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Apple has confirmed that its next event is taking place on September 9, and all signs point to a big update for the Apple Watch line.

We believe, based on several months of leaks and rumors, that Apple will debut not one, not two, but three new Apple Watches. Currently, just three Apple Watches available to buy from the company: the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch SE (2022), with older models consigned to third-party sellers.

Rumors of a new trio of watches suggest the entire line is getting an upgrade. Here are the three new devices we believe will be announced at the Cupertino 'Awe dropping' event, and you can bet we'll be hard at work updating our guides to the best Apple Watches and best smartwatches.

Whether you've been paying attention to the leaks and rumors, or you're just catching up now, here's everything you need to know about the Apple Watches we reckon are coming on September 9.

1. Apple Watch Ultra 3

(Image credit: Future)

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 got a small upgrade last year in a new titanium black colorway, and it remains the gold standard when it comes to heart rate accuracy and versatility, recently being tested against a chest strap monitor.

Upgrades that we’re expecting from the Apple Watch Ultra 3 include satellite connectivity, as in the upcoming Google Pixel Watch 4. This feature would allow users to communicate from the watch without a phone in case of emergency, even if they're not using a data plan to connect to the internet.

If you do happen to be using a data plan with your Apple Watch, we’re expecting 5G connectivity for a serious boost to its navigation, communication and music streaming capabilities.

We’re also hoping for a new, more powerful chipset, and possibly high-blood-pressure detection. The Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 are virtually identical in terms of their design, and we’re not expecting any radical changes to the chassis and protruding Action button.

2. Apple Watch Series 11

(Image credit: Future)

The Apple Watch Series 11 is the next mainline iteration of the Apple Watch.

Last year, the Series 10 got a big wraparound screen redesign, a slimmer body and a new chipset, so we’re not expecting any big design changes here, especially as there will likely be two other watches getting most of the attention. Another new chip is likely.

We know that, alongside the rest of the range, it’s going to be getting all the new software smarts from watchOS 26, including the AI-powered Workout Buddy feature and redesigned Workout app. It’s possible we’ll get a much-anticipated blood-pressure detection feature, but from a hardware perspective, the Series 11 is likely to be similar to the 10.

3. Apple Watch SE 3

(Image credit: Future)

Every couple of years, the Apple Watch combines elements from some of its older models with a cheaper-to-make chassis to give us a new entry into the SE series.

We labelled the SE 2 the best cheap Apple Watch you can buy, and the SE 3 is likely to provide the same great experience in a more affordable package. It’s unlikely the SE 3 will get the Series 10’s wraparound screen, instead probably getting an older Series 9 style display to make use of cheaper, now-defunct older parts.

Expect modern, AI-powered watchOS 26 software inside a model designed to cost around $250 / £250 / AU$500.

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For the past week, I’ve been testing the new Oakley Meta smart glasses – and while I love running in them, my fiancée (and running partner) wishes I’d stop wearing them.

In case you’ve missed it, the ongoing collaboration between Meta, Essilor Luxotica has spawned seven new smart glasses – one limited-edition design and six regular – that incorporate useful technology into Oakley’s HSTN specs.

Just like you’ll find in Meta’s smart Ray-Bans, these Oakleys boast a 12MP camera for first-person shots, open ear speakers for music, and a Meta AI assistant that can answer your questions and perform helpful tasks (provided they’re connected to your phone and the internet).

That’s not saying they’re identical, however. Some hardware has been upgraded slightly – like the camera that records higher quality video and the battery life is said to be longer – but the design is the biggest change.

(Image credit: Oakley / Meta)

And this is why I love running in the HSTN smart glasses. The open ear speakers are handy for keeping me energized with music while I push myself, and I’ve found the HSTN frame is much better at hugging my face than the Wayfarers I have – meaning it doesn’t jostle or slip as much on my jogs.

They also boast Oakley’s 24K PRIZM lenses. These golden-tinted sunglasses aren’t just polarized to reduce harsh rays; they also offer improved contrast to your vision, which I’ve found in the 24K’s case makes it easier to spot terrain changes and grooves before I roll an ankle.

The Ruby PRIZM lenses are meant to be an even better running companion, though I will admit that a downside of these picks is that they’re only suitable for bright conditions. For general use, I stand by my belief that transition lenses are superior as they can morph between clear and shaded based on the sun’s intensity.

(Image credit: Oakley / Meta)

So why, with all these successes, does my partner despise them? Well, she doesn’t think they suit me. It’s not the design itself, but the color of the frames, which, for the pair I’m testing, are white. Given my very pale complexion, she jokes that it’s hard to tell where the glasses end and my head begins.

I’m not sure I agree. I think the Oakley HSTN look rad, but if you agree these smart glasses aren’t a good fashion fit for me, then I’m not annoyed – I think this is actually a good thing.

That’s because while they are a gadget, they’re also a clothing accessory. While you can find designs and colors that suit everyone, distinct and personal fashion choices require designs like these HSTNs that maybe don’t work for everyone, but really suit the people they do work for.

This is one of the big reasons I’m excited to see Android XR partnering with brands like Gentle Monster and other fashion-first brands – as I’m hopeful we’ll continue to see inventive designs get the ‘smart’ treatment.

(Image credit: Oakley / Meta)

Based on my experience, I can definitely recommend the Oakley smart glasses just as easily as I recommended the Meta Ray-Ban glasses before them.

My only advice would be to go and try them on first. Firstly, because the different PRIZM lenses will suit different sports from a practical perspective, but also to make sure you like how you look in them.

It’s not something we’re used to thinking about with tech, but wearables aren’t just redefining tech, they’re redefining fashion in equal measure – and you don’t want this accessory to wind up like those other fashion faux pas you regret buying.

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• SK Hynix sets new milestone with 321-layer QLC NAND for PC SSDs
• Performance and efficiency improvements come before enterprise and AI server rollout
• Consumers unlikely to see cheap high-capacity SSDs until costs fall further

SK Hynix has confirmed it has started mass production of its new 321-layer QLC NAND flash memory, making it the first in the industry to cross the 300-layer threshold with QLC technology.

The company completed development of the chip earlier in 2025, and says it plans to launch commercial products in the first half of 2026, once customer validation is finished.

The chip features 2Tb capacity per die, double that of previous solutions.

Power efficiency improvements

To address the slower performance that often comes with higher-density QLC NAND, SK Hynix expanded the number of planes within the chip from four to six.

This change allows for greater parallel processing, which improves read and write speeds while keeping power use low.

The company says its data transfer speeds are twice as fast compared to its prior QLC offerings, with write speeds up to 56% faster and read performance improved by 18 percent.

Power efficiency during write operations is also up by more than 23%, something that will matter in large data environments where energy costs are closely monitored.

Although the long-term aim is to use the technology in enterprise SSDs for data centers and ultra-high-capacity storage aimed at AI servers, the company says PC SSDs will be the first products to ship with the 321-layer chips.

That means consumers may see benefits before enterprise customers, although the initial focus will not necessarily be on low-cost, high-capacity drives.

"With the start of mass production, we have significantly strengthened our high-capacity product portfolio and secured cost competitiveness," said Jeong Woopyo, Head of NAND Development.

"We will make a major leap forward as a full-stack AI memory provider, in line with the explosive growth in AI demand and high-performance requirements in the data center market."

SK Hynix also plans to use its stacking technology, which allows up to 32 dies in one package, in future ultra-capacity solutions. It expects this to be especially important in AI-driven storage markets where both density and efficiency are key selling points.

While the arrival of this NAND marks a big step toward larger, more affordable storage, it is unlikely that cheap 8TB consumer SSDs will arrive any time soon, due to high manufacturing costs, packaging complexity, and validation cycles.

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Beats is no stranger to teasing forthcoming hardware – think earbuds or speakers – on its social channels, and earlier today, the Apple-owned brand did just that. This team is teasing the Powerbeats Fit, which looks to be the next generation of the popular Beats Fit Pro earbuds, and simultaneously a rebranding.

Shown off in a fresh hue of orange on athletes Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, and Jayden Daniels, these earbuds are promised to “Fit Every Move.” That’s likely a nod to the in-ear design of these, which use a wing tip to fit snugly and securely in the ear, unlike the Powerbeats Pro 2, which wrap around the ear.

Beats Fit Pro first launched way back in November of 2021 and has been on the market, with several new colors, including a partnership with Kim Kardashian. These earbuds still fill a nice spot within the Beats lineup, but compared to the Powerbeats Pro 2, there are certainly a few upgrades I hope we’ll be seeing soon, when the successor drops as the Powerbeats Fit.

The teaser concludes with a promised launch for Fall 2025, which could occur in mid-to-late September, October, or November of this year. With that in mind, here are three things we hope the Powerbeats Fit will offer.

The arrival of heart-rate tracking

(Image credit: Beats)

Considering the Powerbeats Pro 2 introduced the heart-rate tracking function, and AirPods Pro 3 are rumored to offer the capability as well, I hope we see these arrive in the smaller, lighter form factor of the Powerbeats Fit.

Yes, the actual tracking is a bit limited, and if you’re in the Apple ecosystem with an Apple Watch, that wearable will override the earbuds. Even so, the earbuds would offer tracking ability when both are in your ears for select workout apps, as well as on Android via the companion Beats app. It would bolster the feature set here a bit as we’d assume the Powerbeats Fit will feature active noise cancellation and a transparent mode like the Beats Fit Pro.

To power the arrival of the heart-rate tracking sensor, we’d expect to see a jump in the silicon powering these earbuds as well. Currently, the Beats Fit Pro features the Apple-made H1 Chip, but the Powerbeats Fit would hopefully step things into more modern territory with the likes of the H2 chip, the same one that powers the Powerbeats Pro 2.

A step up in durability

(Image credit: Beats)

The Beats Fit Pro currently offers IPX4 sweat and water resistance, which means they can survive light splashes. And that’s also the same degree of durability that the Powerbeats Pro 2 offer, but considering Beats is teasing these with professional athletes and many Beats earbuds or headphones owners like to use these during workouts, runs, or general training, an upgrade in this regard to at least IP55 or IPX7 would be great to see.

Considering the rating on the Powerbeats Pro 2, however, this one might be less likely – especially as it seems Beats is keeping the existing design here.

A longer runtime

A post shared by Beats by Dre (@beatsbydre)

A photo posted by on

Beats Fit Pro currently offers six hours of playback with noise cancellation turned on and seven hours with that mode off. You get a few recharges in the case, which Beats says offers 24 hours of battery life.

I’d like to see a step up here, at least closer to the excellent runtime of Powerbeats Pro 2 – those earbuds offer 10 hours of playback and 45 hours when you factor in recharge in the case. That’s a fantastic number, and while the Powerbeats Fit look to be a bit smaller than these, the newer chip and maybe some improvements in battery tech could help to make this a reality.

Similar to the transition from Powerbeats Pro to Powerbeats Pro 2, we’ll see if the design team at Beats was able to slim down the case size here. Fingers crossed that it sticks with a USB-C port.

The good news is that, considering Beats posted the teaser today, August 28, 2025, we only likely have a few weeks to go. Considering Beats rarely makes appearances during Apple events, it’s unlikely we’ll learn more about it at the September 9, 2025, event. However, Beats will likely share more in the weeks after that and officially introduce the Powerbeats Fit.

Let’s just hope the price stays competitive, as the Beats Fit Pro currently has an MSRP of $199 / £199 / AU$299.

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• NJ prisoners get only twenty 1.44MB floppy disks, barely enough for appeals
• Lawyers must transfer files from flash drives back to floppy disks, complicating the process
• Authorities say the ban on flash drives is a matter of security

A prisoner at New Jersey State Prison has publically voiced frustration at being forced to rely on floppy disks for critical legal work.

The US state's prison system restricts inmates to using floppy disks, each with a maximum capacity of 1.44MB, but each prisoner is allowed 20 floppy disks, a limit which barely matches the needs of complex legal correspondence.

Writing for the Prison Journalism Project, Jorge Luis Alvarado said, “Inside New Jersey State Prison, it’s like 1985, where we rely on out-of-date word processors, electric typewriters, and floppy disks that are going extinct in the free world.”

Outdated tools in modern times

Alvarado explains even a single legal brief can exceed this size, requiring the use of multiple disks to store one document.

Such a process becomes cumbersome, and with the added risk of corruption, the format introduces real uncertainty into how files are preserved.

In addition, since major companies like Sony stopped manufacturing floppies about 15 years ago, their scarcity only adds to the impracticality of the rule.

The reliance on floppy media seems especially arbitrary, given that they have only about a year of lifespan left and that flash drives became widely adopted more than two decades ago.

In the early 2000s, USB drives quickly eclipsed floppies, offering both speed and durability.

Today, they are inexpensive, compact, and reliable, with capacity far surpassing anything the floppy era could provide.

Even consumer SSD options now span into the terabyte range, with the largest SSD models rivaling enterprise storage.

Devices once labeled the fastest SSD can manage transfers that dwarf anything possible with legacy media.

However, authorities argue that the ban on flash drives is a matter of security, suggesting they could be misused within prison environments.

While this position explains the reluctance to modernize, it leaves prisoners disadvantaged when dealing with legal matters where technology should serve as a bridge, not a barrier.

Alvarado describes a process where lawyers must copy digital files onto flash drives, only to have them transferred back to floppy disks through a single library computer.

Delays are inevitable, with access often taking days at a time.

Some researchers estimate that between four and six percent of those incarcerated in the United States may be innocent.

Therefore, even if a fraction of these individuals face barriers to appeals due to outdated technology, the issue extends far beyond mere inconvenience.

Via Toms Hardware

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• Security agencies issue joint statement warning Chinese tech firms may be indirectly collaborating with Salt Typhoon
• Salt Typhoon is a hacking group behind multiple high-profile attacks
• Group is thought to have serious links to Chinese government

A new joint cybersecurity advisory from the National Security Agency (NSA) and other agencies like CISA, the UK’s NCSC, Canada’s CSIS, Japan’s NPA and many more looks ti expose advanced persistent threat (APT) actors believed to be sponsored by the Chinese Government.

According to the advisory, Chinese firms have been providing products and services to China’s Ministry of State Security and the military - which in turn, it is claimed, props up hacking groups.

These threat actors target infrastructure like telecommunications, government, military, transport, and energy agencies - specifically in a global hacking campaign linked to the notorious Salt Typhoon group.

Supplying components

“The data stolen through this activity against foreign telecommunications and Internet service providers (ISPs), as well as intrusions in the lodging and transportation sectors, ultimately can provide Chinese intelligence services with the capability to identify and track their targets’ communications and movements around the world," the advisory warns.

Some of the firms named in the advisory, like Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. Ltd, have already been sanctioned for their ties to the group.

Other named companies include Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co., Ltd., and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology Co., Ltd, all of which are thought to be linked.

The report also outlines specific threat hunting guidance and mitigations against these groups, particularly in quickly patching devices, monitoring for unauthorized activity, and tightening device configuration.

Earlier in 2025, Salt Typhoon was discovered carrying out a cyber espionage campaign that breached multiple communications firms, with hackers lingering inside US company networks for months.

The group was observed abusing vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Servers, which allowed them to breach networks and exfiltrate data. A fix for this flaw has been available for years, but research suggests that nearly 91% of the 30,000 affected instances remain un-patched - highlighting the importance of deploying effective patch management software.

China has always strenuously denied any ties to this group, and to any other cyber-espionage campaigns.

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• Novodisq claims 230PB rack capacity using proprietary 144TB SSDs
• Novoblade integrates compute, networking, and storage in dense blade servers
• Novodisq promises 95% lower power compared with conventional arrays

At the recent Flash Memory Summit, a new name from New Zealand surfaced in a bid to cause waves in the enterprise storage space.

Novodisq presented its Novoblade system, a platform built to combine dense storage, compute acceleration, and network capacity in a compact design.

The Novoblade modules are designed as blade servers, each offering 576TB of raw storage built on flash drives. The drives themselves are based on E2 form factor SSD units with capacities reaching 144TB per device.

How Novoblade is structured

The company says a 2U enclosure can hold up to 20 modules, which equates to 11.75PB of capacity in a single shelf.

Scaling this configuration across an entire 42U rack, Novodisq projects that storage can rise to 230PB.

Alongside the storage figures, Novodisq promotes Novoblade as a hyperconverged design that integrates compute resources directly into each blade.

These include ARM64 cores, FPGA resources, and optional AI or machine learning engines, with networking supported by 200Gbps or 400Gbps Ethernet.

The company positions this as a platform that can replace conventional NAS arrays, with up to 95% lower energy consumption. Such claims, however, are difficult to validate without detailed independent benchmarks.

While the theoretical capacity appears high, the price of such a system raises serious questions.

The company has not announced official figures, but estimates can be made from existing hardware, as a single 122.88TB SSD currently (August 2025) costs close to $14,000.

Using that as a reference, and accounting for Novoblade’s proprietary 144TB SSDs, a single blade with four drives could already exceed $60,000 before considering added compute and networking.

With 20 blades in a 2U enclosure, the total could approach $1.2 million. Extending this to a full 42U rack with 230PB of raw storage means costs would rise well beyond $2 million.

This positions Novoblade as an extremely dense solution, but one that only highly specialized organizations could justify financially.

On paper, these numbers suggest one of the densest deployments yet described, but practical use and performance remain untested.

Novodisq describes the Novoblade as both a storage server and a converged compute platform.

It can expose block, file, and object interfaces, or integrate into distributed systems such as Ceph or Lustre.

At the moment, major players in the storage field continue to focus on balancing capacity with performance.

Therefore, it remains uncertain whether Novodisq can provide not only the largest or fastest SSD arrangements but also sustainable pricing and support.

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• Nvidia Jetson Thor is framed as the robot brain for physical AI
• Major robotics companies are already listed as early adopters worldwide
• Nvidia Jetson Thor offers 2,070 FP4 teraflops within a 130-watt power envelope

Nvidia has released the Jetson AGX Thor developer kit, calling it the next step toward robotics systems which can function in real time.

The system, built on the Blackwell GPU line, is framed as a platform for “physical AI” and advanced robotic functions across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, farming, retail, and transport.

Nvidia says it can deliver up to 7.5 times more AI compute and over three times the energy efficiency of its Jetson Orin line, which has been in wide use since 2022.

Offers supercomputer-level capacity

Nvidia went on to describe Jetson Thor as “the ultimate supercomputer to drive the age of physical AI and general robotics.”

“We’ve built Jetson Thor for the millions of developers working on robotic systems that interact with and increasingly shape the physical world,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.

“With unmatched performance and energy efficiency, and the ability to run multiple generative AI models at the edge, Jetson Thor is the ultimate supercomputer to drive the age of physical AI and general robotics.”

With a quoted figure of 2,070 FP4 teraflops in a 130-watt envelope, it is positioned as powerful enough to run multiple generative models at once.

It supports vision-language-action models like Isaac GR00T N1.5, along with other LLM systems.

The device also integrates 128GB of memory, which is expected to make it capable of handling larger AI workflows at the edge.

Several robotics players are already listed as early adopters, including Agility Robotics, Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, Hexagon, and Medtronic.

Meta has also been named as an early partner, while companies such as John Deere, OpenAI, and Physical Intelligence are said to be testing the system.

“Nvidia Jetson Thor offers the computational horsepower and energy efficiency necessary to develop and scale the next generation of AI-powered robots that can operate safely and effectively in dynamic, real-world environments, transforming how we move and manage goods globally,” said Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics.

Nvidia notes more than two million developers already use its robotics stack, with over 7,000 customers having deployed Jetson Orin hardware in edge AI projects.

Jetson Thor runs on the Nvidia Jetson software platform, which is designed to support multiple AI tools at once.

The package integrates with Nvidia Isaac for simulation, Metropolis for vision AI, and Holoscan for real-time sensor processing.

This arrangement is intended to allow one system-on-module to support many AI writer models and workflows, rather than requiring several separate chips.

The developer kit is available now at $3,499 and the production systems, including carrier boards, will be distributed worldwide through its partners.

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• Windows 11's August update reportedly introduced an SSD breaking bug
• It's been suggested that SSDs using Phison controllers are more likely to be affected
• Phison has conducted extensive testing, but couldn't reproduce the bug a single time, adding that its customers haven't reported the glitch either

The bug that recently emerged in Windows 11, which is reportedly breaking some SSDs, is being investigated by Microsoft and its partners - and now we've heard back from one of the parties involved.

This is Phison, which manufactures SSD controllers used across a wide range of drives from various manufacturers, and is involved in this controversy because some reports suggest that SSDs using these controllers were more likely to be affected by the bug.

Phison has now shared the results from its extensive testing pertaining to this matter, as Neowin reports, issuing the following statement: "Phison dedicated over 4,500 cumulative testing hours to the drives reported as potentially impacted and conducted more than 2,200 test cycles. We were unable to reproduce the reported issue, and no partners or customers have reported that the issue affected their drives at this time."

So, Phison feels it's in the clear, what with a whole lot of testing having turned up nothing, and no reports coming to the company directly from its customers, either. Of course, reports from individual consumers are going to go directly to the SSD maker (not those responsible for the controller), but when Phison says "partners or customers," it is talking about those drive manufacturers (and others, too, no doubt Microsoft included).

What hasn't helped Phison's cause here is a fake document that did the rounds online just after the bug came to light in Windows 11's August update. This purported to contain a list of affected Phison controllers, but was completely fabricated as the company quickly made clear.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)Analysis: Microsoft's findings are still to come

Although Phison has conducted extensive testing, this can't be regarded as a definitive conclusion. Microsoft's investigation into this SSD breaking bug in Windows 11 is still being carried out, and until we see the result of that, there remains doubt as to exactly what's going on here.

Reports of SSD failures still remain scattered. So it must be noted, that this seems to be a rare issue. At any rate, I'm hoping Microsoft will make its findings known sooner rather than later, and clear this matter up - as it's only becoming more confusing with this latest instalment of the saga.

Phison also tacked on some advice with its statement on best practices to "support high-performance storage devices" undergoing extended workloads, such as shifting large files - like prolonged write operations which apparently triggered the Windows 11 bug. Phison observes that a "proper heatsink or thermal pad" will help in terms of maintaining optimal temperatures and ensuring the drive doesn't get too hot (or throttles as a result).

Note that imparting this advice isn't directly related to the bug - meaning Phison isn't saying you should be using a heatsink to avoid coming off the rails with this Windows 11 glitch. This is just general advice aimed at all high-end SSD owners, letting them know that if they are running intense workloads over long durations, using extra cooling is advised.

Mind you, if your SSD doesn't have a heatsink already, adding one is a somewhat fiddly affair, especially for the less tech-savvy (although they are less likely to be running a high-performance solid-state drive, admittedly).

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• IBM and AMD partner to combine quantum and high performance computing
• Collaboration aims to accelerate research in fields from drug discovery to logistics
• Companies plan open source platforms and hybrid workflows with initial demo soon

IBM and AMD have announced plans to “build the future of computing” by collaborating on new architecture to blend quantum systems with high-performance hardware in a bid to solve some of the world's most difficult problems.

The partnership will combine IBM’s expertise in building quantum computers and related software with AMD’s background in processors, graphics, and AI accelerators in a step toward quantum-centric supercomputing.

The companies are looking at ways in which to integrate AMD CPUs, GPUs, and FPGAs with IBM’s quantum computers, with the ultimate goal to accelerate emerging algorithms that neither quantum nor classical systems can handle on their own.

Pushing past the limits

"Quantum computing will simulate the natural world and represent information in an entirely new way," said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM.

"By exploring how quantum computers from IBM and the advanced high-performance compute technologies of AMD can work together, we will build a powerful hybrid model that pushes past the limits of traditional computing."

The two tech giants will work together to build open-source platforms that can scale and support research in fields such as drug development, materials science, and supply chain optimization.

Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD, also emphasized the importance of the partnership, saying, "High-performance computing is the foundation for solving the world's most important challenges. As we partner with IBM to explore the convergence of high-performance computing and quantum technologies, we see tremendous opportunities to accelerate discovery and innovation."

AMD has previously worked on some of the world’s fastest supercomputers, including Frontier and El Capitan.

This hybrid approach is also expected to support IBM’s roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing, a milestone the company has said it hopes to reach before the end of the decade.

IBM has already begun similar work with other partners including Riken in Japan, as well as institutions like Cleveland Clinic and Lockheed Martin.

An initial demonstration is planned for later this year and will show how IBM quantum computers can work alongside AMD technology to deliver hybrid quantum-classical workflows.

The partnership will support open-source ecosystems, such as Qiskit, in a bid to encourage the development of algorithms for quantum-centric supercomputing.

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• Hackers reach out to companies via a "Contact Us" website form
• They then talk with the victims for weeks before deploying the malware
• The hackers are attacking with custom-built backdoors

Cybercriminals are trying to deliver backdoor malware to US-based organizations by tricking them to sign fake non-disclosure agreements (NDA), experts have warned.

A new report from security researchers Check Point outlined how in the campaign, the miscreants pose as a US-based company, looking for partners, suppliers, and similar.

Often, they buy abandoned or dormant domains with legitimate business histories to appear authentic. After that, they reach out to potential victims, not via email (as is standard practice) but through their “Contact Us” forms or other communication channels provided on the website.

Dropping MixShell

When the victims get back to their inquiry, it’s usually via email, which opens the doors to deliver the malware.

However, the attackers don’t do it immediately. Instead, they build rapport with the victims, going back and forth for weeks until, at one point, they ask their victims to sign an attached NDA.

The archive contains a couple of documents, including clean PDF and DOCX files to throw the victims off, and a malicious .lnk file that triggers a PowerShell-based loader.

This loader ultimately deploys a backdoor called MixShell, which is a custom in-memory implant featuring a DNS based command and control (C2) and enhanced persistence mechanisms.

Check Point did not discuss the number of potential victims, but it did say that they are in the dozens, varying in size, geography, and industries.

The majority (around 80%) are located in the United States, with Singapore, Japan, and Switzerland, also having a notable number of victims. The companies are mostly in industrial manufacturing, hardware & semiconductors, consumer goods & services, and biotech & pharma.

“This distribution suggests that the attacker seeks entry points across wealthy operational and supply chain-critical industries instead of focusing on a specific vertical,” Check Point argues.

The researchers couldn’t confidently attribute the campaign to any known threat actor, but said that there is evidence pointing to the TransferLoader campaign, and a cybercriminal cluster tracked as UNK_GreenSec.

Via The Record

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• Two versions: one with sapphires and one with diamonds
• Hi-res audio, ANC and 65-hour battery life

Luxury electronics brand Loewe have teamed up with luxury timepiece creators Jacob & Co to create two sets of headphones so expensive you'll need to give them a bodyguard.

The Loewe x Jacob & Co. over-ears have "have reimagined headphones as objets d’art." There are two versions: the Noir Rainbow, whose ear cups feature a 14K rose gold circle with 15.97 carats of multi-colored sapphires; and Ice Diamond, which is "radiant" with a 14K white gold ring and 12.47 carats of white diamonds.

Whichever pair you choose you're making a statement, and that statement is "I clearly don't pay enough tax". Because the cheaper Rainbow pair is €99,000 (about $115,235 / £85,440 / AU$176,945) and the Ice Diamond pair is €119,000 (about $138,500 / £102,700 / AU$212,690).

The Ice Diamond model is "radiant with 12.47 carats of white diamonds" (Image credit: Loewe)Loewe diamond headphones: features and availability

If you happen to have enough cash for a six-figure set of headphones you'd better move fast: there will only be five pairs of each model.

I suspect the would-be buyers couldn't care less about the specs, but whichever pair you go for you're getting hi-res audio "with expert tuning", adaptive ANC, integrated AI "for voice assistant and real-time translation" and up to 65 hours of battery life.

It's easy to go all Class War here and suggest that spotting such headphones in the wild is a great way to recognize the people who'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes (the launch is taking place on Loewe's luxury yacht, with the orcas).

But underneath all the gems there's what could be a very credible rival to the likes of the AirPods Max and other high-end headphone options, and I suspect that considerably more affordable versions of these headphones will arrive in due course.

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• Bioshock creator Ken Levine has provided a new update on Judas and the game's core gameplay feature: Villainy
• Villainy is a choice-driven system that affects who will become the villain out of the Big 3
• The studio isn't ready to share a release date

After over a year of radio silence, Bioshock creator Ken Levine has finally emerged to provide an update on his next game, Judas.

In Ghost Story Games' first developer log, Levine said that the studio is focusing all its efforts on finishing the game and has decided to begin having a more direct communication with fans, which will offer more frequent updates than before.

For this first update, Levine highlighted Villainy, a central feature of Judas that is essentially a choice-driven system that will affect who will become the game's villain out of three characters: Tom, Nefertiti, and Hope.

"In Judas, your actions will attract members of the Big 3 to you as friends. But ignore one of them enough, and they become the VILLAIN," Levine explained. "From there, they will get access to a new suite of powers to subvert your actions and goals."

Villainy is just one example of how the Big 3 can retaliate, and the "more dangerous and character-specific stuff" will be revealed at a later date.

Levine also touched on the game's relationship system and once again compared it to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's reactive Nemesis system, explaining that the Big 3 will observe the player and have feelings about how you approach everything from combat, hacking, crafting, and how they interact with the other two characters.

"In Judas, you're going to get to know these characters intimately. We want losing one of them to feel like losing a friend," he said. "We want to play with that dynamic, and we want that choice to be super hard. The Big 3 are all going to be competing for your favor and attention.

"They can bribe you, save you in battle, talk s**t about the other characters, and share with you their darkest secrets. But eventually, you've got to decide who you trust and who you don't."

Judas still doesn't have a release date, because Ghost Story Games is "not quite ready to finalize that," but the game is expected to launch on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

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• Apple Music has partnered with free audio streaming platform TuneIn to give non-subscribers access to its live streamed radio stations
• You can now access six of Apple Music's live radio stations for free – a first for the music streaming service
• It looks like Apple is trying to entice more subscribers by expanding its reach outside of the Apple Music ecosystem

In a first for Apple Music, the music streaming service is offering free access to its six live streamed radio stations in a new partnership with TuneIn – a free online audio streaming platform that gives listeners access to radio, podcasts, sports, and more.

Apple Music has partnered with TuneIn to extend the reach of its live radio shows to the free audio streamer’s 75 million monthly listeners, The Wall Street Journal ($/£) reports, and you can access six Apple Music Radio stations outside of the Apple Music app for free right now. They are:

• Apple Music 1
• Apple Music Hits
• Apple Music Country
• Apple Música Uno
• Apple Music Club
• Apple Music Chill

Apple seems to be conducting another strategic move to entice new subscribers, or regain ones who may have made the switch to competing music streaming services – most notably Spotify. Just last week Spotify unveiled its rival to Apple Music’s AutoMix, and it announced its new Messages feature just a few days ago.

While Spotify offers an ad-supported tier, Apple Music doesn’t, and therefore lacks other means of attracting new subscribers beyond free trials. The decision to expand its radio station access enables it to reach millions of potential new listeners, and if you’re tempted to make the switch, these are the Apple Music Radio stations I’d try out first.

1. Apple Music 1

(Image credit: Future)

This is arguably Apple Music’s main radio station, which airs daily music shows from hosts such as Rebecca Judd, Matt Wilkinson, and of course, Zane Lowe. It’s a hot spot for both the latest music releases and for pop culture conversation, and often features guest hosting sessions from some of the biggest artists in the world.

2. Apple Music Hits

(Image credit: Future)

Similar to Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits also has dedicated slots hosted by both broadcasters and artists, but its main aim is to bring you the best hits from the last 20 years through radio segments highlighting specific genres and music of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s. It also has curated shows featuring today’s hits, but not to the extent of Apple Music 1.

3. Apple Music Chill

(Image credit: Future)

Apple Music Chill is exactly what the name suggests, serving up low-tempo, relaxing tracks which Apple describes as “an escape, a refuge, a sanctuary in sound”. It features laid-back artists and producers, and a variety of instrumental music including dinner party and coffee shop mixes, piano chill outs and spa music.

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• Hackers are advertising a database with 1.8 billion Discord messages on dark web forums
• It is possible that the scraped data is public
• Discord is expected to shut the service down

Someone is selling almost two billion Discord messages and other data, allegedly scraped from the platform, experts have warned.

Security researchers at Cybernews, who saw an ad on an underground hacking forum for the archive.

The data, most likely scraped from the platform, includes 1.8 billion Discord messages, 35 million users, 207 million voice sessions, and 6,000 Discord servers, and can be obtained for a fee.

A Spy.Pet copycat?

Discord is a communication platform that lets people chat via text, voice, or video, often in servers organized around communities, games, or interests. It’s popular for gaming, social groups, and professional communities alike, and many servers on the platform are public, meaning anyone can join and read the contents, including chat messages, member names, and more.

This also means that much of the data being sold by the miscreants could be public. Still, while the content is technically visible, harvesting it en masse still violates the platform’s Terms of Service, and using it for commercial purposes, or personal data collection, could run into privacy laws like the GDPR or CCPA.

Whether or not the data is public, can only be determined with a detailed analysis, which no one has done at press time. In any case, it is likely Discord will shut it down, similar to how it shut down a previous service that tried the same thing, called Spy.Pet.

In late April 2024, a website that offered billions of Discord chat logs for sale, was taken offline by the chat app provider. Discord accounts associated with the service were banned, and the company confirmed the service breached its ToS:

"Scraping our services and self-botting are violations of our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines,” the company spokesperson said in a statement at the time. “In addition to banning the affiliated accounts, we are considering appropriate legal action."

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Honor’s latest book-style foldable, the Magic V5, has finally landed in the UK and Europe after debuting in China earlier this year.

It arrives just a few weeks after the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and a month ahead of the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which is set to begin shipping on October 9.

But how does Honor’s latest foldable flagship compare? We’re currently putting the Magic V5 through its paces – stay tuned for our full review in the coming weeks – but below, we’ve detailed the new phone’s price and on-paper specs versus two of the best foldable phones of 2025.

The Honor Magic V5 with 512GB and 12GB of RAM starts at £1,699.99, undercutting the Pixel 10 Pro Fold by £50 and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by a hefty £100. You'll also get twice as much storage for that price, though Google’s phone does offer a larger 16GB RAM capacity as standard.

Design-wise, Honor claims that the Ivory White version of the Magic V5 is the “thinnest foldable phone” on the market, but our own testing proved that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is, in fact, the thinnest book-style foldable in any orientation. Mind you, at 4.2mm when open and 9.39mm when closed, Honor’s Magic V5 is still improbably slim, and the difference in thickness between it and the Samsung is tough to discern with the naked eye.

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, meanwhile, is visibly thicker than both the Honor and Samsung, but it does best the competition with a unique IP68 water and dust resistance rating; the Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7 get IP58 and IP48, respectively.

Here’s how all three phones compare on the specs front:

Honor Magic V5

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

Main display:

7.95-inch LTPO AMOLED (2172 x 2352) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

8-inch LTPO OLED (2076 x 2152) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

8-inch LTPO OLED (1968 x 2184) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

Cover display:

6.43-inch LTPO OLED (1060 x 2376) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

6.4-inch OLED (1080 x 2364) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

6.5-inch LTPO OLED (1080 x 2520) w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

Google Tensor G5

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

RAM:

12GB / 16GB

16GB

12GB / 16GB

Storage:

512GB

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 16 / MagicOS 9

Android 16

Android 16 / One UI 8

Main cameras:

50MP wide / 50MP ultra-wide / 64MP telephoto (3x zoom)

48MP wide / 10.5MP ultra-wide / 10.8MP telephoto (5x zoom)

200MP wide / 12MP ultra-wide / 10MP telephoto (3x zoom)

Selfie cameras:

20MP wide / 20MP wide

10MP wide / 10MP wide

10MP wide / 10MP ultra-wide

Battery:

5,820mAh (Si/C)

5,015mAh

4,400mAh

Charging:

66W wired / 50W wireless / 5W reverse wired

30W wired / 15W wireless (magnetic)

25W wired / 15W wireless / 4.5W reverse wireless

At a glance, the Honor Magic V5 boasts bigger ultra-wide, telephoto, and front-facing sensors than both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Pixel 10 Pro Fold, while its hefty 5,820mAh silicon-carbon battery could deliver superior battery life, too.

The Magic V5 ships in all colors except Reddish Brown in the UK (Image credit: Honor)

The phone's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset also promises Galaxy-equaling performance, though we'll need to run our own in-house tests to confirm whether that's the case.

Nonetheless, we've come a long way from the days of the Royole FlexPai and original Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. The latest Honor, Samsung, and Google foldables are powerful, durable, and versatile devices that rival the very best phones on the market, and you're unlikely to be left disappointed with any of them.

The Honor Magic V5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 are available to order now, while the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is up for pre-order (as mentioned, the phone begins shipping on October 9). Our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review is live now, and we'll be posting our full Honor Magic V5 and Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold reviews in the coming weeks.

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• Tesla's teaser images surface online showing a red spoiler
• Tesla insider believe it signals a new Model Y Performance trim
• Test vehicles have also recently been spied lapping the Nurburgring

Tesla’s Europe and Middle East X account posted a short teaser image yesterday that appears to show the rear of a Tesla vehicle, complete with a small spoiler. The post was also accompanied by the not-so subtle phrase “Spoiler alert”.

Considering multiple news outlets also spied the recently refreshed Model Y lapping Germany’s Nurburgring, complete with a new 21-inch alloy wheels, bucket seats and updates to the front and rear fascias, all hints point towards a new Performance trim level for the Model Y “Juniper”.

Spoiler alert pic.twitter.com/mEcYSAt2GjAugust 27, 2025

Since Tesla’s popular SUV was updated earlier this year, the company stopped selling the range-topping and fastest Performance model, so it makes sense that the silk sheet could be dropped tomorrow.

While some naysayers have bemoaned the fact that this isn’t new product, merely an update, those looking for a spicier and more focussed Model Y have been eagerly awaiting the announcement.

Sales boost

(Image credit: Tesla)

Although it does’t make a lot of sense to bestow a large, practical family SUV with sports car performance, previous generations of the Model Y Performance have sold well. The refreshed styling of the recently-updated model line will also arguably suit some of the sportier aesthetically changes better than they previously have.

Minor tweaks that were spotted on the vehicles caught lapping Germany’s most famous high performance circuit included Performance badging, upgraded brakes and rumors of upgraded suspension.

Tesla will hope that the release of a more premium and performance-orientated trim line will help boost sales, which have been particularly dreadful across Europe of late, with a 40% drop in July compared to the previous year.

We will have to wait for the full reveal to see what Tesla has in store.

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• Security researchers have found that the Russia-developed messaging app MAX comes with "excessive tracking" abilities
• The app must be pre-installed on every new device sold in Russia from September 1
• The Kremlin is also considering blocking WhatsApp, today's most popular messaging app in Russia

Russian WhatsApp rival, the state-developed Max messaging app, appears to be designed to spy on its users.

That's the verdict coming from multiple technical analyses commissioned by Forbes, only days before the app will be forced onto all devices sold in Russia. From September 1, tech vendors must pre-install the MAX app on all new smartphones and tablets.

Experts at the Russian digital rights group, Roskomsvoboda, however, told TechRadar that MAX actually comes with fewer permissions than rivals like Telegram and WhatsApp. Yet they still strongly suggest against using the app for confidential communication.

"The bigger issue lies in the fact that everything transmitted through MAX will be stored on government servers," Ilya Perevalov, Technical Expert of Roskomsvoboda and RKS Global, told TechRadar, adding that the full impact on users "will become clear in the future."

Developed by VK – the provider behind Mail.ru email and VKnote social media services – Max was first launched in March 2025 and already counts 18 million registered users, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Similar to the Chinese WeChat, MAX is also integrated with government services.

What are the risks of using MAX?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Security researchers who talked to Forbes have all found the app to constantly monitor users' activities thanks to "excessive tracking" capabilities. The app also seems to be lacking encryption protections, while being built on an overall insecure design.

These findings confirm what privacy experts have long feared – using MAX will make Russian citizens vulnerable to state surveillance. An allegation that, so far, the Kremlin has strongly denied, declaring to Reuters that "it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram."

While experts at Roskomsvoboda confirmed what the Kremlin claims about the number of permissions MAX asks for, they are still warning that the app could turn into a surveillance tool.

"MAX has enormous surveillance potential, as all information and communication within it is accessible to intelligence agencies in real time," explains Perevalov.

MAX users are also at higher risk of data breaches and fraud, especially considering that sensitive data like payment and banking details are set to be integrated within the app.

All in all, "MAX should under no circumstances be used for confidential communication," warns Perevalov.

Can people in Russia use other encrypted messaging services?

While Signal has been blocked in Russia since August last year, WhatsApp is still available and the most used messaging app across the country at the time of writing.

This could soon change, however, as authorities have recently confirmed their intention to ban WhatsApp in Russia, blocking access to the only Meta-owned service still functioning in the country.

Even more recently, on August 13, 2025, Interfax confirmed that authorities partially restrict calls on both Telegram and WhatsApp, allegedly as a measure to combat criminal and terrorist activities.

The looming WhatsApp ban comes as the Kremlin also recently passed a law to punish online searches for so-called 'extremist' content, while adding new penalties to those using VPN services.

This means that using one of the best VPN services to bypass a potential ban on WhatsApp, or any other app for that matter, has suddenly become ever more challenging.

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If you watched the recent launch of ChatGPT-5 from OpenAI, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was purely a coding tool. While Sam Altman and his staff did interview one person who used ChatGPT to help understand the medical jargon her doctors were saying to her, the majority of the presentation seemed to be concerned with how great ChatGPT-5 was at writing code.

Out in the real world, however, people use AI and ChatGPT specifically a bit differently. As the outcry from the recent dropping of the old ChatGPT-4o model after the launch of ChatGPT-5 shows, a lot of people use ChatGPT for their mental health, and if you change its personality, it affects them directly. For them, it acts as a mix between a life coach, a therapist, and a friend.

OpenAI seems to be slowly waking up to this fact and the responsibility it bears, and has recently posted an announcement, in which it says, “We sometimes encounter people in serious mental and emotional distress. We wrote about this a few weeks ago and had planned to share more after our next major update. However, recent heartbreaking cases of people using ChatGPT in the midst of acute crises weigh heavily on us, and we believe it’s important to share more now.”

Strengthening safeguards

So, while OpenAI is not announcing anything new just yet, it wants to “explain what ChatGPT is designed to do, where our systems can improve, and the future work we’re planning.”

In a nutshell, OpenAI is working to improve ChatGPT in a few key areas related to its users' health and safety, firstly, by strengthening safeguards in long conversations: “ChatGPT may correctly point to a suicide hotline when someone first mentions intent, but after many messages over a long period of time, it might eventually offer an answer that goes against our safeguards. “

Secondly, it is refining how it blocks content. “We’ve seen some cases where content that should have been blocked wasn’t. These gaps usually happen because the classifier underestimates the severity of what it’s seeing. We’re tuning those thresholds so protections trigger when they should.”

OpenAI is also planning to expand interventions to more people in crisis. “We are exploring how to intervene earlier and connect people to certified therapists before they are in an acute crisis. That means going beyond crisis hotlines and considering how we might build a network of licensed professionals that people could reach directly through ChatGPT. This will take time and careful work to get right.”

Parental controls

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Another interesting innovation is introducing parental controls. “We will also soon introduce parental controls that give parents options to gain more insight into, and shape, how their teens use ChatGPT. We’re also exploring making it possible for teens (with parental oversight) to designate a trusted emergency contact. That way, in moments of acute distress, ChatGPT can do more than point to resources: it can help connect teens directly to someone who can step in.”

ChatGPT has evolved so far and so quickly that it often feels to me like OpenAI hasn’t really had time to sit down and think about all the implications of its latest innovations before it announces them.

Parental controls should have been an option for all AI chatbots while now, but it’s good that they are finally going to be added. Other AIs, like Copilot, for example, seem to have more guardrails than ChatGPT regarding the types of discussions you can have, but also farm out their parental controls to either the Windows or Apple operating systems.

How OpenAI implements effective parental controls that aren’t easy to circumvent remains to be seen (and is one of the reasons that AIs typically resort to recommending the operating system’s built-in parental controls instead), but I think it’s time for the conversation to start happening.

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• Healthcare Services Group suffered a cyberattack in late September 2024
• The attackers stole sensitive data on more than 600,000 people
• The company is offering free identity theft monitoring

The Healthcare Services Group (HSGI), a support services provider for healthcare facilities, suffered a cyberattack in which it lost sensitive data on more than 600,000 people.

In a data breach notification letter, the company said it spotted the intrusion on October 7, 2024, and after investigating the incident, learned, “certain files” were stolen between September 27, and October 3.

In total, more than 624,000 people had their data stolen, which includes full names, Social Security numbers (SSN), driver’s license numbers, state identification numbers, financial account information, and account access credentials.

Pending abuse

The stolen data is extremely sensitive and can be exploited in multiple ways. With names, SSNs, and driver’s license numbers, they can commit all sorts of identity theft, from opening bank accounts, to taking out loans, or even filing fraudulent tax returns.

Financial account information and login credentials allow attackers to steal money directly or gain access to other online accounts if passwords are reused. With personal details, criminals can carry out sophisticated phishing attacks or social engineering schemes, tricking victims into revealing even more information or impersonating them for fraudulent purposes.

According to CyberInsider, breaches like this "could lead to downstream privacy risks or compliance implications under HIPAA and other frameworks," as well.

None of this appears to be happening right now, as HSGI says there is no evidence the data is being abused in the wild - but this doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though, and all victims are being offered free identity theft protection services for either 12 or 24 months, depending on the combination of data stolen.

In the meantime, victims should be extra careful of incoming email messages, or other forms of communication, especially those claiming to come from HSGI. Emails carrying attachments, or a sense of urgency, should be particularly scrutinized, as these are most likely fraud attempts.

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