TechRadar News

• Insecure solar systems allow cybercriminals to steal data and ransom access
• Millions of solar inverters remain vulnerable to severe cybersecurity threats
• Forescout – Vedere uncover flaws allowing attackers to take full control over solar systems

The increasing use of solar power has exposed critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in inverters, cloud computing services, and monitoring platforms, creating an insecure ecosystem where hackers can manipulate energy production, disrupt power grids, and steal sensitive data, posing serious risks to global energy infrastructure, experts have warned.

A study by Forescout – Vedere Labs identified 46 new vulnerabilities across three major solar inverter manufacturers, including Sungrow, Growatt, and SMA. Previous findings showed that 80% of reported vulnerabilities were high or critical in severity, with some reaching the highest CVSS scores.

Over the past three years, an average of 10 new vulnerabilities have been disclosed annually, with 32% carrying a CVSS score of 9.8 or 10, indicating that attackers could fully compromise affected systems.

Millions of solar power systems face security risks

Many solar inverters connect directly to the internet, making them easy targets for cybercriminals. Attackers can exploit outdated firmware, weak authentication mechanisms, and unencrypted data transmissions to gain control.

Exposed APIs allow hackers to enumerate user accounts, reset credentials (ideally stored in password managers) to default values, and manipulate inverter settings, leading to power disruptions.

Additionally, insecure object references and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities could expose user emails, physical addresses, and energy consumption data, violating privacy regulations such as GDPR.

Beyond grid instability, compromised inverters create further risks, including data theft, financial manipulation, and smart home hijacking - some vulnerabilities allow attackers to take control of electric vehicle chargers and smart plugs.

Cybercriminals could also alter inverter settings to influence energy prices or demand ransom payments to restore system functionality. As a result, the report recommends that manufacturers should prioritize patches, adopt secure coding practices, and conduct regular penetration testing.

Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) and adhering to cybersecurity frameworks like NIST IR 8259 could help mitigate risks.

Regulators are also urged to classify solar inverters as critical infrastructure and enforce security standards such as ETSI EN 303 645 to ensure compliance with best practices.

For solar system owners and operators, securing installations requires isolating solar devices on separate networks, enabling security monitoring, and following guidelines from organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce risks.

Installing the best antivirus software adds an extra layer of defense against threats, while deploying the best endpoint protection solutions further safeguards connected devices from cyberattacks targeting solar infrastructure.

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• Adapting the UK’s cyber ecosystem

Welcome to our live coverage of World Backup Day, which starts early on Sunday, the 30th (midnight GMT, but there is already 1300 in Auckland, New Zealand). We will update this live blog a few times today, with our real-time coverage of the day starting at 0830 UK time with regular updates throughout Monday, March 31st.

Making sure your data is safe and protected has never been so important as we continue our way in the wild world of digital transformation, but with so much to do these days, it can sometimes go forgotten. Don't worry though, we've rounded up

• advice from our experts to make sure your data is protected.
• horror tales from our team and elsewhere to remind you of what can happen
• exclusive deals from our backup partners to keep your data safe
• backup content from our extensive archive
• data backup stories around the world
• And much more!

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What is World Backup Day anyway

World Backup Day was founded by Ismail Jadun on a subreddit back on the 30th of March 2011, the day before April's fool. That date was not chosen randomly as it gave birth to the event's tagline, Don't be an April Fool. Backup your data. World Backup Day is now an annual fixture in the global tech calendar with tens of thousands of articles and mentions every year and a multi-lingual website(ed: Unfortunately, we couldn't find the original Reddit post).

Back in the days, backup was solely mostly on shiny discs because they were so cheap (Image credit: sattahipbeach / Shutterstock) The World Backup Day Pledge

It's almost the start of World Backup Day in New Zealand where it is 1 minute past midnight on Monday 31st of March, the last day of the first quarter of 2025. WBD even have a semi-official pledge: “I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st. #WorldBackupDay”. Backup, of course, applies both to consumers and businesses as well and in large enterprises, falls under the remit of the CDO or Chief Data officer. Maybe someone should write such a pledge for businesses after all.

• Chinese company DapuStor builds high capacity ultra-fast enterprise SSDs
• Its 1-DWPD Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB SSD seriously impressed in a new review
• An "engineering masterpiece," the SSD delivered record read speeds

DapuStor is a Chinese start-up specializing in the development and manufacturing of enterprise-grade SSDs - and although you’ve possibly never heard of it, it makes very large - and very fast - storage products.

At the start of 2025, TweakTown tested DapuStor’s J5060 61.44TB SSD against a number of enterprise SSDs, including Solidigm's same size beast, and came away impressed with the drive’s superior read performance, declaring it to be “the most efficient SSD of its capacity point currently in circulation”. A new 122.88TB version of that SSD has been spotted online, and we look forward to seeing how it compares.

Before that, however, TweakTown managed to get its hands on another DapuStor product, the Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB Enterprise SSD. It may not be anywhere near as big as the J5060, but – spoiler alert – it is incredibly fast.

An engineering masterpiece

Introducing the new drive, TweakTown says, “The new SSD is built on DapuStor's in-house developed DP800 controller and firmware. The new series features a PCIe 5.0 interface and 3D eTLC NAND Flash. Supporting the NVMe 2.0 protocol, it delivers twice the performance of PCIe 4.0 SSDs.”

The 1-DWPD (1 Drive Write Per Day) SSD proved to offer blistering performance in the tests that TweakTown put it through, leading the site to declare the Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD to be an “engineering masterpiece”, scoring it 100% for performance, quality, features and overall.

In summing up his findings, TweakTown’s Senior Hardware Editor Jon Coulter gushed, “The drive delivers a record breaking 3.62 million 4K random read IOPS at QD512. This is a whopping 10% more than anything we've encountered previously. Additionally, its 14,600 MB/s sequential read throughput is right up there with the best of them, as is its over 11,000 MB/s sequential write throughput.”

That level of throughput alone would be impressive, but it’s only part of the story.

“Then there is its mixed workload prowess where our 1-DWPD test subject delivers more than anything in its class at queue depths of up to 64. Its mixed workload performance is so good that it can hang in with 3-DWPD SSDs at queue depths of up to 16. And finally, as perfectly illustrated by our preconditioning charts, the R6101 7.68TB delivers QOS that is as good as we've ever seen,” Coulter concluded.

You might also like

• These are the fastest SSDs that you can buy right now
• And these are the largest SSDs and HDDs on the market
• Is this the faster 61.44TB SSD out there? DapuStor J5060 is a speed freak

• Chinese company DapuStor builds high capacity ultra-fast enterprise SSDs
• Its 1-DWPD Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB SSD seriously impressed in a new review
• An "engineering masterpiece," the SSD delivered record read speeds

DapuStor is a Chinese start-up specializing in the development and manufacturing of enterprise-grade SSDs - and although you’ve possibly never heard of it, it makes very large - and very fast - storage products.

At the start of 2025, TweakTown tested DapuStor’s J5060 61.44TB SSD against a number of enterprise SSDs, including Solidigm's same size beast, and came away impressed with the drive’s superior read performance, declaring it to be “the most efficient SSD of its capacity point currently in circulation”. A new 122.88TB version of that SSD has been spotted online, and we look forward to seeing how it compares.

Before that, however, TweakTown managed to get its hands on another DapuStor product, the Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB Enterprise SSD. It may not be anywhere near as big as the J5060, but – spoiler alert – it is incredibly fast.

An engineering masterpiece

Introducing the new drive, TweakTown says, “The new SSD is built on DapuStor's in-house developed DP800 controller and firmware. The new series features a PCIe 5.0 interface and 3D eTLC NAND Flash. Supporting the NVMe 2.0 protocol, it delivers twice the performance of PCIe 4.0 SSDs.”

The 1-DWPD (1 Drive Write Per Day) SSD proved to offer blistering performance in the tests that TweakTown put it through, leading the site to declare the Roealsen6 R6101 7.68TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD to be an “engineering masterpiece”, scoring it 100% for performance, quality, features and overall.

In summing up his findings, TweakTown’s Senior Hardware Editor Jon Coulter gushed, “The drive delivers a record breaking 3.62 million 4K random read IOPS at QD512. This is a whopping 10% more than anything we've encountered previously. Additionally, its 14,600 MB/s sequential read throughput is right up there with the best of them, as is its over 11,000 MB/s sequential write throughput.”

That level of throughput alone would be impressive, but it’s only part of the story.

“Then there is its mixed workload prowess where our 1-DWPD test subject delivers more than anything in its class at queue depths of up to 64. Its mixed workload performance is so good that it can hang in with 3-DWPD SSDs at queue depths of up to 16. And finally, as perfectly illustrated by our preconditioning charts, the R6101 7.68TB delivers QOS that is as good as we've ever seen,” Coulter concluded.

You might also like

• These are the fastest SSDs that you can buy right now
• And these are the largest SSDs and HDDs on the market
• Is this the faster 61.44TB SSD out there? DapuStor J5060 is a speed freak

ITX has had a hell of a battle over the years.

It's a form factor that naturally draws quite a bit of ire depending on which side of the great PC gaming form-factor debate you sit. For those that love it, ITX and SFF machines are the stuff of legends. Intricately complex builds, ungodly power, and a real David-vs-Goliath kinda gaming rig.

For the full-tower fans, they're pointless, overly hot, and lack the full connectivity that you'd find in a more robust, balanced chassis and form factor.

For me, I 100% live life in that first category. In fact, I wouldn't have a career in hardware journalism if it weren't for building a machine inside of Bitfenix's now legendary Prodigy ITX gaming chassis from way back when in 2013 and showing it off to PC Format's editor back in the day.

It's not all been glamorous, of course. Motherboards have often been lacking, case design has been pretty terrible at times, and there are all manner of cooling and cabling problems that have needed to be overcome. But I honestly feel like we're in a position now that, technologically at least, ITX is in a place where for the vast majority of power users, there's no major difference between it and a big boy build.

The challenges of building in compact cases

That's the big thing too: a lot of the problems that ITX initially faced, even less than a decade ago, stemmed from how we managed hardware.

For instance, ATX builds once used to be able to house multiple graphics cards running in SLI or Crossfire, but over time that was whittled down to just two cards, until finally, with Nvidia's 30 series, support was removed entirely.

There's no major difference between running an RTX 5090 in an ITX build than there is in a full E-ATX setup, and in fact, you'll notice that pretty much every motherboard now only comes with a single (usually reinforced by some "armor" or gimmick) PCIe x16 slot up top for the graphics card. But just one.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Then there's the M.2 conundrum, and again, ITX used to be massively disadvantaged here as well.

Yet similarly, as NAND density has increased and cost decreased, along with some clever and quite intuitive raised PCBs and M.2 slot designs, it's quite easy to find ITX motherboards with two or even three M.2 slots.

Combine that with one of the best SSD you can get your hands on for your OS drive and a nice chunky backup SSD for your secondary storage, and once again, you're already well-equipped to compete with larger mid-tower cases for the vast majority of people.

I could go on, but the fact is that ITX today, from cases to coolers to the hardware we use, is really nowhere near as limited as it used to be. Even processor performance, with auto-turbo galore, isn't exactly held back anymore. But the question remains: Why bother? What's the point? Why do I care so much?

Power in small packages

It matters because ITX represents that defining principle of modern-day technology of the last 30 years. In my lifetime, I've seen tech shrink and become more powerful time and time again. It might be because I'm a short(ish) fellow, but there's something quite admirable I find about a tiny but mighty build.

That Moore's Law-esque power creep, or the sleeper build housing ungodly performance in a form factor that could fit in an entertainment center in a living room. It's like rocking up to a drag race with a seemingly clapped-out VW Caddy Mk1, only to know you've got a 500-horsepower engine under the hood. It has that vibe, and I love it.

(Image credit: Geekom)

Over the years, I've built countless PCs and published hundreds of build logs, pursuing all manner of hardware launches and gimmicky headlines designed to entice the reader in pushing the limit of what's possible with off-the-shelf hardware. And time and time again, the builds that stick with me aren't the crazy $10,000 dream machines or the full-fledged RTX 5090 E-ATX monsters; no, it's the ITX ones.

Don't get me wrong, I'm screaming at them each and every time I build them as I struggle with cable management or liquid-cooling runs, but deep down, I love that form factor more than anything else. And if you haven't given it a shot and are looking for a PC building challenge, and a rig that not only delivers on the performance but also takes up a fraction of the space, I highly recommend giving it a go.

You might also like...

• I’m suddenly really excited about Nvidia’s new RTX 5090 – but probably not for the reason you’re expecting
• PC case sizes explained: all form factors available in 2025
• The Asus ROG NUC carries the torch for Intel's mini gaming PC dreams, but the cost of entry is still too steep

ITX has had a hell of a battle over the years.

It's a form factor that naturally draws quite a bit of ire depending on which side of the great PC gaming form-factor debate you sit. For those that love it, ITX and SFF machines are the stuff of legends. Intricately complex builds, ungodly power, and a real David-vs-Goliath kinda gaming rig.

For the full-tower fans, they're pointless, overly hot, and lack the full connectivity that you'd find in a more robust, balanced chassis and form factor.

For me, I 100% live life in that first category. In fact, I wouldn't have a career in hardware journalism if it weren't for building a machine inside of Bitfenix's now legendary Prodigy ITX gaming chassis from way back when in 2013 and showing it off to PC Format's editor back in the day.

It's not all been glamorous, of course. Motherboards have often been lacking, case design has been pretty terrible at times, and there are all manner of cooling and cabling problems that have needed to be overcome. But I honestly feel like we're in a position now that, technologically at least, ITX is in a place where for the vast majority of power users, there's no major difference between it and a big boy build.

The challenges of building in compact cases

That's the big thing too: a lot of the problems that ITX initially faced, even less than a decade ago, stemmed from how we managed hardware.

For instance, ATX builds once used to be able to house multiple graphics cards running in SLI or Crossfire, but over time that was whittled down to just two cards, until finally, with Nvidia's 30 series, support was removed entirely.

There's no major difference between running an RTX 5090 in an ITX build than there is in a full E-ATX setup, and in fact, you'll notice that pretty much every motherboard now only comes with a single (usually reinforced by some "armor" or gimmick) PCIe x16 slot up top for the graphics card. But just one.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Then there's the M.2 conundrum, and again, ITX used to be massively disadvantaged here as well.

Yet similarly, as NAND density has increased and cost decreased, along with some clever and quite intuitive raised PCBs and M.2 slot designs, it's quite easy to find ITX motherboards with two or even three M.2 slots.

Combine that with one of the best SSD you can get your hands on for your OS drive and a nice chunky backup SSD for your secondary storage, and once again, you're already well-equipped to compete with larger mid-tower cases for the vast majority of people.

I could go on, but the fact is that ITX today, from cases to coolers to the hardware we use, is really nowhere near as limited as it used to be. Even processor performance, with auto-turbo galore, isn't exactly held back anymore. But the question remains: Why bother? What's the point? Why do I care so much?

Power in small packages

It matters because ITX represents that defining principle of modern-day technology of the last 30 years. In my lifetime, I've seen tech shrink and become more powerful time and time again. It might be because I'm a short(ish) fellow, but there's something quite admirable I find about a tiny but mighty build.

That Moore's Law-esque power creep, or the sleeper build housing ungodly performance in a form factor that could fit in an entertainment center in a living room. It's like rocking up to a drag race with a seemingly clapped-out VW Caddy Mk1, only to know you've got a 500-horsepower engine under the hood. It has that vibe, and I love it.

(Image credit: Geekom)

Over the years, I've built countless PCs and published hundreds of build logs, pursuing all manner of hardware launches and gimmicky headlines designed to entice the reader in pushing the limit of what's possible with off-the-shelf hardware. And time and time again, the builds that stick with me aren't the crazy $10,000 dream machines or the full-fledged RTX 5090 E-ATX monsters; no, it's the ITX ones.

Don't get me wrong, I'm screaming at them each and every time I build them as I struggle with cable management or liquid-cooling runs, but deep down, I love that form factor more than anything else. And if you haven't given it a shot and are looking for a PC building challenge, and a rig that not only delivers on the performance but also takes up a fraction of the space, I highly recommend giving it a go.

You might also like...

• I’m suddenly really excited about Nvidia’s new RTX 5090 – but probably not for the reason you’re expecting
• PC case sizes explained: all form factors available in 2025
• The Asus ROG NUC carries the torch for Intel's mini gaming PC dreams, but the cost of entry is still too steep

• Rubin Ultra GPUs previewed at Nvidia GTC 2025 with Kyber rack mockups
• Each NVL576 rack may include 576 GPUs across four internal pods
• Projected power draw reaches 600kW with performance targets of 15 EFLOPS

At Nvidia GTC 2025, the company gave a preview of what its future data center hardware could look like, showcasing mockups of its Rubin Ultra GPUs housed in the Kyber-based NVL576 racks.

These systems are expected to launch in the second half of 2027, and while that’s still some way off, Nvidia is already laying the groundwork for what it describes as the next phase of AI infrastructure.

A single NVL576 rack, according to Jensen Huang, co-founder, president, and CEO of Nvidia, could draw up to 600kW. That's five times more than the 120kW used by current Blackwell B200 racks, suggesting a steep rise in power per rack going forward.

Powering the future

Tom’s Hardware reports, "Each Rubin Ultra rack will consist of four 'pods,' each of which will deliver more computational power than an entire Rubin NVL144 rack. Each pod will house 18 blades, and each blade will support up to eight Rubin Ultra GPUs - along with two Vera CPUs, presumably, though that wasn't explicitly stated. That's 176 GPUs per pod, and 576 per rack."

The Kyber rack infrastructure will support these systems, along with upgraded NVLink modules which will have three next-generation NVLink connections each, compared to just two found in existing 1U rack-mount units.

The first Rubin NVL144 systems, launching in 2026, will rely on existing Grace Blackwell infrastructure. Rubin Ultra arrives in 2027 with far more density.

Tom’s Hardware says that the NVL576 racks are planned to deliver “up to 15 EFLOPS of FP4” in 2027, compared to 3.6 EFLOPS from next year's NVL144 racks.

During the GTC 2025 keynote, Jensen Huang said future racks could eventually require full megawatts of power, meaning 600kW may only be a stepping stone.

As power climbs toward the megawatt range, questions are inevitably growing about how future data centers will be powered.

Nuclear energy is one obvious answer - The likes of Amazon, Meta, and Google are part of a consortium that has pledged to triple nuclear output by 2050 (Microsoft and Oracle are notably missing for the moment) and mobile micro nuclear plants are expected to arrive in the 2030s.

You might also like

• This is the best dedicated server hosting you can choose right now
• And this is how small businesses can choose the right server
• Nvidia is dreaming of trillion-dollar datacentres with millions of GPUs

• Rubin Ultra GPUs previewed at Nvidia GTC 2025 with Kyber rack mockups
• Each NVL576 rack may include 576 GPUs across four internal pods
• Projected power draw reaches 600kW with performance targets of 15 EFLOPS

At Nvidia GTC 2025, the company gave a preview of what its future data center hardware could look like, showcasing mockups of its Rubin Ultra GPUs housed in the Kyber-based NVL576 racks.

These systems are expected to launch in the second half of 2027, and while that’s still some way off, Nvidia is already laying the groundwork for what it describes as the next phase of AI infrastructure.

A single NVL576 rack, according to Jensen Huang, co-founder, president, and CEO of Nvidia, could draw up to 600kW. That's five times more than the 120kW used by current Blackwell B200 racks, suggesting a steep rise in power per rack going forward.

Powering the future

Tom’s Hardware reports, "Each Rubin Ultra rack will consist of four 'pods,' each of which will deliver more computational power than an entire Rubin NVL144 rack. Each pod will house 18 blades, and each blade will support up to eight Rubin Ultra GPUs - along with two Vera CPUs, presumably, though that wasn't explicitly stated. That's 176 GPUs per pod, and 576 per rack."

The Kyber rack infrastructure will support these systems, along with upgraded NVLink modules which will have three next-generation NVLink connections each, compared to just two found in existing 1U rack-mount units.

The first Rubin NVL144 systems, launching in 2026, will rely on existing Grace Blackwell infrastructure. Rubin Ultra arrives in 2027 with far more density.

Tom’s Hardware says that the NVL576 racks are planned to deliver “up to 15 EFLOPS of FP4” in 2027, compared to 3.6 EFLOPS from next year's NVL144 racks.

During the GTC 2025 keynote, Jensen Huang said future racks could eventually require full megawatts of power, meaning 600kW may only be a stepping stone.

As power climbs toward the megawatt range, questions are inevitably growing about how future data centers will be powered.

Nuclear energy is one obvious answer - The likes of Amazon, Meta, and Google are part of a consortium that has pledged to triple nuclear output by 2050 (Microsoft and Oracle are notably missing for the moment) and mobile micro nuclear plants are expected to arrive in the 2030s.

You might also like

• This is the best dedicated server hosting you can choose right now
• And this is how small businesses can choose the right server
• Nvidia is dreaming of trillion-dollar datacentres with millions of GPUs

One of the oft-touted benefits of buying Apple products is their seamless compatibility with other Apple products. Thanks to iCloud, it’s possible to synchronize your data, apps, photos, and contacts across iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices.

However, some of these settings can be easy to miss, and it’s nice to know how to manually sync different apps and data as and when you want to.

This guide focuses on how to sync iPhone with iPad, specifically, since you'll likely be keen to have each device mirror the other when it comes to files and settings.

Tools & requirements

• iPhone
• iPad
• Apple Account
• Internet connection

Steps for how to sync iPhone to iPad

• Sign into your Apple Account on both devices
• Head to the iCloud menu in the settings app of each device
• Toggle which apps and services you'd like to sync over iCloud
• Check that iCloud sync is working

Step-by-step guide for how to sync iPhone and iPad 1. Log in to your Apple Account

(Image: © Jamie Richards / Future)

The first step to syncing your iPhone with your iPad is making sure you’re signed into the same Apple Account on both devices.

On both iPhone and iPad, you can sign into your Apple Account by heading to the Settings app and tapping the Apple Account tab.

You’ll then have the option of signing in manually, with your email address and password, or by bringing another signed-in device nearby.

2. Head to iCloud settings

(Image: © John-Anthony Disotto / Future)

Once you’re signed in to the same Apple Account, head back to the Settings app. You should see your name at the top of the list of Settings. Head for the iCloud menu found within this tab.

Within the iCloud menu, you should see a box named Saved to iCloud.

Tapping this box takes you to a list of toggleable options to synchronize things like your Calendar, Photos, and Notes apps. Switching the toggle to the on position allows that particular app or function to connect to iCloud.

This means that, to sync an app between your iPhone and iPad, you need to set the toggle to the on position on both devices.

Keep in mind that iCloud storage is limited to 5GB by default, with more space purchasable via Apple’s iCloud+ subscription plans. Photos and videos, especially, can eat up that free 5GB very quickly.

3. Check iCloud sync is working

(Image: © Jamie Richards / Future)

After setting your desired apps to sync across your iPhone and iPad, it’s wise to check that iCloud is working properly.

If all goes to plan, you should see photos, calendar events, notes, and contacts appear on both devices – subject to the apps you selected to sync, of course.

Once sync is turned on, data will automatically synchronize across each device as it’s created, so there’s no need to manually sync again.

If you want to stop syncing, it’s as easy as heading back into iCloud settings and deselecting the app or function in question – though this will cause synced data to disappear from all but its original device.

Keep in mind that it may take a little while for each device to catch up, so don’t worry if your data doesn’t appear immediately. If, after a few hours, things still aren’t working, it could be worth getting in touch with Apple customer support.

If you’re still thinking about picking up an iPhone or iPad, be sure to check out our lists of the best iPhones and best iPads.

You might also like

• How to turn off an iPad
• How to check iPad battery health
• How to screenshot on iPad

One of the oft-touted benefits of buying Apple products is their seamless compatibility with other Apple products. Thanks to iCloud, it’s possible to synchronize your data, apps, photos, and contacts across iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices.

However, some of these settings can be easy to miss, and it’s nice to know how to manually sync different apps and data as and when you want to.

This guide focuses on how to sync iPhone with iPad, specifically, since you'll likely be keen to have each device mirror the other when it comes to files and settings.

Tools & requirements

• iPhone
• iPad
• Apple Account
• Internet connection

Steps for how to sync iPhone to iPad

• Sign into your Apple Account on both devices
• Head to the iCloud menu in the settings app of each device
• Toggle which apps and services you'd like to sync over iCloud
• Check that iCloud sync is working

Step-by-step guide for how to sync iPhone and iPad 1. Log in to your Apple Account

(Image: © Jamie Richards / Future)

The first step to syncing your iPhone with your iPad is making sure you’re signed into the same Apple Account on both devices.

On both iPhone and iPad, you can sign into your Apple Account by heading to the Settings app and tapping the Apple Account tab.

You’ll then have the option of signing in manually, with your email address and password, or by bringing another signed-in device nearby.

2. Head to iCloud settings

(Image: © John-Anthony Disotto / Future)

Once you’re signed in to the same Apple Account, head back to the Settings app. You should see your name at the top of the list of Settings. Head for the iCloud menu found within this tab.

Within the iCloud menu, you should see a box named Saved to iCloud.

Tapping this box takes you to a list of toggleable options to synchronize things like your Calendar, Photos, and Notes apps. Switching the toggle to the on position allows that particular app or function to connect to iCloud.

This means that, to sync an app between your iPhone and iPad, you need to set the toggle to the on position on both devices.

Keep in mind that iCloud storage is limited to 5GB by default, with more space purchasable via Apple’s iCloud+ subscription plans. Photos and videos, especially, can eat up that free 5GB very quickly.

3. Check iCloud sync is working

(Image: © Jamie Richards / Future)

After setting your desired apps to sync across your iPhone and iPad, it’s wise to check that iCloud is working properly.

If all goes to plan, you should see photos, calendar events, notes, and contacts appear on both devices – subject to the apps you selected to sync, of course.

Once sync is turned on, data will automatically synchronize across each device as it’s created, so there’s no need to manually sync again.

If you want to stop syncing, it’s as easy as heading back into iCloud settings and deselecting the app or function in question – though this will cause synced data to disappear from all but its original device.

Keep in mind that it may take a little while for each device to catch up, so don’t worry if your data doesn’t appear immediately. If, after a few hours, things still aren’t working, it could be worth getting in touch with Apple customer support.

If you’re still thinking about picking up an iPhone or iPad, be sure to check out our lists of the best iPhones and best iPads.

You might also like

• How to turn off an iPad
• How to check iPad battery health
• How to screenshot on iPad

• The foldable iPhone is tipped to have 4:3 aspect ratio displays
• This would match the iPads, ensuring software and app consistency
• We're not expecting the folding iPhone to launch before 2026

The foldable iPhone leaks are arriving at a pretty regular pace now, which makes us think that an actual launch is getting closer – and the latest rumor is that both the internal and external displays on this device will use a 4:3 aspect ratio.

This comes from well-known tipster Digital Chat Station (via MacRumors), and the thinking is that the software interface will be consistent between both screens, whether you've got the device open or closed.

It's also the same aspect ratio used by the Apple iPads, including the 7th-gen iPad Air launched earlier this month. It's possible that the foldable iPhone will actually use iPadOS, because of the tablet-sized main display.

According to Digital Chat Station (and Google Translate), the folding iPhone is going to have a software ecosystem "comparable" to the iPad, so draw your own conclusions. It should certainly be able to run apps designed for Apple tablets.

What we think we know so far

Google has also entered the foldables market (Image credit: Google)

Earlier this month we heard talk that Apple was prioritizing battery life on its upcoming foldable iPhone, to ensure as much time as possible between charges, and that the device will make use of a liquid metal hinge to improve durability.

Other rumors have told us that the folding iPhone is going to be 9.2 mm thick when folded, and 4.6 mm front to back when unfolded. It sounds as though the device will be a bit like two iPhone 16 handsets put together, with 5.49-inch and 7.74-inch screens.

All of this isn't going to come cheap: a couple of weeks ago we came across a prediction that the iPhone Fold (or whatever it's going to be called) is likely to cost at least $2,300 (which is roughly £1,775 or AU$3,650).

You do at least have some time to save up: most people in the know are suggesting the foldable iPhone will launch sometime in 2026, by which time we may well be up to the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 and the fourth Google Pixel foldable.

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• The foldable iPhone is tipped to have 4:3 aspect ratio displays
• This would match the iPads, ensuring software and app consistency
• We're not expecting the folding iPhone to launch before 2026

The foldable iPhone leaks are arriving at a pretty regular pace now, which makes us think that an actual launch is getting closer – and the latest rumor is that both the internal and external displays on this device will use a 4:3 aspect ratio.

This comes from well-known tipster Digital Chat Station (via MacRumors), and the thinking is that the software interface will be consistent between both screens, whether you've got the device open or closed.

It's also the same aspect ratio used by the Apple iPads, including the 7th-gen iPad Air launched earlier this month. It's possible that the foldable iPhone will actually use iPadOS, because of the tablet-sized main display.

According to Digital Chat Station (and Google Translate), the folding iPhone is going to have a software ecosystem "comparable" to the iPad, so draw your own conclusions. It should certainly be able to run apps designed for Apple tablets.

What we think we know so far

Google has also entered the foldables market (Image credit: Google)

Earlier this month we heard talk that Apple was prioritizing battery life on its upcoming foldable iPhone, to ensure as much time as possible between charges, and that the device will make use of a liquid metal hinge to improve durability.

Other rumors have told us that the folding iPhone is going to be 9.2 mm thick when folded, and 4.6 mm front to back when unfolded. It sounds as though the device will be a bit like two iPhone 16 handsets put together, with 5.49-inch and 7.74-inch screens.

All of this isn't going to come cheap: a couple of weeks ago we came across a prediction that the iPhone Fold (or whatever it's going to be called) is likely to cost at least $2,300 (which is roughly £1,775 or AU$3,650).

You do at least have some time to save up: most people in the know are suggesting the foldable iPhone will launch sometime in 2026, by which time we may well be up to the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 and the fourth Google Pixel foldable.

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• Huawei may beat Apple with its own folding iPad
• Apple needs to launch a folding iPhone and get back on track
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• SoftBank buying Ampere may signal shift from licensing to manufacturing
• Stargate project could benefit from Ampere’s experienced chip designers
• OpenAI lacks internal chip development team so that makes sense

Arm’s Japanese owner, SoftBank, is set to acquire Ampere - Arm's only independent server chip vendor - for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973.0 billion).

It’s a big move, and one that could see Arm shift from simply licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own silicon. The move would put it in direct competition with its existing customers but also expand Arm’s footprint in the growing and highly lucrative data center space.

The deal is set to conclude in the latter half of 2025, subject to the usual regulatory approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance. The Santa Clara, California-based Ampere will continue operating under its current structure until then. The exact reasons for the acquisition aren’t known outside of Ampere and SoftBank, but there are plenty of theories flying around.

It makes a lot of sense

The Next Platform thinks it may have something to do with the Stargate project, which President Trump announced at the start of 2025 and which will see OpenAI working with SoftBank and Oracle (which, incidentally, is a major investor in Ampere) to secure American leadership in AI and boost the US tech sector.

How would Ampere’s acquisition fit into Stargate? The Next Platform notes, “probably somewhere around 1,500 of the nearly 2,000 people at Ampere Computing are chip designers and these people, plus those working at Graphcore, could be tapped by OpenAI to help design custom CPUs and GPUs for the Stargate effort.”

While he’s not claiming any insider knowledge, TNP’s Timothy Prickett Morgan said, “Why else would SoftBank pay $6.5 billion for a company that is hoping to be a second-source processor for the hyperscalers and cloud builders who are all making their own Arm server CPUs and who also buy scads of x86 server processors from Intel and AMD?”

It's a good question. “As far as we know, Sam Altman & Co. has not put together a chip development team of any appreciable size, and even if it had, OpenAI has not created a compute engine and shepherded it through development,” Prickett Morgan concludes.

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• How Ampere Computing plans to ride the AI wave
• Arm may be planning to hike prices, has considered developing its own chips

• SoftBank buying Ampere may signal shift from licensing to manufacturing
• Stargate project could benefit from Ampere’s experienced chip designers
• OpenAI lacks internal chip development team so that makes sense

Arm’s Japanese owner, SoftBank, is set to acquire Ampere - Arm's only independent server chip vendor - for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973.0 billion).

It’s a big move, and one that could see Arm shift from simply licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own silicon. The move would put it in direct competition with its existing customers but also expand Arm’s footprint in the growing and highly lucrative data center space.

The deal is set to conclude in the latter half of 2025, subject to the usual regulatory approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance. The Santa Clara, California-based Ampere will continue operating under its current structure until then. The exact reasons for the acquisition aren’t known outside of Ampere and SoftBank, but there are plenty of theories flying around.

It makes a lot of sense

The Next Platform thinks it may have something to do with the Stargate project, which President Trump announced at the start of 2025 and which will see OpenAI working with SoftBank and Oracle (which, incidentally, is a major investor in Ampere) to secure American leadership in AI and boost the US tech sector.

How would Ampere’s acquisition fit into Stargate? The Next Platform notes, “probably somewhere around 1,500 of the nearly 2,000 people at Ampere Computing are chip designers and these people, plus those working at Graphcore, could be tapped by OpenAI to help design custom CPUs and GPUs for the Stargate effort.”

While he’s not claiming any insider knowledge, TNP’s Timothy Prickett Morgan said, “Why else would SoftBank pay $6.5 billion for a company that is hoping to be a second-source processor for the hyperscalers and cloud builders who are all making their own Arm server CPUs and who also buy scads of x86 server processors from Intel and AMD?”

It's a good question. “As far as we know, Sam Altman & Co. has not put together a chip development team of any appreciable size, and even if it had, OpenAI has not created a compute engine and shepherded it through development,” Prickett Morgan concludes.

You might also like

• Softbank buys Ampere for $6.5 billion, could integrate it with Arm and Graphcore
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I’ve been using Microsoft Windows since the days of Windows 3.1, but I’ve never loved the operating system. Instead, I’ve stuck with it over the decades mainly out of familiarity. I know how Windows works and when things break (which they continue to do all too often), I usually know how to fix things quickly.

On the surface, there might not seem like there’s a lot in common between Windows 3.1 and Windows 11, but some things – especially legacy features added in Windows 95 – continue to work the way they've always done.

While this causes problems – Windows 11 feels like a modern OS glued on top of an old, rickety OS at times – there’s a certain comfort to using such a familiar product.

Also, while Linux and macOS, Windows’ biggest competitors when it comes to operating systems, are getting better at supporting games, if you’re a PC gamer who wants the widest selection of titles to play – like I am – then Windows 11 really is the only choice.

Nostalgia, laziness, and being a hostage to my own games library aren’t the best reasons to keep using a product, however, and it’s a problem that I feel Microsoft has been struggling with for a long time.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows is by far the most popular desktop operating system in the world when it comes to user numbers – but it just isn’t that popular when it comes to… well… popularity.

Despite Microsoft wishing people loved Windows, the lack of affection is a danger for the company, because it means rival operating systems are finding it easier and easier to win over Windows users.

With Windows 10’s End of Life approaching in October 2025, this danger could be even more pronounced as there are going to be a lot of Windows 10 users looking to change operating systems after Microsoft stops officially supporting the older OS.

While the Redmond-based company would like all those users to move to Windows 11, there are going to be many users looking at other operating systems – and if people don’t enjoy using Windows, but just stick with it out of habit, then that’s not going to be enough to guarantee that those users will continue using Windows.

Recently, Apple has been putting out some great computing products, and that’s meant I’ve been using macOS a lot more – both at home on my M2-powered MacBook Pro and at work with the Mac mini M4.

With the Windows PC I use at work showing its age, I decided it was time to make the switch permanently and use the Mac mini as my main PC – and therefore stop using Windows 11 daily and instead use macOS Sequoia. Here’s what I found.

(Image credit: Sergey Zaykov / Shutterstock / Microsoft) What I didn’t miss when ditching Windows 11

I’ve been using macOS for years as well, so I wasn’t going in completely blind. However, I was removing the safety net of deep familiarity that I have with Windows.

After two weeks of using macOS as my sole operating system for work, there were plenty of Windows 11 quirks I wasn’t missing.

For a start, I certainly didn’t miss the adverts and nagging messages from Microsoft trying to get me to use more of its services, something that is getting increasingly annoying in Windows 11.

Where Windows 11 puts games in my Start menu that I have no interest in, ignores my default browser settings to open up Microsoft Edge at any given opportunity, and shows pop-ups trying to get me to sign up for Games Pass, macOS is impressively clean.

There’s still attempts to get you to use Apple’s ecosystem, but it seems less invasive, and can mainly be ignored. The closest it came was in the Preferences app where Apple was trying to convince me to try its AI tools known as Apple Intelligence. Still, compared to Microsoft’s attempts to force me to use its own AI assistant, Copilot, this was far less annoying.

(Image credit: Future)

I also appreciated that when I used Apple’s own Safari browser to download Google Chrome, my web browser of choice, I wasn’t bombarded with messages and warnings trying to put me off – something that Microsoft tries to do with varying degrees of desperation when using Edge to download Chrome.

It also felt like macOS respected my choices when I set non-Apple applications as defaults. Once I’d set Chrome as my default web browser, that was it. Meanwhile, with Windows 11 it always felt like it was trying to either change my mind or trick me into using Edge, even when I explicitly set Chrome as my default web browser.

This includes incidents like opening a website from within the Start menu, Widget area or within the Settings app – as they would ignore my settings and open up the website in Edge.

After installing large updates, Windows 11 will also sometimes show a screen asking you to finish setting up your PC, and it often includes an option to use recommended internet settings. If you don’t pay attention and just click ok, you end up with Edge becoming your default browser again.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Another thing I didn’t miss was the instability. While I usually have a good idea of how to fix Windows 11 problems, it doesn’t mean they are any less annoying when they strike – and sometimes there’s no easy fix. Meanwhile, macOS feels a lot more stable and dependable.

To be fair to Microsoft, this is mainly due to the sheer breadth of devices that can run Windows 11, with PCs and laptops from all manner of manufacturers coming with different hardware configurations. It’s essentially impossible to write software for a near-infinite number of hardware configurations and guarantee that there will be no bugs or incompatibility problems.

Meanwhile, Apple strictly restricts what devices can run macOS to Macs and MacBooks that the company itself makes – and it can be ruthless about cutting support for older devices as well. I’m not a massive fan of this, but it does mean Apple has a clear idea of the hardware that will be running macOS, and can therefore more easily ensure that the software works properly.

That’s not to say that there are never macOS problems, but they feel a lot less common – and overall the user experience just feels a lot more stable.

On the other hand, when something does break in macOS, I’m often at a bit of a loss, whereas with Windows I have a good idea of what might be causing the issue and how to fix it.

(Image credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock) What I missed about Windows 11

The more I used macOS every day, however, I found myself missing certain things about Windows 11 – things that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before.

Perhaps the biggest, yet least exciting, thing was copy and pasting. I’m not talking about getting used to pressing CMD + C on a keyboard instead of CTRL + C (that was annoying but quickly became second nature, and you can also change it to the Windows way of doing things in Preferences).

What I did miss was Windows 11’s excellent Clipboard Paste feature.

(Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Rather than using CTRL + V to paste something, in Windows 11 you can press the Windows key + V to open up a small menu that shows a history of things you’ve copied to the clipboard, making it easy to switch between items to quickly paste. It’s one of Windows’ best recent features, and I really missed it in macOS.

I ended up installing a third-party tool to do something similar, but it wasn’t was easy to use as Microsoft’s integrated feature.

When I work on the smaller screens of laptops, I also really appreciated how easy it was to snap windows to the left and right-hand sides of the screen, which made multitasking with a small display much easier.

Just grabbing the menu bar of a window and dragging it to the left or right of the screen will enlarge the window so it takes up half the screen. You can then do the same with a different window on the opposite side of the screen to get two equally sized windows open side-by-side.

I often use the Windows key + arrow key keyboard shortcut to make this process even easier. When snapping a window, Windows 11 can also show you other open windows to quickly snap to the opposite side.

(Image credit: Apple)

While macOS Sequoia has finally introduced a similar feature, it still isn’t as slick as Windows 11’s implementation, and lacks some of the features. Being able to drag a window to the top of the screen in Windows 11 to open it full-screen is also something I really missed when moving to macOS.

To be honest, the clipboard feature alone has been enough for me to go back to Windows 11. Despite all the hassles and annoyances, this one feature really makes a difference to my day job.

So, Microsoft might be pleased that it’s not completely lost another customer (and I’d still use Windows on my gaming PC), but I’d also like it to understand that the best way it can keep people using its operating system, and maybe even one day like its operating system, isn’t with AI gimmicks and annoying ads for its services, but by concentrating on seemingly simple features that work well and make people’s lives easier.

My concern is that Microsoft won’t, and will instead think that shoving Copilot in more apps will be the way to keep people using Windows. Trust me though, it won’t.

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I’ve been using Microsoft Windows since the days of Windows 3.1, but I’ve never loved the operating system. Instead, I’ve stuck with it over the decades mainly out of familiarity. I know how Windows works and when things break (which they continue to do all too often), I usually know how to fix things quickly.

On the surface, there might not seem like there’s a lot in common between Windows 3.1 and Windows 11, but some things – especially legacy features added in Windows 95 – continue to work the way they've always done.

While this causes problems – Windows 11 feels like a modern OS glued on top of an old, rickety OS at times – there’s a certain comfort to using such a familiar product.

Also, while Linux and macOS, Windows’ biggest competitors when it comes to operating systems, are getting better at supporting games, if you’re a PC gamer who wants the widest selection of titles to play – like I am – then Windows 11 really is the only choice.

Nostalgia, laziness, and being a hostage to my own games library aren’t the best reasons to keep using a product, however, and it’s a problem that I feel Microsoft has been struggling with for a long time.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows is by far the most popular desktop operating system in the world when it comes to user numbers – but it just isn’t that popular when it comes to… well… popularity.

Despite Microsoft wishing people loved Windows, the lack of affection is a danger for the company, because it means rival operating systems are finding it easier and easier to win over Windows users.

With Windows 10’s End of Life approaching in October 2025, this danger could be even more pronounced as there are going to be a lot of Windows 10 users looking to change operating systems after Microsoft stops officially supporting the older OS.

While the Redmond-based company would like all those users to move to Windows 11, there are going to be many users looking at other operating systems – and if people don’t enjoy using Windows, but just stick with it out of habit, then that’s not going to be enough to guarantee that those users will continue using Windows.

Recently, Apple has been putting out some great computing products, and that’s meant I’ve been using macOS a lot more – both at home on my M2-powered MacBook Pro and at work with the Mac mini M4.

With the Windows PC I use at work showing its age, I decided it was time to make the switch permanently and use the Mac mini as my main PC – and therefore stop using Windows 11 daily and instead use macOS Sequoia. Here’s what I found.

(Image credit: Sergey Zaykov / Shutterstock / Microsoft) What I didn’t miss when ditching Windows 11

I’ve been using macOS for years as well, so I wasn’t going in completely blind. However, I was removing the safety net of deep familiarity that I have with Windows.

After two weeks of using macOS as my sole operating system for work, there were plenty of Windows 11 quirks I wasn’t missing.

For a start, I certainly didn’t miss the adverts and nagging messages from Microsoft trying to get me to use more of its services, something that is getting increasingly annoying in Windows 11.

Where Windows 11 puts games in my Start menu that I have no interest in, ignores my default browser settings to open up Microsoft Edge at any given opportunity, and shows pop-ups trying to get me to sign up for Games Pass, macOS is impressively clean.

There’s still attempts to get you to use Apple’s ecosystem, but it seems less invasive, and can mainly be ignored. The closest it came was in the Preferences app where Apple was trying to convince me to try its AI tools known as Apple Intelligence. Still, compared to Microsoft’s attempts to force me to use its own AI assistant, Copilot, this was far less annoying.

(Image credit: Future)

I also appreciated that when I used Apple’s own Safari browser to download Google Chrome, my web browser of choice, I wasn’t bombarded with messages and warnings trying to put me off – something that Microsoft tries to do with varying degrees of desperation when using Edge to download Chrome.

It also felt like macOS respected my choices when I set non-Apple applications as defaults. Once I’d set Chrome as my default web browser, that was it. Meanwhile, with Windows 11 it always felt like it was trying to either change my mind or trick me into using Edge, even when I explicitly set Chrome as my default web browser.

This includes incidents like opening a website from within the Start menu, Widget area or within the Settings app – as they would ignore my settings and open up the website in Edge.

After installing large updates, Windows 11 will also sometimes show a screen asking you to finish setting up your PC, and it often includes an option to use recommended internet settings. If you don’t pay attention and just click ok, you end up with Edge becoming your default browser again.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Another thing I didn’t miss was the instability. While I usually have a good idea of how to fix Windows 11 problems, it doesn’t mean they are any less annoying when they strike – and sometimes there’s no easy fix. Meanwhile, macOS feels a lot more stable and dependable.

To be fair to Microsoft, this is mainly due to the sheer breadth of devices that can run Windows 11, with PCs and laptops from all manner of manufacturers coming with different hardware configurations. It’s essentially impossible to write software for a near-infinite number of hardware configurations and guarantee that there will be no bugs or incompatibility problems.

Meanwhile, Apple strictly restricts what devices can run macOS to Macs and MacBooks that the company itself makes – and it can be ruthless about cutting support for older devices as well. I’m not a massive fan of this, but it does mean Apple has a clear idea of the hardware that will be running macOS, and can therefore more easily ensure that the software works properly.

That’s not to say that there are never macOS problems, but they feel a lot less common – and overall the user experience just feels a lot more stable.

On the other hand, when something does break in macOS, I’m often at a bit of a loss, whereas with Windows I have a good idea of what might be causing the issue and how to fix it.

(Image credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock) What I missed about Windows 11

The more I used macOS every day, however, I found myself missing certain things about Windows 11 – things that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before.

Perhaps the biggest, yet least exciting, thing was copy and pasting. I’m not talking about getting used to pressing CMD + C on a keyboard instead of CTRL + C (that was annoying but quickly became second nature, and you can also change it to the Windows way of doing things in Preferences).

What I did miss was Windows 11’s excellent Clipboard Paste feature.

(Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Rather than using CTRL + V to paste something, in Windows 11 you can press the Windows key + V to open up a small menu that shows a history of things you’ve copied to the clipboard, making it easy to switch between items to quickly paste. It’s one of Windows’ best recent features, and I really missed it in macOS.

I ended up installing a third-party tool to do something similar, but it wasn’t was easy to use as Microsoft’s integrated feature.

When I work on the smaller screens of laptops, I also really appreciated how easy it was to snap windows to the left and right-hand sides of the screen, which made multitasking with a small display much easier.

Just grabbing the menu bar of a window and dragging it to the left or right of the screen will enlarge the window so it takes up half the screen. You can then do the same with a different window on the opposite side of the screen to get two equally sized windows open side-by-side.

I often use the Windows key + arrow key keyboard shortcut to make this process even easier. When snapping a window, Windows 11 can also show you other open windows to quickly snap to the opposite side.

(Image credit: Apple)

While macOS Sequoia has finally introduced a similar feature, it still isn’t as slick as Windows 11’s implementation, and lacks some of the features. Being able to drag a window to the top of the screen in Windows 11 to open it full-screen is also something I really missed when moving to macOS.

To be honest, the clipboard feature alone has been enough for me to go back to Windows 11. Despite all the hassles and annoyances, this one feature really makes a difference to my day job.

So, Microsoft might be pleased that it’s not completely lost another customer (and I’d still use Windows on my gaming PC), but I’d also like it to understand that the best way it can keep people using its operating system, and maybe even one day like its operating system, isn’t with AI gimmicks and annoying ads for its services, but by concentrating on seemingly simple features that work well and make people’s lives easier.

My concern is that Microsoft won’t, and will instead think that shoving Copilot in more apps will be the way to keep people using Windows. Trust me though, it won’t.

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I've been reviewing cameras for almost ten years and I've never seen anything like the the Fujifilm X100VI. The premium compact camera landed just over a year ago and immediately sold out everywhere, resulting in extraordinary six-month waiting lists. It only recently came back into stock at retailers, before again doing a Houdini-style vanishing act.

The X100VI backstory is already well known. It was one of those rare tech moments when the cultural zeitgeist – suddenly obsessed with film and compact cameras – shone its spotlight on something that seemingly had elements of both. The fuse was lit with the X100V's viral TikTok moment in 2022, before the big explosion with its successor last year.

I'm now less interested in whether or not the X100VI deserves its hype (either way, it's a brilliant little camera) and more in the impact it's had on the used prices of premium compact cameras. When I was TechRadar's Cameras Editor a few years ago, the return of that genre seemed about as likely as an Oasis reunion – but here we are in the strange world of 2025.

To see how the Fujifilm X100VI has affected the used prices of the best compact cameras and small mirrorless alternatives since it landed in February 2024, I asked MPB for some data to help. MPB uses a dynamic pricing engine to work out its second-hand valuations – if you're in the market for a premium compact camera in 2025, the results below make for fascinating (and hopefully, helpful) reading.

Later on, I'll reveal what I'm buying instead of an X100VI and what our current Cameras Editor Tim Coleman recommends doing. But first, here's what's happened to the second-hand prices of its main rivals in the US and UK...

US: The X-Pro 2 takes the baton

In the US, it hasn't just been Fujifilm's X100 series that's seen a spike in demand over the past year – the appetite for cameras that are small, powerful and echo classic film cameras has spilled over to the company's X-Pro and X-E series, too.

For example, the Fujifilm X-Pro 2, which has just turned nine years old, has seen its second-hand price rise by around 15% since October 2023. That isn't something you see with smartphones, laptops or smartwatches that are nearly a decade old.

Considering the X-Pro line is like an X100 with interchangeable lenses, this isn't too surprising – but the extent to which the X-Pro 2 has outpaced and closed the gap on the newer X-Pro 3 (from 2021) certainly is. This is likely down to some reported issues with the longevity of the X-Pro 3's screen.

The Fujifilm X-Pro 2 (above) has seen its second-hand prices sky-rocket in the US and UK since the X100V and X100VI achieved their new cult following. (Image credit: Future)

What about outside of Fujifilm cameras? While there's undoubtedly some seasonality to the summer bump in the middle of the chart above, MPB told us this was also down to a perfect storm of market shortages, the renewed popularity of compacts, and a rise in the prices of new cameras. This means most premium compact cameras – retro or not – have enjoyed something of an Indian summer.

Eight out of the ten cameras that MPB gave us the pricing history for are more expensive today than they were in late 2023. The X100 series' closest rivals, Ricoh's GR series, have followed in its slipstream – with the GR III, GR IIIx (which has a 40mm equivalent focal length, rather than 28mm) and GR II all fetching higher second-hand prices now than 18 months ago.

A slightly more surprising case is the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II, which I think is an excellent camera but is now approaching seven years old. It's now 18% pricier than in October 2023, according to MPB's data. No wonder rumors persist that Panasonic could be one day launch a full-frame version.

The final lesson of this data? Maybe don't buy a second-hand compact camera during the summer months – if this year follows the same path as above (which it may not), now is a good time to get ahead of the seasonal price rises.

UK: Ricoh GR II and Sony RX1R Mark II on the rise

In the UK, the biggest second-hand price rises among X100VI rivals have been the Ricoh GR II (now around 13% pricier than in October 2023) and Sony RX1R Mark II, which isn't in the graph above as its high price would break the scale.

You could buy Sony's fixed lens full-frame compact (which launched back in 2015) in 'excellent' condition on MPB for £1,899 in 2023, but high demand means it'll now set you back £2,219 (a 17% rise).

That's not too far off its original £2,600 asking price, which explains how revered its 35mm f/2 lens and 42.4MP sensor are – and also how popular premium compact cameras have become.

The Sony RX1R II (above), which turns ten years old this year, has seen its used prices rise in the US and UK in the past year, but it also stretches the definition of 'compact'

Like in the US, the Fujifilm X-Pro 2 (but not the newer X-Pro 3) has also seen its second-hand price rise since the X100VI landed. It's now around 17% more expensive to buy used than in late 2023, unlike the X-Pro 3 which has had reported screen issues and saw its price drop slightly during the same period.

Interestingly, there wasn't the same summertime rise in used prices during mid-2024 as there was in the US, which suggests that other factors like low stock have been a factor. Also, only five out of the 10 cameras above are pricier now than at the start of the period in the UK, which means the X100VI effect hasn't been quite as pronounced there.

Still, the relatively stable nature of premium compact prices – particularly as the average age of the cameras above is well over six years old – shows that it's a very popular space, even as the best camera phones continue to take impressive strides that were once expected to make compacts obsolete.

What I'd buy instead

Buying a premium compact camera is a more personal decision than buying a bigger camera. Unlike larger workhorses, they're designed to be characterful companions that are all about pure fun – like a two-seater sports car that you tear around country lanes. This also means your mileage may vary.

As much as I love the Fujifilm X100 series – I made the Fujifilm X100V our number one compact camera back in 2022, despite reservations about calling it 'compact' – I find its fixed, 23mm lens too much of a restrictive stumbling block, despite its handy crop modes. That also rules me out of the Fujifilm X70, another premium compact that's now more expensive to buy used than when it launched in 2016.

Because I prefer longer focal lengths, I've considered the Ricoh GR IIIx and its 40mm lens. But the lack of a viewfinder puts me off. Which brings me to small mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses, like the Fujifilm X-E and X-T series.

(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

These are no longer 'compact' cameras, but they're small enough for a large jacket pocket and to become part of my daily carry. With a Fujifilm X-E5 rumored for this year (which makes the X-E4 a bit less appealing), my choice would be the Fujifilm X-T50. You can buy one new for $1,399 / £1,299 or on $1,249 / £1,019 on MPB, although I've recently seen its new prices drop below £1,000 in the UK.

The X-T50 is effectively a mini version of my X-T5 and, for me, would be the ideal travel camera given I already own small primes like the 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/2. It's also roughly the same size and weight as the X100VI, albeit a fair bit deeper with a lens attached. Still, that's a small price I'm willing to pay for interchangeable lenses.

The Ricoh GR IIIx (above) is still a great option for those who want a truly pocketable alternative to the X100VI with a 40mm lens, but rumors of a GR IV model for 2025 persist. (Image credit: Future)

But that's by no means the best option for everyone. TechRadar's Cameras Editor Tim Coleman has a different plan: "Years back I bought a Ricoh GR IIIx instead of the Fujifilm X100VI's predecessor (or the latest iPhone), because it offered the best image quality from a camera that easily slips into a trouser pocket. Size mattered most of all, because I wanted a camera with me all the time to build a habit of taking pictures" he told me.

"Despite also being a premium compact, an X100 camera was simply too big for my purposes – I didn't want a camera that I had to build into my routine. That said, I used the GR IIIx and X100VI side-by-side last year, and I wish my camera had some of the X100VI's skills – its autofocus is poor by comparison, nor does it have a flash, a viewfinder or a tilt touchscreen.

"I'm still happy that I opted for the GR IIIx, I just wish it was more refined like the X100VI. If I was buying again today, I'd have my fingers crossed for an improved Ricoh in the same mould – a potential GR IV that addresses my snag list".

What's next? The premium compact camera rumors for 2025

The other big impact of the Fujifilm X100VI is that it's seemingly awakened other camera giants to the popularity of retro compact cameras – according to the rumor mill, at least.

A camera's development cycle is usually around two years, so it isn't surprising that the X100VI remains unique (outside of the stunning, but painfully expensive, Leica Q3). But there's a chance it could get more competition in 2025.

One of the most likely sources is OM System, which was formerly Olympus. It recently launched the rather lovely OM System OM-3 and has seemingly been dropping hints that a new version of the classic Olympus Pen-F is in the works. That really would be an X100VI rival – but given it's been rumored for years, I'm not holding my breath.

A successor to the Olympus Pen-F (above) would definitely be a strong X100VI rival, but it's been rumored for so long it's reached mythical status.

Another camera to file in the same category is the Ricoh GR IV. While the demand for a successor to the five-year-old Ricoh GR III is certainly there, the rumors have gone worryingly quiet. Those who want a truly pocketable camera with a big sensor, plus modern autofocus, will be hoping the speculation picks up soon.

Recently, we've been hearing whispers from the likes of Canon Rumors that a Canon EOS RE-1 – a retro-styled model based on the Canon AE-1, which has long been regarded as one of the best film cameras – is coming in either late 2025 or early 2026. But it's more likely to be a pricey, full-frame camera like the Nikon Zf rather than a direct Fujifilm X100VI rival.

Even more up in the air is the possibility of a Sony RX1R III. The usually reliable Sony Alpha Rumors said in early 2025 that it still had "no definitive confirmation that a new full frame fixed lens camera will be announced in 2025", merely that the camera isn't impossible because Sony execs have said the RX line isn't yet complete. Right now, there are no concrete reasons to expect it, which is a shame.

• Check out the latest Camera rumors for 2025: the new gear we're expecting soon from DJI, Sony, Canon and more

A successor to the Fujifilm X-E4 (above) looks increasingly likely this year, even if it wouldn't be a direct alternative to the X100VI due to its interchangeable lenses. (Image credit: Fujifilm)

All of which means that the most likely source of an X100VI alternative this year is Fujifilm itself. Sadly, it seems a Fujifilm X-Pro 4 is still a little way off, but a more likely arrival from our list of the most exciting cameras of 2025 is the Fujifilm X-E5.

That camera has been rumored for mid-2025 alongside a mysterious half-frame model. The X-E series have interchangeable lenses and aren't as premium as the X100 series, so are a slightly different beast – but an X-E5 could represent a more affordable alternative for some.

Then there's the rumored Fujifilm GFX100RF, which appears to be a super-powered X100VI with a 100MP medium format sensor and a price tag to match (most likely higher than the $3,999 / £3,499 / AU$6,499 asking price of the GFX50S when it landed in 2022).

In short, there's still nothing quite like the Fujifilm X100VI – and that's likely to remain the case for much of 2025. That means we can expect the used prices of rivals like the cameras above to remain high. But at least some competition, in the form of new premium compacts and small mirrorless cameras, is now on the horizon, and that's good news for this unlikely cameras renaissance.

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• The Fujifilm X100VI is my first ever camera – here are five things it's taught me about photography that my smartphone can't
• My favorite camera of 2023 wasn't a Sony or Canon, it was this pricey compact

This week Apple announced the date for WWDC 2025, Marvel teased its massive Avengers: Doomsday cast, and Nintendo held what's set to be its last Switch direct before the Nintendo Switch 2 releases.

To catch up on all that and all our picks for the week's 7 biggest tech stories scroll through this page so you'll be ready for next week's big announcements.

Once you're done, read our picks for 7 new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend (March 28).

7. Apple set a date for WWDC 2025

(Image credit: Apple/Future)

It's been an interesting few weeks for Apple with several new products and an official delay to the AI-infused Siri, but this week, we got the office dates for the 2025 World Wide Developers Conference.

More commonly referred to as WWDC 25, Apple's weeklong conference at which it normally debuts its next-generation platforms and software will kick off on June 9, 2025. As we've come to expect, Apple will host a 'Special Event' on day one, which will be the week's main keynote.

It's safe to expect Apple's CEO Tim Cook, many other executives, and product leads to showcase all the new features and operating systems. We're expecting iOS 19, iPadOS 19, the next version of macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and the software that powers AirPods and HomePod.

• Read more: Apple just announced WWDC 2025 starts on June 9

6. Avengers assembled for Doomsday

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

After teasing a big announcement, Marvel has revealed the entire, 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday, and it’s full of heroes including familiar MCU Avengers like Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, and Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, as well as some soon to be heroes like the Fantastic Four’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman) Joseph Quinn (Human Torch). Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

There were also a few surprises, like Tom Hiddleston returning as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor – the latter of whom were set up as antagonists the last time we saw them in the Thunderbolts* trailer and Wakanda Forever, respectively.

And then some big shocks like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Channing Tatum, Alan Cumming, and Rebecca Romijn – all of whom will reprise their roles as Mutants from the X-Men universe. Their inclusion and some lighting have led many to speculate the movie might adapt to the Avengers vs X-Men storyline.

There were plenty of absent Avengers – including these 17 we most want to see – but Marvel has said, “There’s always room for more,” in response to a post on RDJ’s Instagram suggesting the film might be even more packed than it already is.

• Read more: Marvel has revealed the full, 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday

5. We tested the Canon PowerShot V1

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Canon confirmed the global availability of its PowerShot V1 vlogging compact camera, which was announced last month for Japan only, alongside unveiling the new EOS R50 V, and we had already had our hands on the V1 ahead of the announcement.

We reckon the PowerShot V1 outshines the few rivals it has for video: the Sony ZV-1 II, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, and Canon's own PowerShot G7X Mark III, chiefly because it packs a larger 1.4-inch sensor, reliable autofocus, decent optical stabilization, together with a suite of video features that include a built-in ND filter and cooling vents for unlimited 4K record times.

However, the V1 isn't perfect, and we've identified a few drawbacks during hands-on time. All being said, our first impressions are very favorable, and this is one of the best vlogging cameras for beginners. You can learn more in our hands-on review.

• Read more: Our Canon PowerShot V1 review

4. Netflix added HDR10+ support

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

This week Netflix announced that it's adding support for the HDR10+ advanced HDR format which is supported by TVs from the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL.

You’ll need a Netflix Premium account to access HDR10+. Netflix said that initially, it will be available on 50% of "eligible viewing hours," but it plans to have HDR10+ support on every HDR movie and show by the end of the year.

This is great news for owners of the best Samsung TVs and best Samsung phones, because these don't support Dolby Vision HDR – the only premium TV brand that doesn't.

HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are superior to regular HDR (officially called HDR10) because they can support a wider dynamic range to make the most of today's brighter and bolder TVs, but they can also embed scene-by-scene tone mapping – meaning that instead of your TV having to work how best to get all the detail out of a super-dark or super-bright scene, this information is included in the video stream.

Basically your supported Netflix content should look a heck of a lot better now on Samsung screens.

• Read more: Netflix adds HDR10+ support – great news for Samsung TV owners, but don't expect LG and Sony to do the same any time soon

3. OpenAI unveiled image generation for 4o

(Image credit: Generated by ChatGPT)

This week OpenAI unlocked image generation in ChatGPT, which promises more convenience (because it’s baked into the app rather than being its own thing) and better results than the other AI image generators out there,

In demos, the Open AI team showed off text that is actually legible and not a weird jumble of scribbles, which makes the tool ideal for creating infographics and it can generate an image from a photo you provide as context, not just from a written prompt.

However, it's already getting into trouble as people ask the AI to convert their pictures into the distinct aesthetics of South Park, SpongeBob, and Studio Ghibli movies.

The results are undeniably impressive, but not only does it continue to raise concerns about AI taking artists' livelihoods, but it’s also making many of us ask the question of how ChatGPT knows what the ‘Studio Ghibli’ and these other properties’ styles look like, as that would suggest it has been trained on copyrighted material.

Perhaps in response to these criticisms, we’ve found it’s now much harder to make ChatGPT copy an artist's style directly – it now refuses and creates more generic-looking works instead.

• Read more: I refuse to jump on ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli image generator bandwagon

2. Nintendo held the Switch’s last direct

(Image credit: Nintendo / Future)

With the Nintendo Switch 2 debuting in just a couple of days at its own dedicated Direct on April 2, Nintendo gave its predecessor one final hurrah with the handheld’s last Direct presentation. It was full of game announcements and updates on titles we already know about.

Pokémon Legends Z-A made an appearance, where we learnt about the new Z-A Royale battle mode, a twist on the classic Gym Challenge. We also got to check out gameplay from the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which saw Samus exploring a jungle planet. Finally, there was the surprise reveal of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, which, for many of us, was the star of the show.

There’s also the Nintendo Today mobile app which has already alerted people to the premiere date for The Legend of Zelda live action movie, and the new Virtual Game Cards which will allow you to share your digital games between consoles like a real cartridge.

• Read more: All Nintendo Switch games announced at the March 2025 show and our reactions as it happened

1. Google finally gave is a Pixel 9a release date

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Google Pixel 9a was announced in mid-March, but almost immediately, Google delayed the phone’s sale and only gave us a vague “April” release date. No specific official reason for the delay was given except that it was a “component quality issue,” but one leaker blamed heating problems around the camera module – though, take what they had to say with a pinch of salt.

Regardless of the reason, the Pixel 9a now has a release date. It will arrive in the US, UK, and Canada first on April 10th, followed by Europe on April 14th and Australia and Asia on April 16th.

When it does land the new Pixel 9a will cost $499 / £499 / AU$849 for 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, and comes in four colors: Obsidian black, Porcelain white, Peony pink, and Iris lavender.

• Read more: Google Pixel 9a delay ends – here's when you'll be able to buy one

A lot of useful information is only as helpful as its organization. The same goes for my own brain, of course. Getting that information in different formats can help with learning it, and Google’s NotebookLM has been fun to experiment with for that purpose, particularly the customized podcasts with AI hosts.

The latest addition is the new Mind Maps feature. A mind map is an old technique for organizing your thinking using visual webs of information that connect ideas together. Imagine a branching tree where each limb is a concept and every twig is a supporting idea. They’re great for people who think visually.

The NotebookLM version is essentially that, but it is put together by an AI model. I decided to test this thing with two real-life situations: planning a garden and trying to become a whiz at DIY home repairs.

Mind Garden

(Image credit: NotebookLM screenshots)

The garden was first. I uploaded a pile of articles I’d been hoarding – stuff about companion planting, raised beds, native perennials, composting, and that one blog post where someone swears by pouring beer on their tomatoes. NotebookLM chewed through all of it and spit out a Mind Map upon request.

There were branches for planning, locations, and even the benefits of gardening, among others. Each branch had a long list of 'twigs' covering all kinds of subtopics, as you can see above. Each was clickable, causing the conversation part of NotebookLm to expound upon that topic. It was extremely helpful in keeping all those elements organized.

DIY

(Image credit: NotebookLM)

The same goes for the DIY project. My house has this charming quality where things just break for no reason. I’d already tried to fix a leaky toilet once, which ended with me flooding the bathroom and watching a YouTube tutorial through a veil of defeat.

This time, I came prepared. I uploaded manuals, how-to articles, and a few trusted repair blogs. Mind Maps whipped up categories like planning, building codes, and the essential DIY projects list within seconds. I chose flooring installation from that set of twigs, and you can see hardwood floors, moisture barriers, and an expansion gap.

There was something strangely calming about seeing the steps laid out so clearly. I clicked on “door hanging” and got an overview of the different types of doors and how to set them up from the AI. I felt like I'd had a conversation with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

Different Thinking

NotebookLM already did a good job summarizing stuff, but the Mind Maps added a layer of clarity that made it feel almost tactile. I could see how ideas were connected and how it would help me learn faster.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. Sometimes, the Mind Maps get a little too enthusiastic and start branching off into tangents that don’t really help. One map tried to connect “composting” with “composing” music for gardening for some reason. And with very niche topics, the AI can still miss the mark by offering generic advice when what you need is something specific, like how to fix a loose tile without taking apart half your kitchen.

I’d also love more manual control. Right now, you can navigate and explore the maps, but you can’t really tweak them much. Sometimes, I want to drag a node, rename it, or cut a whole branch that’s not useful. Still, these are nitpicks. The core experience is solid, though.

The truth is, I didn’t expect to love Mind Maps. I thought they’d be a neat visual gimmick, something I’d play with once and then forget about. But I think I'll be using them more, especially for any ambitious plans I have for improving my home and garden. In a world full of tabs, a map is nice to have.

You might also like

• I used NoteBookLM to help with productivity - here’s 5 top tips to get the most from Google’s AI audio tool
• Google will turn those long documents into your next favorite podcast
• Google Gemini is racing to win the AI crown in 2025

What’s cooler than earbuds that look like they belong in a galaxy far, far away? Obviously, earbuds that also embody the tones of Star Wars, from a lightsaber igniting to a droid’s iconic wail.

Now, in the lead-up to Star Wars Celebration, which kicks off on April 18, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, Star Wars has collaborated with Audio-Technica for four custom earbuds, and TechRadar has your exclusive first-look hands-on experience with all four.

This collaboration comes to life as four limited edition, customized pairs of the ATH-CKS50TW2. You can show your allegiance to the dark side or that of the rebels with Darth Vader, R2-D2, Grogu, and The Mandalorian models. And these versions won’t just look the part with the Darth Vader earbuds getting a glossy black finish that looks like the iconic helmet or the R2-D2 one getting a blue and white paint job, but these boast custom sound effects, too.

TechRadar can also reveal that the box contains a custom, glossy sticker matching the earbuds and featuring the iconic character. The box itself is limited and special. You won’t have to worry about calling in a bounty to afford these limited-edition buds – if you can get your hands on a pair, Star Wars editions of the ATH-CKS50TW2 cost $179.99, which is only $30 more than the standard.

These earbuds will launch exclusively in person at Star Wars Celebration, so if you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo, Japan, you’ll get them first. But they will also be available in limited quantities – no word on the exact number – from Audio-Technica directly, beginning on April 21, 2025. Those will start shipping on none other than Star Wars Day – May 4th.

But we have the earbuds you’re looking for and have unboxed all four – R2-D2, Darth Vader, The Mandalorian, and Grogu included. Keep scrolling for a photo guide, as well as the special details we’ve discovered by going hands- and ears-on. And if you’re already familiar with the ATH-CKS50TW2, these boast the same feature set.

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The custom nature of the four buds is an iconic paint job for each, starting with the case. These still have a mostly plastic build for the hull, but embossed on the top lid is an iconic phrase associated with the character.

• Darth Vader: “It is your destiny.”
• The Mandalorian: “This is the way.”
• R2-D2: “The droid you’re looking for.”
• Grogu: “Wherever I go, he goes.”

It’s also color-matched, so Darth Vader is a deep black, The Mandalorian is a lighter shade of silver, trying its best to look like Beskar, R2-D2 is white with blue accents, and Grogu is two separate shades of green. The design team here really took the time to pay homage to the characters.

The earbuds sit in the case and have the same build as the standard ATH-CKS50TW2, including the fact that they magnetically snap together. This is certainly a feature I’d like to see some other buds adopt.

With Grogu, it pairs green with a light brown for the main hull – the ear tips are green and several are included in the box, but there is also Aurebesh writing included on the outside. Printed on the earbuds, though – facing down from the ear – is another iconic phrase. In Grogu’s case, it’s “The Child” on the left earbud and “Little Bounty” on the right.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

For the other half of the clan of two, The Mandalorian, the earbuds mostly use various shades of silver, with the largest color choice being a brushed one. It has some gloss to it, and the ear tips are dark grey. The message here is straight to the point – “Mandalorian” on the left and “Bounty Hunter” on the right.

R2-D2 is mostly white with some blue stripes on the side and blue ear tips, the printed message is equally to the point as Mando’ – “R2-D2” on the left and “Astromech Droid” on the right.

It seems the Dark Side is coming out on top for design, though. The Darth Vader buds look pretty impressive with a glossy black finish facing the world, and the Audio-Technica team here uses red accents sparingly. Most importantly, “The power of” lives on the left and “the Dark side” lives on the right – how cool. These just look fantastic.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

While the companion app for Android or iOS is not yet updated to pair with these earbuds, there will be a skin matching the earbuds in the app. Now, somewhat cooler than the design are the special sounds, which might add Star Wars moments into your day.

One interesting choice, though, given that these are reskinnings of the ATH-CKS50TW2. There is no speaker in the case, so the custom sounds only play within the earbuds themselves and can be a bit hard to hear at first.

Audio-Technica has customized the chime for the earbuds when you take them out of the case or put them back in, along with other features like engaging noise cancellation or a passthrough mode.

With Darth Vader, you’ll hear the lightsaber ignite and that famous, ominous, deep breathing. Hitting the button on the Vader buds gives a pulse of the lightsaber. While I haven’t been able to get it working, a red alert alarm will sound for low battery – certainly upping the stakes.

For Grogu, you’ll hear what sounds like his pod opening or closing, but you’ll also hear some of the iconic coos that Baby Yoda is known for. That pod or door opening or closing sound is the same for The Mandalorian when you first take them out of the case, and hitting the button to engage a mode sounds like a credit being tossed on table – or maybe Beskar being clanked together.

My favorite goes to R2-D2, though. You’ll hear his iconic beeps when you first put these earbuds in and connect, but disconnecting gives us the iconic wail. It’s just delightful. Imagine when the app goes live and these fully launch, there will be some customization.

Ahead, you can see a full photo slideshow of all the up-close details of the Grogu, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and The Mandalorian ATH-CKS50TW2 earbuds. And if you’re lucky enough to be at Star Wars Celebration, you can get them in person, or if you’re in the US and feel like testing your luck, try to score them when they go up for preorder from Audio-Technica here.

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