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While the tech world is gearing up for the debut of Samsung’s new foldables at Unpacked next week — with the company teasing some major changes to its lineup — here in the UK we’re finally able to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy XR headset.

It's now available outside the US and Korea for the first time since its launch in October of last year, and I’ve been taking the headset for a spin after Samsung sent me a review a few weeks ago, and seeing how it compares to my trusty Meta Quest 3.

Now, I could just rehash a lot of what our Editor at Large, Lance Ulanoff, said in his Samsung Galaxy XR hands-on — praising the OLED screen, describing the comfort of the headset over several sessions, and listing the apps I love in XR that elevate the Android experience beyond what's possible on a phone or laptop. But I won't do that here.

Instead I'm putting my body (well, head and neck comfort) on the line to bring you the return of my favorite VR headset testing format: can I spend a whole week wearing the Samsung Galaxy XR?

The short answer? Yes, but it could be comfier. Read on for more about my experience.

I last spent a week in VR with the Meta Quest Pro... (Image credit: Future)Into the Android XR-verse

Just to be clear, I didn't wear the Galaxy XR headset 24/7 — I haven't been walking around my local supermarket immersed in XR, or sleeping in my Samsung headset .

I spent my whole working day in the headset (taking it off only for my lunch breaks, and to use the bathroom), and also wore it for a couple of hours each evening, to unwind with a movie or a game.

I also made sure to spend at least a day relying on only the hardware in the Samsung Galaxy XR’s box — i.e., the headset.

Software-wise, I used everything I’d normally rely on my PC or phone to work and stay entertained, and also had access to the Explorer Pack — a suite of software and subscriptions worth £665 that you'll get for free with a purchase of the Galaxy XR until December 16.

A quick aside on this pack: with a year's access to premium Gemini models (and 5TB of digital Google Cloud storage), plus a year of YouTube Premium, a Calm subscription, and plenty more, it's a really solid addition to the XR experience — I'll be writing more about my experience with its services soon.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Anyway, back to the headset itself…

Things got off to a good start on day one. Thanks to the XR multitasking I was able to have a giant floating Slack window keeping me in touch with my TechRadar colleagues, and a second giant floating YouTube window featuring the latest episode of one of my many podcasts or music playlists to keep me engaged, flanking a Google doc page for whatever I was working on, which I wrote in using a floating keyboard that reacts to my finger movements.

I could open Google Chrome tabs too, and conveniently flick through and between windows using eye controls — the headset relies on eye-tracking to determine what buttons I want to press, which I indicate by simply pinching my fingers while my hand rests lazily in front of me.

I was even able to join meetings virtually, with digital avatars that were good, but not yet great at representing me or mimicking my real-world facial expressions. My Galaxy avatar looked a bit too cartoonish for work meetings, and my Google avatar looked permanently distressed (which I don’t think is my general state of being), and was also missing my glasses, which felt weird — I always wear them, so it felt like the avatar was missing some of my identity.

That aside, I quickly found that any job which relies on lots of basic operations (essentially anything that isn’t something like intense video editing, though there are Play Store apps for less sophisticated video editing needs) is a breeze on the Galaxy XR headset. However, as the novelty faded, I hit my first hurdle: speed.

(Image credit: Samsung)Gotta type fast!

Eye-tracking controls are neat, and generally XR controls are incredibly intuitive, but the keyboard is not as responsive as even the most basic physical keyboard. This slowed my typing pace to a crawl, and with deadlines looming over me I couldn’t spend my days steadily working through sentences at a snail pace.

The ideal alternative would be a Bluetooth keyboard that pairs with your headset, and most standard models will get the job done after you’ve connected one. I gave one a quick try, and it was much more effective than the virtual keyboard for actually working productively in XR — the brief pause I had to contend with between virtual key presses was eliminated.

My predicament gave me an excuse, however, to see how the headset works when paired with a PC — giving me the massive virtual displays of XR combined with the convenience of a fully powered desktop.

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro (Image credit: Peter Hoffmann)

The perfect setup would involve a Samsung Galaxy Book, which pairs more seamlessly with the headset, like the Vision Pro and a MacBook pair for Apple users. However I don’t have a Galaxy Book, so I instead had to turn to Virtual Desktop.

It’s an app I’ve used previously to pair Meta headsets with my PC, and it’s very effective. The connection, even in a room a few meters from where my router lives, is seamless, with next to no delay between what I do on my PC and see on my headset’s view. Plus, with the ability to drag displays around and resize them, I could create the ultimate multi-monitor setup.

The downside is that you can’t access the full multitasking capabilities of the Galaxy XR headset within the Virtual Desktop app. Other apps seem not to suffer from these issues; however the trouble is that several, such as Google’s PC Connect, weren’t available in the UK when I was conducting my tests, and it seems that every app has a downside (for example, PC Connect only lets you stream a single monitor, not multiple).

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

This compatibility friction with non-Samsung PCs would be the biggest change I’d like to see addressed from a productivity standpoint, as otherwise the Galaxy XR excels on the software side.

My other two big changes would be to the design: the addition of a silicone facial interface and a top strap.

I can’t feel my head when I’m with you

The UK, where I’m based, has been buffeted by heat waves in recent weeks, including while I was testing the Galaxy headset. In homes designed to retain heat, and which lack A/C, this means things can get pretty hot and sweaty, which isn’t ideal when a headset is strapped to your face — and it’s even less ideal when you can feel that sweat being soaked up by the fabric facial interface.

If I was in charge of making headsets I’d mandate that all facial interfaces are made of silicone, or at least that headsets come with a swappable silicone interface, or a silicone cover for the fabric interface, in the box. Unfortunately I can't force such a change on Samsung, but hopefully it’s a change it’ll make for the Galaxy XR 2; it’s more hygienic, and makes the headset easier to share, and I’ve found it doesn’t impact the comfort at all (if anything it makes me feel more at ease in the headset, as I know I’m not immersed in months-old sweat).

As for a top strap (one which runs over the top of my head rather than simply around it), I firmly believe it would help to make the headset comfier to wear for long stretches, as it would further spread the weight of the device across my head.

Day one wasn’t too bad, but by the midpoint of day two I was feeling a little discomfort. By day four I was ready to give up my challenge; and the end of day five couldn’t come fast enough.

Samsung gets so much else right in terms of the Galaxy XR's comfort — chiefly moving the weight of its bulky battery to an external puck, so that you’re only carrying 545g on your head — so it’s a shame that the headset is let down by something as simple as its headband.

For a few hours I found it was fine, but for my extreme testing sessions it didn’t hold up.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Yet again, then, I’ve found that I don’t really want to spend my whole day inside a VR headset, even though the Samsung Galaxy XR headset represents a serious improvement in terms of visual performance (courtesy of its superb OLED screen), the usefulness of its features, including eye-tracking (which I’ve previously found is quite gimmicky), and delivering solid multitasking performance (aided by the expansive app library of the Play Store) compared to the last time I tried a similar exercise with the Meta Quest Pro a few years ago.

Even if I won’t be spending all my time in the Galaxy XR, I plan to wear it plenty more, albeit just for more casual sessions, and I’ll definitely be taking it on a flight, as soon as I have the opportunity, to see how it fares — perhaps that’s where it’ll really shine.

Black Friday: the two words that strike a mix of fear and excitement in me as a deals hunter for TechRadar. I didn't expect to see them so soon, but Best Buy has decided to kick off a Black Friday in July sale this week. So, even though it's earlier than planned, I've dug into the retailer's surprise sale and picked out 35 of the best deals that I'd consider buying now.

• Browse the full Best Buy Black Friday in July sale

As with every Best Buy sale, this week's event features a usual mix of savings across TVs, appliances, laptops, headphones, smartwatches, and more. And while it may be light on record-low prices, there are still some strong offers for this time of the year that rival what we usually see around Black Friday.

We're in back-to-school sales season and I think that one of the strongest offers is this HP OmniBook 3 for $549.99 (was $949.99). With its Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, this is a powerful and efficient all-around option for school, college, work, and even just general everyday use.

I also want to shout out this Nintendo Switch 2: Choose Your Game Bundle for $499.99. It includes a Switch 2 console and a free copy of a game of your choice: either Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia. That represents a saving of up to $29.99, which we'll take in this era of price hikes on games consoles.

I've picked out several more standout deals below in several categories, so have a browse and see if anything interests you. The Best Buy Black Friday in July sale runs through the whole of the week and ends on Sunday.

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — quick links

• Apple: up to $500 off MacBooks & iPads
• Appliances: up to 35% off
• Cameras: up to $1,000 off Sony, DJI & Canon
• Gaming: PS5 & Switch games from $9.99
• Headphones: JLab, Beats & Bose from $19.99
• Kitchen: up to 50% off Ninja & Bella
• Laptops: from $189.99
• Phones: up to $1,100 off iPhone & Samsung
• Smart home: Ring & Echo from $9.99
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Apple & Garmin
• Speakers: up to 50% off Samsung, Bose & JBL
• Tablets: up to $500 off iPad & Kindle
• Toys: up to 30% off
• TVs: from $69.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Dyson & Shark

Top 10 deals from the Best Buy Black Friday in July sale

Nintendo Switch 2 bundles have been a rare sight in recent months, so it's good to see this customisable option available at Best Buy. As well as a console, you can also choose between a downloadable copy of either Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia, for a saving of up to $29.99.View Deal

Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio and the noise-cancelling quality is outstanding. Today's deal is the best price you can find on Apple's newest AirPods, and a return to the record-low Black Friday price we saw at the end of last year.View Deal

Get a cheap streaming device with Amazon's standard Fire TV Stick on sale for $19.99. In our Fire TV Stick review, we found that the original version offered a cost-effective way to add essential smart features to your TV, including access to HD streaming apps, Alexa voice controls, and the ability to control other smart home devices.View Deal

Here's a chance to get a strong $250 saving on the excellent Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2). The 4.5-star smartwatch is an excellent buy for dedicated and enthusiast runners, thanks to its top-tier health tracking and GPS navigation features. You also get a clear AMOLED display with a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium bezel. As far as premium smartwatches go, this one is tough to beat after such a big price cut.View Deal

If you want more affordable over-ears that don't compromise on quality, then consider these Bose QuietComfort Headphones while they are down to their lowest price this year at Best Buy. As with the Ultra version, you get impressive noise cancellation, top-tier audio quality and 24 hours of battery life, but in a much more affordable package.View Deal

This weather makes an ice-cold drink extremely appealing right now, and the unique Ninja Slushi just got a $100 discount at Best Buy. This kitchen appliance makes all sorts of chilled and frozen drinks, including juices, cocktails, milkshakes, and more. We loved it in our Ninja Slushi review, praising its ability to make quick and delicious drinks easily in a fun and entertaining package.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Snapdragon X
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

This is a solid discount on a modern laptop powered by one of the efficient Snapdragon X CPUs. As well as excellent levels of all-around performance, this device boasts a huge all-day battery life, so you won't need to worry about being attached to a charger at all times. There's even 512GB of SSD storage, which you don't often see in combination with those other strong performance components at this price point. This is an all-around excellent laptop for everyday, college and business use.View Deal

Best Buy has slashed LG's 48-inch B5 OLED TV to a great low price of $600. Released as the successor to the popular B4 OLED, the LG B5 is easily one of the best budget OLED TVs on the market. This 48-inch version delivers an exceptional picture with brilliant colors and sharp contrast. You also get excellent gaming features, thanks to the four HDMI 2.1 ports, which ensure smooth and responsive gaming on current-gen consolesView Deal

The newest version of the best-selling Apple AirTag is on sale for $89.99 in the latest Best Buy sale. This four-pack of trackers is a great way to keep an eye on a child's backpack or luggage. Simply attach it to anything you don't want to lose, and your iPhone will locate it.View Deal

Here's a super-tempting record-low price for one of the best action camera bundles in the world right now. The camera offers an impressive 5.3K video resolution inside a rugged and completely waterproof body. A sweet deal just in time for your summer adventures.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Televisions

It's one of the smallest and cheapest TVs you can buy, but if that's all you need, then this Insignia F20 is very hard to beat. Definitely don't expect the best picture quality or the fastest performance, but if you just need a display for infrequent streaming in a kid's room, the bedroom, or kitchen, then it's up to the job — and it doesn't cost very much at all.View Deal

If you're looking for a big-screen budget display, Best Buy has this 65-inch 4K TV on sale for $299.99. It won't rival the premium QLED and OLED displays, but this entry-level TV from Samsung still packs a solid 'Crystal' UHD 4K processor, the easy-to-use Tizen operating system, and full HDR support. That's good value for money if you need a straightforward but capable display for your everyday viewing and media streaming.View Deal

Best Buy has slashed LG's 48-inch B5 OLED TV to a great low price of $600. Released as the successor to the popular B4 OLED, the LG B5 is easily one of the best budget OLED TVs on the market. This 48-inch version delivers an exceptional picture with brilliant colors and sharp contrast. You also get excellent gaming features, thanks to the four HDMI 2.1 ports, which ensure smooth and responsive gaming on current-gen consolesView Deal

This is my pick for the best Hisense TV deal in the latest Best Buy sale. You get a lot of top TV tech for the money in a reasonably sized display, including a bright and vibrant QLED panel with excellent contrast, and a high 165Hz refresh rate support for smooth images. It will excel as a TV to watch the World Cup, as well as stream all of your favorite shows and movies, and play the latest games.View Deal

For a high-end OLED TV, consider this huge $1,300 saving on the 65-inch Samsung S90F. It may be a generation behind now, but this scored an impressive five-star rating in our Samsung S90F review. We praised this display's outstanding picture quality, handy gaming features, and terrific value for money. Altogether, it's a brilliant buy if you've got some cash to spend on one of the best TVs available right now.View Deal

Samsung's brand-new R85H just got a solid discount to make it an even more competitive buy if you're shopping for a premium TV. These Micro RGB displays boast excellent color and image quality, with superior brightness and fantastic contrast, to deliver a smooth, sharp and vibrant picture. Gaming and sports are handled well, too, thanks to smooth 144Hz and variable refresh rate support.View Deal

The LG C5 OLED is TechRadar's best-rated TV, and Best Buy has the 65-inch model on sale for $1,299.99. The five-star OLED display delivers an outstanding picture thanks to LG's Alpha 9 AI processor Gen8, impressive gaming features, and a comprehensive smart platform featuring all-new AI capabilities.View Deal

Sony's 65-inch Bravia 8 OLED TV has an impressive $400 discount at Best Buy, bringing the price down to $1,599.99. Sony's Bravia 8 features a sleek, slim design with a wide viewing angle, brilliant images with deep contrast, and cinematic sound from the entire screen.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Laptops

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Celeron N4500
RAM - 4GB
Storage - 64GB

This HP Chromebook 14 is a basic device, but it's cheap, making it a great buy for light use such as general browsing and schoolwork. It also boasts full-day battery life thanks to the lean but perfectly functional Chrome OS from Google, meaning it's best suited for students or those always on the move. If you have around $200 to spend and need a cheap laptop, then it's one of the best options right now.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel i3
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 128GB

This version of the Acer Chromebook Plus offers a solid amount of power for the price. It includes 8GB of RAM and an Intel i3 processor, boosting performance, boot times and load times. Storage of 128GB is a bit underwhelming, but you do get a large and bright IPS display, and decent battery life of around 12 hours — that's more than enough to last a full working day. At a little under $350, it's a smart buy for school or college, or just as a home laptop for light use and everyday tasks.View Deal

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Snapdragon X
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

This is a solid discount on a modern laptop powered by one of the efficient Snapdragon X CPUs. As well as excellent levels of all-around performance, this device boasts a huge all-day battery life, so you won't need to worry about being attached to a charger at all times. There's even 512GB of SSD storage, which you don't often see in combination with those other strong performance components at this price point. This is an all-around excellent laptop for everyday, college and business use.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 7
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 1TB

This powerful and versatile HP OmniBook Flip offers impressive performance for the price, with powerful components such as a modern Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, a healthy 16GB of RAM to boost performance, and a decent 1TB SSD for storage. You can comfortably handle everyday tasks, demanding work, video calls, media streaming and more with this laptop, all with the option to flip it around to a 16-inch touchscreen tablet when needed, too.View Deal

Display - 16 inches
Processor - AMD Ryzen AI 9
RAM - 32GB
Storage - 1TB

There's a massive $500 price cut on this powerful high-end laptop, which boasts an AMD Ryzen AI 9, a performance-boosting 32GB of RAM and a large 1TB SSD. This is a great pick for business and productivity needs, with enough power to multitask with ease and battery life that lasts a full day.View Deal

Display - 13.6 inches
Processor - Apple M5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

Our reviewer called the newest MacBook Air M5 "the best ultraportable I've ever used" and awarded it 4.5-stars, so it's every bit as good as its already excellent predecessor. As well as the powerful and efficient M5 chip, the latest MacBook Air boasts a slick 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD as standard. Those are solid overall specs for all-around use, productivity, and creative tasks. This is the best offer we've seen since the recent price hike, too.View Deal

Best Buy Memorial Day sale — Appliances

This weather makes an ice-cold drink extremely appealing right now, and the unique Ninja Slushi just got a $100 discount at Best Buy. This kitchen appliance makes all sorts of chilled and frozen drinks, including juices, cocktails, milkshakes, and more. We loved it in our Ninja Slushi review, praising its ability to make quick and delicious drinks easily in a fun and entertaining package.View Deal

This will never be one of the best coffee makers you can buy, but there's no denying that it is dirt cheap. It's a basic and no-frills drip filter coffee maker that can brew up to 12 cups at once, has a programmable timer so you can wake up to a fresh pot, and dishwasher-safe components that make it easy to clean.View Deal

The Bella Pro is exclusive to Best Buy, and we have seen this four-quart model a little cheaper in previous sales. However, for under $60, this is excellent value for money this weekend if you just need a compact air fryer for a small household or kitchen.View Deal

You can get $250 off Dyson's best-selling V11 vacuum during Best Buy's latest sale. This vac nails the basics, offering strong suction and excellent manoeuvrability. Information is displayed on an LCD screen that shows exactly how long you have left before the battery runs out in the current power mode, too.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Headphones

Best Buy's latest sale has the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation available for $149.99. This isn't the best offer, given that they were down to $99.99 in previous events. Still, if you must buy now, these AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation – alongside that all-important ANC.View Deal

Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio and the noise-cancelling quality is outstanding. Today's deal is the best price you can find on Apple's newest AirPods, and just $20 more than the record-low Black Friday price we saw at the end of last year.View Deal

Bose is the best brand around for providing excellent active noise cancellation features, and you can now get these fantastic and affordable earbuds for a great low price. With the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, you get fewer options than the high-end range, but you still get up to 8.5 hours of battery life, the ability to adjust the equalizer and a very comfy fit. They’ll instantly make your commute, your runs, or your walks far more enjoyable.View Deal

If you want more affordable over-ears that don't compromise on quality, then consider these Bose QuietComfort Headphones while they are reduced at Best Buy. As with the Ultra version, you get impressive noise cancellation, top-tier audio quality and 24 hours of battery life, but in a much more affordable package.View Deal

The Beats Solo 4 are getting old now, but this is a great price for a pair of solid headphones. This model supports lossless audio that you can listen to via USB-C or 3.5mm audio cable and Spatial Audio that uses head tracking to enhance your listening experience. These headphones also last up to 50 hours on a single charge and can regain five hours of playback time in just 10 minutes of charging.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Smartwatches

Here's a chance to get a strong $250 saving on the excellent Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2). The 4.5-star smartwatch is an excellent buy for dedicated and enthusiast runners, thanks to its top-tier health tracking and GPS navigation features. You also get a clear AMOLED display with a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium bezel. As far as premium smartwatches go, this one is tough to beat after such a big price cut.View Deal

This Garmin smartwatch might be the previous generation, but we gave it a full five stars and can guarantee it still delivers where it matters most. Now, with $100 off, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better watch for this price if you need a rugged wearable for health and fitness tracking.View Deal

The latest Apple Watch 11 back to its lowest-ever price in the latest Best Buy sale. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery compared to previous Apple Watches, clocking in at 24 hours of average use. View Deal

This is only $20 more than the record-low price for the Apple Watch SE 3, so it's still a solid bargain. The Apple Watch SE 3 is currently our pick for the best Apple Watch to buy if you're on a budget, as it delivers a full experience and all the style you need, but at a fraction of the price.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Phones

The Google Pixel 10 is $200 off in this week's sale at Best Buy. The Google Pixel 11 is almost here, so it's a good chance to save on the previous generation flagship phone. It has a beautiful 6.3-inch display, a compact frame, extended battery life, a new telephoto camera, and support for magnetic PixelSnap accessories.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Smart Home

If you're looking for a cheap and capable smart speaker, the Amazon Echo Dot is down to a great low price in the latest Best Buy sale. Amazon's best-selling smart speaker offers an improved audio experience, plus a new temperature sensor and all the handy features from Alexa, like playing music, answering questions, and checking the weather completely hands-free.View Deal

Amazon's Echo Spot smart clock is $40 off in the latest Best Buy sale. As well as a time display and wake-up alerts, this compact bit of kit can play music, check the weather and control other smart devices throughout your home.View Deal

Get a cheap streaming device with Amazon's standard Fire TV Stick on sale for $19.99. In our Fire TV Stick review, we found that the original version offered a cost-effective way to add essential smart features to your TV, including access to HD streaming apps, Alexa voice controls, and the ability to control other smart home devices.View Deal

Amazon's best-selling Echo Show 5 is on sale for only $49.99 in today's sale. The 2023 Echo Show 5 features a compact 5.5-inch display but packs impressive sound with deeper bass and clearer vocals. With Amazon Alexa, you can listen to podcasts, movies, music, and more.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Gaming

Nintendo Switch 2 bundles have been a rare sight in recent months, so it's good to see this customisable option available at Best Buy. As well as a console, you can also choose between a downloadable copy of either Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia, for a saving of up to $29.99.View Deal

Best Buy Black Friday in July sale — Apple

This isn't the lowest price we've seen for Apple's newest AirPods 4, as they've been as low as $79.99 in the past. Nevertheless, the AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and pack Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You're also getting a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for USB-C for wireless charging. Just be aware that this cheaper version does not support active noise cancellation.View Deal

Willing to spend a bit more? Best Buy's latest Apple sale also has the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation available for $149.99. This isn't the best offer, given that they were down to $99.99 in previous events. Still, if you must buy now, these AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation – alongside that all-important ANC.View Deal

Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio and the noise-cancelling quality is outstanding. Today's deal is the best price you can find on Apple's newest AirPods, and a return to the record-low Black Friday price we saw at the end of last year.View Deal

The latest Apple Watch 11 back to its lowest-ever price in the latest Best Buy sale. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery compared to previous Apple Watches, clocking in at 24 hours of average use. View Deal

This is only $20 more than the record-low price for the Apple Watch SE 3, so it's still a solid bargain. The Apple Watch SE 3 is currently our pick for the best Apple Watch to buy if you're on a budget, as it delivers a full experience and all the style you need, but at a fraction of the price.View Deal

The brand-new Apple iPad A16 is down to its lowest-ever price in the Best Buy Memorial Day sale, so it's worth taking advantage of if you have an eye on the latest Apple slate. The biggest upgrade compared to the previous generation model is the latest A16 chip for faster performance. You also get double the storage of 128GB as standard, a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display, and solid 12MP front and back cameras.View Deal

There's a decent $100 saving on the latest iPad Pro 11-inch at Best Buy, matching the record-low of $899 we saw on Black Friday. This is still a pricey tablet, but you do get the brand-new M5 chip, high-quality tandem OLED display and 256GB as standard. Expect this to be one of the better offers we see on the tablet until later in the year.View Deal

Display - 13.6 inches
Processor - Apple M5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

Our reviewer called the newest MacBook Air M5 "the best ultraportable I've ever used" and awarded it 4.5-stars, so it's every bit as good as its already excellent predecessor. As well as the powerful and efficient M5 chip, the latest MacBook Air boasts a slick 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD as standard. Those are solid overall specs for all-around use, productivity, and creative tasks. This is the best offer we've seen since the recent price hike, too.View Deal

Digital commerce has historically focused on optimizing the customer experience through interface design, structured navigation, and carefully engineered conversion processes.

Over time, merchants have improved these experiences to reduce friction and support decision-making at every step of the purchasing lifecycle.

While AI historically played a limited role, restricted to basic chatbots or shopping assistants, rapid advancements mean AI agents are now prepared to execute transactions directly on behalf of customers.

This shift is driving a fundamental transformation across the ecommerce sector.

This new ecosystem is agentic commerce, where software agents initiate and complete transactions within clearly defined constraints.

To accommodate this, payment infrastructure is moving closer to the point where intent becomes execution, introducing protocols that make platforms machine-readable so AI can safely complete transactions in real time.

It is a major leap forward for retail technology, and enterprise readiness is urgent.

The Enterprise Blueprint: Brand vs. Non-Brand Agents

For large enterprise merchants, this shift introduces both an immediate opportunity and a critical defensive necessity. Enterprise adoption will likely begin on a merchant’s own digital properties through brand agents, which are dedicated AI assistants designed to improve conversion, capture valuable data, and keep the consumer firmly within the merchant’s ecosystem.

Eventually, these properties must open up to external, non-brand agents controlled by consumers or procurement departments. As AI agents become the primary interface for ecommerce, enterprise merchants who fail to make their platforms discoverable and transactable risk losing market share to competitors who are ready.

Securing the Payment Layer, Navigating Discovery

To capture these autonomous sales, a merchant's infrastructure must interact seamlessly with software systems. When autonomous agents handle procurement, they process data directly rather than navigating traditional user interfaces.

While optimizing product catalogs and metadata for LLMs is vital for discovery, enterprise merchants do not need to tackle this layer alone; they can solve this through specialized discovery and platform partners. The core operational challenge for the merchant remains the payment layer.

Because AI agent activity makes transaction volumes highly dynamic, minor inefficiencies or a single failed authentication step can terminate an entire chain of transactions.

The priority for merchants is establishing a robust payment architecture capable of verifying human intent and explicit consent, recognizing and authenticating the specific AI agent, and processing transactions securely across multiple rails in real time.

Shifting to Modular Business Models

The applications of agentic commerce vary across sectors due to distinct transaction models, regulatory systems, and the structural maturity of different digital verticals. However, a recurring theme is the transition from rigid, packaged bundles to highly granular, modular transactions.

For example, instead of requiring a fixed monthly or annual subscription for software-as-a-service (SaaS), an AI agent can dynamically subscribe a user to a platform precisely when needed. The agent continuously assesses usage and pays for the appropriate tier automatically. This allows subscription models to match real-time demand, aligning perfectly with customer utility.

Similarly, online learning platforms can deploy micro-transaction frameworks. Rather than purchasing full courses, users can access a single lesson or group of lessons at a bespoke price point. Agents can combine individual lessons from multiple providers to create a tailored learning experience, while the underlying payment infrastructure fragments and distributes the value seamlessly across all accessed merchants.

Programmable Monetary Flows

At the heart of agentic commerce is the transition from traditional payment infrastructure to programmable monetary flows. In this environment, systems execute transactions based on continually evaluated conditions of intent and permission. Confirming human consent is vital, as it serves as the primary defense protecting merchants from claims of unauthorized or fraudulent AI activity.

To enable this, payment environments must interpret delegated instructions, enforce spending constraints, and execute transactions instantly. Agent-bound payment credentials facilitate these purchases, allowing agents to act autonomously while preserving financial control and traceability for the end user. Global card schemes are already formalizing the components of this model, signaling a broader evolution of delegated payment frameworks.

Security infrastructure must also evolve to counter malicious actors attempting to counterfeit legitimate agent behavior. Regulatory updates, such as the upcoming PSD3/PSD4 frameworks in Europe and the EU AI Act, are setting clearer expectations for accountability, making compliance more critical than ever.

From Complexity to Simplification

Navigating this new terrain involves balancing real-time agent authentication, compliance with shifting regulations, and programmable credentials, all of which introduce undeniable operational complexity. But preparing for it doesn't mean overhauling your existing systems.

The path forward lies in a single integration point that abstracts this protocol churn away from your business. By partnering with the right payment layer expert, enterprise merchants can simplify the complex backend architecture, shielding their operations from technical friction while ensuring they are ready to accept machine-to-machine payments seamlessly.

The protocol-level reset for digital trade is already accelerating. Competitive advantage belongs to organizations that secure their payment infrastructure early, start by assessing whether your payment architecture can verify intent and authenticate agents today.

We list the best mobile credit card processors.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Ecopetrol confirms ransomware attempt in which attackers stole data from 3,300 user accounts but failed to deploy the encryptor due to security controls
• Stolen files were pseudonymous, with no user identities or credentials compromised; transactional systems and partner networks remained unaffected
• The company ousted the attackers, launched an investigation, and notified Colombian authorities; no ransom demand details or data leaks have surfaced so far

Latin American energy producer Ecopetrol has revealed it was victim of a ransomware attack, and while the threat actors managed to get away with sensitive data from thousands of user accounts, they were unable to deploy the encryptor and thus disrupt the company’s day-to-day operations.

In a statement shared with the public, Ecopetrol explained how an unidentified threat actor accessed their IT infrastructure and pulled data from 3,300 user accounts. The attacker then proceeded to install an encryptor but was stopped by the company’s security controls.

Despite failing to deploy the encryptor, the threat actor still reached out to the company demanding payment. We don’t know how much money they asked for, in exchange for not sharing the stolen files. The database has not yet leaked, it seems, and no one claimed responsibility for the intrusion. At the same time, Ecopetrol says the stolen files are pseudonymous, suggesting that they might not be particularly useful to the attackers:

Notifying the authorities

“The identity of the users of the 3,300 accounts that were illegally infiltrated was not affected, nor were the respective user access credentials captured,” the machine-translated announcement reads. “Ecopetrol S.A. confirms that no compromises have been identified in the transactional technological solutions of its digital ecosystem, those of its subsidiaries, or those of its network of commercial allies, financiers, providers, and clients.”

Ecopetrol said that it managed to oust the attackers and stop further data exfiltration. It also launched an internal investigation and notified relevant authorities, including the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, the Joint Cyber Command of the Military Forces, and others.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Ecopetrol is Colombia's state-controlled oil and gas giant. It runs production, refining, transportation, and exploration operations, and is present in multiple countries, including Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. Its annual revenue is around $30 billion.

Via Cybernews

If you're looking for an affordable laptop that offers dedicated graphics and solid all-round performance, I've found a great deal on the HP Victus, one of our favorite budget laptops for content creators.

As part of Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' sale, the HP Victus 15.6in laptop has dropped to $700 (was $1250), saving you a chunky $550. The Victus is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor with six cores and 12 threads, paired with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics featuring 6GB of GDDR6 memory.

As you might expect at the discounted price, there is a bit of a caveat, and that's the laptop only comes with 8GB of DDR5 RAM, which is far from generous in 2026. On the plus side, it is backed with a fast 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which will be enough for everyday productivity, photo editing, and content creation.

Today's best budget HP laptop deal

Powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor, HP's Victus laptop combines RTX 3050 graphics, 8GB DDR5 memory, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a smooth 15.6-inch 144Hz Full HD display.View Deal

The 15.6-inch IPS display delivers a Full HD resolution with a smooth 144Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium support, helping reduce screen tearing while making everything feel more responsive.

An anti-glare finish and 300-nit brightness also make the display comfortable to use in a variety of environments.

Connectivity includes HDMI 2.1, USB-C, two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, a headphone jack, and a backlit keyboard with a numeric keypad.

Windows 11 Home comes pre-installed alongside Microsoft Copilot and HP's Omen software.

Although 8GB of memory is only just enough to get started, the combination of a Ryzen 5 processor, dedicated RTX graphics, and a high refresh rate display makes this a capable laptop for work, study, creative projects, and entertainment.

In his review of the 2024 HP Victus, Matt, our Managing Editor, Core Tech, said, "given its excellent price, this is definitely one you’ll want to consider."

At $699.99, it's one of the more attractive value-focused laptop deals I've spotted in Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' promotion.

For more top choices, we've also tested the best student laptops, best business laptops and the best laptops for engineering students.

• Shop Best Buy's 'Black Friday in July' sale

The best IT experience is the one employees never have to think about.

A business laptop stays fast. A video call does not freeze. A virtual desktop launches without delay. An application works when it is needed most.

When everything runs smoothly, employees do not praise IT. They simply keep working.

That quiet experience is the goal. It is also becoming an increasingly important objective for enterprise technology teams.

For years, IT teams have been trapped in a reactive operating model. A user reports a problem. Support gathers logs, investigates the issue, identifies a root cause, and applies a fix after productivity has already been affected.

That model worked when environments were simpler, users were mostly in the office, and technology change moved at a different pace.

Today’s environments look very different. Employees now work across physical devices, virtual desktops, cloud workspaces, SaaS applications, home networks, office networks, identity systems, security layers, and collaboration tools. The experience can break at any point. When it does, employees rarely care where the issue originated, they simply know that work has stopped.

As workplaces become more distributed and interconnected, visibility remains important, but organizations increasingly need systems that can interpret data and act on it. The next phase of IT operations will not be defined by better dashboards alone.

It will be centered around intelligent systems that can detect issues, understand what is happening, and fix problems before employees ever need to report them.

From visibility to action

Digital Employee Experience (DEX) changed the way IT teams understood the workplace. DEX gave organizations a clearer view into performance, reliability, sentiment, device health, application behavior, and the friction employees face every day.

Visibility on its own does not solve problems. Dashboards, experience scores, and alerts help IT understand where issues exist, but they still rely on people to investigate and respond. The larger opportunity is using those insights to identify likely causes, recommend corrective actions, and automate routine remediation where appropriate.

This shift is driving the emergence of Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM). While DEX helps organizations understand employee experience, AEM extends that capability by using AI and automation to identify root causes, recommend corrective actions, and resolve many common issues without waiting for manual intervention.

The goal is not to eliminate IT oversight, but to reduce the time between detection and resolution while preventing avoidable disruptions from affecting employees in the first place.

Why AI matters now

The challenge for IT has never been a lack of data. Most enterprise environments generate enormous amounts of telemetry. The problem is that the data is fragmented, noisy, and often disconnected from the user experience.

A device may show high CPU utilization, a virtual desktop may show latency, an application may crash, a network path may degrade or a user may report that everything feels slow. Each signal matters, but the value comes from connecting them quickly enough to understand the real cause.

This is where AI changes the equation. AI can correlate signals across devices, applications, networks, identity, sessions, and infrastructure. It can identify patterns that would take humans much longer to spot. It can summarize what changed, why it matters, and what action is most likely to resolve the issue. It can help IT move from searching for clues to acting with confidence.

The value of AI in IT operations extends beyond conversational interfaces. Context matters more than conversation. The ability to understand what changed, determine likely causes, and recommend the most appropriate action can dramatically improve operational efficiency.

Combined with real-time telemetry and automation, AI becomes part of the operational framework used to manage the digital workplace rather than simply another productivity tool.

The power of self-healing IT

The most meaningful advances in IT operations may be largely invisible to employees. A device that begins slowing down because of excessive memory consumption can be identified and corrected automatically before the user contacts support.

The same approach applies to recurring application crashes, virtual desktop performance issues, and other common disruptions. Rather than waiting for tickets, platforms can identify patterns, determine likely causes, and initiate corrective actions before productivity is affected.

Similarly, when a virtual desktop session begins showing signs of degraded performance, AI-assisted analysis can help determine whether the cause is resource contention, network latency, profile corruption, or application behavior, allowing IT teams to address the issue more quickly.

This is what self-healing IT looks like. The objective is not to create more visibility for employees. It is to reduce disruptions before they interfere with work.

For IT organizations, success increasingly means fewer outages, fewer support tickets, fewer escalations, and fewer situations where employees are forced to troubleshoot their own technology problems.

IT teams remain central

AI does not replace IT professionals. It gives them leverage to work more efficiently.

The modern IT organization is being asked to do more than ever. IT teams are expected to support more devices, secure increasingly distributed environments, manage a growing portfolio of applications, improve employee experience, control costs, support hybrid work, and enable AI adoption, all while the complexity of the digital workplace continues to increase.

AI helps reduce noise, accelerate root cause analysis, automate repetitive tasks, and direct human expertise toward areas where judgment, governance, and strategic decision-making are required. The goal is not to remove people from the process. It is to eliminate unnecessary effort that prevents teams from focusing on higher-value work.

Where the industry is heading

Across the industry, enterprise IT is moving toward platforms that can see what is happening in real time, understand context, and act safely at scale.

Digital Employee Experience remains foundational. Organizations still need deep visibility into how employees are experiencing technology across physical endpoints, virtual desktops, cloud workspaces, applications, networks, and infrastructure. But visibility alone is no longer enough. The next layer is intelligent, autonomous action.

The digital workplace has become the front door to productivity. When that experience breaks, the business feels it. When it runs smoothly, employees stay focused on their work, customers are served better, and IT becomes a strategic enabler of the business.

The next chapter of IT

IT operations are becoming more predictive and increasingly automated, but the objective remains unchanged: keeping employees productive.

Organizations seeing the greatest value from AI are building systems that can identify issues, understand context, and resolve common problems before users are affected.

When technology works as expected, employees stay focused on their jobs rather than the systems supporting them. AI is helping IT teams achieve that goal more consistently and with less manual effort.

We list the best small business software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• NordStellar reports 2,581 ransomware attacks in Q2 2026, with Qilin (299) and The Gentlemen (284) leading activity, far ahead of DragonForce (147)
• US SMBs were hit hardest, suffering 769 incidents; Canada (97), Germany (83), and the UK (74) followed, while attacks on billion‑dollar enterprises surged 74%
• Experts say rivalry between Qilin and The Gentlemen is driving the spike, with major corporate hits seen as reputation‑boosting trophies in the cybercriminal underground

Two ransomware gangs are battling for dominance, and US-based SMBs are the ones suffering most for it, experts have claimed.

Fresh data about the state of ransomware in 2026, compiled by security experts from NordStellar, shows two groups - Qilin and The Gentlemen - being by far the most active ones.

After analyzing more than 200 threat actor blogs, NordStellar concluded that there were 2,581 ransomware attacks in the second quarter of the year - and of that number, 299 belong to Qilin, the most active threat actor out there. Close second are The Gentlemen, with 284 attacks. The third most active group - DragonForce - doesn’t even come close with “just” 147 attacks.

SMBs and enterprises under assault

While it seems like a close race, it’s actually The Gentlemen who have been doing the heavy lifting between April and June 2026. This group experienced a 39% increase in attacks, while Qilin’s activity actually declined somewhat, compared to Q1.

In this morbid race to the bottom, the biggest victims are US-based small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). These companies, with up to 200 employees and revenues under $25 million, experienced 769 attacks in Q2 2026, followed by Canada (97), Germany (83), and the UK (74).

NordStellar also mentioned US enterprises, who are now increasingly being targeted. Attacks against organizations with revenues north of $1 billion surged by 74%, going from 23 incidents in Q1, to 40 in Q2.

“Ransomware actors historically target SMBs because these organizations often lack comprehensive defenses, which can increase the likelihood of a successful attack,” commented Vakaris Noreika, cybersecurity expert at NordStellar.

“This recent spike in enterprise targeting is unusual and may be a temporary fluctuation. This shift likely stems from the rivalry between dominant threat actors — a successful hit on a major corporation is a badge of honor that boosts a group’s reputation within the cybercriminal underground."

• Windows 11's July update was blocked from certain Dell laptops due to nasty issues with unexpected shutdowns and poor performance
• Microsoft just issued an emergency patch to fix those problems, so the PCs in question can install the latest update
• However, that patch might end up installed on non-Dell PCs if the user has enabled the option to get the latest updates as soon as possible

Windows 11's latest (July) update was blocked from Dell PCs as it was buggy on those systems, but the good news is that it's now fixed — but there's an additional wrinkle to be aware of here for those of you who don't own a Dell machine.

Windows Latest reports that Microsoft just deployed an emergency update (KB5121767) which fixes the problems with certain Dell laptops with Intel CPUs, which include unexpected shutdowns and generally poor performance (including running sluggishly and overheating, as well as increased battery drain).

Those with an affected Dell laptop — and that apparently includes some XPS models, as well as Dell Pro and Precision (business) notebooks, and possibly others — should install the emergency patch. As Microsoft makes clear, you'll find it under optional updates, which is reached via 'Advanced options' in the Windows Update panel.

However, the wrinkle that I mentioned is that Windows Latest observes that it's possible some Windows 11 PCs that aren't Dell laptops may automatically grab and install this update — if they have the 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available' toggle on.

Analysis: a notable side effect

(Image credit: Future)

This feature is one that people turn on in the hope that they'll get Windows 11 updates, and more to the point, new feature rollouts, more quickly (there can be quite a wait for certain features to arrive, such as the Start menu revamp from last year, which some folks still haven't received even now).

So, bear in mind that if you've enabled this option, you may get certain updates automatically — like this emergency patch — when you don't actually need them on your PC. It doesn't help that this particular update is confusingly named, being called '2026-07 Update (KB5121767) (26200.8894)', which could leave you wondering what on earth it is exactly (until you look up the codename KB5121767).

At any rate, if you're not happy with this situation, to turn off 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available' you need to head to Windows Update (in Settings) and adjust the relevant slider (at the top of the 'More options' panel).

Why is this option configured in this way? It seems especially odd in this case seeing as Microsoft tells us: "This OOB [emergency] update is only recommended for devices affected by this issue." That said, seemingly it doesn't do any harm to a non-affected PC (whether a Dell model, or not) if it does end up with this emergency patch installed.

At any rate, if you do enable the option to get the latest updates, just don't forget that this can have side effects, such as installing optional updates that you don't actually want. It would be a better idea if, in these cases, Microsoft simply flagged these updates as available, rather than having them install automatically.

It's also worth noting that this isn't the first time Dell laptops have run into trouble with Windows 11 recently, as last month an update to the firm's SupportAssist app left some notebooks crashing every half an hour or so.

• People keep arriving at a Reddit user’s house seeking their lost iPhones
• It may be down to a quirk with how Apple’s Find My system works
• It sounds similar to another case from ten years ago

If someone turned up at your door claiming their lost device was at your address — and you knew it definitely wasn’t — you might be a little confused, but not too bothered. But if it happened repeatedly over a period of years, you’d start to get concerned. That’s exactly what’s been happening to one long-suffering Reddit user, and the cause is still a mystery.

As recounted by the victim on their recent Reddit thread, “About 3-4 years ago, we had two men turn up to our door because one of them had an iPhone stolen the night before, and the Find My app brought them to our house.” The device wasn’t there, however, and the men left.

“Ever since, we’ve had at least four or five more instances or random guys, iPad, or friend’s phone in hand, saying ‘My phone is here,’” they continued. “It’s frustrating to have to explain to them that this has happened and we don’t have them.”

But aside from the mere confusion of the incidents, the original poster was also concerned about their safety. “We’re both women, and I don’t want one guy to be absolutely fuming about his phone missing and hurt us,” they worried.

Some people thought this might be more than a simple case of mistaken identity or Find My having a glitchy moment. “I’ve seen videos from Ring doorbells being posted saying that this is a common scam nowadays,” said one, with another adding that “I would call the police. It may be someone trying to gain access to your property, whatever you do don’t let them in.”

Can anything be done?

(Image credit: Ring)

Situations like this can be concerning, especially if they keep happening with different people turning up on your doorstep. But this is not the first time Apple’s Find My feature has befuddled people in this way, with a similar case reported back in 2013, for example.

And back in 2016, the Reply All podcast investigated after a strikingly similar occurrence in Atlanta, GA. In the end, the podcast concluded that it was all to do with the “digital desert” present in the area, with the Atlanta victims being one of the few homes with a router in the area.

As the podcast explained, if a lost phone is trying to broadcast its location, it might do so by connecting to GPS. If that’s not feasible, it’ll next try to find the nearest IP addresses and Wi-Fi networks, triangulating itself based on the relative strengths of those networks.

If the center of that IP address area happens to be a person’s house, that’s where people seeking their lost device will end up. Moreover, considering how few routers were in the area, any lost phone that was relatively nearby and couldn’t connect to GPS might have found the victims’ router as a fallback, leading people straight to the home in question.

What's the answer?

Apple’s Find My feature uses Bluetooth to connect to a network of other devices, using them to pinpoint a lost phone’s location.

It’s therefore conceivable that the solution for the Reddit conundrum is slightly different to that suggested by Reply All. One alternative suggested on Reddit was that stolen devices are being handled nearby and send out a ‘ping’ before they’re disassembled or deactivated. That ping is an approximate location, but it happens to line up with the victims’ house, sending people to their door.

Another possibility relates to Wi-Fi networks, as in the 2016 case. This time, it was pointed out that Find My can log local Wi-Fi networks — if the victims’ home network strength is strong enough, lost devices nearby could show it as the phone’s last known location. The answer this time could be to add _nomap to the home network SSID name, as one user suggested.

But without a solid idea of what’s happening, solutions might not always be possible. As one commenter said, “depending on where you live it could be that your home happens to be the location that a lot of IP addresses default to on the map. Sadly there is very little you can do about it.”

You might be thinking more about BBQing and less about air frying with the current weather, but with this deal you can have the best of both worlds. It's for the Ninja Foodi Max, which is now on sale at Amazon for £179.99 (was £229.99). That's the lowest price we've seen since Black Friday.

The Ninja Foodi Max is a highly-rated twin-drawer air fryer that can cook two foods at once, produce crisp, evenly browned results, and, after enjoying all that gorgeously cooked food, is super easy to clean.

And if you're concerned about eating too much oil or the cost of it, Ninja claims that the Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer reduces the amount of oil required by 75%. This is the complete package, now at a low price.

Today's best Ninja air fryer deal

Get a £60 discount on a four-star air fryer that will keep the whole family well fed with deliciously cooked food. The Foodi Max features six cooking functions, two baskets with independent cooking zones, and an extra-large capacity. If you want the biggest and the best, then this is it. Don't hang around, though, as the discount ends on the July 21.View Deal

Ninja sells a wide range of air fryers, and two of them boast a very similar design. You've got this deal for the Ninja Foodi Max that we awarded four stars and the very similar Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer that we gave a full five stars. The bottom line is that Ninja knows what they're doing.

The Foodi Max is a 6-in-1 beast that offers, you guessed it, six unique cooking functions: Max Crisp, air fry, roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate. This high level of versatility alongside the large 9.5L capacity means you'll be able to cook a wide range of meals for the whole family or when entertaining.

If the footprint of the Foodi Max is too big for your kitchen, then why not consider the Ninja Double Stack with its two-tier design? Alternatively, take a look at the latest air fryer deals, and I'm sure you'll find an air fryer to suit your requirements at a price you love.

• Ernst & Young confirms breach via a third‑party IT service management platform, exposing client tax data between March 28 and April 12, 2026
• Attackers accessed documents tied to tax support tickets; exact scope and affected clients remain undisclosed, with no dark web leaks or group claims so far
• EY activated incident response, secured systems, and is offering 24 months of Experian identity monitoring to impacted customers

Ernst & Young (EY) has confirmed suffering a cyberattack in which it lost sensitive customer information, including tax data.

In a data breach notification letter sent to affected individuals, the firm said that on April 23, 2026, it spotted “anomalous activity” within a third-party platform its IT team uses. This is an IT service management platform that helps EY staff support the teams that perform tax-related work for clients. Therefore, the tickets submitted through this platform sometimes also contain documents with client tax information which may have been exposed in the incident.

EY then activated its incident response protocols, bringing in third-party cybersecurity experts, as well as notifying relevant authorities and affected clients.

Free identity theft protection

Further investigation determined that the unnamed threat actors broke in on March 28, 2026 and have, until April 12, been exfiltrating the files. EY did not say exactly which information was pulled, or how many clients were affected. We also don’t know if this only pertains to US clients, or overseas ones, as well. The attackers have, since then, been removed from EY’s virtual premises, and the systems have been secured, the company confirmed.

So far, no hacking groups claimed responsibility for this attack, and the data is yet to surface anywhere on the dark web. EY’s customers should be on the lookout for unsolicited emails, especially those claiming to be from the professional services giant.

To help them stay secure, EY is offering 24 months of free identity monitoring and restoration services through Experian.

Ernst & Young is one of the "Big Four" largest professional services and accounting networks in the world. It is headquartered in London, but operates as a global network of independent members spanning more than 150 countries and employing more than 400,000 people. The company’s core business includes assurance, tax, consulting, and M&A strategy.

Via BleepingComputer

• YouTube picture-in-picture on mobile is broken for some
• The feature was made available to all users earlier this year
• Google says it's looking into the issue and working on a fix

YouTube picture-in-picture (PiP) mode on Android and iOS is one of the most useful features the app offers — available to all users now, Premium or otherwise — but a widespread bug seems to have broken the functionality on phones.

As reported by 9to5Google, there are multiple reports of PiP mode failing to activate when the YouTube app is exited. The audio keeps playing in the background, but there's no sign of the small video overlay.

We've had mixed experiences with this on the TechRadar team: for some it's working fine, for others it's broken. However, it's definitely a genuine problem for some users at least, because Google has acknowledged there is a bug.

"Our teams are actively investigating the issue, and we'll update this thread as soon as we have more information," explains a Google representative, saying that while most bug reports are coming from iPhone owners, the issue is also appearing on Android.

What happens next?Picture In Picture mode from r/youtube

We've scoured the YouTube Help forums and Reddit, and so far there doesn't seem to be any proper workaround for the problem. If it's something you're experiencing, you're just going to have to wait it out until Google issues a fix.

According to the Reddit threads that have popped up discussing the bug, it's affecting both free users and those paying for Premium, so you're not going to be able to bring back PiP by giving the paid subscription a go.

One poster reports that the feature has been "acting up for several weeks" and that PiP sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. If that's the case it might be worth rebooting your phone and trying again — though there's no guarantees.

The best place to look for updates on PiP functionality is the official thread for the issue on the YouTube Help forum. Hopefully, with Google's engineers on the case, it's a bug that gets sorted out sooner rather than later.

Kapwing is among the best AI video editors today. It allows you to create videos with simple text prompts and generate lively AI characters to build detailed storylines.

Trusted by brands like Google, Dyson, and Spotify and used by thousands of content creators across YouTube, TikTok, and digital marketing platforms, Kapwing has quickly grown to become one of the industry’s favorite video generation and editing software.

In this article, we put Kapwing to the test to see whether its features perform as advertised. Read on to learn about our real-world experience with Kapwing, its best features, and the alternatives worth considering if it doesn’t fit your needs.

Kapwing: Plans and pricing

You can get started with Kapwing through its free-forever plan, which allows up to 30 minutes of video exports per month in 720p resolution, with each video limited to a maximum length of one minute. There’s also a 2GB file upload limit, along with access to editing and AI-powered tools such as auto-subtitling, auto-translation, and text-to-speech, albeit with limited usage caps.

We also like that you get a fair share of collaboration features, such as project link sharing and commenting, allowing you to edit videos collaboratively with your team. However, the free plan is meant primarily for testing the platform rather than full-fledged use.

If you want to get the most out of Kapwing, you’ll have to upgrade to one of its paid plans. Its Pro plan starts at $16 per member per month and offers excellent value for money. The plan supports 4K video exports with unlimited monthly exports and a maximum video length of 120 minutes.

You can check it all out by clicking here.

(Image credit: Kapwing)

The AI editing tools also come with higher usage limits. For example, you get up to 1,000 minutes of auto-subtitling and 500 minutes of auto-translation per month. Besides this, the plan adds several premium tools, including video and image background removal, video stabilization, and the ability to add your brand kit and custom fonts to your projects.

Next is the Business plan, designed for teams that need more advanced content creation workflows. Costing $50 per member per month, it includes up to 4,000 minutes of auto-subtitling, 2,000 minutes of auto-translation, 2,000 minutes of Clean Audio per month, and 130 minutes of Lip Sync. The remaining features are largely the same as those in the Pro plan.

Finally, there’s an Enterprise plan for large organizations that need priority support and custom billing. However, you’ll need to contact the Kapwing team directly to obtain a customized quote.

Kapwing: Features

Kapwing packs a good mix of both AI-powered and traditional video editing features. Let’s start with its AI capabilities. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that you can generate AI videos with a simple text prompt. Its video generation interface is pretty similar to that of chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini. You simply enter your prompt and click the Send button. You can also attach media as a reference for the AI engine.

Besides video generation, Kapwing offers several other AI tools. For instance, Translate Video lets you convert the audio in a video from one language to another. There’s also a handy Smart Cut feature, which automatically removes awkward silences from your videos, giving them a more polished finish. You can also generate AI characters, which come in handy if you want to build a consistent storyline or reuse the same character across multiple AI-generated videos.

Kapwing gives you more options when generating AI characters. To get started, click the @ icon in the chat window and select the type of character you want to generate. The available options range from everyday characters like a baby or a cheerleader to more outlandish ones such as a cyborg, Dracula, or a dragon.

You also have the option to choose more than one character type. For instance, you can select both "baby" and "Dracula" if you’re trying to create something unique. Here’s the Baby Dracula character we created using Kapwing.

(Image credit: Future)

Apart from this, you’ll find several other options, such as Image to Video, which lets you convert a still image into a short video clip, and Text to Video, where you can enter a full-fledged script and allow Kapwing to generate an AI video for you. There’s also a handy Video Stabilizer tool, which is useful for fixing shaky footage or videos with heavy motion blur.

For longer video formats, Kapwing also supports Video Storyboards, where you can create a timestamped outline of every scene. The more traditional tools include text-to-speech, video dubbing in 40+ languages, resizing videos from one aspect ratio to another, and adding subtitles to videos.

Kapwing: Interface and in use

Almost all of Kapwing’s features are nestled into a central dashboard, with the video editor in the center, a long list of features on the left-hand panel, and an editing panel on the right. You can simply upload your media or drag and drop any video or image you want to edit. After that, you may need to spend a little time exploring the interface to find the exact feature you’re looking for.

For instance, you can access features such as Text, Audio, Subtitles, Transcript, Translate, AI Voice, and more directly from the left-hand panel. There’s also a help function that helps you quickly locate settings you can’t find right away.

(Image credit: Future)

The editing experience was pretty smooth. For instance, we tried adding text to an AI-generated image, and the process was seamless. We could easily change the font, color, size, and other formatting options from the panel on the right.

Note that the right-hand panel changes dynamically depending on the tool you’re using. For example, if you select Translate, you’ll see language options appear on the right.

Overall, like any video editing software, Kapwing comes with a slight learning curve. However, in our experience, it was much easier to use than many legacy editing tools. The interface is modern, sleek, and highly responsive. We didn’t experience any system lag or timeouts during our testing.

(Image credit: Future)

In addition to the main editing window, there is also a dedicated My Workspace page in Kapwing. Here, you can find all your recent projects at the bottom, along with a dedicated set of tools highlighted on the main page. If you’re using a Business plan, you’ll also see your team folders on the left-hand panel. Similarly, Settings, Brand Kit, and your Media Library are all accessible from the same panel.

Kapwing: How we tested

We tested the free version of Kapwing across multiple accounts to evaluate its AI capabilities more thoroughly. To start, we tried generating an AI video using the following prompt:

“A woman in a red coat walks across a rain-soaked city street at night, neon signs reflecting in the puddles, camera slowly tracking alongside her.”

(Image credit: Future)

Kapwing got to work as soon as we hit Send, first generating a summary of the scene we wanted to create. After that, it produced a five-second video within seconds. Although Kapwing indicated that the video would be seven seconds long, the actual output was five seconds.

(Image credit: Future)

We then edited the same video using Kapwing’s video editor, experimenting with features such as adding text, audio, and subtitles. Since the free plan is fairly limited, we had to use more than two accounts to fully test its capabilities.

What stood out to us was how quickly Kapwing generated both edits and the source video. Everything was processed quickly, which is a clear advantage.

Kapwing: Alternatives

While Kapwing is a capable AI video generator and editor, it is not the most affordable option out there. For instance, Adobe Firefly costs $8.49 per month when billed annually and comes with features comparable to Kapwing. You get access to popular video models such as Google Veo 3.1 and Runway Gen-4.5, allowing you to create up to 50 and 11 videos, respectively.

Adobe Firefly truly shines with its workflow features, allowing creative teams to brainstorm visual concepts on virtual boards. You can also process thousands of files at once using bulk actions such as removing backgrounds or cropping images. That said, Firefly lags a bit behind when it comes to video editing, as many of its editing features are still in beta.

It's also not ideal for long-form content generation, as most models cap video lengths at three to five seconds. On the bright side, you also get access to Adobe Express Premium and Photoshop with all paid plans.

Veed is another capable competitor, with prices starting at $12 per month, roughly 20% cheaper than Kapwing. It also offers a free plan, which appears to be more generous than Kapwing’s. For instance, you can try features like removing silences, background removal, auto-edits, social media character generation, and voice cloning on Veed’s free plan – most of which are not available on Kapwing’s free tier.

Kapwing: Final verdict

Kapwing is one of the best AI video generation and editing platforms available, with a strong mix of both traditional and AI-powered tools. Not only can you generate AI videos from simple prompts, but you can also transcribe videos, translate them into 40+ languages, create AI characters, and edit videos from a central dashboard.

Kapwing is also easier to use than many other platforms on the market, although there is still a slight learning curve involved. That said, there are plenty of video tutorials and help center articles available to help users get through this phase.

However, Kapwing can be a bit on the expensive side, especially for personal users, which is why you may want to consider alternatives like Adobe Firefly or Veed.

We've tested, reviewed, and rated a range of video makers and editors, including the best video editing software, the best video editing apps and the best free video editing software.

Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank review

The Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank is a svelte, pocketable MagSafe power bank. Not only does it include two USB-C ports that can muster up to 45W charging solo or 15W together, it can also charge 25W wirelessly and comes with a discrete cable that doubles up as its handle.

When it comes to looks, the majority of power banks usually take the form of functional cuboids. However, the SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank actually feels like it has some personality. To start, it's available in a range of colorways: Soft Lilac and Sunset Orange are seriously eye-catching, while I love the fact that the Metallic Mocha hue I tested here matches my Desert Titanium iPhone 16 Pro.

There are more practical design flourishes, too. The SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank is super slim compared to many of the best power banks. It measures just 0.5 inches / 13.8mm thick, which is almost half the thickness of my chunky 0.91 inch / 23mm Ugreen 10000mAh Magnetic Wireless Power Bank, and even slimmer than the 0.58 inch / 14.7mm Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K, Slim). The SnapGo Air is a little wider as a result, measuring 2.76 x 4.13 inches / 70 x 105mm, but by having the MagSafe connection extend out a tiny bit from the power bank’s bezel, it keeps its height to a minimum.

As I mentioned, another neat touch is the doubling of the Iniu’s braided USB-C cable as the power bank’s loop. While this isn’t a unique feature by any means — for example, the recent UGreen 10,000mAh Magnetic Wireless Power Bank Qi2 25W utilizes a similar system — it's far more convenient than having to bring a separate cable with you, and makes it easier should you want to opt for that 45W fast-charging over the slower 25W MagSafe charging.

Like a lot of the newer power banks, the SnapGo Air also features an LCD screen, which displays the battery’s remaining charge. This is far more useful than those models that only have a series of LEDs to indicate battery status, where you're left guessing whether the power bank has 51% or 74% charge left. The display here is subtle, tucked away down by the device’s two USB-C ports, and I really appreciate the more granular insight it provides on the juice left in my device.

(Image credit: Future)

So how does it perform? Perhaps, unsurprisingly, pretty well! That 45W max charging isn’t unheard of, but it still beats a number of devices, with many higher output models likely to cost you a lot more — although the Anker 20,000mAh 87W Power Bank is currently available for a steal at just $69.99 / £49.99 / AU$119.99. MagSafe charging is capped at 25W by Apple, so naturally you won’t get a huge variation in charging speed there; but the reality is you're trading speed for convenience with wireless charging.

In terms of the numbers, I first put the SnapGo Air to the test by fully charging the 5,200mAh battery of the OnePlus Nord CE5 from 0% to 100% using its 45W charging. That took 1 hour and 24 minutes, which is pretty much bang on what I’d expect given the phone’s capacious battery. Unfortunately, only 29% of the Iniu’s 10,000mAh capacity remained after charging, which is a significant drop.

Meanwhile, when I used its MagSafe charging to juice up an 3,095mAh iPhone 13 Pro, it took 2 hours and 25 minutes — that’s considerably slower, but not surprising given the max wattage available to the iPhone 13 Pro during MagSafe charging is just 15W.

When it comes to powering the SnapGo Air back up, its 27W charging saw this take just 1 hour and 46 minutes. Given its 10,000mAh total capacity, that isn't bad — there are phones with batteries half that size that take nearly as long to charge up.

All told, the Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank is a pretty strong power bank. It charges your devices fast, whether you’re using its built-in cable or 25W MagSafe charging; its LCD screen is super useful; and the unit itself is nicely compact. Moreover, it’s a seriously stylish power bank in a market crammed with charcoal-hued cuboids, yet comes in at a very reasonable price. Ultimately, it’s a very hard product to find fault with.

(Image credit: Future)Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank review: price & availability

• Launched on May 15, 2026
• List price of $54.99 / £49.99 / AU$69.99
• Range of attractive colorways

Having launched on May 15, 2026, the Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank is widely available. It comes in a great range of colors — alongside Lunar Silver and Space Gray are a medley of iPhone-mimicking hues such as Midnight Navy, Metallic Mocha and Sunset Orange.

You can pick it up for a list price of $54.99 / £49.99 / AU$69.99, which is pretty keenly priced given its spec. For example, the Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K, Slim) can only muster 30W over a wired connection, compared to the Iniu’s 45W, yet costs $79.86 / £69 / AU$97.99, showing what a good deal the Iniu SnapGo Air actually is.

(Image credit: Future)Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank review: specs

Capacity

10,000mAh

Total wattage

45W wired / 25W wireless

Number of ports

2

Port type(s)

USB-C (2x input/output) + Detachable GoCord USB-C cable

Wireless charging

Yes, Qi2.2 certified (Up to 25W magnetic)

Weight

196g / 6.9 oz

Dimensions

4.2 x 2.8 x 0.5 inches / 10.7 x 7.1 x 1.38 cm

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank?Buy it if…

You want seriously fast charging
For a power bank this compact, it’s rare you’ll find charging speeds faster than its 45W. Able to top up a 5,200mAh phone in 1 hour and 24 minutes using its cable, it’s an impressively speedy power bank.

You’re fed up of drab-looking power banks
Arriving with an LCD screen and in a range of gorgeous colors that include everything from the iPhone mimicking Metallic Mocha or Sunset Orange to Soft Lilac or Space Gray, the Iniu sure is a looker.

Don’t buy it if…

You have a phone capable of ultra-fast charging
If your phone can handle more than 45W — for example, the OnePlus 15 with its ludicrous 120W charging — you might want to consider a power bank that offers faster charging speeds.

You want to be able to charge your phone multiple days running
At 10,000mAh, the SnapGo Air will comfortably charge most phones more than once. But if you’re going away for days and will need multiple charges, you might find a larger capacity is a better fit.

Iniu SnapGo Air 10000mAh Power Bank review: also consider

Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K)
If you need to top up your phone more than once or your phone is capable of ultra-fast charging, the Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) is definitely worth considering. It has a huge 24,000mAh capacity, which would allow you to top up most phones around four times, while that insane 140W charging can rapidly juice up even the thirstiest phones on the market. Read our full Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) here.

If your AI rollout is making people more exhausted, the architecture is wrong. That’s not a provocative claim; it’s the logical conclusion of what the data shows. With 69% of UK businesses implementing AI assistants, these tools have become part of everyday working life.

But deployment without the right operational structure is leaving employees exposed to the harmful effects of ‘AI brain fry’. AI overload is not a failure of the individual, but a failure of system design. And it is the responsibility of technology and business leaders to fix it.

Researchers recently coined the term ‘AI brain fry’ to describe the cognitive fog and loss of concentration that results from excessive oversight and orchestration of AI tools; i.e. the mental load of managing the systems themselves. The problem - as our own data makes clear - is not that employees are using AI skills too much.

Rather, it is that most UK businesses have deployed AI tools without building the structured ways of working needed to make them productive. The issue does not lie in use alone; it lies in how that use is managed.

The organizations deploying these tools have a duty to ensure they deliver genuine efficiency gains – not a new category of cognitive burden.

The adoption gap is creating more work, not less

Only 31% of businesses are using multi-agent workflows, leaving their employees stuck in a cycle of tedious labor – the kind that AI is supposed to reduce. The majority of UK businesses currently employing AI tools are expecting employees to still do most of the heavy lifting.

Employees are finding themselves writing prompts, manually checking whether the answers are reliable, and interpreting outputs.

This type of work was supposed to be eased by AI. Instead, the tools have made it worse.

The consequence? More admin, not less. Employees who were promised that AI would lighten their workload are instead finding it has added a new layer of tasks including prompt management, output validation, error correction on top of the day job.

Few businesses have moved towards a structured multi-agent workflow where AI systems handle the orchestration burden directly – routing tasks, validating outputs and managing agent-to-agent handoffs without requiring constant human supervision.

That is the architecture that relieves the cognitive load. Without it, employees are not using AI – they are managing it. And there is a significant difference between the two.

Moving towards an ‘adaptive operating model’

UK organizations need to move beyond AI deployment and towards an adaptive operating model. One that is deliberately architected, not organically grown. That means clearly defining which tasks AI can be trusted to handle autonomously, where human judgement remains the critical control point, and how work moves between the two. In practice, this could look like:

AI agents handling first pass research, data synthesis and output drafting. Humans setting direction, making judgement calls and reviewing exceptions, rather than every output.

The distinction between “AI does the work” and “human manages the AI doing the work” is where most current deployments get stuck. To protect employees and exact real productivity, businesses must build in human oversight at the right level – not at every level.

This means developing genuine domain expertise so that employees can interrogate AI outputs critically, not simply accept them. It also means investing in the technical literacy to design workflows that are robust, not just functional. An AI deployment that requires constant human supervision to remain reliable has not been properly engineered.

The organizations that get this right will also be better protected as the employment landscape shifts. With the UK government’s Employment Rights Act 2025 set to reduce the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims and remove the compensation cap from January 2027, the cost of poorly managed AI-driven workforce change, both in human and legal terms, is rising.

Businesses that have embedded clear human-AI accountability structures will be far better placed than those that have not.

Without making these structural changes, AI adoption will continue to add effort rather than remove it. Thereby accelerating burnout at the very moment businesses are depending on these tools to drive productivity.

Protection and transformation go hand-in-hand

It is entirely possible to realise the productivity potential of AI whilst protecting employees from its cognitive costs. Multi-agent workflows, properly designed, keep humans in the seats that matter - strategy, judgement and decision-making – and had the orchestration burden to the systems built for it.

AI brain fry is not an inevitable side effect of AI adoption. It is a signal that the implementation architecture needs re-thinking. That is a technical and organizational challenge, and it belongs with the people who built the system – not the people using it.

We've featured the best small business software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

If you're looking for a powerful new desktop, Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale has dropped a fantastic offer you can snap up right now.

If you buy a qualifying system from a range of brands including HP, Acer, MSI, and iBUYPOWER, you can add the $180 GTPlayer Ergonomic Gaming Chair to your order for just $50.

There are a number of desktops to choose from, but the HP Omen 35L for $2140 (was $2700) stands out for me, saving you $560, before you even factor in the discounted chair.

Today's top HP Omen deal

This HP desktop delivers exceptional performance with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics, 32GB DDR5 memory, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, LCD liquid cooling, and plenty of upgrade potential for years ahead.

Buy it (or any other available desktop) here, and you can get a $180 GTPlayer ergonomic chair for just $50.View Deal

The HP Omen 35L is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card with 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

The system comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM running at 6000MHz and a fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which means the system can tackle demanding creative software, AI workloads, video editing, multitasking, and even modern games with ease.

An LCD liquid cooler keeps temperatures under control, while the Ceramic White chassis offers plenty of room for potential future upgrades.

There are four memory slots supporting up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM, three M.2 slots for additional SSDs, an 850W power supply, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and a number of USB-A, USB-C, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1 connections for monitors and peripherals.

The desktop comes with Windows 11 Home, a wired keyboard and mouse, HP's Omen utilities, and a one-year warranty, making it ready to use straight out of the box.

Whether you're editing photos, producing videos, working with large datasets, creating 3D content, or simply want a fast, capable PC that will last for years, the HP Omen 35L is an easy recommendation from me.

If you could do with a new chair as well, being able to snap up an $180 ergonomic model for only $50 is the cherry on top.

Other desktops in Best Buy's Office Builder offer include the Acer Nitro 65, MSI Codex R2, iBUYPOWER Element, and CyberPowerPC Desktop.

For further desktop choices, take a look at our round up of the best desktop PCs and the best business desktops.

• Shop the full Black Friday in July sale at Best Buy

• Windows 10 21H2 and earlier is losing support for all OneDrive updates
• 22H2 will still get feature and security updates until October 2028
• Affected users are being urged to upgrade to Windows 11

Microsoft has announced it will end OneDrive sync app updates on Windows 10 version 21H2 and earlier starting August 15, 2026.

Besides no longer offering new features, affected devices will also be incompatible with new bug fixes and security updates, marking the official end of OneDrive on those devices.

The app will continue to function after losing update support, but system changes and emerging bugs could render it unfixable with time.

Windows 10 is starting to lose its OneDrive sync support

From the August 2026 deadline onward, users may experience reduced functionality, compatibility problems and security risks, with the company instead pushing Windows 11 as a viable alternative to keep OneDrive functioning as expected.

Some later versions of the ongoing OS, including version 22H2, will continue to receive feature, reliability and security updates until October 10, 2028. 22H2 was the final version of Windows 10 – the next upgrade after that represents a brand new OS that brings with it some hardware limitations.

"This change aligns OneDrive support with the Windows lifecycle policy and helps Microsoft focus ongoing investments on supported operating systems," Microsoft wrote in a support article.

Users who are reluctant to upgrade OS could still access OneDrive via the browser if the app end up breaking due to incompatibility.

Rather than issuing advice to make OneDrive compatible on Windows 10, Microsoft is urging affected users to finally upgrade to Windows 11. Windows 10 still accounts for around 28% of all Windows installs (per Statcounter), compared with 70% for Windows 11.

When the Western genre takes over the TV, it does so en masse. In 2026 alone, we've had Landman, The Madison, Marshals and Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch. Now, we're returning to Ransom Canyon for the Netflix's show second season.

Just over a year ago, we found out who killed Staten's (Josh Duhamel) son Randall, Staten once again breaking off his fledgling romance with Quinn (Minka Kelly), and seeing the land battle between Double K Ranch and the Fuller Ranch continues.

With season 2, we'll be diving even deeper into these messy and complicated issues. But, when does Ransom Canyon season 2 ride into view?

What time can I watch Ransom Canyon season 2 on Netflix?

Ransom Canyon season 2 drops on Thursday, July 23.

As for exact time, it should be the standard 12am PT / 3am ET release that many other Netflix TV Originals premiere at. For fans who don't live in North America, here's when you'll need to tune into Netflix for season 2:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 6pm AEST
• New Zealand – 8pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Ransom Canyon season 2 come out?

(Image credit: Netflix)

All eight episodes of this season will be released at the same time. Unlike weekly drops on the likes of Prime Video, Apple TV, and Disney+, then, you won't need to wait around for new installment of Ransom Canyon 2.

As for the series' future, there's currently no public word on whether a third season has been greenlit. Hopefully, we won't be made to wait much longer.

The World Cup has arrived, bringing a wave of anticipation, celebration, and distraction that stretches far beyond the stadiums. For employers, it also serves as a real-time test of workforce operations as schedules, staffing needs, and employee engagement are all put under the spotlight.

During the six-week tournament, millions of employees will be watching matches, adjusting schedules, arriving late, swapping shifts, requesting time off, or turning up tired after late nights.

New UKG research of 8,000 employees across Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US estimates the tournament could drive at least £12.6 billion in lost productivity.

In the UK alone, the impact could exceed £680 million, with employees not just planning to follow matches during working hours, alter their schedules, or miss work altogether --many admitted they would go to work hungover, secretly stream matches, and push the limits of what their employer would allow.

If England wins it all, almost a third of UK employees said they would take the day off whether that absence had been approved.

What the World Cup Reveals About the Future of Work

That creates a real challenge for employers. But the bigger lesson is not about football. It is about how work now happens.

The World Cup is a high-profile example of something organizations face every day: unpredictable employee behavior, sudden changes in demand, last-minute absences, weather disruption, supply chain delays, new regulations, and shifting customer expectations. For frontline-heavy industries in particular, disruption is not an exception to the operating model. It is the operating environment.

The question is whether workplace technology is built for that reality.

Many workforce systems were designed around predictability. They record schedules, track attendance, and report what happened after the fact. That matters, but it is no longer enough. When conditions change by the hour, organizations need more than systems of record. They need systems of action that help managers see risk earlier, make better decisions faster, and keep work moving in real time.

Three Workforce Strategies That Help Employers Stay Ahead of Disruption

The employers that come out ahead during the World Cup, and during the everyday disruption that follows it, will do three things differently.

1. See the disruption before it happens

Too often, workforce disruption becomes visible only once it has created a gap. Someone does not arrive. A shift is suddenly under-covered. A manager starts calling around for support. The business reacts after the damage has begun.

The World Cup gives organizations a chance to get ahead of that pattern.

Employees are already signaling intent. They know which matches matter to them. They know when they are likely to want flexibility, when they may need time off, and when they are more likely to be distracted or unavailable. Organizations that capture that intent early can turn it into useful operational data.

That does not mean monitoring employees or trying to control their behavior. It means giving people approved ways to communicate availability, preferences, and likely conflicts before they become last-minute absences. When that information is combined with historical absence patterns, demand forecasts, local schedules, and workforce data, managers can identify where risk is most likely to emerge.

A retailer, manufacturer, logistics operation, or hospitality business does not need to know every individual decision. But it does need to know where coverage pressure is building. High-interest match days, late kick-offs, local celebrations, and major national fixtures can all create predictable patterns of disruption.

Seeing that risk early allows organizations to plan differently. They can adjust staffing levels, open additional shifts, prepare contingency cover, or communicate expectations before managers are forced into crisis mode.

2. Design flexibility into the operating model

The instinctive response to disruption is often to tighten control. But rigid rules can push behavior underground.

If employees believe there is no fair or practical way to adjust work around major life moments, they are more likely to find informal workarounds. That can mean last-minute sickness calls, unapproved absences, shift swaps that managers do not see, or colleagues covering gaps without the right skills, rest periods, or compliance checks.

The better approach is to make flexibility visible, fair, and operationally safe.

That means giving employees clear, approved ways to request time off, swap shifts, volunteer for extra hours, adjust availability, or pick up open shifts. It also means giving managers the tools to assess those requests against business need, skills, fatigue, labor rules, and fairness.

This is especially important on the frontline, where the margin for error is small. A missed shift in an office may delay a meeting. A missed shift in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality, or logistics can affect safety, service, cost, and compliance.

Flexibility cannot sit outside the workforce strategy. It must be built into it.

For employers, that shift is powerful. Flexibility becomes less of a concession and more of an operating capability. Employees get more transparency and control. Managers get fewer surprises. The business gets a better chance of protecting service levels without treating people like variables in a spreadsheet.

3. Act in real time when the plan changes

Even the best World Cup plan will not survive unchanged.

A match goes to penalties. Demand spikes unexpectedly. More employees call in sick than forecast. A local team advances further than expected. A manager discovers at short notice that the people available do not have the right skills or certifications.

This is where many workforce systems fall short. They can show the scheduling. They can record the absence. But they do not always help managers decide what to do next.

Modern workforce management has to move from static planning to real-time execution. Managers need to know where gaps exist, who is available, who is qualified, who is approaching overtime or fatigue limits, and what action will create the best outcome for the business and the employee.

That is where data and AI can play a practical role. Not generic AI layered onto old processes, but intelligence that understands workforce context and helps recommend the next best action. Should a manager offer an open shift? Redeploy someone from a lower-demand area? Approve a swap? Escalate a compliance risk? Adjust breaks? Bring in contingent support?

The value is not simply in having more data. It is in turning workforce data into action while there is still time to influence the outcome.

The real stress test for workplace technology is not whether an organization can create a schedule weeks in advance, but whether it can adapt that schedule minutes after conditions change.

The World Cup will pass. The operating lesson will not.

Every organization will face its own version of this disruption: seasonal demand, illness, weather, regulatory change, major events, economic pressure, and shifting employee expectations. The companies that treat these moments as one-off exceptions will keep solving them manually, shift by shift and manager by manager.

We review the best employee management software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Avengers: Doomsday pre-sale tickets will go live later today (July 20)
• Fans think the new Marvel movie's first trailer could be released, too
• It would be an unusual move for Marvel to make, for one major reason

Update 2: well, I was completely wrong! The film's first official trailer has been released, so join me on our Avengers: Doomsday trailer breakdown live blog as I, well, break it down in real time.

Update: Okay, something might happen on the official trailer front.

Indeed, the Avengers: Doomsday Clock video on Marvel's YouTube channel, which has been counting down towards the movie's release date for months now, has been updated. The minutes and seconds part of the timer are now shown in green, and music now accompanies the ticking of said clock.

Does this mean Doomsday's first proper trailer will be with us at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BST? I'm still sceptical and think it's simply counting down to the pre-sales ticket window finally opening — but we'll find out for sure in less than 30 minutes.

Original story follows.

Avengers: Doomsday tickets are finally set to go on sale later today (July 20) — and Marvel fans think the movie's first trailer could drop at the same time, too.

As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, cinephiles and comic-book fans alike will be able to pre-book their seat for one of 2026's hottest new movies very soon. And, with some theater chains, such as US-based company Regal, already telling fans where they'll be able to watch Doomsday in come December 18, fans will be able to buy advanced tickets before the day is over.

That's not the only Marvel-related thing that might happen today, though, because some people believe the pre-sales launch will coincide with the debut of Doomsday's official trailer.

In screenshots posted to Reddit pages including r/MarvelStudios, r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers, and r/LeaksandRumors, the app for popular US movie ticket company Fandango appeared to indicate that a new trailer would accompany the film's pre-sales launch.

Less than an hour later, users in a separate r/LeaksandRumors thread noted that the trailer banner had been scrubbed from the Fandango app. Some are seeing this as confirmation that we'll soon get a fresh look at the Marvel Phase 6 film — but I'm not entirely convinced that'll be the case.

Why Marvel shouldn't — and should — hold off on releasing a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday

Will Robert Downey Jr make another SDCC appearance as Doctor Victor von Doom? (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

If Marvel unveils Avengers: Doomsday's fifth trailer — remember, four bite-sized teasers were released between December 2025 and January 2026 — today, it wouldn't be a complete shock.

Indeed, releasing a new trailer, which would likely end by telling people that they can pre-book tickets now, would further ramp up interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, and generate even more ticket sales. Releasing more new footage before Marvel holds its latest Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, which will take place on Saturday, July 25, would also give it more time to highlight some of its other forthcoming film and Disney+ projects during said presentation, because Doomsday wouldn't dominate proceedings.

With SDCC 2026 just days away, though, I'm baffled by the suggestion that Marvel would release Doomsday's first trailer earlier than expected. The aforementioned flick is the comic titan's most anticipated movie in years, and, considering that past editions of SDCC have been where Marvel has made the biggest announcements and reveals about myriad films, I can't foresee a one-off change to that tried and tested — not to mention highly successful — strategy.

I guess we'll find out one way or the other in the hours ahead. For now, find out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday. Once you're done, check out the first official artwork for Avengers: Doomsday, and prepare for your pre-Doomsday release MCU marathon by reading up on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.