TechRadar News

• Coros has launched a new repair program for its fitness trackers
• You can send off your device and get a replacement within a week
• You won’t receive your original device, but a refurbished product instead

Coros wearables are popular with fitness fans, but when you’re mountain-biking or trail-running there’s always a chance you’ll end up damaging even the best running watch or fitness tracker – and Coros has just announced a new repair program to get your wearable fixed, fast.

The Coros Repair Service will offer repairs with the aim of getting you back in action as quickly as possible. To that end, Coros says “users can send in a damaged device, pay a nominal repair fee, and receive a refurbished replacement within a week.”

The repairs will cover a variety of issues that you might face with your wearable, including replacing broken displays, buttons, and digital dials. Battery replacements are also covered, Coros says.

The repair fees involved vary depending on the product being repaired and what needs fixing. The cheapest option is to get a replacement battery for the Pace 3 or Pace Pro smartwatches, which costs $59. The most expensive repair is for the screen, dial or button on the Vertix 2S, which will set you back $119.

How does the repair process work?

(Image credit: Future)

To get started with a repair you’ll need to go to coros.com/repairs, then fill out your device details and submit a request using the online form. You’ll then be sent an email with a prepaid return label, after which you’ll need to select your device on the Coros website, pay the repair fee, then ship the defective product to the company.

Coros says that once it has received your faulty device, it will send you a refurbished replacement, which comes with a one-year warranty. Interestingly, that means your original device will not be returned to you – it will instead be refurbished and be made available for other users to purchase. In its place, you’ll be given an already-repaired device from Coros’s refurbished stock.

Coros says it's taking this approach in order to get you up and running sooner than would be possible if your original device was repaired and sent back to you, which could take up to 30 days.

The company also says that shipping products in bulk to its repair factory is more affordable and sustainable than sending each device individually, which presumably would happen if you were to get your original device back.

So, this new repair program could be helpful if you want to get back in action as soon as possible. Any fitness tracker can break, but if minimizing downtime is important to you, Coros’s program might be worth considering.

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• 75% of UK public sector orgs use GenAI compared with 64% globally
• Defense, healthcare and security sectors use it the most
• Orgs are on the lookout for Chief Data and AI Officers

According to new research from Capgemini, Britain could actually be leading the AI adoption wave among European governments, with 75% of public sector organizations in the UK exploring or actively working with GenAI.

However, the same number of UK public sector orgs are also worried about generative AI's environmental impacts, with even more worried about data security and data sovereignty (78% each) and almost as many constrained by costs (68%).

Still, despite remaining apprehension, the UK is 11 percentage points ahead of the global average, where 64% of public sector organizations are exploring or using GenAI.

UK public sector is leading in GenAI adoption

Although the UK is currently ahead, it doesn't mean that the trend won't be challenged in the near future. As many as nine in 10 global public sector orgs plan to explore, pilot or implement agentic AI in the next two to three years.

With agentic AI marking the AI of tomorrow, Capgemini explored where today's AI, generative AI, is impacting most. Defense agencies (82%), healthcare (75%) and security sectors (70%) were among the highest adopters.

However, with such strict data privacy and security measures in place across the public sector, organizations are struggling to refine their own AI and are instead being forced to use off-the-shelf solutions. Only one-fifth (21%) say they have the necessary data to train and fine-tune AI models.

Moreover, just 12% feel very mature in activating data, and even fewer (7%) report maturity in data and AI skills. Capgemini Public Sector Global Industry Leader Marc Reinhardt summarized: "With rising citizen demands and stretched resources, public sector organizations recognize the ways in which AI can help them do more with less."

Looking ahead, 24% plan to appoint a Chief Data Officer and 41% plan to introduce a Chief AI Officer, on top of the 64% and 27% (respectively) that already have, bringing the number of public sector orgs with CDOs and CAIOs up to 88% and 68%.

Highlighting the importance of "the right data infrastructure," Reinhardt added: "Looking ahead, governments can be more agile and effective as AI augments the work of government employees to source information, conduct policy analysis, make decisions, and answer citizen queries."

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• Renders of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic have been spotted
• They combine Classic and Ultra aesthetics
• The upcoming watch should arrive sometime in July

With just a couple of months to go until the expected launch of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, some freshly leaked renders of the Classic version of the smartwatch have emerged online, showing the return of the device's rotating bezel.

These renders come from well-known tipster @OnLeaks and SammyGuru, and are based on schematic information leaked from the supply chain. We get to see the watch from all angles, and it looks like a stylish, polished gadget.

This particular tipster has a strong track record when it comes to revealing device designs ahead of time, but bear in mind that this is still just a leak – we won't know the final design of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic until Samsung makes it official.

We didn't get a Classic model last year, but the upcoming watch looks to be combining elements from the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic from 2023 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which made its debut in 2024.

Rumored dimensions

It seems we're getting a slightly squircle-shaped frame, as on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, though here it looks to be a little more rounded. It might actually be that the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic takes the place of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 this year.

Then there's that rotating bezel, which is always present on the Classic model, and which makes operating the watch easier. In recent years we've had Classic models every other year, so we're due another in 2025.

This same leak mentions a 1.5-inch display, and dimensions of "roughly" 46 x 46.5 x 14.2mm – which actually sound rather precise. The indications are that this will be the only size available when it comes to the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.

If Samsung sticks to the same schedule it followed in 2024 we'll see this watch unveiled at an Unpacked launch event sometime in July, alongside the Galaxy Watch 8, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and perhaps the tri-fold Samsung Galaxy G Fold.

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• Ricoh confirms GR IV is in development and 'autumn 2025' launch
• A variation with highlight diffusion filter will follow in 'winter 2025'
• The compacts will pack a newly designed lens, sensor and processor

Ricoh has announced the development of the Ricoh GR IV, the next generation of one of the best compact cameras. As a longtime GR IIIx user, I couldn't be more excited for what's in store.

We've been speculating for months if not years about when and if a GR IV would be unveiled. Along the way, leaks have given us false hope as further iterations of the GR III have been launched instead, such as the GR III HDF.

Now, finally, we know (roughly) when the GR IV will launch – a press release says we can expect the GR IV in "autumn 2025", while a niche highlight diffusion filter (HDF) version is set to follow in "winter 2025". There's no word yet on an 'x' iteration.

In the build-up to those launches the GR III will be discontinued, although production of the GR IIIx is set to continue for now.

I have already written about the upgrades I hope to see in the Ricoh GR IV, and now the press release has teased a few things that we can look forward to.

I loved the Ricoh GR IIIx concept so much that I personally forked out for one instead of upgrading to the latest iPhone, and I can't wait to see what improvements are made in the overdue next-gen model. (Image credit: Future)How big an upgrade will the Ricoh GR IV be?

Ricoh says the "GR IV inherits the basic GR-series concept, while also incorporating totally new components, including a newly designed lens, a new image sensor and a new imaging engine, to further upgrade image quality.

"It also features more advanced communications functions and is compatible with a new application designed for smart devices to improve operability and functionality."

Those improvements could indeed make the GR IV, in Ricoh's words, "the ultimate snapshot camera in the history of the GR series"; but as an actual user of the GR IIIx there are some less headline-worthy upgrades that I'd also like to see.

Image quality from the GR III series is already stellar, but I hope we see some design improvements, particularly better build quality, a built-in flash and, provided the truly compact dimensions remain, a tilt LCD screen.

Performance-wise, the GR IV needs better autofocus, and the mention of a new processor and sensor gives me hope that'll be the case.

Ricoh says GR IV prototypes will be showcased at the GR Space showrooms in Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai from May 31. That should give us further clues as to any design changes, including the new lens.

The Ricoh GR IV is a camera I've been looking forward to for a long time, and with premium compacts particularly popular right now it can't come soon enough, and is set to be one of 2025's most popular cameras.

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• Signal has a new option for its Windows 11 app to block Recall
• The developer had to fudge a way of preventing screenshots of the messaging app being taken
• Unfortunately this has side-effects such as interfering with screen reading tools, but Signal says Microsoft has left it no choice

Signal, a messaging app that majors in security and privacy (and has been in the limelight recently), has introduced a measure to defend content sent via the platform from the prying eyes of Microsoft’s Recall feature.

In case you forgot – unlikely, I know – Recall is the controversial feature for Copilot+ PCs that provides an AI-powered deep search in Windows 11. It does this by taking regular screen grabs of the activity on your PC, and you can see where the conflict comes in if the feature screenshots messages sent via a privacy-focused app like Signal.

As a counter to this, Signal announced in a blog post (picked up by The Verge) that it’s introducing a new ‘screen security’ setting for its Windows 11 app, and this will be turned on by default for users of the desktop OS. This functionality is rolling out now.

What the developer has done here is activate a DRM flag on the Signal app window as a fudge to stop Recall from capturing screenshots. It’s using that workaround because Microsoft failed to offer “granular settings for app developers that would enable Signal to easily protect privacy” with Recall, the blog post observes.

Signal notes: “We are enabling an extra layer of protection by default on Windows 11 in order to help maintain the security of Signal Desktop on that platform even though it introduces some usability trade-offs. Microsoft has simply given us no other option.”

What’s the usability trade-off? Blocking screenshots from every angle using this DRM fudge means legitimate use of screen grabbing is ruled out, and also some screen reading tools (like Narrator in Windows 11) or other accessibility features may not work properly. So, that’s far from ideal, but Signal argues that Microsoft has left it no choice.

Analysis: Clear Signal

(Image credit: Signal)

This does seem to be an important part of the equation that’s missing with Recall. Famously, Microsoft pulled the feature after it was first revealed a year ago, and took it back to the drawing board, tightening up security and privacy in numerous ways. But that was a case of fixing and smoothing over weaknesses, rather than strengthening measures – Recall was launched way too early, and without enough thought, worryingly.

And still after all that time, there are software developers out there like the maker of Signal pointing out a basic flaw in Recall that Microsoft should have addressed at this point.

Remember that this doesn’t apply to you if you don’t have a Copilot+ PC, though, as only those devices get Recall (it requires a beefy NPU for locally accelerating AI workloads to ensure the feature works smoothly enough).

While the new setting is enabled by default for Signal in Windows 11, you can turn it off by going to Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen security (you’ll be warned that you’re about to disable the ability).

It’ll certainly be worth watching this space going forward, and I’m hoping Microsoft will implement a proper way to let developers control how Recall interacts with their apps, as this only makes sense – particularly for privacy-related software.

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• Google Cloud operates across 42 regions and 127 zones, supported by 33 subsea cables
• The US government trusts Google Cloud Air-Gapped with top-secret information
• Europe has a number of local tools, and Germany is next

Amid ongoing US-China tensions over tech dominance, Google has recognized that some countries are concerned about the US' tech dominance, thus it has announced some updates to its sovereign cloud services to ensure optimal privacy.

In a blog post, Google Cloud President of Customer Experience Hayete Gallot boasted that the company now has more than 42 cloud regions, 127 zones, 202 network edge locations and 33 subsea cable investments supporting its global cloud services.

Once niche and limited to highly regulated sectors like defense and intelligence, sovereignty is now a mainstream concern for many sectors and most governments, and Google has responded with a handful of updates.

Google upgrades its sovereign cloud portfolio for customers

Key to the announcement is Google Cloud's air-gapped cloud service, which operates as a standalone cloud with no external network connectivity requirements. It's designed specially for sectors with strict data residency and security, and is build on open-source components which Google believes can enhance resilience and therefore business continuity.

The company even got authorization to store US government Top Secret and Secret-level data on Google Cloud Air-Gapped in 2024 – a sign of its strong privacy credentials.

The second of Google's three key announcements, Google Cloud Dedicated, is a partner-operated regional platform that meets local sovereignty standards. The company already partnered with Thales in 2021 to make its first-ever Trusted Cloud by S3NS for Europe, but now it's confirmed it'll be targeting Germany next.

Finally, Google Cloud Data Boundary gives users further control over where their data is stored and processed, with enhanced protection via external key management and confidential computing. For example, Workspace users can select to restrict processing to the US or EU, while also choosing local data storage countries.

A Mandiant-backed tool called User Data Shield is being added to this to ensure the ongoing verification of sovereignty postures.

Gallot expressed a commitment to "empowering organizations globally to navigate the complex landscape of digital sovereignty with confidence," while also noting how advanced security measure like a zero-trust posture, post-quantum cryptography and AI-powered defenses form part of the broader strategy.

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