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If you like the idea of owning the very best action camera but have so far been put off by the price, then let me bring you some fantastic news. This excellent value GoPro Hero 13 Black bundle is on sale at Amazon for $379.99 (was $479.99).

That's a new record-low price for the highly rated 5.3K resolution camera from the industry's leading brand. Considering the camera ordinarily retails for $429 by itself, this bundle deal is even more impressive.

In addition to the excellent GoPro camera, the bundle features a handle, two Enduro batteries, two curved adhesive mounts, a 64GB SanDisk MicroSD card, and a handy carrying case. That's everything needed to get filming as soon as it arrives at your door.

Today's best action camera 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

Competition for the top spot in our best action camera guide is fierce, but the GoPro Hero 13 Black has held prime position for a long time now. Its commendation is in large part thanks to the excellent-quality 5.3K video, a superb range of accessories, including new auto-detected Lens Mods, and improved battery life and heat dissipation.

You can read more about why we love it in our GoPro Hero 13 Black review. Specifically, we praised its Bluetooth audio support, versatile mounting options, and ability to capture great-looking footage in well-lit areas.

I don't record much video for social media specifically, but if you do, then you'll love the 27MP sensor, which enables footage to be recorded in an 8:7 aspect ratio. Say goodbye to the awkward cropping of landscape footage for portrait outputs.

55 years ago, the legendary Gene Wilder invited us to join him in "a world of pure imagination." Now, a disembodied AI recreation of his sonorous vocals is inviting us to join him in his "my newest wonders beyond imagination."

But there's little-to-nothing imaginative about the use of an AI-generated version of Wilder's voice to help sell Netflix subscribers on a new Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-themed reality show, and, quite honestly, I hate everything about it.

To catch you up, this new show, which is set to air in September on one of the best streaming services, Netflix, borrows sets (recreations), themes, and even one living actor who played an Oompa Loompa from the original 1971 film to create a reality show that it hopes will somehow, if not match, approach the charm and danger of the original film.

Not getting the point

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on the Roald Dahl bookCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, is a commentary on wealth, poverty, family, risk, and cruelty, all wrapped in a candy-covered fantasy.

The protagonist, Charlie Bucket, is so poor he lives in a ramshackle London cottage with multiple generations of family members, including a grandfather who has not left his bed in years. Meanwhile, Wonka is finally opening up his secretive factory to a select group of the public, chosen at random via golden tickets hidden in some of his candy.

I know, it sounds like a confection, but the first scene in which Wilder appears gives you a hint that this is not your typical children's story. When all the winners, including Charlie, arrive, Wonka (Wilder) unsteadily walks out while using a cane to greet them. As he approaches the gate, Wilder loses his grip on the cane and falls forward, but instead of face-planting, he does an effortless tumble and is suddenly upright and boisterous.

I tell you all this because there is so much complexity and nuance in that one scene and virtually all of it engineered by Wilder's performance. Throughout the film, his face and especially his voice drive the narrative and mood, yo-yoing it between playful host and sinister guide who keeps losing children to one self-imposed calamity after another.

Never before or since have I seen a character in a children's film swing so wildly from gentle and childlike to ominous. It's a wonder the Academy didn't recognize his performance.

Fast forward more than half a century to this streaming show, which uses Wilder's voice with the permission of his family; you can get your first sample of it in the new show trailer (above). Created by increasingly well-known ElevenLabs, the voice is, in my opinion, a poor recreation at best, but I guess I might also call it unmistakably Wilder-like.

It's also depressing. The thing about Wilder's real voice in films like Willy Wonka, The Producers, Stir Crazy, and Young Frankenstein is that it could be wildly emotional. Wilder as a hysteric was often the funniest thing you had ever seen. No one went off the rails like Gene Wilder, but also few other actors could express such warmth and compassion, and sometimes he did it all in a single scene.

At the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka discovers Charlie is stealing his everlasting gobstopper to deliver it to Wonka's chief competitor. His anger at Charlie is terrifying, but as soon as Charlie leaves the candy behind, Wonka (Wilder) transforms, and the compassion and joy in his voice is something to behold.

The AI Wilder voice in this trailer is devoid of passion, pathos, or really any recognizable human emotion. It's a soulless Gene Wilder.

Look, there's no doubt the power of AI is transforming life and culture. It lets us do things we never thought possible. It's a co-worker, a companion, a sleuth, a coder, and a creator, but we are now at the point where we must ask ourselves: Just because AI can, should it?

I guess we can ask a similar question about the AI-generated Val Kilmer in the unfortunately titled As Deep as the Grave. While I can understand if Kilmer had completed some filming and they wanted to bridge the gap in scenes filmed after his death, this full-scale recreation, even with the estate's permission, seems wrong. I love these actors, but none are irreplaceable, and using their likenesses and voices simply to generate nostalgia and sell a product feels very wrong, and certainly not the best use of AI (and all the resources behind it).

Surely, we can agree that it's often better to let the dead stay dead and not try to resurrect a simulacrum of their essence through the power of AI. The results are, to be honest, rather like the work of Baron Von Frankenstein: a monstrous creation that probably has no place on earth.

While many of us wouldn’t think twice about buying software from a global hyperscale software vendor, open source software (OSS) has flown under the radar as a majorly important part of the software landscape for decades.

Recent shifts in European attitudes, fuelled by geopolitical tensions and technological sovereignty concerns, has seen an increased focus on the desire to run open source software and back local vendors. A major advantage is the open nature of its development – anyone can inspect, modify and use it, and companies can distribute their own versions without the limitations and expenses of vendor lock-in.

It’s so important that around 70% of modern software stacks are estimated to rely on open source components in some form – EXANTE sees it as a plumbing system that keeps software stacks together.

But that very benefit could also be a disadvantage for corporate customers, because small groups of volunteers don’t have the same requirements as large corporations. While companies invest heavily in cybersecurity and resilience, visibility into open source software can be alarmingly low.

AI is making underfunding even more pronounced

Vibe coding has further complicated matters, with developers now able to write code more quickly and malicious actors leaning on those same AI coding tools to discover vulnerabilities and develop exploits.

Without the commercial funding that hyperscale software receives, it puts OSS in a more vulnerable position. But given the importance of OSS for companies looking to build their own software stacks, many are now starting to see backing projects as an integral part of managing their risks.

To discuss why the responsibility, or burden, of open source software sustainability is increasingly being picked up by enterprise customers instead of individual developers and contributors, I spoke with EXANTE CTO Richard Forss, who explained how AI is changing software development and cybersecurity strategies globally, and why businesses should treat it as critical infrastructure.

EXANTE is also the company behind the Gecko Fund – a new €1 million grant programme to support critical open source software projects used across trading and financial data systems with grants of between €10,000 and €150,000 available – and the company believes that financial and technical support for open-source projects is now more important than ever.

“We believe the industry that benefits from these tools should play a role in sustaining them,” Gecko Fund founder Anatoly Knyazev asserted.

• How broadly is open-source software used across fintech, and, namely, brokers? How exactly is it used?

Open source is the foundation of modern fintech and brokerage businesses, but almost nobody talks about it. If you looked under the hood of any brokerage platform, ours included, you would find that about 70% of the critical stack is open-source.

It powers the databases, operating systems, messaging layers, cloud infrastructure – the bits that quietly move millions of transactions a day. Clients never see any of it, which is rather the point.

The reason we all use it is simple economics. Software is built in layers, and there is no sense in any one firm rebuilding the foundations from scratch. We use shared, battle-tested components for things like market data processing and risk infrastructure, and we spend our own engineering effort on the parts that are actually ours.

It lets teams move quickly and solve complex architectural and engineering puzzles that would otherwise be out of reach.

• Why does the underfunding problem in open-source software exist, despite it being so widely used across the global economy?

Because it works too well to notice. Open source behaves like a utility, the plumbing in the walls, and nobody thinks about the plumbing until it bursts. Millions of organisations rely on these tools every day, and for years, almost none of them paid a penny towards keeping them alive.

More accurately, open source drives an estimated $8.8 trillion in global economic value. Yet, nearly two-thirds of the developers responsible for maintaining these widely adopted systems receive very limited financial support.

Hundreds of thousands of organisations – from startups to huge enterprises – benefit from these tools every single day, but the actual responsibility for maintaining them stays with a handful of volunteers.

Everyone relies on the infrastructure, but historically, almost no organisation has taken responsibility for paying for its upkeep.

• Why should businesses care if critical open-source projects are maintained by very small teams or individual developers?

Because it is a single point of failure hiding in plain sight. We spend enormous amounts of money assessing vendor risk and operational resilience, scrutinising suppliers, war-gaming outages, and then the whole edifice can rest on a library maintained by one or two exhausted people you have never heard of.

Our first Gecko Fund grant went to Kryo, an open-source data serialisation tool used all over the world in high-performance and trading environments. For years, it has been kept going by two people on two different continents, with no outside funding at all. They do excellent work – and that is, of course, not the problem. The problem is that it is two people. If one of them burns out, or simply does not have a free evening to patch a serious flaw the moment it appears, the consequences do not stay neatly within their project. They ripple out into regulated markets that have no idea they were depending on them.

• How is AI changing the risk profile of open-source software and cybersecurity?

AI has put its foot on the accelerator, and it is pressing down on both cars at once. On our side, it genuinely helps. It spots bugs, speeds up code review, catches things early. The problem is that the people trying to break in have exactly the same tools.

Bad actors use AI to scan open-source codebases, identify vulnerabilities, and launch targeted exploits much faster than before. The time between a flaw being discovered and an active attack being launched is continuously shrinking.

This puts intense pressure on underfunded maintainers to deploy fixes instantly. Since AI scales these threats so effectively, the security of the underlying open-source ecosystem has become a systemic priority.

• Which parts of the open-source ecosystem are most vulnerable to underinvestment today?

It’s not the famous projects. Mostly the dull ones. The risk lives in the deep, unglamorous code: I’m talking about the low-level libraries, the developer tooling, the APIs – developer tools that operate entirely out of sight. The components that never trend on anything and never will.

That is precisely why they go unfunded. They do not make headlines, so they do not attract sponsors or donations, and yet they are wired into thousands of commercial products.

It is the paradox of the whole industry. The more essential a piece of software is, the more invisible it tends to be. When one of those hidden libraries fails, it does not fail for one company. It fails for everyone at once.

• How do you think this gap can be bridged? What measures can businesses take to mitigate possible risks?

Stop calling it a hobby and start treating it as infrastructure, because that is what it is. The first thing any firm should do is the unglamorous work of auditing its own supply chain and understanding exactly which open-source components it actually depends on. Most have never properly looked. Once you know what you are standing on, you have to hold it up.

But money is not the only currency – firms can contribute engineering time, security audits, testing environments, or documentation. The goal is to make the relationship mutual: if your business profits from these tools, your business should help keep them safe.

• What infrastructural changes can be made to make open-source software more sustainable?

The corporate world needs to stop expecting critical infrastructure to be maintained by someone giving up their weekends. That is the change. Everything else follows from it.

It is starting to shift. There are sovereign technology funds now, government-backed efforts, industry groups forming around open-source standards. That is encouraging.

But finance, of all sectors, ought to be leading rather than waiting, because finance has more to lose than most if this plumbing fails. If we formalise how companies contribute and build proper structures for funding this work, then the people holding up the machinery behind global commerce might finally get the stable backing they need to keep the markets running. They have earned it several times over.

• Lego's Olivia Rodrigo collection features five sets inspired by her Guts era
• All sets are available to preorder now ahead of an August 2026 release
• There are multiple Olivia Rodrigo Minifigures to collect

Olivia Rodrigo’s been keeping busy. Just a few weeks after dropping her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, the pop sensation is making her next move. And it’s a pretty big one that’s good 4 all of us: she’s collaborating with Lego on not one, not three, but five brick-built sets.

In fact, she’s the first musician to get multiple dedicated Lego sets, and they’re all distinctly Olivia Rodrigo, complete with her iconic shade of purple. And maybe most importantly, Olivia is getting her own Minifigures.

Fans who saw Olivia Rodrigo on the Guts World Tour — or streamed the concert on Netflix — will recognize the iconic moon she flew over the audience in the Olivia Rodrigo's Concert Moon set, which is available to preorder for $49.99 / £44.99.

Not only does it include an Olivia Minifigure that can be placed on the purple moon, but the base is also a record player.

(Image credit: Lego)

You can even use the knobs on the right side of the record player to make the disc spin, causing the moon to rotate. As with most Lego sets, this one is highly interactive, with plenty of hidden details packed into the full build.

If you’re just after a Lego brick-built record, Olivia Rodrigo’s Vinyl is worth a look at $34.99 / £24.99. Made from 360 pieces, it lets you build a vinyl record that can be displayed using a stand on the back. The front features several elements, including a red megaphone — as used on the Guts Tour — a butterfly, stars, and a spot for an Olivia Rodrigo Minifigure.

(Image credit: Lego)

The flagship set in the Olivia Rodrigo Lego Editions line is the Dual Guitar, which is made up of 1,228 pieces and costs $119.99 / £109.99. You’ll build an iconic purple guitar that stands more than 20 inches tall, includes two Minifigures of Olivia Rodrigo, and features hidden details.

(Image credit: Lego)

Best of all, it’s half acoustic and half electric, offering the best of both worlds. Beneath the electric side, you’ll find spots for both Minifigures, along with easter eggs that Olivia Rodrigo fans will appreciate. If you've ever wanted to get "obsessed" with the details, this is probably the set you'll spend the most time exploring.

Rounding out the Olivia Rodrigo Lego Editions line are the $79.99 / £69.99 Olivia Rodrigo's Secret Storage set and the $49.99 / £39.99 Flower Bouquet set. All five are available to preorder now from Lego’s online store and will begin shipping on August 1, 2026.

Lego's Olivia Rodrigo's Vinyl is also available for preorder in the UK at £24.99.View Deal

Lego's Olivia Rodrigo's Flower Bouquet is also available for preorder in the UK at £39.99.

Lego's Olivia Rodrigo's Concert Moon is also available for preorder in the UK at £44.99.

Lego's Olivia Rodrigo's Secret Storage is also available for preorder in the UK at £69.99.

Lego's Olivia Rodrigo's Dual Guitar is also available for preorder in the UK at £109.99.

• Though mostly known for photo lighting equipment, Godox has announced a small 'transparent viewfinder camera' that weighs just 65g.
• It features a transparent(ish) window for composition that also doubles as a settings display — and it can also function as a light meter.
• We don't yet have information on key internal specs like sensor size and resolution (but you can expect them to be low).

Very cheap cameras are back in vogue these days, so I wasn't necessarily surprised to see another one released — but I was surprised to see it coming from Godox.

The Godox C100 is a 'transparent viewfinder camera', announced by the Chinese firm who heretofore have been better known for producing the kind of high-end lighting equipment you'd find in the studios of professional photographers, as well as more affordable flashguns. However, with an announced price of just ¥199 (equivalent to about $29 / £22 / AU$42), the C100 is considerably more affordable than anything else on the Godox books.

As you can see, the C100 is built around quite an unusual form factor. A palm-sized rectangle, it doesn't feature a display exactly, but instead a transparent window that you use to compose your images. This window is also able to display key information like exposure settings and battery life.

(Image credit: Godox)

Now, I said 'unusual' form factor, not 'unique'. This is because, as a few people have already observed, the Godox C100 looks a lot like a camera that debuted at CP+ in 2025, the Escura InstantSnap. The Godox version looks a bit more advanced, offering a few interesting features that the Escura version doesn't. But we can make a few inferences — the Escura camera produces images at a resolution of 1.3MP, and I'd be surprised if the Godox offered a great deal more than that.

The Godox C100 features a USB-C connection for charging and file transfer, and it accepts 128GB micro SD cards for storage. It also records video and can do so continuously for up to 1.5 hours, and offers shooting in a number of different aspect ratios: 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 and 1:1. There are a couple of physical buttons for shooting and changing settings, and it weighs just 65g.

A handheld light meter

At first glance, the Godox C100 looks like another cheap novelty camera in a market beginning to be saturated with them. However, there was one feature announced that really caught my attention, since I'm an avid film photographer — the C100 can also act as a light meter.

Like any good handheld light meter, Godox C100 can read the levels of brightness in a scene's central area, and provide the optimal exposure settings with which to capture a balanced image. Once hugely invaluable tools, light meters have been rendered mostly entirely redundant in the digital age. However, anyone who habitually buys a lot of old film SLRs will tell you that the metering system is always one of the first things to go. I have several beautiful Pentax SLRs in the drawer beside me that still shoot and wind on beautifully, but can't meter a scene because the electronics are shot.

So, the idea of an elegant little pocketable device, costing just $29, that I can carry everywhere with me and use to quickly meter a scene, and maybe even use to take a couple of comparison shots for reviewing alongside my developed and scanned frames — that interests me.

GodoxGodoxGodox

Granted, the metering functionality is only going to be of interest to a small percentage of users. But still, I wouldn't be surprised if the Godox C100 is a huge hit, if and when it eventually arrives at international retailers (it's currently only announced in China). Tiny cameras have been big hits of late, most notably the keyring-sized Kodak Charmera, and screen-free cameras that offer a purer, more immersive shooting experience have also seen success, the poster child for the movement being the Camp Snap.

People like cute cameras. People like cheap cameras. And the Godox C100 is both! I'm sure once we get hold of it for a review we'll discover that the image quality is no great shakes — but did that stop the Kodak Charmera? No, it did not.

(Image credit: Godox)

• 2026's breakout movie Obsession has finally made its home debut
• The supernatural horror film is available to rent or buy on specific platforms
• Unfortunately, it isn't available to stream everywhere yet

Obssession, 2026's breakout movie that's had the whole world talking since it landed in theaters on May 15, is finally available to watch at home — but only if you live in specific countries.

The year's biggest surprise package, which cost a reported $750,000 to make and — at the time of publication — has almost surpassed $400m globally, is out now on some of the world's best streaming services.

Right now in the US, you can rent the Curry Barker-directed supernatural horror-romance movie is on premium video on-demand (PVOD) platforms like Apple TV and Amazon for $19.99. Alternatively, you can permanently add it to your digital film collection for $24.99.

For those who've been living under a rock for the past seven weeks and know nothing about it, Obsession tells the tale of Bear (Michael Johnston), a lovesick loser who doesn't know how to tell long-time crush Nicki (Inde Navarette) how he truly feels.

However, Bear soon discovers a mysterious item called a 'One Wish Willow', which is said to grant any wish that an individual desires. Long story short: Bear buys one and wishes for Nicki to love him more than anything in the world — and it doesn't take long for him to realize he's made a terrible, terrible mistake.

Fuelled by Navarette's award-worthy standout performance and positive word of mouth, Obsession has had fans, well, obsessed for almost two months now. Armed with a simple but highly effective tale, deeply uncomfortable themes and subject matter, and scenes that'll stay with you long after its credits have rolled, it's essentially this year's Kpop Demon Hunters, albeit without an album's worth of earworm songs and, you know, definitely not being for kids.

Why can't I watch Obsession at home yet?

Ever since Obsession's home release was confirmed via whentostream.com, fans have been desperate to check out one of this year's best-performing and best-rated new movies from the comfort of their couch.

Unfortunately, while cinephiles in the US can definitely check it out from today (June 30), movie fans in other territories aren't so lucky. Indeed, in a thread relating to its digital platform release on r/movies, numerous fans have expressed disappointment that the darkly comedic, jump scare-laden flick isn't available to watch at home in their world region.

Right now, it seems that Obsession can be rented or bought in the US and New Zealand. However, I've checked Prime Video and Apple TV in the UK, and it isn't available on either video on demand (VoD) service. There's no indication as to when it will be, either.

Hopefully, it won't be much longer Obsession makes its way onto PVOD platforms globally — and, once its juggernaut box office run finally comes to end, other streamers including Peacock (US) and Netflix (internationally). Until then, you'll just have to watch it at your local theater for the umpteenth time.

Bose headphones and earbuds are some of the best in the business. I'm a fan, having used a pair of Bose QuietComfort Headphones for many years now. And our audio experts rate them highly too, with many of the latest models scoring maximum five-star reviews. Now, several of those top-rated cans and buds are down to record-low prices at Amazon.

• Browse all Bose deals at Amazon

Let's start with these Bose QuietComfort Headphones at Amazon for $179 (was $359). This is the lowest price they've been all year and amazingly even lower than what they fell to during last year's Black Friday. It's a fantastic time to buy if you want some brilliant four-star Bose headphones for a price that I don't think will be beaten for a while.

You'd have thought that Prime Day was still going on with the level of deals available on these Bose headphones and earbuds. The sale is definitely over for another year, though, so I wouldn't wait too long if you're tempted by any of these offers. They could end at any moment now and likely won't be back until Black Friday in November.

Today's 5 best Bose deals at Amazon

If you want affordable over-ears that don't compromise on quality, then consider these Bose QuietComfort Headphones. I've been using a pair for a long time now and rate them highly, while our expert testers also scored them an impressive four stars in our review. You get impressive noise cancellation, top-tier audio quality, and 24 hours of battery life in a surprisingly affordable package.View Deal

The fantastic Bose QuestComfort Ultra Headphones are still available at a record-low price following this year's Prime Day sale. These offer a clear step up in audio compared to other premium cans, with superbly detailed and energetic sound and the best noise cancellation you can get right now, in a light and comfortable design.View Deal

Bose's affordable earbuds offer top-tier active noise cancellation, but without a massive price tag. In our 4.5-star Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review, we said they were already "arguably best-in-class value" at full price, so now that you can get them for even less, they're hard to beat. We praised their comfort and sound quality as well as the amazing ANC.View Deal

The second-generation version of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are some of the manufacturer's best in terms of audio quality and noise cancellation — so good, in fact, that we awarded them the full five stars in our review. This latest model lasts up to 24 hours between both the buds and the case and features new CustomTune technology that adjusts the audio based on your ear shape. The Spatial Audio also makes the listening experience more immersive than ever with the option to swap between listening modes, depending on if you want to lose yourself in audio or stay alert.View Deal

These unique earbuds from Bose are back to a record-low price and well worth the money if you prefer the open-ear design. The impressive sound is delivered through comfortable headphones, which can be worn all day. They also boast up to 7.5 hours of playtime, which will be more than enough for most people.View Deal

• 119 malicious Edge extensions flew under the radar
• They installed harmful code days after extension installation
• It's proof that static code review is no longer sufficient

Microsoft says it has taken down 119 malicious extensions from the Edge Add-ons store after "proactive threat hunting" revealed a campaign that's been dubbed StegoAd.

As part of the program, the company also had to suspend more than 90 developer accounts associated with the dodgy activity.

Believed to have been active since at least 2021, it's believed that the malicious browser extensions had been downloaded a total of 2.6 million times.

Microsoft removes 119 'StegoAd' malicious extensions

The campaign was so broad that the extensions didn't just occupy one category: ad blockers, VPNs, video downloaders, translators and utility tools like PDF exporters were all ploys for the malicious extensions.

This particular campaign got its name from the type of tactic used – steganography is the name given to hiding malicious code inside seemingly harmless files. PNG images, SVG graphics and font files had hidden JavaScript embedded inside to bypass traditional antivirus tools and web filtering.

Once installed, Microsoft says they remained dormant for three to five days to avoid detection before going on to steal browser credentials, redirect users to malicious websites, manipulate affiliate links for financial gain, download additional malicious code and even communicate with C2 servers for updated instructions.

"The StegoAd campaign demonstrates that browser extensions remain a potent and evolving attack surface," Microsoft wrote, admitting that even its own safeguards had missed these dodgy extensions.

The report also concludes that static code review alone is no longer sufficient, because extensions and other installations can download malicious code long after they were first installed.

For developers themselves, Microsoft recommends being as clear as possible by not obscuring code, requesting only the necessary permissions to build trust, and report any suspected impersonation.

HP's 4th of July sale is packed with discounts on the accessories that can make a bigger difference to your working environment than you might expect.

From Thunderbolt docks and webcams to wireless keyboards, mice, chargers, and USB-C hubs, there are plenty of ways to upgrade your desk for less.

Whether you're creating a multi-monitor setup, improving your video calls, or replacing aging peripherals, HP's latest deals cover just about every part of a modern workspace.

Docking stations are among the standout offers, with options supporting multiple external displays, fast USB connectivity, Ethernet, and laptop charging through a single cable.

Top HP 4th of July PC accessories deals

Connect up to three external displays while powering your laptop with up to 100W over USB-C. This compact dock also offers HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-A, Ethernet, and broad compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS.View Deal

Switch between multiple devices with this wireless mouse, featuring Bluetooth 5.2 and a 2.4GHz connection, up to 4,000dpi tracking, four programmable buttons, fast scrolling, and an impressive battery life of up to 24 months.View Deal

Connect up to four external displays while powering compatible laptops through a single Thunderbolt 4 connection. This dock also offers plenty of USB ports, 2.5GbE, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort, and broad compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS.View Deal

Keep compatible USB-C laptops and devices powered with this compact 65W charger. It supports multiple output voltages, includes generous cable lengths for flexible use, and is small enough to carry easily between home, work, and travel.View Deal

Connect up to four external displays and power your compatible laptop with up to 100W through a single Thunderbolt 4 cable. It also includes HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-A, Ethernet, and broad compatibility across major operating systems.View Deal

Boost your productivity with this full-size wireless keyboard and mouse combo, featuring quiet keys, 24 programmable shortcuts, dedicated Copilot and dictation keys, spill resistance, and battery life lasting up to 20 months for the keyboard and 24 months for the mouse.View Deal

Upgrade your video calls with this Full HD webcam, featuring autofocus, dual noise-reducing microphones, automatic light correction, an integrated privacy shutter, and broad compatibility with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Chromebook devices.View Deal

Expand a single USB-C port into a complete workstation with HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-A, Ethernet, and USB-C connectivity. It also supports dual 4K displays, pass-through charging up to 65W, and broad compatibility with major operating systems.View Deal

This rechargeable wireless mouse features multi-surface tracking up to 4,000dpi, four programmable buttons, and a SuperCapacitor that provides up to a month of use. It also works across Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS devices.View Deal

Work comfortably across multiple devices with this wireless keyboard and mouse combo, featuring Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connectivity, programmable keys and buttons, a soft-touch palm rest, fast scrolling, and battery life of up to 36 months.View Deal

Upgrade your video calls with this 4MP Full HD webcam, featuring autofocus, up to 4x zoom, dual noise-reducing microphones, Windows Hello support, adjustable viewing angles, and compatibility with popular video conferencing and streaming platforms.View Deal

HP accessory highlights

If video meetings are part of your day, HP has Full HD webcams with autofocus, dual noise-reducing microphones, automatic light correction, and built-in privacy features.

Higher-end models even add Windows Hello support, adjustable viewing angles, and zoom controls for a more polished appearance during calls.

Wireless peripherals feature heavily throughout the sale. HP's keyboard and mouse bundles offer programmable shortcuts, dedicated Copilot and dictation keys, quiet typing, multi-device support, and battery life measured in months rather than weeks.

There are also standalone wireless mice with programmable buttons, high-precision tracking, and rechargeable or long-life battery options.

Compact USB-C chargers help keep compatible devices powered wherever you're working, while portable hubs add HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, USB-A, and pass-through charging without taking up much space in your bag.

Many of these products also include recycled materials, broad compatibility with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and other operating systems, plus thoughtful features you'll appreciate from the start.

Whether you're working from home, planning on heading back to the office after summer, or preparing for the next semester, there are plenty of worthwhile upgrades available across HP's range or discounted products.

If you're still looking for inspiration, be sure to check out the full July 4 sale.

It’s clearly the wild, wild west when it comes to the race to build bigger and faster Artificial Intelligence systems.

The current backbone is built on Nvidia’s GPU architecture, allowing researchers and labs to build more and more sophisticated models that seem to leapfrog each other weekly.

The underlying technology required to achieve this is hundreds of thousands of these GPU cards sprawled across data centers throughout the US, drawing ever-increasing power and natural resources to push this frontier of human imagination.

In our rush towards our promise of a better future, are we laying the groundwork for this generation’s environmental calamity, much like previous generations had asbestos, microplastics, and lead?

Look no further than the SpaceX IPO, marketed as the largest IPO in history with a stunning $1.75 trillion initial valuation!

Buried deep inside, however, lies xAI – the AI company behind Grok. Grok runs from two massive data centers named Colossus 1 and 2.

What isn’t being discussed is that the NAACP is suing xAI for illegally installing air-polluting gas turbines in Mississippi that emit carcinogens into the air that residents breathe.

The question is not whether the power was needed, but what costs we are willing to accept, especially when, in this case, the demand releases toxic fumes into the air so people can interact with a chatbot.

An ominous situation

What makes the situation most ominous is that we are running a four-legged stool and waiting to see which breaks first. The first leg, of course, is computing power.

GPUs, while becoming more efficient, are at the same time getting denser and requiring more power. A traditional server rack used to draw about 5 kilowatts (kW) of power. GPUs upended that, with power draw climbing to 50 kW, 80 kW and now 140 kW per rack.

Indeed, Nvidia itself has proclaimed that its Kyber systems will draw an unheard-of 600 kW per rack by 2027. Whether this is true or not, the reality is that the power draw and density to run increasingly sophisticated hardware is going up; we just don’t know the timeframe of how we get there.

The second leg is what AI aficionados refer to as Jevon’s paradox. This is an economic principle that, as technology becomes cheaper to use and deploy, the use cases increase, so net consumption actually goes up even though the cost to run it keeps getting cheaper.

The third leg is that virtually all the free cash flow of megatech is going into deploying this IT infrastructure at an increasingly rapid rate. The projection for this year is $700 billion in capital expenditures, ballooning to over $1 trillion next year, and who knows after that.

At the same time, no one knows what limits Wall Street’s checkbook will be to fund additional expenditures for other companies. All this equipment must go into data centers somewhere.

Finally, we have a total lack of public policy on how to deploy these in sustainable ways, partially because there is a rush to get this equipment online, partly because no one really knows what the negative externalities could be, because no one has built up this much infrastructure at this scale and speed before.

The problem, of course, is if the part of the stool that deals with negative feedback to the environment and communities we live in is the first to break. It may not be easy to turn back once Pandora’s box has opened.

The need for policy sooner than later

Of course, we don’t have to wait for this all to happen. Thoughtful policy by the industry can get ahead of what could be a calamity by considering the “what ifs” before they happen.

Plus, by investing thoughtfully now, it stays ahead of what could be burdensome, time-consuming legislative efforts that lead to more regulation and compliance. In addition, consideration of things like total load (versus individual load) and the variance it might cause to the environment would be another consideration.

For example, a single independent data center building with a closed-loop water system may not draw that much water (other than initial fill, makeup needs, or during maintenance). However, if you start looking at the compound effects of how many additional buildings are going onto the campus, and how many campuses will be built in the next 10 years, then the impact could be considered before things go awry.

In the fast-moving race that is the AI space, the trickle-down effects on communities and the environment are something we should be looking at today.

Rather than letting companies run roughshod over people and cities, the data centers that they portend to inhabit can be good corporate citizens, which is important because these facilities typically have a useful life measured in decades.

The plan is for the data centers to be around for a long time, and so should everything else around them in a sustainable way.

We've listed the best business cloud storage.

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

According to reports, ChatGPT hit the one-billion-active-user mark in May. This makes it the fastest app to achieve this feat to date. I think this is enough for you to realize that it’s more important than ever to get your brand featured/ mentioned/ cited on ChatGPT and other LLMs online.

Unfortunately, this is not as straightforward, and before you start cooking up a new strategy to address this new era of search, you must understand where you stand with your brand right now.

This is where you start tracking how your brand is being perceived by these LLM models and how often you get picked over your competitors. This guide is here to answer exactly that.

For this, I tried a bunch of different methods to find the most economical and credible methods to track your business’s visibility in AI search results. Here’s everything that I found legitimate and actually working well.

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HubSpot AEO gives you visibility tracking, competitor analysis, citation analysis, and prioritized recommendations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini — all in one place.

It's one of the fastest ways to understand where your brand stands in AI-generated answers and what to do about it.View Deal

What does AI visibility mean?

Before you pick a tool, you need to know which question you're answering. Most people merge three very different things into one word ("visibility") and then wonder why their data is a mess.

There are three questions, and they need three different methods:

• Are you mentioned or cited in AI answers? When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question in your category, does your brand show up in the response? This is the one most people mean by "AI visibility."
• Are people clicking through from AI tools to your site? A mention and a click are not the same thing. You can get named in a hundred answers and still get zero visits, because the user got what they needed and moved on.
• Are AI bots even crawling your content? If LLM crawlers like GPTBot and PerplexityBot can't reach your pages, you're not eligible to be cited in the first place. This is the plumbing nobody checks.

Keep these separate in your head. A tool that nails question ONE tells you nothing about question TWO. I've watched smart marketers celebrate a rising "mention rate" while their actual AI traffic sat flat, because they were measuring two different things and treating them as one. Now, the methods.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Free methods

Here is how you can get started with tracking your business in AI search results for free.

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console added a dedicated generative-AI report on June 3, 2026, and it's the freshest free tool you have. For the first time, it breaks down how often your pages appear inside AI Overviews, AI Mode, and the AI features in Discover, instead of burying that data in your overall numbers.

(Image credit: Future)

This report measures the impressions, broken down by page, country, device, and date. So you can finally see which of your URLs Google's AI is actually pulling into answers, and watch that trend over time.

Now the honest caveats, because this isn't magic. It shows impressions only. There's no click data, click-through rate, or query data yet (Google says more is coming soon). The three AI surfaces are blended into one bucket, so you can't separate AI Overviews from AI Mode. And it's rolling out to a subset of sites, within the UK first, so it might not be in your account on the day you read this.

Check anyway. If it's there, set your baseline now.

A manual prompt log

The oldest method is still the cheapest, and it works on every platform. Write 10 to 30 questions your buyers actually ask, run them across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude on a fixed schedule, and log the results in a Google Sheet.

(Image credit: Future)

Try to pick your prompts and then leave them alone. AI answers wobble run to run, so a single check is noise. Same prompt, same day next week, every week. The trend over a month is the signal, not any one result.

Is it tedious? Yes. Will it cost you a dollar? No.

Plus, it forces you to actually read the answers, which teaches you more about why you're getting left out than any dashboard ever will. If you only do one thing this week, do this.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Custom workflow

If the manual log gets old (it will), you can automate it without paying for a full visibility platform using a workflow automation tool like n8n.

It is a workflow automation tool, and its template library has ready-made workflows that do exactly what the manual log does on autopilot. The pattern is that it reads your prompts from a Google Sheet, sends each one to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, has a step check for every answer for your brand, and writes the results back to your sheet on a schedule.

Browse n8n's template search for "brand visibility" and you'll find a few versions to start from.

(Image credit: Future)

The cost for this process is genuinely small. You bring your own API keys, and on cheap models, the OpenAI and Gemini calls run for a pretty small amount. Perplexity is the main line item, because its Sonar API adds a per-request search fee of roughly $5 to $14 per 1,000 requests on top of tokens. For a 25-prompt list run weekly, you're looking at low digits per month.

Tracking AI visibility in AI search results: Using A paid tool

If you'd rather not build anything, a purpose-made tool collapses all of the above into one screen.

Getting these tools set up is generally fast. Typically, you start by entering some brand information such as your website, name, and industry. The tool will then work on your behalf, returning insightful information such as:

• Your "share of voice" across different AI platforms
• Performance breakdown based on model (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude)
• Which websites and brands are being referenced where you want to be
• Gaps where competitors aren't mentioned
• Grading your website content for AI readiness

When is paying worth it? When you're tracking this across several brands, or you need a report someone else will read, or your time is worth more than the subscription.

For a single brand on a tight budget, the free tier plus a prompt log will take you a long way first. There's no shame in starting free and upgrading when the manual work starts eating your week.

So which one should you actually use?

Start with where you are. If you have no budget, turn on the Google Search Console AI report today, then run a manual prompt log every week. That combination answers all three questions: who Google's AI surfaces, who clicks through, and who gets mentioned across the chatbots.

If the manual log gets painful, automate it with an n8n workflow for the chatbots. You'll spend a few dollars a month and save yourself hours.

If you're doing this for more than one brand, or you need clean reports without the building, a subscription tool earns its keep.

One last thing, because it's the mistake I see most. Don't track AI visibility once and call it done. The whole reason the timestamp matters, the whole reason you sample weekly, is that AI answers change constantly.

The number you pull today is a snapshot. The line you build over a month is the actual story. The brands building that baseline now are the ones who'll know exactly where they stand when AI search becomes the front door to everything.

Frequently Asked QuestionsWhich AI platform should I focus on first?

Start where your buyers already are. ChatGPT is the obvious first stop, since it has more users than every other assistant combined. If you already pull traffic from Google, watch AI Overviews and AI Mode too, because they ride on the search presence you've already built. And if you sell B2B or anything research-heavy, keep an eye on Perplexity, since that's where the careful, comparison-shopping buyers tend to be.

How many prompts should I track, and how do I pick them?

10 to 30, and how you pick matters more than how many. Cover three types: direct brand questions ("Is [brand] any good?"), category and comparison questions ("best [thing] for [use case]") and the problem questions people ask before they've heard of you ("how do I fix [problem]"). That last bucket is where most brands find their biggest gaps. Use the questions your buyers actually type, not the polished ones you wish they typed.

If people read the AI answer and never click, does being mentioned even matter?

Yes, and arguably more than a click ever did. When an AI names you as the answer, you're the recommended option at the exact moment someone's deciding, which is the most valuable spot in the entire buying decision. The click is a bonus, not the point. It's the difference between a friend recommending you by name and a friend handing over a list of links. You want to be the name.

Is AI visibility the same as SEO? And does SEO still matter?

They're cousins, not twins.

SEO is about ranking a blue link that someone clicks. AI visibility (you'll hear it called GEO or AEO) is about getting named or cited inside the answer itself. They overlap a lot, especially on Perplexity and Google's AI, which both lean on pages that already rank.

So no, SEO isn't dead; it's often the foundation on which the AI citation is built. But you can sit at #1 on Google and still be missing from the AI answer sitting above it, which is exactly why you track the two separately.

• Nvidia's RTX 3060 has returned to retailers, amid the ongoing RAM crisis
• MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus models reportedly started at $339.99, but have seemingly increased
• It's a sign that the current state of the PC hardware market is in complete disarray in terms of shortages and pricing

The PC and console hardware market is in the worst place its arguably ever been, with the RAM crisis leading to high prices on components utilizing memory. That's why the return of a popular GPU is one that doesn't come as a huge surprise.

As reported by Tom's Hardware, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card has returned to retailers, notably on Newegg, with numerous Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte models available.

While Tom's Hardware highlights that prices for these returning GPU models were seen at $339.99 (which is $10 above the MSRP when launched), listings range from at least $416. It's already a big ask at $339 for an old graphics card that doesn't have the same advantages of the current-gen RTX 5060, so the increase won't do it much favors.

It's worth noting that the RTX 3060 has been the most popular GPU on PC, according to Steam's Hardware & Software Survey results, consistently ranking at number one each month for several years. The same trend is evident in May's results, and likely the same for June.

The 12GB GPU is still very much capable of providing solid performance in games at 1080p or 1440p, especially when using DLSS upscaling, and that explains why it's still so popular among Steam users.

(Image credit: Roman Samborskyi / Asus)

However, it's not exactly being received well among consumers. My colleague and PC enthusiast, Matthew Hanson, views the return of the RTX 3060 "like a s**t Frankenstein", and frankly, it's a reasonable observation and one that highlights just how messy the PC hardware market is.

Users on Reddit haven't been shy about highlighting why the GPU's return doesn't make much sense, with one stating: "Even Nvidia enthusiasts would be hard-pressed to get this for $339.99. At that point, just get an RTX 5060.

"The only real benefit to this card is the VRAM, so we all know who this is really for - The AI crowd."

It's not that the RTX 3060 is a bad graphics card, because that's far from the case. However, at the current price the models from MSI and others are available at, it makes little to no sense, since the RTX 5060 is within the same price region, and it has the advantage of Multi-Frame Generation over the RTX 3060.

Regardless, one more option on the market doesn't hurt, especially since it doesn't seem as though its unstable condition will change anytime soon.

GMKtec EVO-T2: 30-second review

Mini PCs rarely arrive with fanfare. The GMKtec EVO-T2 is an exception. It debuted at CES 2026 with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan visiting the booth, testing the unit in person and signing a prototype. His signature wasn’t on my test version, and you can imagine my disappointment.

That kind of endorsement is unusual for a compact desktop from a Chinese OEM, and it signals something real. This is not a routine refresh.

At its core sits Intel's newest Panther Lake architecture. The Core Ultra X7 358H is built on Intel's own 18A process node, making the EVO-T2 one of the first consumer products to ship that fabrication technology at volume. The question every reviewer has to answer is whether the real-world performance justifies a price tag that sits above £1,500 for the standard retail configuration.

The review unit supplied by GMKtec uses the Core Ultra X7 358H with 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, but some SKUs offer the Core Ultra X9 388H for those willing to pay extra.

What GMKtec has here is cutting-edge Intel technology that’s ideal for power users, AI LLM fans, and creatives, all in a remarkably compact package that doesn’t cost a fortune.

With so few brands offering products with Panther Lake silicon, this is easily one of the best Mini PC machines available today.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $1899/£1521/€1,700
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Currently, this machine can be obtained directly from GMKtec

The GMKtec EVO-T2 is available direct from the GMKtec US and GMKtec UK websites. I'm also seeing a configuration on Amazon.com.

There appears to be plenty of confusion about the pricing of these products on the GMKtec website, and pricing on Amazon seems only to compound things.

The USA pricing for the X7 is $1,899 for the standard model, but oddly $3,299.99 for the 853GB model. That second price is obviously a mistake, and I’d assume that’s the dollar pricing for the X9 version.

What I can say with some certainty is that on the GMKtec UK website, there are four SKUs: two X7 and two X9 models. And, the X7 358H design with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, as per my review, the hardware is £1,520.99.

There is another X7 version with an 853GB drive, which I’m going to assume is a special partition for running LLMs, and it sells for £1,629. There are two corresponding X9 388H models, which are both priced at £2999.99, curiously. That seems like a ridiculous markup for only a few hundred MHz extra across a couple of clock settings, but that’s what they’re asking.

As a slight sweetener, UK customers are being offered a code that gets them a further £60 off at the time of writing.

European prices are €1.699,99 for the X7, with no X9 stock currently available.

Comparing these prices to anything else is a fraught exercise, since this is the first Mini PC to use this platform, even if Asus has a new NUC 16 Pro planned that uses this chip. And, Minisforum has a new AI X1 Pro model in the pipeline that uses an advanced AMD chip using its Gorgon Point core.

What I might point out is that the GMKtec EVO-T1, which uses the Arrow Lake Core Ultra 9 285H, is only $1,279.99 with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, but it can also be bought barebones with no memory or storage for close to $900.

From a performance perspective, the GMKtec EVO-X2 Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is more powerful, and that, with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, is only another $100 more.

On that basis, the EVO-X2 seems to be a better value than the EVO-T2. And, GMKtec offers a 128GB version of the EVO-X2, for those wishing to blow $3,299.99 on one.

The big issue here is patently the cost of memory, and these platforms all need the faster soldered modules that are currently 400% more than they were only months ago.

I’ve given this a score of 4 out of 5 since you can’t get this hardware anywhere else at this time, and when Asus and Minisforum do come to market, they’re unlikely to undercut GMKtec's price.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Specs

Model

Intel Core Ultra X7 358H

Architecture

Panther Lake (Intel 18A process)

Cores / Threads

16 cores (4P + 8E + 4LP-E)

P-core Boost

Up to 4.8 GHz

E-core Max

Up to 3.5 GHz

LP-E Core Max

Up to 3.3 GHz

L3 Cache

18MB Intel Smart Cache

TDP Range

25W base / 80W Maximum Turbo Power

AI Performance

Up to 180 TOPS combined (CPU + NPU + GPU)

NPU

NPU 5 (50 TOPS INT8)

Integrated GPU

Intel Arc B390 (Xe3 architecture, TSMC N3E tile)

GPU Cores

12 Xe3 cores

GPU Clock

Up to 2.5 GHz

Display Support

4x 4K via HDMI 2.1 x2 and USB4 x2

RAM

64GB LPDDR5X-8533 soldered

SSD

1TB NVMe

M.2 Slot 1

PCIe 5.0 M.2 2280

M.2 Slot 2

PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280

Max Capacity

Up to 16TB combined

AI SSD

Phison aiDAPTIV+ pseudo-memory extension

USB4 Front

1x 40Gbps with 100W Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alt Mode

USB4 Rear

1x 40Gbps

USB-A

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 2.0

HDMI

2x HDMI 2.1 (rear)

DisplayPort

1x DisplayPort 1.4 (rear)

Audio

1x 3.5mm combo jack

OCuLink

1x OCuLink Gen4x4

Ethernet

1x 2.5GbE and 1x 10GbE

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 5.4

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro

Cooling

Ice Storm 3.0 active cooling with RGB fan

Power Modes

Silent 35W | Balanced 45W | Performance 60W | Max 80W

PSU Wattage

148.2W

Dimensions

Approx. 103 × 98 × 32 mm

Weight

1273g including PSU

GMKtec EVO-T2: Design

• Same enclosure as EVO-T1
• Easy internal access
• No memory upgrades

The case of the EVO-T2 is oddly familiar, as it seems relatively unchanged from the EVO-T1 that I reviewed in August of 2025.

The EVO-T2 continues GMKtec's established squared, compact form factor. The chassis uses a precision surface finish and houses what GMKtec calls its Ice Storm 3.0 cooling system, an active solution with a visible RGB fan. It sits comfortably on a desk or mounts via VESA behind a monitor.

Port placement is well considered. The front panel carries the USB4 port with 100W Power Delivery alongside two USB-A 3.2 connections and one USB-A 2.0. These are the ports users reach for most often, and they are exactly where they should be. The rear houses the second USB4, dual HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, dual Ethernet, the OCuLink port and the audio jack.

That rear panel is dense. It rewards deliberate cable planning rather than improvisation. Quad 4K display support is a genuine differentiator at this size. Creative professionals and multi-monitor users will appreciate having that headroom without needing an external dock.

This hints that the EVO-T2's connectivity specification is exceptional for the category.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Dual Ethernet with 2.5GbE and 10GbE ports on a machine this small opens it to homelab, network-attached storage and professional networking roles that most mini PCs cannot fill. The 10GbE port alone makes this worth serious consideration for anyone who moves large files regularly.

Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 cover wireless needs for the foreseeable future. The front-panel USB4 port carries 40Gbps bandwidth and supports Power Delivery at 100W, which is genuinely practical for desk setups where the EVO-T2 acts as a hub. DisplayPort Alt Mode via USB4 adds display flexibility beyond the two HDMI outputs and the dedicated DisplayPort at the rear.

The OCuLink Gen4x4 port provides a direct PCIe pathway to external GPU enclosures without the bandwidth constraints of USB4. For users who plan to add a discrete GPU later or need GPU-accelerated compute for specific workloads, this is a meaningful long-term expansion option, though not all systems include it.

Internal access requires removing the feet and then four screws. It’s not difficult, but it might have been easier. Inside, you can access the three M.2 slot positions, two already being occupied by the Wi-Fi 7 adapter and the 1TB NVMe drive. One oddity about the two M.2 slots allocated for storage is that the one GMKtec filled with the supplied Gen4 drive is the PCIe 5.0 slot, leaving the PCIe 4.0 slot free. That seems silly, but this isn’t the only mini PC maker doing these things.

For testing, I moved the provided drive to the Gen4 slot and put a Gen5 drive in a slot where it works best. And, if anyone buys one of these, I’d recommend doing that and cloning the drive to the Gen5 module. I’d also suggest you get a Gen5 drive with a heatsink or add one before installation.

There are no memory upgrade options, because all the memory here is soldered to the mainboard.

• Design: 4 / 5

GMKtec EVO-T2: Features

• Intel Core Ultra X7 358H
• Soldered memory
• 180 TOPS AI

Panther Lake is easily Intel's most architecturally interesting mobile platform in years. The Core Ultra X7 358H uses a chiplet design built across three separate tiles. The compute tile is manufactured on Intel's 18A process and incorporates RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors alongside backside power delivery using PowerVia technology. Intel states this reduces voltage drop by around 30 per cent and improves transistor density over the prior generation.

I have a not-unreasonable feeling that this was what the 100 series was meant to be from the outset, and not what actually arrived.

The processor carries 16 cores across three tiers. Four Cougar Cove performance cores handle peak single-threaded workloads and boost to 4.8 GHz. Eight Darkmont efficiency cores manage sustained parallel tasks. Four low-power efficiency cores handle background activity.

It is a sensibly layered approach, and the trickle-down from mobile laptop silicon means the EVO-T2 benefits from extensive driver and platform maturity work done for notebook OEMs.

The gap between the X7 358H and the flagship X9 388H is modest in practice. The 388H adds 0.3 GHz of peak boost. For most productivity and AI workloads, the difference will be within the margin of thermal variation. The X7 is the right choice for a machine where value matters.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The soldered RAM configuration is the most significant design decision to understand before purchasing. Retail units ship with 64GB of LPDDR5X-8533. The review unit carries 16GB. Neither configuration can be upgraded after purchase. Buyers who anticipate needing more capacity should look at the GMKtec EVO-X2, which uses AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with up to 128GB of unified memory.

Soldered LPDDR5X enables the higher bandwidth speeds that integrated graphics depend on heavily. The Arc B390 needs fast, wide memory access to perform at its best. The trade-off is permanent capacity. For most professional workflows and AI tasks at the 64GB retail tier, the ceiling should be workable for several years.

Storage is considerably more flexible. The primary M.2 slot runs PCIe 5.0, offering sequential read speeds above 10 GB/s with compatible drives. The secondary slot is PCIe 4.0, still capable of strong throughput for a second drive or overflow storage. Combined capacity can reach 16TB, which opens the machine to NAS-adjacent roles that most mini PCs cannot consider.

GMKtec's headline claim is 180 TOPS of combined AI performance across the CPU, GPU and NPU. The NPU alone contributes 50 TOPS, which represents a meaningful step up from prior Intel generations. The remaining compute performance is divided between the Arc B390 and the CPU cores themselves.

The 180 TOPS figure is a heterogeneous combined total. Real-world AI workload distribution depends heavily on the framework and the model. Not all applications can efficiently split inference across three compute blocks simultaneously. The NPU handles fixed-function acceleration well. More general local inference typically leans more on the GPU or CPU, depending on quantisation level and context window size.

The aiDAPTIV+ AI SSD technology developed with Phison is worth mentioning. It extends available memory by intelligently paging model data between DRAM and NVMe storage. GMKtec claims this allows the EVO-T2 to run models with up to 70 billion parameters locally. For a machine with 64GB of RAM, that is an extraordinary claim. The paging mechanism will introduce latency penalties for data not resident in DRAM, and the practical throughput impact under sustained inference loads has not been verified by me, since I don’t have an aiDAPTIV+ AI SSD.

One thing that did make me wonder about the design of the EVO-T2 was that GMKtec claims that the USB4 port on the front can push out 100W for recharging a laptop. As the PSU is only rated at 148.2W and the system could take 60W, there appears to be a voltage shortfall in that calculation.

Overall, the X7 358H is a dramatic uplift from the 200 series chips that came before it, although AMD has such a significant lead with its Ryzen AI 395 series that it's perhaps too much to ask in one generational change.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox EVO-T2: Performance

Mini PC

 

GMKtec EVO-T2

Bosgame M5 AI

CPU

 

Intel Core Ultra X7 358H

AMD Ryzen AI 395 Max

Cores/Threads

 

16C 16T

16C 32T

RAM

 

64GB LPDDR5X 8533

128GB DDR5

SSD

 

512 GB KINGSTON OM8TAP4512K1-A0

2TB Kingston OM8PGP42048N

Graphics

 

Intel Arc B390

Radeon 8060S

3DMark

WildLife

45211

70014

 

FireStrike

14394

26917

 

TimeSpy

7621

11317

 

S.Nomad

6172

11201

Cine24

Single

123

115

 

Multi

1029

1879

 

Ratio

8.34

16.32

GeekBench 6

Single

2849

2981

 

Multi

16286

17882

 

OpenCL

56978

101915

 

Vulkan

64187

90384

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

5047

4083

 

Write  MB/s

4498

3639

PCMark 10

Office

10645

9056

WEI

Score

8.9

9.6

Normally, I compare AMD and Intel Mini PCs against their ilk. But as this is a flagship design of a new silicon generation, and the best Intel has to offer, I thought it would be useful to compare it to the top-of-the-line AMD platform.

For those who like the fine details, the EVO-T2 was set into ‘Performance’ mode in the BIOS, rather than balanced or silent. According to GMKtec, there should be a mode above this that consumes 80W, but it was missing from my BIOS. Therefore, it might be possible to get even more out of the EVO-T2, and the BIOS certainly has plenty of features for overclocking some aspects.

The Arc B390 GPU is the headline graphics story in Panther Lake. It uses twelve Xe3 cores built on TSMC's N3E process and clocks up to 2.5 GHz. Intel positions it as delivering 76 per cent more performance than the Arc 140T from the previous Arrow Lake generation and 82 per cent more than AMD's Radeon 890M found in Ryzen AI HX 370 platforms. As usual, Intel ignores the Radeon 8060S in the Ryzen AI 395 Max, which is its true competitor.

And, as the results show, B390 might make Arc 140T and Radeon 890M look poor, but it still can’t run with the Radeon 8060S, not even close.

Obviously, you could use the OcuLink port to add a discrete GPU, but that’s the only way that the EVO-T2 would compete with a Bosgame M5 AI.

And, while all those extra cores in the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU do boost the multi-processing considerably, it still falls short of the AMD Ryzen AI 395 Max.

It did well in the PCMark score, and it also had a better SSD than the Bosgame machine. I inserted a Crucial P510 Gen5 drive into this hardware, and it delivered 10,587MB/s reads and 8,977MB/s writes in the Gen5 M.2 slot, so it could be dramatically better with a small investment.

Overall, Intel is moving in the right direction, but AMD don’t need to worry yet.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Final verdict

(Image credit: GMKtec)

The EVO-T2 is an impressive piece of equipment that exploits the dramatically better silicon Intel has released with Panther Lake. However, given the modest differences between the X7 358H and the X9 388H, I wouldn’t be rushing to spend the extra on the top model unless money isn't a concern for you.

Where this rig excels is in providing a punchy platform for software development, video editing and running AI LLMs. It would have been nice to have seen Thunderbolt 5 ports on this PC, but the cost of adding this feature appears to be putting mini PC makers off.

At least it has USB4 and an OCuLink port if you want more GPU power.

But the focus here is foremost AI, with GMKtec even deploying a version of OpenClaw to the desktop along with Herdman. While there are free tokens to be had, these are a portal to monthly subscription packages for those who want to fully exploit AI agents.

That seems slightly at odds with the premise of having hardware like the EVO-T2 that can run powerful local AI at no other cost than electricity, and your time to get it trained in your workflows. But agents will always come with extra costs, regardless of where they are launched from.

Getting back to the hardware, this is an exceptional piece of gear that nearly brings Intel back up to AMD’s current level. Although with new AMD hardware soon to launch, this might prove to be a false dawn for them.

What it comes down to here is the price, since all memory and storage costs are artificially inflated.

For those who, for whatever reason, don’t trust AMD, then this is quite clearly the best Intel mini PC technology available, especially for those running local LLMs.

Should you buy a GMKtec EVO-T2?

Value

Not cheap, but with this spec it was never going to be

4 / 5

Design

EVO-T1 revisited, but it does have a Gen5 M.2 slot

4 / 5

Features

New CPU technology, new GPU, and plenty of TOPS

4.5 / 5

Performance

New CPU technology, new GPU, and plenty of TOPS

4.5 / 5

Overall

A little powerhouse with so many uses

4.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want power in a small package
This is an excellent choice if you want a compact, quiet desktop that handles everyday tasks and Copilot+ AI features without any cloud dependency. But this system is also ideal for a mini server, hardware firewall and a dozen other tasks.

You want local AI
This is the pinnacle of AI-focused mini PCs available today, and with 180 TOPS of combined compute to suit your workload, the only limitation is memory.

Don't buy it if...

You need more than 64GB of RAM
As the memory in this system cannot be replaced, the 64GB of memory you get out of the box is as much as it will ever have. Whether for LLMs, video editing, or heavy virtualisation, the stock RAM is soldered and permanent, which might not be sufficient for the largest models.

Cost is a concern
The review hardware isn't cheap, and the X9 model is insanely expensive. There are powerful systems based on older technology that you can get for cheaper than the EVO-T2,

Also Consider

Bosgame M5 AI
A massively powerful Mini PC platform that uses the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, with sixteen cores and thirty-two threads. There are two variants with 96GB and 128GB memory, respectively, and 2TB of storage.

Until Gorgon Point silicon arrives, this is the most powerful processor and integrated GPU combination. And, the 96GB model is only slightly more expensive than the X7 version of the EVO-T2.

Read my full review of the Bosgame M5 AI here.

Minisforum UM790 Pro
A powerful AMD system using a Ryzen 9-class processor, supported by the Radeon 780M GPU. Targeted towards creatives and gamers, the expandable memory and dual M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs allow you to boost performance according to your requirements, with the standard version already delivering remarkable capabilities.

Check out our Minisforum UM790 Pro review

For more professional hardware, we've reviewed the best business computers.

I love every part of Splatoon... Except actually playing it — a problem the upcoming Splatoon Raiders might just fix.

In my eyes, the series’ art style is one of the best in Nintendo’s incredibly strong catalog. It has an attractive urban fantasy world populated by adorable, squid-like characters that feels both modern and fresh. The bright, shiny colors give everything a decidedly Gen Z vibe — one that’s further reinforced by the fashionable street clothes available for your in-game character to wear.

The concept of a third-person shooter all about ink is wonderfully original too, and I adore how the pristine blank stages are gradually smothered in your team’s colourful ink as matches progress. The problem, at least for me, is how incredibly sweaty the player-versus-player (PvP) side of the game inevitably becomes. Both Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 offered me a few weeks of fun around launch, but after a while it started to feel like the only people I matched up against had thousands of hours in the game and could destroy me in a flick of a wrist with the twitchy motion controls.

A skill issue, perhaps, but I know that I’m not alone, and it seems like Nintendo has cottoned on as well. While Splatoon 3 offered a single-player campaign, it wasn’t the most exciting, but the developer has clearly taken everything it learned from creating it, alongside the game’s roguelike Side Order DLC, and poured it into this new Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.

Splatting solo

(Image credit: Nintendo)

After playing for a few hours at a recent preview event, I can already see that Splatoon Raiders is shaping up to be the ultimate experience for those who, like me, are enamored with the series but just aren’t cut for competitive online play. Everything that I enjoyed in the main games is here, starting with the character creator.

You can choose to be either a squid-like Inkling or Octoling (an alternate species introduced in the Splatoon 2 expansion), with a few body types and hairstyles to flick through. The designs are all fantastic and aggressively on-trend.

I particularly appreciated the cute bangs available if you choose an Octoling, decked out in shiny plastic charms like a Fairy Kei model. Your options are limited at first, but there’s a decent roster of great-looking outfits to unlock and further customize your look as well.

NintendoNintendoNintendo

The character you create is an anonymous mechanic, trapped on a remote island with Shiver, Frye, and Big Man (the iconic television hosts from the in-game Deep Cut broadcasts that trigger every time you log in to Splatoon 3, who it turns out also moonlight as a team of treasure hunters) after an expedition gone awry.

This island serves as your hub world, offering a little firing range and various stations where you can upgrade your gear. The base itself can be upgraded too, adding new targets to the firing range, unlocking new types of gear upgrades, and even introducing a little arcade cabinet where you can play charming retro-style mini games.

While I pored over every little detail, you’re only meant to spend a little bit of time here in between replayable missions. These drop you into surrounding islands to fight off waves of Salmonids — the rabid fish creatures from the other games’ Salmon Run co-op modes.

The shooting is as satisfying as ever, with all the most important weapon types of Splatoon 3 returning from the rapid-fire Splattershots and Dualie Squelchers to long-range options like the Jet Squelcher and Splat Charger.

Fighting fishy foes

(Image credit: Nintendo)

There's a good level of enemy variety, with a good selection of basic grunts to mow down on top of some more advanced, and surprisingly tricky, types. I also spotted a handful of new arrivals, like the massive Salty Tongue — a huge, fat salmon that slides around the battlefield on a bed of evil goo and takes a good few shots to beat. Defeated foes drop glowing orange eggs, charging a gauge for a devastating special attack.

Most levels are quite large and open, with your main goal being to recover upgrade material and hidden treasures throughout. A compass guides you towards the available objectives, though eagle-eyed explorers will spot a small number of hidden detours filled with extra loot.

As in the main games, spraying on the ground coats it with a layer of bright slime that you can quickly swim through in a squid form while replenishing your tank of inky ammunition — a mechanic now used for platforming challenges to break up the fights against enemy waves. These are paired with fun little segments that see you surfing across water or floating through the air on wind currents.

It’s clear that Splatoon Raiders is intended to be more approachable than the multiplayer games. It offers three difficulty levels and isn’t particularly punishing if you do die: you retain most of what you’ve collected and can thus invest it in upgrades to make your next run easier. There’s co-op too, which lets you tackle the levels of the campaign with up to three friends if you really need a the added hands.

I’m eager for a second helping when Splatoon Raiders drops on July 23, 2026.

Organizations are under mounting pressure to do more with less, particularly in highly regulated industries and the public sector.

Budgets remain tight, with recent research highlighting that up to 43% of finance leaders cite tight budgets as their top barrier to achieving goals.

Leadership teams are being asked to modernize operations while maintaining service levels.

In response, many have turned to AI tools.

The logic makes sense. Large language Models and AI-powered automation tools promise faster workflows, reduced administration and meaningful productivity gains for resource-constrained organizations.

Yet productivity gains alone do not automatically translate into operational change.

The AI paradox

This is the emerging AI job paradox. Organizations are investing in AI to create capacity, but many lack the workforce flexibility needed to absorb, redeploy or realize those gains in practice.

In many cases, the tools and technology are working exactly as intended. Employees are completing tasks faster, administrative workloads are shrinking, and teams are identifying new efficiencies. The challenge is that most organizations still operate within workforce structures designed for a different economic environment.

For years, workforce planning relied heavily on natural attrition as a mechanism for change. Employees would move roles, retire or move to other organizations, creating space for organizations to reshape teams and redistribute work. But that model is now under pressure.

In slower labor markets, employees are moving less frequently, reducing organizations' ability to restructure organically across many sectors, particularly public services and regulated industries where stability is often prioritized. At the same time, organizations are operating under headcount limits, making large-scale restructuring politically, financially, or operationally difficult.

The result is a workforce environment that is less flexible than many AI strategies assume.

This creates a disconnect at the heart of current AI adoption. Organizations can generate efficiency gains through automation, but they often lack a clear mechanism to convert those gains into meaningful organizational capacity. If an AI tool reduces the time needed to complete a task by 30%, what happens next? In many cases, the answer is surprisingly unclear.

The appearance of transformation without altering outcomes

When the employee remains in the same role, within the same structure, work may become faster, but the organisation itself does not materially change. Productivity increases are identified in theory but struggle to appear in financial performance, service delivery improvements, or workforce optimization.

This is why many early AI programs are creating the appearance of transformation without altering operational outcomes. The risk is that organizations begin to treat AI as a workaround rather than a catalyst for redesign.

The risk is that organizations begin to treat AI as a workaround rather than a catalyst for redesign. That approach may deliver short-term improvements, but limits the long-term value organizations can extract from the technology.

As AI tools reduce administrative effort and streamline repetitive work, organizations gradually accumulate pockets of excess capacity across departments. Without a strategy to redeploy that capacity, the gains are often diluted through inefficiency, duplicated work, or simply absorbed back into existing processes.

In effect, organizations become more efficient at the task level while remaining unchanged at the operational level.

The missing link of capacity governance

For many organizations, the missing link is capacity governance. Capacity governance means actively managing the operational impact of productivity gains rather than assuming efficiencies will naturally convert into better outcomes. It requires organizations to treat workforce transformation as an operational discipline, not simply a technology initiative.

That involves asking difficult questions about which roles are being reshaped, how can newly created capacity be redirected and which departments are facing growing demand. AI is creating a reality where work should be reorganized, reprioritized and organizations should be able to completely reshape structure and prioritize accordingly. Assessing organizational design and structure is as important as diving into technology and tools being used to creative proactivity and productivity.

Leading organizations are beginning to approach AI adoption in this way by redesigning work around AI-augmented tasks. In practice, this means breaking roles down into component activities and identifying which tasks are best handled by AI, which require human judgement, and where employees can shift toward higher-value work.

For example, a compliance professional may spend less time reviewing routine IT documentation and more time handling complex cases that require interpretation and decision-making. Customer service teams may automate repetitive interactions while focusing human effort on vulnerable or high-priority users. Operational staff may use AI to accelerate reporting and analysis while dedicating more time to strategic planning.

These organizations are actively redesigning workflows and managing workforce capacity in response to the changes AI creates.

An increasingly important shift

That shift will become increasingly important over the next several years. Across regulated sectors, demographic pressures, budget constraints, and rising service expectations are colliding at the same time as rapid advances in AI capability.

Organizations cannot rely indefinitely on incremental efficiency gains layered onto outdated workforce structures. Nor can they assume AI alone will solve structural productivity challenges.

Without operational redesign, many institutions risk creating a form of productivity stagnation where technology improves individual output but fails to generate meaningful organizational transformation.

There is a broader strategic implication. As AI adoption accelerates, organizations that successfully govern and redeploy capacity will gain a significant operational advantage. They will be able to respond faster to demand shifts, move talent into critical areas more effectively, and create more adaptive workforce models.

Those that fail to address the workforce dimension of AI may find themselves trapped between rising expectations and rigid organizational structures. This is why the future of AI adoption is likely to depend less on the sophistication of the models themselves and more on how organizations choose to reorganize around them.

The next phase of AI will be about building institutions capable of converting efficiency into agility. That requires a willingness to rethink roles and move talent across functions in ways many organizations have historically resisted.

Technology may create the opportunity for productivity gains. But without workforce flexibility and clear capacity governance, many of those gains risk remaining theoretical.

The organizations that recognize AI is not just a technology shift, but operational , will be the ones making those strides forward.

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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

There's something rather brilliant about the Dell Tower Plus. When we took this tower desktop for a spin, its powerhouse performance left us stunned. Capable of everything from running office apps to demanding tasks like video editing, it's one of the most configurable and future-proof PCs we've ever tested.

If you're looking for a desktop that can handle demanding workloads without stepping into workstation pricing, Dell has a terrific deal you won't want to miss. Right now, the Dell Tower Plus Desktop has dropped to $1400 (was $1880) at Dell.

Although compact enough to fit comfortably into most home offices, this desktop packs plenty of performance for creative work, productivity, and everyday computing. Whether you're editing photos, producing videos, managing large spreadsheets, or juggling dozens of browser tabs, there's enough power here to keep everything moving smoothly.

Today's top Dell workstation deal

Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a fast 1TB SSD, this desktop is well suited to creative work, productivity, multitasking, and everyday computing.View Deal

As James said in his review, the Tower Plus Desktop is highly configurable: "You can customize it to be a barebones office computer or a gaming powerhouse and it will excel at both. Regardless of the configuration you get, it’s easily upgradable later on."

The heart of the system on sale is Intel's Core Ultra 7 265 processor, featuring 20 cores and boost speeds of up to 5.3GHz.

Paired with 16GB of DDR5 memory, it delivers the performance needed for multitasking, content creation, and demanding applications without ever slowing you down.

Graphics are provided by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 with 6GB of GDDR6 memory. That gives the system enough horsepower for creative software, GPU-accelerated workloads, and light gaming while also helping speed up video rendering and other graphics-intensive tasks.

The fast 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD gives you plenty of room for applications, documents, photos, and large media libraries. It also helps Windows 11 Home boot quickly while keeping applications responsive throughout the day.

Dell pairs those components with a 460W Platinum-rated power supply, delivering efficient and reliable power to the system.

If you've been thinking about upgrading your home office or creative workspace, this Dell desktop deal offers plenty of performance for considerably less than the usual price. It also strikes a nice balance between everyday usability and creator-friendly performance.

For more top-performers, take a look at our round up of the best Dell business laptops and best business computers we've tested.

Also consider: More Dell desktop PC deals

This model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, making it well suited to everyday productivity, multitasking, and office workloads. It pairs Windows 11 Pro with fast DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen4 SSD storage in a professional tower design.View Deal

Featuring an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and a 1TB NVMe SSD, this desktop is equipped for demanding multitasking, productivity applications, and professional workloads while running Windows 11 Pro.View Deal

Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor with an integrated NPU, this compact desktop offers solid everyday performance for office work, multitasking, and productivity, backed by 16GB of DDR5 memory, a 512GB SSD, and Windows 11 Pro.View Deal

• Shop all Dell business PC deals here

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: One-minute review

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet, and rivals the 13-inch iPad Pro (2025) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for portable power. It’s lighter than both of those competitors, and offers a stunning display on which to make use of its impressive performance credentials.

You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking Apple and Samsung might be looking nervously over their shoulders. The MatePad Pro Max is beautifully made, and I prefer its design to that of Apple’s best iPads. Early signs suggest this could be one of the best tablets around. Yet like its smaller sibling, the Huawei MatePad 12X, this slate is almost impossible to recommend in a practical sense. More on that in a moment.

The 13.2-inch display comes with Huawei’s PaperMatte technology. Not only does this make it feel lovely to touch, but it also has fantastic anti-reflective properties. I can sit outside in the sun and still easily use this tablet.

It’s great for video streaming and gaming, with enough grunt under the hood to run PUBG Mobile on high graphical settings without signs of slowdown.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s a keyboard case included in the box — something you don’t get from Apple or Samsung — which helps to boost the productivity credentials of this slate. And you also get a 100W charging block, allowing you to replenish over 60% of its battery in under 30 minutes.

Battery life is solid, with many hours of use possible — around eight hours of continuous online gaming, for example — and reverse charging means you can use the tablet to top-up your phone. Even the cameras are better than some rivals’.

Huawei’s own Harmony OS software is similar to iPadOS and Android, and it’s intuitive to use for the most part. But it’s in the company’s App Gallery where the real issue with this slate lies. With no access to Google Mobile Services (GMS), the MatePad Pro Max has a severe lack of mainstream apps.

That means no Google apps, no Meta apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), and no X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

This unfortunately means that, even with its excellent design and display, solid battery life, and premium performance, the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is only going to work for a small subset of users with very specific needs that don’t rely on major applications.

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: price and availability

• Release June 30, 2026 in the UK
• Price starts at £999 — cheaper than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Includes keyboard case
• Not available in the US or Australia

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max starts at £999.99 (around $1,300 / AU$1,800) and, unlike rival tablets, it comes with a keyboard case and 100W charging block in the box.

That’s comfortably cheaper than the 13-inch iPad Pro (starting at £1,299) and the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (starting at £1,269), for hardware that’s just as good, if not better. But it’s the lack of mainstream apps that hampers this tablet’s value proposition.

The MatePad Pro Max is available now on the Huawei UK website. As with many Huawei devices, the MatePad Pro Max is not available in the US or Australia.

• Value: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: specsHuawei MatePad Pro Max specs

Weight

499g / 509g

Display

13.2-inch, OLED (3000 x 2000), PaperMatte

Operating system

HarmonyOS 4.3

Chipset

Kirin T93 Pro

Memory (RAM)

12GB

Storage

256GB / 512GB

Battery

9,760mAh

Charging

66W wired

Cameras

50MP rear, 12MP front

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, USB Type-C 3.1

Colors

Blue, Space Grey

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: displayFutureFuture

• Brilliant, colorful OLED screen
• Works great in bright sunlight
• PaperMatte finish feels premium

I love the 13.2-inch display on the MatePad Pro Max. My model comes with the firm’s PaperMatte technology, providing a slick, smooth feeling under the finger and a screen that’s still brilliantly visible in bright sunlight.

The OLED panel pumps out punchy colors, while the 144Hz refresh rate keeps scrolling and gameplay feeling smooth.

The screen comfortably goes toe-to-toe with those of the iPad Pro 13-inch and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, with the Huawei’s display even boasting a higher resolution (3000 x 2000) and pixel density (273ppi) than those of its two mainstream rivals.

Peak brightness matches the iPad and Galaxy Tab at 1600 nits, and the MatePad Pro Max also has the slimmest bezels of the three, giving it an impressive 91.4% screen-to-body ratio.

All this means you get a superb viewing experience with this tablet. Whether I was watching 4K videos or playing PUBG with the graphics turned way up, it was a visual feast for the eyes.

• Display: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: designFutureFutureFutureFuture

• Sleek premium design
• Thinner and lighter than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Keyboard case included, but design could be better

It’s not just the screen that looks great on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, with this tablet also packing a seriously slim design.

At just 4.7mm thick, you’d be forgiven for thinking it might feel a little fragile — but worry not. The metal unibody chassis is solid and the build quality is top-notch — as it should be for the price — and if the Huawei brand was scrubbed off, I reckon I could convince a few people this was the new iPad design. That’s how good the MatePad Pro Max looks and feels.

There’s still that 13.2-inch screen to squeeze into the chassis, but with super-slim bezels, Huawei has managed to keep the dimensions of this slate to the absolute minimum, at 289.3 x 196.3mm.

These numbers make the MatePad Pro Max the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet — a niche title, sure, but a win for Huawei nonetheless.

And for a big screen tablet, the MatePad Pro Max is light too, tipping the scales at 499g (or 509g with the PaperMatte display). That’s lighter than the 13-inch iPad Pro (579g) and the (admittedly larger) Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (692g).

That meant I was able to hold the MatePad Pro Max comfortably for multiple rounds of PUBG Mobile without the tablet feeling taxing in my hands.

There’s a fingerprint scanner built into the power key on the top edge of the slate, and it recognized my digit quickly, promptly unlocking the tablet. If anything, this scanner performed better than Touch ID on my iPad Air (2022).

FutureFuture

I like the placement of the MatePad Pro Max’s 12MP front-facing camera; it’s in the middle of the top landscape side of the screen, nestled into the super slim bezel, meaning no annoying notch in the display. However, with Teams, Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google Meet all unavailable in Huawei’s App Gallery, the number of video calls you’ll be doing on the MatePad Pro Max might be limited.

The inclusion of a keyboard case in the box is good to see, as it means you don’t have to spend more money on the accessory, and unlike the one that came with the MatePad 12X 2025, this one has a trackpad for easier navigation.

It features a series of useful touchpad controls. Swipe three fingers up to return home, three fingers from side to switch apps, and three fingers up and hold to enter a multi-task view. It makes the tablet far more user-friendly when in this laptop mode.

It’s not as well designed as Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad, though. The movement required to magnetically lock the tablet in place when opening it up isn’t the smoothest, with a slightly confused double-hinge design on the case. Even after weeks of use, I still hadn’t mastered the movement each time I opened it up.

FutureFutureFuture

The good news is this keyboard case doubles as a protective case, which is always welcome when you’re spending big bucks on a premium tablet, although the slate’s productivity is severely hampered by the limited app selection.

If you want greater creative control, Huawei sells the M-Pencil Pro stylus separately. It magnetically clings to the top landscape edge of the MatePad Pro Max, with an oval pad that guides its placement. There’s also a dedicated space for it in the keyboard case, keeping it safe if you slide the tablet into a bag.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: softwareFutureFuture

• Major limitations when it comes to apps
• App Gallery is missing many big names
• Interface is clean and intuitive

As good as the hardware is on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, it’s hampered by a heap of software-related trouble. The Trump administration placed the Chinese brand on the 'entity list' back in 2019, which effectively banned Huawei from using any Google products or services on its devices.

That means the MatePad Pro Max does not have access to Google Play Services, the Play Store, or any Google applications; there’s no Drive, Maps, YouTube, Photos, Gmail, Gemini, and so on.

Instead, we get Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.3 operating system and the firm’s App Gallery store, where you can download applications. The trouble is, the app selection here is extremely limited.

As I’ve mentioned, there are no Google apps, but other major players are missing too, including Meta’s suite of apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

Some big names you can download and install from Huawei’s App Gallery include Snapchat, TikTok, CapCut, Temu, and Telegram. You can also get Microsoft 365 and Outlook if you’re looking for established productivity tools.

Some of these services are available via the web browser. I was able to watch YouTube videos, access social media, and browse Amazon just fine — but some things are blocked entirely, such as editing Google Drive documents.

It means you’ll need to carefully consider whether the MatePad Pro Max will be able to deliver what you need from a tablet.

(Image credit: Future)

Huawei does offer some apps of its own to help ease the lack of established names on the App Gallery. Petal Maps, as the name suggests, is its version of Apple and Google Maps. There isn’t a satellite or street view, although you do get navigation and live traffic data.

It’s serviceable enough, but lacks the features of its established rivals, and that’s the case for many of Huawei’s own apps. The Notes app is a basic word processor, while NotePad is designed more for quicker things — similar to Google Keep. If you’re used to the big-brand apps, though, you’ll find the ones on the MatePar Pro Max aren’t as encompassing.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS interface isn’t all that different from iPadOS and Android, with a familiar look and feel, meaning there’s no real learning curve when it comes to using the tablet. It’s pretty slick under the finger, although it doesn’t have the same level of zip and polish as Apple’s iPad Pro slates.

• Software: 2 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Kirin T93 Pro chipset and 12GB of RAM
• Can handle games on high graphics settings
• Impressive speakers offer surround sound

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin T93 Pro chipset and is ably assisted by 12GB of RAM.

The result is a powerful tablet that could handle everything I threw at it, from social media, web browsing, and downloading large applications, to high-def gaming, sketching with the M-Pencil Pro, and 4K video playback.

Even with multiple applications running together, and utilizing the multi-tasking side-by-side view, there were no significant signs of slowdown. PUBG Mobile, on high graphical settings, loaded quickly and ran smoothly, ensuring my Winner Winner Chicken Dinner streak remained intact.

And during my long PUBG sessions, another positive was the MatePad Pro Max’s ability to keep itself relatively cool, with the slate boasting excellent heat dissipation.

I didn’t have any noticeable performance issues during my testing time, but the slate doesn’t feel as slick as the iPad Pro 13, which feels better optimized for the Apple-made chip inside.

Another impressive aspect of the tablet is its six-speaker system, which delivers a convincing surround sound experience. The bass is weak, as is expected from a tablet that’s so thin, but audio quality is otherwise very good. The speakers are better than the ones on my iPad Air, for what it’s worth.

The M-Pencil Pro stylus is really comfortable to use on the MatePad Pro Max. It glides nicely across the screen when handwriting notes, and it’s comfortable to hold for extended sketching sessions. The tablet itself isn’t brilliantly designed for note-taking, though. Place it on a flat surface, and the rear camera bump means the tablet rocks annoyingly as you move the M-Pencil around the screen.

Pop it in the keyboard case, and the angle the screen sits at isn’t natural for handwriting or sketching either. You can fold the tablet back on the case and place it on a desk, which provides you with a steady surface, but if you forget it, then you’re back to a wobbly mess.

Now, I’d never recommend someone use their tablet as a camera — they’re big, bulky, and usually no better than the smartphone in your pocket at taking pictures. However, the 50MP rear camera on the MatePad Pro Max is one of the better ones I’ve used on this form factor.

It offers 5x and 10x zoom with only minimal quality degradation, and in good light outdoors, it’s capable of taking some nice shots. It’s the size of this 13.2-inch slate that hampers the experience — it’s cumbersome to hold up and take around with you versus your phone.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: battery

(Image credit: Future)

• 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery
• 100W Turbo Charge plug included in the box
• Replenish over 40% in 20 minutes

Battery life on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is solid, but not quite category-leading. You get a 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery, which is actually smaller than the cell found in the iPad Pro 13 (10,290mAh).

That shouldn’t be a worry, though. I played PUBG for two hours on high graphics settings, and the MatePad Pro Max lost 20% of its charge in that time.

If we extrapolate that out, it means you’re looking at at least eight hours of demanding gameplay on a single charge — great news for gamers and those looking to perform intense productivity tasks on the slate.

You’ll get much longer if you’re only using the tablet for occasional web browsing, social scrolling, and the odd video stream, though. I’d feel comfortable taking the MatePad Pro Max on a long-haul flight, for example, as the battery should remain solid.

Huawei has packed in 66W charging too, to help replenish the large battery. And it was great to find a 100W Turbo Charge block included in the box, meaning I didn’t have to dig out my own. Apple and Samsung don’t include this with their tablets, so well done, Huawei.

During my charging tests, I was getting around 10% battery returned after 5 minutes, 20% after 10 minutes, and 45% in just 20 minutes. After 30 minutes, the MatePad Pro Max had replenished 65% of its battery — a useful result if you’re looking for a quick top-up before heading out.

Another handy feature is the tablet’s reverse charging capabilities. If you find your smartphone is running low on juice, you can connect it to the MatePad Pro Max via USB-C cable, and the tablet will provide your handset with a top-up.

• Battery: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Huawei MatePad Pro Max?Huawei MatePad Pro Max scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Cheaper than its Apple and Samsung rivals, plus you get a keyboard case and 100W charging block in the box. It’s a good package, but the software shortcomings mean it’s not 5/5 in terms of overall value.

4 / 5

Display

Gorgeous display with excellent anti-glare finish makes it easy to use outdoors in sunlight. Bright, crisp, and colorful, with very slender bezels.

4.5 / 5

Design

Premium metal chassis that’s wonderfully thin and light, making it easy to slip into a bag. The front-facing camera smartly tucked into the landscape bezel is a nice touch.

4.5 / 5

Software

This is the MatePad Pro Max’s Achilles heel, and could well be a deal breaker for many. The lack of Google Play services and an App Gallery store missing so many big names makes it severely limited versus the Apple and Android competition.

2 / 5

Performance

There’s plenty of power under the hood for gaming, social scrolling, emails, and video streaming. It’s not quite as lightning fast under the finger as Apple’s latest M-powered iPad Pros, but there’s enough for most users.

4 / 5

Battery

Solid battery life can offer eight hours of gaming at high graphics settings, while the 66W charging can replenish it blisteringly quickly. Reverse charging is a handy extra, allowing you to top up your phone.

4 / 5

Buy it if

You want a beautiful, big-screen slate
The Huawei MatePad Pro Max offers up a premium build that’s pleasingly thin and light, while the display is something to marvel at — it’s great for video streaming and gaming. I loved being able to comfortably use the tablet outdoors in the sun, as its anti-reflective screen works a treat.View Deal

You want to take photos with your tablet
Cameras on tablets tend to be more of an afterthought than a standout feature, but the MatePad Pro Max doesn’t do a bad job here. If you have a high-end smartphone, that will still be better than this tablet, but if you’re someone who wants to take pictures with your slate, this is a decent option.View Deal

You need a tablet that charges quickly and charges your phone
With the 100W charging block included in the box, you’ll get 65% battery returned to the slate in just half an hour. Even a 10-minute charge gets you 20%, which is handy if you notice you could do with a bit extra in the tank before heading out the door. Plus, connect your phone via USB-C cable to the MatePad Pro Max, and it’ll charge your handset too.View Deal

Don't buy it if

You want access to all your apps
Huawei’s limited App Gallery means there are numerous big-name apps that simply aren’t available on the MatePad Pro Max, and that severely limits the productivity and entertainment value of this tablet. You’ll have to look elsewhere to guarantee you’ll get all the apps you need.View Deal

You want a premium keyboard case
Huawei has upped its keyboard case game here, and the fact that it’s included in the box is a massive win. Yet, the dual hinge design is awkward to use, and the keys feel a little stiff under the finger. Apple’s Magic Keyboard, while considerably more expensive, provides a better all-around experience — though you’ll have to buy a pricey iPad as well.View Deal

Also consider

If you're not sold on what the Huawei MatePad Pro Max has to offer, there are a handful of similarly priced alternatives to consider.

iPad Pro 13-inch (2025)
The iPad Pro is still the gold standard in the tablet world, combining premium design, a gorgeous display, and the most comprehensive app library for this form factor. Sure, it’s expensive, as are the keyboard and Pencil accessories, but you really do get what you pay for — and there are no restrictions on apps here.

Read our review of the smaller iPad Pro 11-inch (2025)

Samsung Galaxy S11 Ultra
If you’re after a big-screen Android tablet with access to Google’s full suite of services, the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is an impressive slate. While it’s an improvement over its predecessor, the MediaTek chipset used here is disappointing. That said, if you want a tablet to play a lot of games, is easy to work on, or want a bigger screen to sketch, doodle, and noodle around with AI, the S11 Ultra fits the bill.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review

How I tested the Huawei MatePad Pro Max

• Tested over several weeks
• Played games, browsed the web, scrolled social, snapped pictures
• Also tested the keyboard case and M-Penci Pro stylus

I used the Huawei MatePad Pro Max as my main tablet for several weeks, testing out its core features, app availability, and performance.

I played a variety of games, watched 4K HDR videos, snapped photos, ran battery and charging tests, and performed various day-to-day tasks, including web browsing, scrolling social media, and checking emails.

The keyboard case, which is included in the box, was also tested with emails, word processing, and general UI navigation. I was also sent the M-Pencil Pro (and optional extra), and spent time jotting down handwritten notes and sketching cartoons.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2026

• US DOJ has seized nearly 400 domains
• The sites were being used to illegally stream World Cup games
• Users of the sites were exposed to malware, data theft, and other threats

Almost 400 domains have been seized as part of Operation Offsides - a coordinated global effort to take down sites illegally streaming the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The sites were seized by the US Justice Department's Criminal Division for violating copyright and intellectual property law.

The takedowns were coordinated by members of the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) network.

US and friends enforce the offside rule

Many of the seized domains now display a banner explaining that the website was seized as part of Operation Offsides. “This action was taken to protect consumers and enforce intellectual property rights worldwide,” the banner states.

(Image credit: U.S. Justice Department)

Back in May 2026, the FBI warned that thousands of domains were being registered ahead of the World Cup, with most set up with the intention to scam fans looking for cheap tickets, access to streaming services, and those looking for discounted merchandise. It appears that Operation Offside was focused on disrupting streaming sites in particular, rather than taking down the wider scam networks associated with these domains.

“We have seized hundreds of domains, used to illegally stream World Cup matches for profit, to disrupt the international networks that profit from the global popularity of the World Cup,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“This operation illustrates the Department’s respect for intellectual property rights and the responsibility of the United States as a host nation to protect the FIFA World Cup from criminals. The Criminal Division will continue to disrupt and, where appropriate, seek to prosecute these sites and the subjects responsible for this criminal activity.”

In many cases, the networks of fake domains offering cheap or free access to streaming services are run by cybercriminals deliberately operating at a loss in order to attract users to their services. In return for accessing the streaming site, the domain will use the user’s local network as an exit node for the cybercriminal network, obscuring their traffic and making it appear legitimate.

Unfortunately for the user, who may think they have just found free access to every World Cup game, their network and IP address could be used to distribute malware, cybercriminal communications, and illegal content such as stolen data and exploitative materials - including child sex abuse material.

8849 Tank 5: 30-second review

The Tank 5 represents the most complete version of a concept that 8849 has been refining for several generations. Where earlier models asked buyers to accept trade-offs between size, battery and projector quality, the Tank 5 attempts to resolve all three at once. The result is something that genuinely has no mainstream equivalent.

There is a very specific kind of person the 8849 Tank 5 is made for. They work far from mains power. They need a phone that survives punishment. And occasionally, they want to project something onto a wall, a tent, or the side of a cliff face. For that person, no mainstream smartphone comes close.

Where previous models asked buyers to accept mid-range processors and modest projection quality, the Tank 5 brings flagship silicon to the category for the first time. The MediaTek Dimensity 9400e is a genuine top-tier chip in 2026 terms, and finding it in a device this rugged at this price is a pleasant surprise.

The headline numbers are hard to ignore. A 17,600mAh battery. A 3K AMOLED display peaking at 3000 nits. A 2K TI DLP projector with 220-lumen output and laser autofocus to four metres. Triple 50-megapixel rear cameras. Android 16 out of the box. On paper, this reads like a wish list written by someone who spends more time on a mountainside than in a meeting room.

The catch, as ever, is the physical reality. At 715 grams and nearly 34 millimetres thick, the Tank 5 is not a device you slip into a jacket pocket. It is a tool. And like any serious tool, it rewards the user who actually needs what it offers.

Is this one of the best rugged phones? That entirely depends on what features you value. For those who don’t care about size and weight but want battery capacity, exotic features and colourful display, this is certainly a contender.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)8849 Tank 5: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $900/£697/€809
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from the maker or via an online retailer

The Tank 5 launches at $999.99 in pre-order configuration with the standard retail price listed at $1,599.99. However, now that those numbers have come down somewhat, with the US pricing at $899.99. In the UK, it’s £696.87, and across Europe it is €808.52, direct from the 8849tech website.

To put that into perspective, the Tank X launched at $549.99 early bird against a $1,049.99 RRP. The Tank 5, therefore, represents a substantial step up in cost, but is justified by improvements in specification.

Currently, the Tank X costs $699.99 from Amazon.com and £599 via Amazon.co.uk, making the Tank 5 pricing less of an uplift for those in the UK.

When considering alternatives, it's worth noting that remarkably few phones have a projector, and none of them has one with the same specification as the DLP unit in this phone.

Other than the Tank X and Tank 4 Pro by 8849, rugged phones with projectors include the Ulefone Armour 34 Pro Plus and Oukitel WP100 Titan. From Amazon.com, the Tank 4 Pro is $789.99, and the Ulefone Armor 34 Pro Plus is $594.99. The Oukitel WP100 Titan isn’t available from Amazon, but can be bought directly from the makers for $869.99.

The cover these in a spec comparison, the Tank X offers a slower Dimensity 8200 SoC and a lower resolution 1080p projector. The Tank 4 Pro only has a Dimensity 8300 SoC, but only a 720p projector. And the Ulefone Armor 34 Pro has the slowest processor, with a Dimensity 7300, and a weird projector resolution of 854 x 480. And finally, the Oukitel WP100 Titan has the same processor as the 34 Pro, and the same odd resolution to its 100 lumen projector.

Most of these have more battery capacity than the Tank 5, but critically, their projectors don’t come close to being a match.

Based purely on value for money, the 8849 Tank 5 is a winner.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Value score: 4.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Specs

Item

Spec

Processor

MediaTek Dimensity 9400e, 4nm, octa-core (1x Cortex-X4 at 3.4GHz + 3x X4 at 2.85GHz + 4x A720 at 2.0GHz)

GPU

Immortalis-G720 MC12

RAM

18GB LPDDR5X (plus 18GB virtual)

Storage

512GB UFS 4.0, microSD expandable to 2TB

Display

6.73-inch AMOLED, 3200x1440px (3K), 120Hz, 3000 nits (local peak), Panda Glass

Main Camera

50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN1, PDAF, f/1.8, 4K30fps

Telephoto

50MP, 3x optical zoom, OIS

Night Vision

50MP with 4x infrared LEDs

Front Camera

32MP OmniVision OV32B40, f/1.7, 1080p video

Battery

17,600mAh dual-cell

Charging

120W wired (full charge approx. 90 min), 25W reverse charge

Projector

TI DLP, 2K resolution, 220 lumens, 4m laser autofocus, 4-point keystone correction

OS

Android 16

5G

SA/NSA, including bands n77/n78

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Bluetooth

5.4

NFC

Yes

SIM

eSIM + Dual Nano SIM

GPS

Dual-frequency L1+L5, multi-constellation

USB

USB-C (DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode)

Rugged Rating

IP68, MIL-STD-810H

Dimensions

177.1 x 87 x 33.8mm

Weight

715g

Colours

Black

8849 Tank 5: Design

• Thick and heavy
• Vents for projector on both sides

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Pick up the Tank 5, and the sheer physical commitment of it registers immediately. At 177.1 x 87 x 33.8mm and 715 grams, this device sits somewhere between a phone and a piece of site equipment. The chassis combines brushed metal plates, rubberised TPU corner armour and polycarbonate panels, and the build quality throughout is excellent. Seams are tight. There is no flex anywhere. It feels, correctly, like something engineered to survive conditions that would end a normal phone's life in seconds.

The layout of the Tank 5 is dictated by one thing above all others: cooling. The projector needs active thermal management, and the ventilation grille that serves it runs across a significant portion of the left frame. That grille is not a cosmetic addition. It is a structural constraint, and it shapes where every other control can go. The volume controls and shortcut buttons sit above it, pushed into the upper corner.

Below it, separated by a visible gap of bare metal, sit red and silver programmable buttons. The vent physically cleaves the left side into two distinct groups. It is an honest piece of industrial design. Nothing is where it is by accident, but you need to be careful where you place your fingers when the projector is running.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The right side tells another story. A second vent grille occupies the upper portion, again serving the projector cooling system, and below it, the frame is noticeably cleaner with only a single large silver power key with its integrated fingerprint sensor. The visual contrast between the two sides is immediate. Where the left side is busy by necessity, the right side breathes.

The rear is where the Tank 5 makes its most direct statement of intent. The camping light bar dominates the centre of the chassis, a wide rectangular strip that illuminates with 1200 lumens and RGB warning modes. Above it sits the camera module, with two main lenses at the top right, the night vision lens below left and four infrared LEDs in a horizontal strip. The "TANK PROJECTOR INSIDE" text sits between the camera cluster and the lamp, which is either endearing or unnecessary depending on your tolerance for that kind of thing. The projector aperture itself is at the top edge, along with another flashlight and the SIM card slot.

Compared to the Tank X, the Tank 5 is a more resolved design. The Tank X was 91.8mm wide and 750 grams. The Tank 5 pulls back to 87mm and 715 grams. Those numbers sound modest, but the difference in hand is real. The Tank X sat at the outer limit of a comfortable two-handed span. The Tank 5 comes back just enough to feel deliberate.

What has not changed is the fundamental reality of the form factor. This is not going into any conventional pocket. A jacket chest pocket, a belt holster or a vehicle mount is the practical answer for daily carry. That is the honest consequence of fitting a projector, a 17,600mAh battery and an active cooling system into a single chassis, and the Tank 5 makes no apology for it.

Design score: 3.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Hardware

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400e
• AMOLED display
• 17600 mAh fast charge battery

The Dimensity 9400e is an important specification decision. Most rugged phones at this price use mid-range silicon from three to four years ago. The Tank X stepped up to the Dimensity 8200, and that was already a significant advance. The 9400e goes further still, using a 4nm process with Cortex-X4 architecture.

The 'e' suffix indicates a slightly binned or optimised version of the full 9400. In practice, real-world performance at this specification level is well beyond anything a rugged phone buyer has previously been able to access at this price point. The comparison with the Immortalis-G720 MC12 GPU is also notable for mobile gaming and sustained workloads.

The Tank X, launched in February 2026, was the first 8849 device to achieve 1080p DLP projection at 220 lumens. The Tank 5 carries that hardware forward and adds 2K output with laser autofocus rated to four metres. That four-metre figure is a meaningful practical upgrade, because how far away from the wall you can get dictates the size of the projection. Earlier models topped out at three metres, and the keystone correction has been expanded from two to four points. What this means in practice is a more practical outdoor cinema experience.

The 220-lumen figure also requires context, as it's extremely competitive within this product category, where some devices can only manage 100 lumen. The Ulefone Armor 34 Pro, a direct rival, managed 150 lumens at a lower resolution. However, any projector of this size still demands reasonable darkness for a clear image. The spec sheet implies more than the physics can deliver in daylight, as it needs to be twilight outside or in a shaded room for a good experience. But, this is more than any other brand is currently offering.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

My only complaint about the projector is that not long after it is activated, the cooling fan starts up and can be a little noisy. This won’t be a problem if you are projecting an action blockbuster, but it isn’t ideal for anything with quiet audio and dialogue.

Earlier Tank models used AMOLED panels, but the Tank 5 moves to a 3200x1440 native resolution. The 3000 nits peak brightness is a headline figure borrowed from premium consumer phones, and the results are spectacular.

Considering how good the display is, that 8849 went with Panda Glass to protect it, and not stronger Gorilla Glass Victus is disappointing.

That choice looks entirely cost-driven, but conversely, the battery technology used in the Tank 5 doesn’t hold back.

Seventeen thousand six hundred milliamp hours is a substantial number, even by rugged phone standards. The Tank 4 used an 11,600mAh cell. The Tank X brought the 17,600mAh configuration back after the Tank 3 and Tank 3 Pro sat at around 23,800mAh. The Tank 5 pairs that 17,600mAh capacity with 120W charging, which can be recharged in just over 90 minutes, incredibly. It does this by using a dual-cell design, so it works like two 8800mAh batteries.

The addition of 25W reverse charging makes the Tank 5 a practical field power bank. At that capacity, it can top up a standard 5000mAh smartphone three times over. For field workers and outdoor users, this is a genuinely compelling capability, even if you lose some of the capacity in the transfer.

Another full-cream feature is Wi-Fi 7. Most rugged phones ship with Wi-Fi 6 at best. The inclusion of eSIM alongside dual nano SIM slots gives the Tank 5 flexibility that neither predecessor offered. For travellers, the combination of eSIM, dual-frequency GPS and extensive 5G band support is a strong package. The addition of eSIM also means you can ditch one of the physical Nano SIMs, fit a MicroSD card in the tray, and still have two network services.

With a few minor exceptions, the specifications of the Tank 5 place it in the premium rugged phone bracket.

• Hardware score: 4.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Cameras

• 50MP main + 50MP telephoto + 50MP night vision
• 32MP on the front
• Four cameras in total

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The 8849 Tank 5 has four cameras:

Rear camera: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN1SP, 50MP OmniVision OV50C40, 50MP OmniVision OV50D40
Front camera: 32MP OV32B40

The camera cluster on the Tank 5 is a significant rethink compared to what came before it. On the Tank X, the three sensors were arranged in a vertical strip, with the 8MP telephoto the obvious weak link in the lineup.

The Tank 5 design addresses this directly with all three rear sensors now 50 megapixels, and this is a much more balanced package.

The two primary lenses sit at the top right of the module in a paired arrangement, noticeably larger than the sensors below. The night vision camera sits below and to the left, with the four infrared LEDs arranged in a horizontal strip beneath it. It is a purposeful, asymmetric layout that prioritises the main imaging hardware without pretending everything is equal.

The main sensor is a Samsung ISOCELL GN1 with phase detection autofocus. That’s a well-regarded chip with a strong track record on mainstream flagship devices. It is a genuine step up from the Sony sensor used on the Tank X, which, while capable, was hampered by the overall image processing pipeline more than the sensor itself. The GN1 brings improved low-light capture and better dynamic range handling. It might not be the 108MP sensor we’ve seen elsewhere, but the arrangement is decent and effective.

The caveat to this choice is that, while there is a PRO mode in the camera application, there are relatively few other special modes or HDR. This camera doesn’t do panoramas or slow motion, though it can do timelapse and super-resolution.

Video capture can be in resolutions up to 4K, but there is no control over the framerate, irrespective of the capture resolution.

The telephoto upgrade is the most important change for practical use. Going from 8MP to 50MP with optical image stabilisation transforms what the camera can do at a distance. The Tank X telephoto was essentially a crop tool dressed up as a lens. The Tank 5 telephoto is a genuine optical system with 3x zoom, and OIS means it remains usable in the kind of low-stability field conditions this phone is designed for. Hiking, construction sites, and vehicle-mounted use. All of these benefit from stabilisation in ways that a rugged phone buyer will actually notice.

The night vision camera is the one area where the upgrade is less straightforward. The Tank X used a 64MP OmniVision sensor for its night vision work, paired with four IR LEDs. The Tank 5 drops to a 50MP sensor for that role, but it's just as effective. The megapixel reduction is not inherently a problem, as night vision performance depends far more on sensor size, IR LED power, and processing than on raw resolution.

The front camera remains unchanged from Tank X, a 32MP with an OmniVision OV32B40 sensor and an f/1.7 aperture. A competent selfie and video-call solution by definition.

What the cluster cannot do is match a photography-focused flagship. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro operate in a different league for computational photography, colour science and video processing.

That comparison is not unfair, but it is also largely irrelevant. The Tank 5 camera system is built for documenting field conditions, capturing evidence, seeing in the dark and shooting at range from an unstable platform. On those terms, it is well-equipped, and the results are better than those of some phones with more megapixels to play with.

One disappointment is that with a camera that can capture 4K video, and play that back nicely on the AMOLED screen, you won’t be using that display to see high-quality streams, because 8849 wouldn’t pay for Widevine L1 encryption.

8849 Tank 5 Camera samplesMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark Pickavance

• Camera score: 4/5

8849 Tank 5: Performance

• 4nm SoC
• Premium performance

Phone

 

8849 Tank 5

8849 Tank X

SoC

 

MediaTek Dimensity 9400E

MediaTek Dimensity 8200

GPU

 

ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12

Mali-G610 MC6

NPU

 

MediaTek NPU 790

MediaTek NPU 580

Memory

 

16GB/512GB

16GB/512GB

Weight

 

 

750g

Battery

 

17600

17600

Geekbench

Single

2097

1260

 

Multi

6536

3939

 

OpenCL

12943

4056

 

Vulkan

14916

4517

PCMark

3.0 Score

18477

15637

 

Battery

32h 25m (14%)

32h 48m (20% left)

Charge 30

%

46

11

Passmark

Score

25227

17045

 

CPU

11866

8623

3DMark

Slingshot OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Slingshot Ex. OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Slingshot Ex. Vulkan

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Wildlife

Maxed Out

6343

 

Nomad Lite

1820

632

With so few competitors in this niche, it seemed logical to compare this 8849 to its predecessor, the Tank X.

And what we quickly learn here is that the Dimensity 9400e is a beast compared to the Dimensity 8200, outperforming it in every respect. The most sobering score is the 3DMark Nomad Lite performance, where it is nearly 300% better at this demanding benchmark.

But the other takeaway here is that you can have a more powerful SoC, without it impacting the power consumption dramatically. With the same battery capacity, the running time is remarkably similar to that of the Tank X, even though it does more over that time.

But where the Tank 5 really shows the most dramatic improvement is in the recharging of the battery, which took hours on the Tank X, and can be done in close to 90 minutes on the Tank 5. In just thirty minutes, being able to recover 46% of the battery is excellent.

Overall, the Tank 5 is a top-tier performer for whatever apps you wish to install.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)8849 Tank 5: Final verdict

The 8849 Tank 5 is the most technically accomplished rugged projector phone yet made. It takes the Tank X's headline concept and delivers a genuine performance upgrade at every level. The Dimensity 9400e is fast. The 3K AMOLED display is bright. The 17,600mAh battery is enormous. The projector is now 2K capable with laser autofocus at four metres.

None of that comes without compromise.

The device is very heavy, and the projector still benefits from darkness, whatever the spec sheet implies. And the lack of a published software update policy is a concern worth flagging for any buyer planning to keep this device for several years.

For the specific buyer this device is designed for, the Tank 5 is a compelling proposition. It does things no other phone can match in a single chassis. That remains, as it has been throughout the Tank series, both its greatest strength and its clearest self-selection filter.

Yes, it might have the ideal characteristics to make a decent boat anchor, but when you pack this much technology into a phone, it was never going to be lightweight and slim.

Should I buy a 8849 Tank 5?8849 Tank 5 Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Probably the right price for a phone with such high specs.

4.5/5

Design

Thick and heavy, but nicely finished and presented.

4/5

Hardware

Excellent SoC, gorgeous AMOLED display and fast charging battery

4.5/5

Camera

Practical sensors for those recording for the workplace

4/5

Performance

Powerful Dimensity 9400e and full charge in 90 minutes battery

4.5/5

Overall

Best phone with a projector so far

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You love adventure
This is the perfect device if you work or adventure in environments where battery life is critical and multi-day use without a charger is a regular requirement. I’m not sure you would want to hike with hardware this heavy, but for a rugged device for capturing images and video and then projecting them, it's exceptional.

You carry lots of data or apps
With 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, this phone is ideal for those who like to carry data and install numerous apps. And, if you give up a SIM card slot, you can add a MicroSD card for even more space.

Don't buy it if...

You travel light
For some, a phone weighing more than 700g is a practical dealbreaker, and it's so big that it won't easily fit in a pocket. It could be a serious issue if you fall into water.

You don't need a projector
The cost of this device is tied to its feature set, and so if you don't want the projector, there seems little point in buying this. Other rugged designs with this SoC, memory and storage are available for less than 8849 is asking for the Tank 5.

Also Consider

8849 Tank X
A predecessor to the Tank X. It features a less powerful SoC, a lower resolution and brightness projector, but the same battery capacity. The biggest weakness of this design is how slowly, compared to the Tank 5, the battery recharges. However, it is a little cheaper for those looking to save money.

Check out my full 8849 Tank X review

ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola
The ThinkPhone 25 offers a powerful SoC, robust package, practical form factor, high-quality camera sensors and decent battery life at a mid-range price point. But, it’s not available in the USA, sadly.

Read our ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola reviewView Deal

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

Most large enterprises have already experimented with AI in some form.

They have tested copilots, automated workflows, analytics platforms, content generation tools and customer service assistants, and initial reactions are often positive. Demonstrations create excitement, leadership teams engage quickly and investment follows.

Yet many organizations still struggle to move beyond isolated successes. Adoption slows, usage becomes inconsistent and AI initiatives gradually lose visibility inside day-to-day operations.

What begins as a strategic priority often becomes another innovation program that never fully reshapes the business.

At that point, organizations frequently conclude that the technology is not mature enough.

In reality, the bigger obstacle is often structural rather than technical. AI adoption rarely fails because the tools are incapable.

More commonly, organizations fail to adapt their operating models, incentives and decision-making structures to support meaningful change.

Fragmented ownership weakens adoption

One of the biggest barriers to enterprise AI adoption is unclear accountability: technology teams manage IT infrastructure, governance, security and vendor relationships; innovation teams run pilots; individual business units experiment independently; and senior executives communicate ambition and strategic direction. Yet in many organizations, nobody owns AI adoption from end to end.

But without clear ownership tied to operational outcomes, AI initiatives often become disconnected from how work actually happens. Teams are encouraged to experiment but lack the authority to redesign processes or redefine how decisions are made. Pilots move forward without long-term accountability and successful experiments fail to scale beyond individual departments.

As a result, AI can exist inside the organisation without becoming embedded into its operating model. The technology itself may function well, but adoption stalls because no one is responsible for turning experimentation into lasting behavioral change.

Why technology teams cannot solve this alone

This challenge becomes particularly visible inside platform, data and IT functions. These teams are frequently tasked with enabling enterprise AI adoption by assessing vendors, integrating systems, securing data environments and establishing governance frameworks. At the same time, they are expected to minimize operational risk and ensure compliance requirements are met.

However, they rarely control how individual departments actually work. Technology teams cannot independently redesign sales processes, restructure customer support operations or redefine HR workflows. They can provide tools and infrastructure, but they are not usually empowered to drive organizational change across business functions.

That imbalance creates predictable tension. If AI deployments introduce operational or security risks, technology teams are held accountable. But if adoption slows because departments resist changing established processes, responsibility becomes far less clear.

Over time, this dynamic naturally encourages caution. Teams carrying significant risk without the authority to control it often become more conservative in how aggressively they push transformation initiatives forward.

Incentives matter more than strategy documents

Many organizations also underestimate how strongly incentives shape adoption behavior. A customer service team may be encouraged to use AI tools at the same time as being measured primarily on ticket throughput and response speed. Marketing teams may be asked to experiment with AI-generated content while facing scrutiny over even minor inconsistencies in tone or branding.

Compliance teams could be expected to support innovation even though they’re evaluated almost entirely on risk reduction. In each case, employees respond rationally to the incentives in front of them.

Meaningful AI integration almost always creates short-term disruption. Teams need time to test workflows, adjust processes and learn how humans and AI systems operate together effectively. Productivity can temporarily decline before long-term gains become visible.

If organizations continue rewarding operational stability above all else, employees will avoid experimentation regardless of how ambitious leadership messaging may be.

This is one reason many “AI-first” strategies struggle to move beyond isolated use cases. Declaring strategic intent is relatively easy. Adjusting performance frameworks, redefining accountability and creating room for experimentation is far more difficult.

Unclear governance creates hesitation

Another major obstacle to adoption is uncertainty around governance and operational boundaries. Many organizations still have not clearly defined what AI represents within their broader operating model. Is it an individual productivity layer? A centrally governed capability? A feature embedded into existing enterprise platforms? Or a specialist function managed by dedicated teams? When those questions remain unanswered, ambiguity spreads quickly.

Employees become unsure what usage is permitted, while managers struggle to establish consistent expectations. Technology, legal and compliance teams disagree on where accountability begins and ends - and in practice, this uncertainty often slows adoption more than technical limitations do.

Clear governance does not need to eliminate experimentation. In fact, successful organizations usually balance flexibility with oversight. Employees are far more likely to engage confidently with AI systems when they understand where experimentation is encouraged and where stricter controls apply. Without that clarity, even capable tools can remain underused.

AI transformation is an operational challenge

For CIOs and senior technology leaders, this requires an important shift in perspective. AI transformation is often framed primarily as a technology modernization effort focused on infrastructure, integration and data readiness. Those foundations remain essential. Without them, large-scale deployment is impossible. However, technical readiness alone does not determine adoption outcomes.

The organizations making meaningful progress with AI tend to treat it as an operational redesign challenge rather than simply a software rollout. They integrate AI into existing workflows, align ownership with accountability and adapt governance structures to support new ways of working.

This also explains why many AI programs gradually shift from transformational ambitions into smaller experimental efforts. Experimentation is organizationally safer because it avoids forcing structural change. Unfortunately, it also limits long-term impact.

Successful organizations tend to share several characteristics. They establish clear executive accountability for measurable outcomes linked to AI adoption. Rather than prioritizing short-term stability, they align incentives with workflow evolution. By integrating AI directly into operational systems, they aren’t left to rely on disconnected standalone tools. And they define governance boundaries clearly enough that employees understand how AI should be used.

Notably, none of these are primarily technical decisions. They are organizational and leadership choices.

The real question organizations need to answer

When AI initiatives underperform, organizations often focus first on the technology itself. Vendors are reassessed, models are compared and infrastructure decisions are revisited. Sometimes, those issues do genuinely matter. Often, however, the technology is functioning adequately while the organisation surrounding it has not evolved enough to support adoption at scale.

That distinction is crucial because organizational barriers are solvable. Accountability can be clarified. Incentives can be redesigned. Governance structures can be simplified. Operational ownership can be aligned more effectively with responsibility.

Ultimately, adopting AI means changing how work gets done across the business. And that means the question facing enterprises today is no longer whether AI technology is capable enough to deliver value. It is whether they are prepared to redesign themselves around it.

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