TechRadar News

It's hard to believe that Foundation season 3 reaches its midway point this week, but here we are.

The Apple TV Original's next episode, titled 'Where Tyrants Spend Eternity', will debut on one of the world's best streaming services very soon. So, I suspect you'll want to know when the space opera's latest chapter will be available to watch.

As I have with every episode this season, I'll tell you when I expect Foundation's next entry to land on Apple TV+. A full release schedule for this season can be found at the end of this article, too, for those of you who want to know when future installments will drop.

What is the launch date for Foundation season 3 episode 5?

Cheer up, Magnifico, a new episode is out on Friday! (Image credit: Apple TV+)

The next episode of one of the best Apple TV+ shows will make its bow on Friday, August 8. That's in most nations, anyway, because I suspect it'll arrive a day earlier (August 7) in North and South America due to time zone differences.

As for the exact time Foundation season 3's fifth chapter will be released, I can't say for sure. Apple doesn't publicly disclose when new episodes go live. However, based on when some of this season's entries have landed on the platform, here's my best guess as to when you can stream 'Where Tyrants Spend Eternity' (NB: if your country isn't listed below, just factor in the time difference between where you are and the US ET time to see when it'll be released where you live):

• US – Thursday, August 7 at 9pm PT / Friday, August 8 at 12am ET
• Canada – Thursday, August 7 at 9pm PT / Friday, August 8 at 12am ET
• UK – Friday, August 8 at 5am BST
• India – Friday, August 8 at 9:30am IST
• Singapore – Friday, August 8 at 12pm SGT
• Australia – Friday, August 8 at 2pm AEST
• New Zealand – Friday, August 8 at 4pm NZST

Foundation season 3 full episode release schedule

Raise your hand if you want to know when new chapters will be released (Image credit: Apple TV+)

If you're frequented these parts before, you'll know when new episodes of Foundation season 3 will launch. Newcomers, though, can see when they'll arrive via the list below:

• Foundation season 3 episode 1 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 2 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 3 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 4 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 5 – Friday, August 8
• Foundation season 3 episode 6 – Friday, August 15
• Foundation season 3 episode 7 – Friday, August 22
• Foundation season 3 episode 8 – Friday, August 29
• Foundation season 3 episode 9 – Friday, September 5
• Foundation season 3 episode 10 – Friday, September 12

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• Hulu will be “fully integrated” into Disney+ in 2026
• The standalone Hulu app will be shut down
• Bob Iger claims “price elasticity” will help a “better consumer experience”

Disney has reported its third quarter FY25 earnings, but it’s not the company’s figures that have made headlines, with CEO Bob Iger announcing the “full integration” of Hulu and Disney+ set for 2026. In effect, this means the standalone Hulu app will no longer exist, as the platform’s entire back catalog will be moved to Disney+, which already houses some Hulu content.

As Iger himself explained in Disney’s earnings report: “Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content in a single app.”

The statement continues: “By creating a truly differentiated streaming offering, we will be providing subscribers tremendous choice, convenience, quality, and enhanced personalization. This will enhance our ability to continue to grow profitability and margins in our entertainment streaming business through expected higher engagement, lower churn, and advertising revenue potential, as well as operational efficiencies that over time may result in savings that we can reinvest back into the business.”

Of course, the first thing this makes us think of is a potential price hike, with existing Disney+ subscription plans and bundles already increasing by roughly $1-2 every year for the past three years. While no confirmed plans have been announced, Iger also hinted that “price elasticity” would be considered. While we’ve got no clear idea what that means yet, I don’t think we should be too quick to be negative.

Disney+ and Hulu’s merger might not mean a significant price hike next year

Existing Hulu and Disney+ plans. (Image credit: Hulu)

Let’s look at the existing plans as a guide. Disney did announce price increases for standalone subscriptions, Hulu and ESPN+ bundles, this time last year, but the no ads Disney+, Hulu and ESPN premium bundle remained at its regular $19.99 price point in the US. Disney+ prices in Australia went up again in February 2025, but stayed within the $1-2 increase remit that US prices saw in earlier months. But regardless of which bundles hiked the price up and which didn’t, these are all bundles… and Disney won’t be able to sell as many of those now.

Unless Disney takes more of the best streaming services around under its wing, Disney+ can only feasibly be coupled with ESPN+ and HBO Max as bundles if Hulu solely exists within the main app. We can make a pretty sure guess of this as Hulu will be outright replacing the existing Star tile within the app. As Iger explained: “Hulu will also become a global general entertainment brand, and in the fall, it will replace the Star tile on Disney+ internationally. Work is already underway to continue enhancing our technology, and over the coming months, we will be implementing numerous improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage. All of this work will culminate with the unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year.”

The company also won’t want to lose any of its subscribers through the integration process. Disney and Hulu combined ended the third quarter on 183 million subscribers, which was up 2.6 million from the second quarter. Disney is predicting a further 10 million new subscribers for the fourth quarter, which can’t be achieved if people begin to begrudge the service for hiking up prices to accommodate a change they potentially didn’t ask for.

For now, we don’t know where this leaves subscribers financially, but let’s not panic just yet. Disney hasn’t given any reason for us to absorb another price increase – if anything, there are fewer reasons for that to be the case. Disney will be launching a new ESPN standalone streaming service on August 21st (that will be separate to ESPN+), which might give us a clearer idea on where prices are heading.

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• Hulu will be “fully integrated” into Disney+ in 2026
• The standalone Hulu app will be shut down
• Bob Iger claims “price elasticity” will help a “better consumer experience”

Disney has reported its third quarter FY25 earnings, but it’s not the company’s figures that have made headlines, with CEO Bob Iger announcing the “full integration” of Hulu and Disney+ set for 2026. In effect, this means the standalone Hulu app will no longer exist, as the platform’s entire back catalog will be moved to Disney+, which already houses some Hulu content.

As Iger himself explained in Disney’s earnings report: “Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+. This will create an impressive package of entertainment, pairing the highest-caliber brands and franchises, great general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading live sports content in a single app.”

The statement continues: “By creating a truly differentiated streaming offering, we will be providing subscribers tremendous choice, convenience, quality, and enhanced personalization. This will enhance our ability to continue to grow profitability and margins in our entertainment streaming business through expected higher engagement, lower churn, and advertising revenue potential, as well as operational efficiencies that over time may result in savings that we can reinvest back into the business.”

Of course, the first thing this makes us think of is a potential price hike, with existing Disney+ subscription plans and bundles already increasing by roughly $1-2 every year for the past three years. While no confirmed plans have been announced, Iger also hinted that “price elasticity” would be considered. While we’ve got no clear idea what that means yet, I don’t think we should be too quick to be negative.

Disney+ and Hulu’s merger might not mean a significant price hike next year

Existing Hulu and Disney+ plans. (Image credit: Hulu)

Let’s look at the existing plans as a guide. Disney did announce price increases for standalone subscriptions, Hulu and ESPN+ bundles, this time last year, but the no ads Disney+, Hulu and ESPN premium bundle remained at its regular $19.99 price point in the US. Disney+ prices in Australia went up again in February 2025, but stayed within the $1-2 increase remit that US prices saw in earlier months. But regardless of which bundles hiked the price up and which didn’t, these are all bundles… and Disney won’t be able to sell as many of those now.

Unless Disney takes more of the best streaming services around under its wing, Disney+ can only feasibly be coupled with ESPN+ and HBO Max as bundles if Hulu solely exists within the main app. We can make a pretty sure guess of this as Hulu will be outright replacing the existing Star tile within the app. As Iger explained: “Hulu will also become a global general entertainment brand, and in the fall, it will replace the Star tile on Disney+ internationally. Work is already underway to continue enhancing our technology, and over the coming months, we will be implementing numerous improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage. All of this work will culminate with the unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year.”

The company also won’t want to lose any of its subscribers through the integration process. Disney and Hulu combined ended the third quarter on 183 million subscribers, which was up 2.6 million from the second quarter. Disney is predicting a further 10 million new subscribers for the fourth quarter, which can’t be achieved if people begin to begrudge the service for hiking up prices to accommodate a change they potentially didn’t ask for.

For now, we don’t know where this leaves subscribers financially, but let’s not panic just yet. Disney hasn’t given any reason for us to absorb another price increase – if anything, there are fewer reasons for that to be the case. Disney will be launching a new ESPN standalone streaming service on August 21st (that will be separate to ESPN+), which might give us a clearer idea on where prices are heading.

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• Microsoft reveals it is developing an AI threat detection tool
• Project Ire has so far scored well in accuracy testing
• The tool has the potential to meet the 'gold standard' for malware classification

Microsoft has introduced a new AI tool it says has the ability to meet the “gold standard” of malware detection, identification, and classification.

While still only a working prototype, Project Ire has shown great promise in its ability to detect and reverse engineer malware without any context of the file’s origin or purpose.

Microsoft plans for Project Ire to be incorporated into Microsoft Defender as a ‘Binary Analyzer’ used to identify malware in memory from any source at first encounter.

Autonomous AI malware detection

The tool is still very much in the early stages of development, but in Microsoft’s own real-world scenario testing, Project Ire managed to detect almost 9 out of 10 malicious files correctly in precision tests, but only managed to detect just over one quarter of malware in recall tests. However, in these initial tests, there was a false positive rate of 4%.

“While overall performance was moderate, this combination of accuracy and a low error rate suggests real potential for future deployment,” Microsoft said in a blog post. Additionally, in this testing, the AI tool had no knowledge of nor had it faced any of the 4,000 files it scanned.

The tool generates a report on each potentially malicious file it identifies, summarizing why certain parts of the file could indicate it as malware.

In a separate test against a public dataset of a mix of legitimate and malicious Windows drivers the tool again detected 9 out of 10 malicious files correctly with a false positive rate of 2%. The recall rate was also significantly higher, scoring 0.83 in this test.

Looking ahead, Microsoft will continue to work on improving Project Ire’s ability to detect malware at scale rapidly and precisely, and hopefully include the AI within Microsoft Defender as a threat detection and software classification tool.

Threat actors are increasingly leveraging AI tools to generate malicious files at scale, but cybersecurity organizations are also leveraging AI technology to fight back.

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• ESPN is acquiring the NFL Network and other media assets, including the linear rights to the RedZone channel and NFL Fantasy
• The NFL Network will be part of ESPN's new streaming service that's launching on August 21
• DirecTV customers will be able to get the new service's 'Unlimited' plan for no additional cost

Walt Disney's ESPN will soon become the home for NFL coverage, following a landmark deal that sees the sport network acquire the NFL Network and other media assets including he RedZone Channel and NFL Fantasy, so football fans will want to sign up to its new streaming service (not ESPN+) when it arrives.

The new streaming service (simply referred to as ESPN) launches on August 21, and will bring "the full suite of ESPN networks and services within an enhanced ESPN App with new, personalized features and functionality", according to the company.

Thanks to the deal between ESPN and NFL, the new streaming service will also see the NFL Network's content integrated into the platform, making it even more tempting for sports fans.

“By combining these NFL media assets with ESPN’s reach and innovation, we’re creating a premier destination for football fans. Together, ESPN and the NFL are redefining how fans engage with the game – anytime, anywhere," ESPN's chairman Jimmy Pitaro said.

How much will ESPN's subscription service cost?

(Image credit: rafapress / Shutterstock)

At launch, ESPN's streaming service will have two subscription plans to choose from: 'Unlimited' and 'Select'.

The 'Unlimited' plan will include access to 47,000 live events through various ESPN channels, studio shows and more, and will cost $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year. This plan will also be available to bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for $35.99 (ads) or $44.99 (ad-free) per month.

The 'Select' plan, meanwhile, includes over 32,000 live events that are available on ESPN+, studio shows and more, and costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. Again, this can be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu for $16.99 (ads) per month or $26.99 (ad-free).

If you're excited to try out ESPN's new subscription service, then the good news is that you'll be able to for free if you're a DirecTV customer. Those who are subscribed to DirecTV or its 'MySports' package will get access to the new ESPN service at no extra cost when it launches. Meanwhile, if you're a satellite or U-verse customer of DirecTV, you'll have to wait until later in 2025.

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Meta’s move to take a significant stake in Scale AI isn’t just another strategic investment. It’s an admission: human data is the critical infrastructure needed to build better AI, faster.

For years, model architecture and compute have dominated the conversation. But we’re entering a new era, one where the differentiator isn’t how novel your transformer is, but how well your model reflects and responds to real human experience. That demands high-quality, diverse, and continuous human input throughout the development lifecycle.

A vote of confidence in human data

Scale’s primary service—labelling data outputs using human annotators—has long been essential to AI. But it hasn’t always been glamorous. Data preparation was often seen as a backroom task, while shiny model architectures stole the limelight.

Meta’s investment sends a clear message. The training and evaluation of AI models depend on data that is not just abundant, but accurate, representative, and human-validated. It’s a strategic move that gives Meta both privileged access to Scale’s data infrastructure and a highly influential stake in a key player in the data annotation space.

But therein lies a broader concern: when a major tech company takes a significant stake in a service provider, potential conflicts of interest arise. For organizations in the same competitive landscape, this can raise doubts about alignment, priorities, and incentives, making continued reliance on that provider increasingly difficult to justify.

One thing’s for certain: your data partner has never mattered more. We’re entering a period of market shake-up, where diversification of suppliers and specialization in services will become increasingly valuable to AI builders.

Enter the experience era

Beyond the boardroom maneuvers, something much more fundamental is happening in AI development. We’ve entered the era of experience. It’s not enough for models to be technically sophisticated or capable of passing abstract benchmark tests. What matters now is how models perform in the real world, across diverse user groups and tasks. Are they trustworthy? Are they usable? Do they meet people’s expectations?

This shift is being driven by an awakening among model developers: in a competitive landscape, it’s not just about who can build the most advanced model, but whose model people choose to use. The new frontier isn’t measured solely in benchmark scores or inference speed—it’s measured in experience quality.

That means the success of an AI model is increasingly dependent on human input throughout its lifecycle. We’re seeing a surge in demand for real-time, continuous human evaluations across multiple demographics and use cases.

Evaluating models in the lab is no longer enough. The real world, with all its complexity and nuance, is now the benchmark.

Why synthetic data isn’t the answer—at least, not yet

Some may argue that synthetic data will eventually replace the need for human annotators. While synthetic data has a role to play, particularly in cost-efficient scalability or simulating rare edge cases, it falls short in one critical area: representing human experience. Human values, cultural nuances, and unpredictable behavior patterns cannot be easily simulated.

As we grapple with AI safety, bias, and alignment, we need human perspectives to guide us. Human intelligence, in all its diversity, is the only way to meaningfully test whether AI systems behave appropriately in real-world contexts.

That’s why the demand for real-world, high-fidelity human data is accelerating. It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s essential infrastructure for the next wave of AI.

The humans behind AI

If human feedback is the engine powering better AI, then the workforce behind that feedback is its beating heart. The industry must recognize the people providing this essential input as co-creators of AI.

This begins with diversity. If AI is going to serve the world, it must be evaluated by people who reflect the world—the best and the breadth of humanity. That means including people from different cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational levels. It also means ensuring geographic diversity so models don’t just perform well in Silicon Valley but also in Nairobi, Jakarta, or Birmingham.

Equally important is expertise. As AI becomes more specialized, so too must its human evaluators. Educational AI systems should be evaluated by experienced teachers. Financial tools require scrutiny by economists or accountants. Subject matter experts bring context and domain-specific insight that generic crowd work can’t replicate.

But building this kind of human intelligence layer doesn’t just happen. It requires thoughtful infrastructure, ethical foundations, and a commitment to the people behind the data.

That means fair pay, transparency, and a smooth user experience that gives people easy access to interesting and engaging tasks. When contributors feel respected and empowered, the quality of insight they provide is deeper, richer, and ultimately more valuable. Treating evaluators well leads to better data—and better AI.

A turning point for the market

Meta’s investment in Scale may appear like another play in a long series of tech consolidations, but it’s something more: a signal that the era of human data as critical infrastructure for AI has truly begun.

For model developers, this is a call to action. Relying on one provider—or one type of data—no longer cuts it. Specialization and trust in your human data partners will define the winners in this next phase of AI development.

For the broader industry, this moment is an invitation to rethink how we build and evaluate AI. The technical challenges are no longer the only obstacle. Now we must consider the social contract: How do people experience AI? Do they feel heard, understood, and respected by the systems we build?

And for many, this moment validates the belief that human intelligence is not a constraint on AI progress, but one of its greatest enablers.

Looking ahead

The Meta/Scale deal will likely catalyze further consolidation in the human data space. But it also opens the door for more specialized and transparent providers to shine. We anticipate a surge in demand for high-integrity, experience-focused data partners—those who can provide rich, real-world feedback loops without compromising trust.

Ultimately, this isn’t just about who builds the most powerful model. It’s about who builds the most useful, trusted, and human-centric model. The future of AI is intuitive, inclusive, and deeply human. And that future is already taking shape.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• New probe into DeepSeek has been requested by a group of US Senators
• The Senators cite national security concerns around Chinese firm
• Many US Government departments have already banned the chatbot

The ongoing dispute between China tech firms and the US Government continues, after a group of seven Republican Senators asked the Department of Commerce to evaluate data security risks that models from Chinese companies pose, specifically the AI chatbot DeepSeek.

Chinese tech companies are facing huge barriers to enter the US market due to the tensions between the two countries, but DeepSeek's revolutionary open source model has sent waves through the AI landscape, thanks to the speed and low cost of development.

However, security concerns have been raised, prompting multiple US Government departments to ban the use of the model, with one study even claiming DeepSeek is 11 times more dangerous than competitor AI chatbots.

Secrets at risk

The senators, John Justed, Tedd Budd, John Cornyn, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Cassidy, John Curtis, and Todd Young all signed a letter outlining the need to prioritise home-grown AI models, as well as the ‘deeply troubling allegations’ that DeepSeek feeds sensitive information back to servers with links to the Chinese government.

“DeepSeek’s R1’s model release in late January demonstrated the aptitude of People’s Republic of China (PRC) national AI talent and the progress their home-grown models have made relative to leading U.S. products,“ the letter explains.

“The Trump Administration has rightly emphasized winning the AI competition against the PRC, and the development of AI use case applications for businesses and consumers is an important facet of that competition. Ensuring that such applications are secure and not prone to leaking secure information and malign exploitation is paramount.”

The Chinese government has always denied such allegations, and all other accusations of cyber espionage, and reiterated the state has no direct ties to Chinese tech firms operating overseas.

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A new era of intelligent automation is underway. We are seeing digital agents take on responsibilities that once required constant human supervision. Today, these systems, can make independent decisions, implement them, and continuously learn from their experiences.

Simply put, agentic AI listens, learns, and develops strategies capable of revolutionizing how we work, especially in network operations where it shifts from reactive to proactive, improving resilience and security. It can automate network management, real-time threat detection, and traffic optimization, enhancing efficiency, strengthening security, and boosting network performance for seamless and secure operations.

But how can it be implemented, where can it have the biggest benefit, what is the role of human oversight and what lessons can we learn from the introduction of agentic AI? In this article, I’ll cover these key points and give advice to businesses looking to harness its potential.

Competitive advantage through strategic agentic design

The successful implementation of agent-based AI systems requires careful planning.

Firstly, it is important to clearly define goals and key performance indicators for their use. Then, a major challenge is the seamless integration of the solutions into the existing IT network infrastructure. Training and operation of the systems also require the availability of sufficient and high-quality data. Finally, there are ethical considerations of implementing agentic AI that companies need to address from the outset, such as data privacy, protection, governance, human oversight and transparency, to ensure trust is built.

Agentic AI requires guidelines over which data it can access, from where, and whether it is able to share certain data externally. This is imperative to consider within an AI strategy to ensure that your customers and your organization are protected from data and regulatory breaches, such as the EU AI Act.

If your implementation plan takes these considerations into account, nothing stands in the way of the effective use of agentic AI. With digital agents, businesses can streamline their operations, meeting rising customer service expectations. A report by Gartner predicts that by 2029, AI will resolve 80% of common customer service issues without human intervention. These agents analyze customer sentiment in real time and provide tailored responses enhancing customer engagement.

Accelerated operations

Agentic AI is now playing a pivotal role in network infrastructure and cybersecurity, helping organizations move beyond traditional, rule-based systems. Unlike conventional tools that passively monitor and alert, digital agents can actively observe network behavior, identify anomalies in real time, and take autonomous action to resolve emerging threats. This enables a faster response to incidents, reducing downtime, and therefore helps avoid costly disruptions.

Agentic AI is already being embedded across networking and security infrastructure to deliver real-time, measurable value. The NSaaS model (Networking and Security as a Service) is evolving into something more dynamic, where agentic capabilities enable smart routing, adaptive policy enforcement, and predictive resource allocation. These enhancements ensure better performance, greater visibility, and stronger protection for global customers operating in complex conditions.

Meeting demand for adaptive, resilient solutions

There is growing demand for integrated cybersecurity and networking solutions from cloud providers, with many organizations viewing this convergence as essential to enterprise resilience. In this setting, agentic AI offers a unique advantage; it blends machine learning with autonomous decision-making, allowing digital agents to adapt in real time while maintaining stable and efficient network operations. This shift from static systems to intelligent, self-improving agents is reshaping how businesses think about their digital foundations. With this strategic mindset, early adoption of agentic AI gives network providers a chance to get ahead of the curve with smarter services, improved reliability, and a more personalized customer experience.

Unlocking new value

While we are still at the beginning of the AI journey and its potential is yet to be fully realized, McKinsey found that 77% of companies are either using AI or exploring its potential. It has already changed workflows, it still requires a level of human management, but agentic AI enables new possibilities. It can become more than a support tool. It can become an active participant in business operations, freeing up resources and creating greater efficiency. In networking specifically, the benefits are becoming clear. While machine learning has been used for tasks like digital twins and anomaly detection, agentic AI can manage these processes autonomously. This reduces the need for human intervention at every step and enables networks to become more resilient, secure, and adaptive to real-time demands.

Nevertheless, learning and development around AI in the workforce remains a business imperative. Counterintuitively, while flawed data is often tolerated in human decision-making, we don’t have the same leniency with AI. According to Gartner, 30% of generative AI projects are abandoned after the proof-of-concept stage, primarily due to issues related to data quality, risk management or high costs, highlighting the difficulty organizations face in AI initiatives and importance of getting implementation right from the off.

For some companies, agentic AI could mark a shift from promise to performance - where AI becomes not just an experiment, but a business-critical capability aligned to strategic goals.

Looking ahead

As businesses advance their AI capabilities, agentic systems offer a strategic step forward. They enable organizations to align automation with core objectives, turning networks into adaptive ecosystems. For organizations moving from passive AI and aiming to build intelligent, responsive systems, agentic AI is the key enabler. This is not just a technological shift, but a reimagining of what network infrastructure can achieve when paired with AI designed to think, act, and adapt.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, August 6 (game #521).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #522) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Rock solid

NYT Strands today (game #522) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• READ
• DOVE
• DRIVE
• WAIN
• TRAINS
• SING

NYT Strands today (game #522) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #522) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #522) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #522, are…

• STEADY
• SOUND
• DEVOTED
• FIRM
• CONSTANT
• UNWAVERING
• SPANGRAM: HOLD FAST

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

An appropriately “rock solid” search today, with little to test newcomers or experienced Strands players.

The only word I struggled to see as I roared through the search was UNWAVERING, which I left until last.

The spangram HOLD FAST did of course make me think of Hodor in Game of Thrones, whose name derived from his predetermined ability to hold a door. Now there was someone DEVOTED to a cause.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, August 6, game #521)

• GUITAR
• BOOK
• SUNFLOWERS
• FRUIT
• JEWELRY
• PITCHER
• SPANGRAM: STILL LIFE

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

• Sony has trademarked the name '1000X THE COLLEXION'
• The trademark was filed end of June, in both Japan and Canada
• The listing also notes 'portable audio players; radios; loudspeakers; amplifiers'

Sony has filed a trademark for the name '1000X The Collexion', and if the company thinks I’m buying ‘Collexion 1000X’ headphones after all these years, it can think again.

Why? First, because after years of getting our heads around the seemingly random selection of numbers and letters that comprise Sony's flagship 1000X range (over-ears start with a 'WH-' and end with 'M4, M5 or M6'; earbuds start with 'WF-' and end in the same way, except we're only up to 'M5' there) I think we've all finally cracked it. And we don't want you to simplify the naming of the best Sony headphones now, thank you very much.

What was my second reason? I find it impossible to say the word 'Collexion' without affecting a problematic French accent like something from the well-known and very much of its time 1980s British comedy 'Allo 'Allo! – and if you need a third, the non-word 'Collexion' also reminds me of young persons' advice centers called Connexions in the UK (although admittedly these closed in 2012).

But Sony's gone and done it. As of late June, in both Canada and Japan, the trademark name '1000X The Collexion' officially exists for Sony. And despite any nagging inkling that this was a brainstorming session everyone should have slept on before making any big decisions, we all know about it now, thanks to The Walkman Blog.

I shouldn't make this just about Sony. No, there are plenty of headphones and earbuds monikers out there that make me feel as if I'm writing out a WiFi password every time I name-check them – see the Technics EAH-AZ100, the Denon AH-C840NCW, the Panasonic RP-TCM225 and the Audio-Technica ATH-SQ1TW (all earbuds) for starters – why yes, your migraine will be with you presently. Now, imagine discussing which products should go into our respective earbuds buying guides, and welcome to my life…

(Image credit: Future)1000X the Collexion: it's not just earbuds and headphones

Is Sony perhaps just seeking to avoid WH-1000XM4 versus WH-1000XM5 versus WH-1000XM6 confusion here? It's a valid point – although do check out our explainer on the three models too – since the newest XM6 still can't seem to topple the twice-superseded XM4s off their perch as our recommended buy for most people.

Or maybe the Sony WF-1000XM5 have been ordered one too many times in error, by buyers looking for over-ears who ultimately received in-ears? Possibly, but there's more going on here.

The published description for Sony's 1000X The Collection includes a list of products that might become part of it. The listing reads: "Headphones; earphones; portable audio players; radios; loudspeakers; amplifiers; television receivers; telecommunication machines and apparatus".

The keen-eyed will note the inclusion of portable audio players there – and here's an idea I can get behind. The original Sony Walkman arrived the same year I did (I'm not telling you the precise year), and it holds a special place in my heart. A 1000X Walkman may well work for me.

Cast your minds back to Sony's April 2024 release ULT range (billed as the bass-response option), including the ULT Wear headphones, several ULT Field Bluetooth speakers, and an ULT Tower bigger speaker beast. Those names were all trademarked ahead of the ULT brand release, so it's highly possible a full lineup of audio products is in the cards.

Of course, Sony might (just might) be planning some sort of special edition boxed set of 1000X The Collexion headphones and/or earbuds, as it seeks to finally consign the five-year-old WH-1000XM4 to the big gig in the sky – because the excellent WF-1000XM4 have already gone that way. Probably not, but it's not impossible.

As always, when we know more, so shall you.

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, August 6 (game #787).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #788) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BORE
• BORG
• POKE
• DEVIL
• SCROLL
• VULCAN
• DRAG
• KING
• ELF
• PUNCH
• BATMAN
• SINNER
• GRAF
• CLICK
• PIERCE
• HOVER

NYT Connections today (game #788) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Computer activity
• GREEN: Make some holes 
• BLUE: A body part in common
• PURPLE: Grand Slam champs

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #788) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: MOUSE ACTIONS 
• GREEN: PERFORATE 
• BLUE: ONES WITH POINTY EARS
• PURPLE: WIMBLEDON WINNERS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #788) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #788, are…

• YELLOW: MOUSE ACTIONS CLICK, DRAG, HOVER, SCROLL
• GREEN: PERFORATE BORE, PIERCE, POKE, PUNCH
• BLUE: ONES WITH POINTY EARS BATMAN, DEVIL, ELF, VULCAN
• PURPLE: WIMBLEDON WINNERS BORG, GRAF, KING, SINNER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

Yesterday I was excited at the prospect of getting all four groups in difficulty order for the third day in a row. Sadly, I failed in my mission.

After getting the yellow and green groups fairly quickly I was left with 16 words and only one idea of what the connection could be – Star Trek.

Showing my utter lack of knowledge on this topic, I thought that we were looking for species that featured in the long-running franchise, but knowing only VULCAN this was a pointless (no pun intended) task.

Instead, I saw the tennis players. BORG had been one of my Star Trek possibilities but I soon remembered Bjorn, the excellent Fila-attired 1970s superstar whose life took an unexpected detour into the world of underwear design.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, August 6, game #787)

• YELLOW: ACCESSORY WITH A POINTY FASTENER BADGE, BROOCH, BUTTON, PIN
• GREEN: TEASE BAIT, NEEDLE, RAG, RIB
• BLUE: BOXING PUNCHES CROSS, HOOK, JAB, UPPERCUT
• PURPLE: MUSCLE NICKNAMES PLUS "S" SHAMMY, SPEC, SQUAD, STRAP

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, August 6 (game #1290).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1291) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1291) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1291) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1291) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 3.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1291) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• P

• P

• C

• P

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1291) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1291, are…

• PLUNK
• PROXY
• CURVY
• PEARL

I have been on an incredibly long winning streak, so I'm choosing to be not too disheartened by today’s loss.

I got off to a terrible start, with just two correct letters from my usually reliable starter words and I’m actually pretty pleased that I came so close, especially as we had a rare letter.

It is a bit annoying, though, that I guessed “curry” when a word containing the letter V was what I was looking for. Quordle absolutely adores the letter V.

Daily Sequence today (game #1291) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1291, are…

• GLORY
• FUZZY
• SMILE
• GROWN

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1290, Wednesday, 6 August: RISKY, APART, FAUNA, HANDY
• Quordle #1289, Tuesday, 5 August: ROAST, SLICK, AUDIT, BILLY
• Quordle #1288, Monday, 4 August: MACAW, SINCE, COLON, CHIRP
• Quordle #1287, Sunday, 3 August: MOTIF, LEERY, LOFTY, BURST
• Quordle #1286, Saturday, 2 August: WARTY, PUPAL, CLEAR, SLICE
• Quordle #1285, Friday, 1 August: ACTOR, MEALY, WIDTH, ADOBE
• Quordle #1284, Thursday, 31 July: STYLE, VALET, AGONY, ALLOY
• Quordle #1283, Wednesday, 30 July: DEBAR, ADMIN, FOLIO, USAGE
• Quordle #1282, Tuesday, 29 July: BATCH, TOPIC, MURKY, BUNCH
• Quordle #1281, Monday, 28 July: CANDY, TRYST, SHIRT, FORGO
• Quordle #1280, Sunday, 27 July: TRAWL, BALER, PIANO, MINCE
• Quordle #1279, Saturday, 26 July: MUDDY, SAINT, KINKY, POLAR
• Quordle #1278, Friday, 25 July: BONUS, RESIN, CEDAR, MADAM
• Quordle #1277, Thursday, 24 July: AGONY, VERVE, GLEAN, MINUS
• Quordle #1276, Wednesday, 23 July: OZONE, PENCE, ROOMY, WIDER
• Quordle #1275, Tuesday, 22 July: OPTIC, GIDDY, VOCAL, ADULT
• Quordle #1274, Monday, 21 July: KNEED, SNAIL, PINTO, FEAST
• Quordle #1273, Sunday, 20 July: GRACE, COUNT, EGRET, GIANT
• Quordle #1272, Saturday, 19 July: EARLY, CLICK, TRITE, SPREE

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feature practical web-swinging
• It's the first time it's been used in one of the webslinger's solo MCU movies
• Marvel fans think a Wolverine foe might join the film's extensive rogues gallery

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is bringing back one of the best aspects of the Andrew Garfield-led films – but some fans are more concerned about yet another villain who might appear in the Marvel movie.

With filming in full, erm, swing on the wallcrawler's next big-screen outing in Glasgow, which is being used as a stand-in for New York City (NYC), Spider-Man devotees have flocked to the Scottish city to catch a glimpse of the fan-favorite superhero. Just days into the Marvel Phase 6 film's lengthy shoot, we've got confirmation that it'll feature the long-overdue return of practical web-swinging.

A post shared by Movies Effects (@movies.effects)

A photo posted by on

As you'll see from the fan-shot footage above – thanks to Movie Effects for rounding up said footage into a single video – at least one Brand New Day set-piece will include Spidey physically swinging through NYC.

Here's another angle, courtesy of YouTube user Jack Lewis, of one of Spider-Man 4's action sequences being filmed:

Practical web-swinging was used in Garfield's two outings as the iconic webhead. However, that changed when Tom Holland's version of the character was introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.

Since then, Spider-Man's solo movies and appearances in the two latest Avengers flicks have featured CGI recreations of Peter Parker's alter-ego swinging through his home city. Thankfully, Brand New Day director Daniel Destin Cretton wants to bring back that feeling of Spidey traversing NYC as practically as possible. That's a far cry from Jon Watts' stance on the matter, with the filmmaker behind the hero's first three MCU movies telling Collider that physical web-swinging is "boring" and "looks dumb".

Is Spider-Man 4 teasing a Silver Samurai appearance or an armored Mr. Negative?

Hugh Jackman's iconic mutant faced a version of Silver Samurai in 2013's The Wolverine movie (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

As you'd expect, most Marvel fans are delighted to see practical web-swinging return in Brand New Day. There's a small contingent, though, who are fiercely debating the potential appearance from Silver Samurai, a villain more commonly associated with iconic X-Men character Wolverine, is Spider-Man's fourth standalone MCU flick.

Yesterday (August 5), screenshots of the Pinterest account owned by Brand New Day costume designer Monica Avitto showed an image album labeled 'Spider-Man'. In it, numerous photographs of ancient Japanese attire can be seen, including samurai armor, Edo period hachi-gane, and ninja-inspired costumes.

Monica Avitto, the costume prop modeler for ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’, has created a moodboard for the film’s villain. pic.twitter.com/unYZGfRy9SAugust 5, 2025

Predictably, some observers immediately suggested that Silver Samurai is set to appear. After all, this villain is the most recognizable shogunate-influenced character in Marvel Comics, so it has to be him, right?

If you believe a fair number of commentators on this Reddit thread, yes – but not everyone thinks that'll be the case. Indeed, some think Mister Negative, a relatively recent addition to Spider-Man's rogues gallery who's rumored to make his live-action debut in Brand New Day, is the reason for Avitto's research. As Redditor Strong_Salad3460 rightly points out in the aforementioned thread: "It couldn't possibly have anything to do with Mr. Negative and the Inner Demons [the name of Mr. Negative's gang] who are known to wear Samurai inspired masks and wield katanas."

Until Marvel and/or Sony give us more official details, or more set leaks hit the internet, this debate will rage on for a while yet. But, what do you think? Could we see Silver Samurai in Spider-Man 4? Or is an armored Mr. Negative going to show up instead? Let me know in the comments.

For now, read my dedicated guide on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and check out the section below for the latest news on one of next year's most exciting new movies, which arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026.

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Our sister site Tom's Hardware has long been one of the premier online destinations for news, reviews and analysis around the PC and semiconductor industry – and it's now had a major upgrade to make it even better.

For a small fee, Tom's Hardware Premium will offer members a wealth of extra content including exclusive features and interviews, hardware roadmaps and the new member-only newsletter Uptime.

You'll also get access to the site's new Bench feature; this is a seriously powerful new benchmarking tool that covers categories such as CPUs, GPUs, and laptops and that enables readers to explore individual test results and directly compare products.

What's more, the brand's commitment to free-to-consume tech journalism remains; nothing that already exists on the site is being put behind the paywall, and Tom's Hardware reviews will remain free.

How much will all of this goodness cost? A mere $69 for a one-year subscription right now as an introductory offer.

"For nearly three decades, Tom’s Hardware has served the enthusiast community with authoritative advice and insights based on years of experience and in-depth knowledge, and testing," says Paul Alcorn, Interim Editor-in-Chief, Tom’s Hardware. "Now we aim to take it to the next level"

"Think of our subscription service as a backstage pass that will give you a new level of access and insight into the inner workings of the tech world. Our Tom’s Hardware Premium subscription will provide you with even deeper analysis and perspective on the latest news and features, along with access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date benchmarking database available.

"This service will ultimately enable us to invest more time in the painstaking analysis and data collection that define our brand, while also enabling us to expand the scope and depth of our coverage, bringing you along with us as we explore the latest and greatest in the industry.

"We’re incredibly excited to launch Tom’s Hardware Premium and share it with the community that’s been with us every step of the way. We can’t wait for you to experience what we’ve been building and to continue shaping the future of Tom’s Hardware with you."

Tom's Hardware Premium has launched in Beta mode today, and to give it a look you can sign up here.

Tom's Hardware Premium: what you get

(Image credit: Future)

• Dedicated news analysis
• Exclusive features & interviews
• Uncut Q&A sessions with industry execs
• Access to Uptime, a brand-new member newsletter
• Unlocked access to Bench, a tool built on TH's benchmarking database

• PBS confirms a data leak affecting almost 4,000 people
• Someone shared a database on Discord, apparently to act "cool"
• The potential for abuse is there, so users should beware

Iconic US television network PBS has been hacked, and lost valuable contact information on its employees and affiliates.

However, the attack doesn’t seem to have been done out of malice, but rather curiosity, and the desire to be “cool”.

Recently, a database started circulating on Discord servers, allegedly containing PBS corporate contact information. The database was not present on any dark web forums, data extortion sites, or anything similar, but was being shared on a channel “PBS Kids”, where fans of PBS children’s shows get together to chat.

"Rebellious curiosity"

BleepingComputer investigated the database, and confirmed it contained information on almost 4,000 PBS employees and affiliates.

It came in the form of a JSON file, with each record containing an employee name, corporate email, title, timezone, department, location, job function, hobbies, and the name of the supervisor.

PBS confirmed the authenticity of the leak, saying young adults, teenagers, and kids, are sharing it “more out of a sense of novelty, rebellious curiosity, or simply to gain a bit of notoriety within their peer groups."

"It's less about exploiting the data for financial gain and more about the 'cool factor' of possessing it,” the company said.

That doesn’t mean the archives can’t be picked up by actual malicious actors and used for devastating phishing attacks.

PBS seems to be well aware of the potential for abuse, and has reached out to affected individuals to warn them about potential attacks, scams, and incoming fraud.

PBS, or Public Broadcasting Service, is a non-profit, public television network in the United States. It doesn’t produce shows itself, but rather distributes content created by member stations and independent producers.

One of its most famous programs is Sesame Street which, in the meantime, migrated to HBO and Max.

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• Windows 10's Game Bar has reportedly been hit with a nasty bug
• The Game Bar crashes when trying to access its options
• For those with Ryzen 3D V-Cache CPUs, this means they can't properly configure them for the best gaming performance

Gamers running Windows 10 with a high-end AMD Ryzen 3D V-Cache processor are suffering at the hands of an apparent bug that messes with the Game Bar, and hampers these chips as a result.

German tech site PC Games Hardware (PCGH) reports (via Neowin) that there's a problem with Windows 10 whereby the Game Bar - an overlay that carries a bunch of useful game-related settings - is crashing when you access the options to configure the mentioned Ryzen CPUs properly with any given game.

Top-end Ryzen X3D chips with 12 or 16 cores (like the Ryzen 9900X3D or 9950X3D) have two chiplets, only one of which has the 3D V-Cache on top (that boosts gaming performance). So, to ensure these run PC games with the fastest possible frame rates, it's necessary to manually flag them as a game (ticking 'Remember this is a game') in said options.

If the Game Bar crashes when trying to access the options, obviously, you can't do this, and therefore, those encountering this bug are having their games run sub-optimally on these particular chips.

Note that it is only 12 and 16-core X3D models - the 8-core versions of 3D V-Cache CPUs are fine, as they don't have two chiplets, and the cache applies to all their cores (and obviously other Ryzen processors don't have any of this game-boosting cache, anyway). Further note that the Game Bar itself works fine; it's just clicking on the options that causes a crash to happen.

An editor at PCGH claims that they were hit by this bug - even reinstalling Windows 10 didn't help as a possible (drastic) cure - and other gamers on the website's forum also reported the same experience.

Notably, these were people not running Windows 10 Home, but Windows 10 Pro or an enterprise version (which some PC enthusiasts are using for the longer support timeframe).

However, Neowin, which picked up on this report, also says it could reproduce the problem, though it doesn't specify which version of Windows 10 was running in this case. (And given that, I imagine it's not Home - as they would have said - but Windows 10 Pro most likely).

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Analysis: Whispers about 'sabotage'

Okay, so these are just scattered reports at the moment, and it seems, though we can't confirm, that Windows 10 Home isn't affected. This is a niche problem, then - specific to heavyweight Ryzen X3D CPUs and Windows 10 Pro or enterprise versions - but there are enough reports for it to be worrying.

Is this just a temporary glitch that's crept in with a recent version of the Game Bar, one that Microsoft will iron out? Possibly, but we've not even had confirmation of the bug yet, so we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Whatever the case, it's more fuel to the fire for those suggesting, without proof, that Microsoft is somehow quietly sabotaging Windows 10 as its End of Life comes near, in an effort to cajole those diehards sticking with the older OS to upgrade to Windows 11 (this comes on top of those recent accusations of tech extortion you may recall, too).

I don't think that any kind of 'sabotage' is afoot here, but at the same time, with Windows 10 about to slide into irrelevance come October 2025, there are certainly fewer reasons for Microsoft to worry about keeping the OS fully in shape for all users - and less impetus in general to investigate more niche issues like this apparent Game Bar-breaking bug.

For now, we'll just have to watch this space - and, obviously, this isn't a problem on Windows 11, in case you didn't guess already that.

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• Roku has launched a new paid-for streaming service
• Howdy was made available on August 5, 2025, in the US
• It costs $2.99 a month and is only accessible via the Roku platform for now

Roku has launched a new ad-free streaming service that lets you access 10,000 hours of movies and TV shows for just $2.99 per month.

The new service was made available to those in the US on August 5, 2025, and while Roku operates its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) – The Roku Channel – in other regions around the world, it's not yet clear whether the ad-free version will launch elsewhere.

The new streaming service is "priced at less than a cup of coffee," Roku's founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement alongside the announcement, where he also clarified that although it's cheaper than Netflix, Disney+, and other rivals, it's "designed to complement, not compete with, premium services".

Despite Wood's comments, the aggressively cheap pricing of the ad-free platform does mean it technically does rival the best streaming services. With content from Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Original titles, the new service does have a competitive offering at an attractive price point.

Of course, many can still access The Roku Channel to watch live TV channels, and its library of on-demand movies and shows via Roku-supported devices or the Roku app or website. As one of the best free streaming services, it is one of the most popular FAST services around. But Howdy offers a way to access this same content and more without having to put up with ads.

How to watch movies and shows on Howdy

Howdy will be accessible on the Roku platform at launch, which means if you have one of the best streaming devices or best TVs that support the Roku operating system (OS) then you'll be able to access the new service.

Roku has said that it plans to roll out the service on mobile and additional platforms in the "near future," but has not clarified how soon that might be, so for the moment, you'll only be able to try it out on select devices.

I haven't been able to try out the service yet myself to confirm what's available to watch, but Roku has said that Howdy's library will include some of its original content alongside movies and shows from Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise.

These include movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, which is only available to stream on Netflix in the US, and The Blind Side, which isn't available to stream anywhere at the time of writing. Roku has also said that shows like Weeds and Kids in the Hall will also be streamable on Howdy – both of which are currently available on The Roku Channel.

Whether more titles from its FAST service will move over to Howdy is unclear, but it would make sense considering that the new service offers a way to watch these movies and shows without having to put up with ads.

Howdy's library will also consist of "iconic rom-coms, medical dramas, ‘90s comedy, feel-good classics, and more," according to Roku, so we can expect there to be quite a mix of genres in the catalog.

You'll only be able to access Howdy by paying to sign up for the streaming service, as Roku has said that there will be no introductory or free trial offers, but you will be able to cancel at any time if you decide that it's not right for you.

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• A scammer tricked a Cisco employee into granting access to a CRM
• The attacker then used the access to exfiltrate sensitive data
• Affected customers were notified "where required by law"

Cisco has admitted recently suffering a cyberattack which saw it lose a whole lot of customer data, including personally identifiable information (PII).

In a short announcement published on its website, the company revealed a threat actor used voice phishing (vishing) to trick a Cisco representative and gain access to an instance of a third-party cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system it uses.

Following the intrusion, Cisco launched an investigation, which determined sensitive customer data was extracted.

Passwords are safe

“Our investigation has determined that the exported data primarily consisted of basic account profile information of individuals who registered for a user account on Cisco.com (name, organization name, address, Cisco assigned user ID, email address, phone number, and account-related metadata – such as creation date),” Cisco said.

“The actor did not obtain any of our organizational customers’ confidential or proprietary information, or any passwords or other types of sensitive information. Cisco did not identify any impact to our products or services, and no other Cisco CRM instances were affected.”

Cisco said that affected users were notified “where required by law”, but did not mention if the data was being used in the wild. Crooks can either sell it on the dark web, try to extort Cisco, or use it to target the company’s customers with custom-built, convincing phishing attacks.

Vishing is a form of phishing done over the phone, and usually revolves around the criminal convincing the victim they’re someone they’re not (an IT technician, a bank employee, or a government agent).

Knowing that the individuals are, or were, Cisco customers, threat actors can spoof the company and send emails that trick the victims into making payments, sharing login credentials, or downloading malware.

Cisco users should be wary of any incoming emails, especially those claiming to come from the company and carrying a sense of urgency with them.

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• Apple has just released the iOS 26 beta 5 update
• It contains numerous tweaks to the iPhone operating system
• It might also have leaked the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s display resolution

Apple has just released iOS 26 beta 5, and this latest iPhone update comes with a bunch of handy new features. But among the tweaks and adjustments is an unexpected leak, and it sheds light on what we might see when the Apple Watch Ultra 3 launches later this year.

According to iOS investigator and analyst Aaron Perris (via MacRumors), the iOS 26 beta 5 update seems to contain references to the display resolution of Apple’s upcoming Ultra 3 smartwatch. That will sit at a resolution of 422x514 pixels, Perris claims.

That’s a slight increase over the 410x502 pixels you’ll find in the Apple Watch Ultra 2. While it’s not a huge step up, any increase in resolution will be a welcome addition – particularly since Apple pitches the Ultra line of smartwatches as being designed for athletes and rugged explorers who need as much display clarity as possible.

MacRumors points out that there haven’t been any rumors indicating that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 might get a larger display than its predecessor, suggesting that Apple might instead opt to reduce the display bezels and use the same chassis as before. That would follow the pattern Apple has taken with its regular Apple Watch models, where display bezels have shrunk significantly over the years.

Changes galore

(Image credit: TechRadar)

A new Apple Watch resolution is not the only addition found in the iOS 26 beta 5 update. Elsewhere, Apple has added an option to the Settings app that restores the old way of switching between photo and video modes in the Camera app. You’ll also find that the Select button has been restored to the top-left corner of the Mail app.

And Apple has also added new icons and animations. That includes a Liquid Glass-style AirDrop icon, plus much more bouncy animations when swiping and navigating through your phone. There are also fresh splash screens for apps like Apple Music, Journal, Notes, and more.

Unlike previous iOS 26 betas, this update does not adjust the look and feel of the Liquid Glass redesign. Past tweaks have increased or reduced the glassy effect across a range of operating system elements, but the lack of changes this time suggests that Apple might have settled on something it’s happy with.

The full version of iOS 26 is expected to launch in September, right around the time Apple unveils the iPhone 17 range. And with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 expected to be among the new products, we could soon find out if the leaked display resolution is on the money.

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• The iPhone 17 series could be unveiled on September 9
• It might then ship on September 19
• We've detailed five of the biggest changes you can expect from these phones

We’ve long predicted – based on Apple’s usual patterns – that the iPhone 17 series would be announced on September 8, 9, or 10, and now a leak agrees with us, while also getting more specific.

According to “internal information from German mobile phone providers” shared by iphone-ticker.de (via GSMArena), the iPhone 17 series – including the iPhone 17 itself, the iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max – will be unveiled on Tuesday, September 9.

They add that these phones will then apparently ship a week and a half later, on Friday, September 19.

While we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt, it is believable that major retailers would now have this information. Plus, it fits with our own predictions, and doesn’t conflict with any other leaks, so for now we’d say September 9 looks to be the most likely announcement date.

In which case, there’s only just over a month to wait for Apple’s next handsets, and these phones are likely to be worth the wait, as numerous upgrades and changes have been tipped. Below, we’ve listed five of the biggest changes we’re expecting.

1. A new design

An unofficial iPhone 17 Pro render (Image credit: AppleInsider)

Perhaps the biggest change tipped for the iPhone 17 line is a visual one, with numerous sources suggesting these handsets will get a redesign.

The main change is likely to come to the camera block, which will reportedly run across the entire width of the back on most models, giving these phones a more Google Pixel 9-like appearance.

This change could allow for more of a two-tone color scheme, too, with the large camera block being glossy while the rest of the rear is more matte.

2. An iPhone 17 Air instead of an iPhone 17 Plus

An unofficial iPhone 17 Air render (Image credit: Front Page Tech / ‪@Zellzoi‬)

Another big rumored change is the replacement of the Plus model with an iPhone 17 Air. This new model will reportedly be far slimmer than any previous iPhone, likely coming in at around 5.5mm thick, which would make it a more direct rival to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

However, as a result of being so slim, it might also have a small battery, and is thought to have just one rear camera.

So, it’s a phone that might prioritize style over specs, though it could still have a large 6.7-inch screen like the iPhone 16 Plus.

3. A 120Hz refresh rate for every model

The iPhone 16 Plus has a 60Hz screen (Image credit: Future)

Apple has continued to stick with 60Hz screens on the base iPhones, despite most mid-range Android phones having had 120Hz screens for years now. But with the iPhone 17 line, Apple might finally be getting with the times.

Numerous reports suggest that all four expected models will have a 120Hz display, which should make scrolling feel smoother.

However, one source claims that while the screens will all be 120Hz, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air still won’t have a variable refresh rate, meaning that, unlike their Pro siblings, they probably wouldn’t support always-on display, as this needs a very low refresh rate to function without demolishing the battery. Either way, though, giving them a 120Hz refresh rate would definitely be an upgrade.

4. New cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The iPhone 17 series is also rumored to be getting some new cameras, with every model set to benefit.

For one thing, all four expected iPhone 17 models will apparently have a 24MP front-facing camera, giving you twice the megapixels of the current 12MP one. We’ve also heard that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a 48MP telephoto camera, which would be up from just 12MP on the current models.

Some less likely but still possible upgrades we’ve heard about include 8K video recording for the Pro models, and a mechanical aperture for at least one iPhone 17 model. That latter upgrade would allow you to adjust the aperture, and therefore also the depth of field.

And there are also some rumored camera upgrades that we’re not convinced we’ll see but can’t totally rule out, including an 8x optical zoom for the iPhone 17 Pro models and a second Camera Control button for all four models.

5. A big boost in power

Death Stranding on the iPhone 16 Pro (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Finally, one totally unsurprising but still appreciated upgrade that we’re hearing about is a power boost thanks to a new chipset.

Specifically, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could have a new A19 Pro chipset, while the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air could have an A19 chipset. In all cases, that should be an improvement, as the current models use A18 or A18 Pro chipsets.

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and possibly also the iPhone 17 Air could have 12GB of RAM – up from 8GB in the iPhone 16 series.

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