal assistant designed to boost productivity and automate tasks on the company's various AI-powered devices.

While the AI Stick, like the AI Display, is a great idea, it’s one that’s sadly limited by the fact that any PC you use it on will need a Thunderbolt port. If you were hoping to give AI smarts to that older laptop or desktop, it looks like you’re going to be out of luck.

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