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The Withings BodyScan 2, complete with cabled handle and premium build, might be the best smart scale of 2026

TechRadar Reviews - Sat, 09/19/2026 - 03:00
Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: One minute review

Smart scales measure weight, body fat, muscle mass, and a whole host of other metrics through a collection of electrodes at the soles of your feet. The best smart scales are perfect for fitness enthusiasts, family health monitoring, and those who want to track changes to their body over time, but Withings wants to push the boundaries of what is possible in the smart scale category. Not satisfied with simple measurements like the ones listed above, Withings has launched the BodyScan 2, and it represents a significant step in innovation.

According to Withings, the BodyScan 2 is “the world's first longevity station. It is the only consumer device that transforms your daily weigh-in into a complete cardiometabolic assessment, revealing whether your lifestyle is adding or taking years off your healthy life.” This scale is all about trends over time and those who care about optimizing their health now, for the reward of future gains.

Building on the original BodyScan scale, version two introduces a number of new features and design changes. The display has been moved from the base to the handlebar, offering a more pleasing user experience. New features include SpO2 measurements, hypertension screening, heart and ‘vascular age’ estimations, and reporting on the risk of unstable glycaemia.

All of these improvements make the scale $200 / £100 more expensive than the original. That’s a significant increase given that even the most premium offerings from most other brands cost less than half the price, but I suppose electronics in all categories have been getting more expensive this year with the components crisis. And if you want access to the complete set of features, then you’ll have to part ways with $9.95 / £8.95 per month for a Withings+ subscription, making this a premium-only, money-no-object smart scale option.

That said, the BodyScan 2 offers the very best in features and build quality. The scale is able to track over 40 biomarkers and, through very clever processing, can report heart findings that no other scale is capable of. It also boasts a robust and premium build with the chassis being made from reinforced aluminum.

Withings has taken some of the most innovative hardware found in the best smartwatches and best smart rings and combined it with traditional smart scale technology. The result is one of the most advanced smart scales on the consumer market.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Specifications

Component

Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale

Price

$599.95 USD / £449.95 GBP / $895 AUS

Metrics

40+ Biomarkers with 6-zone body composition analysis, Metabolic Assessment, Cardiovascular Insights, and a Calories Tracker

Dimensions

12.8 x 14.1 x 0.7 in / 325 x 357 x 18.5 mm

Weight

11.9 lbs / 5.4 kg

Material

Glass and reinforced aluminum

Display

LCD

Battery

Rechargeable Li-ion battery, USB Type-C

Connection

WiFi

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Price and availability
  • $599.95 USD / £449.95 GBP / $895 AUS
  • The specs justify the high cost
  • More affordable alternatives exist

The BodyScan 2 is one of the most expensive scales on the market, period. At $599.95 / £449.95 / $$895 AUS, the scale is marketed at only the most serious of users who have the disposable income to match their health goals.

Unfortunately, the costs don’t end there. If you’d like to unlock the premium in-app experience, Withings+, then you’ll have to part with a further $9.95 / £8.95 per month. The membership provides clinical experts at your disposal, an AI health assistant to convert your history into future progress, and a long-term assessment of your aging.

The spec of the BodyScan 2 sets it apart from the rest of the competition. If you turn to the likes of RunStar, then you’ll find their most premium smart scale, the 8E Ultra, costing less than half the price of the BodyScan 2. This shows that unless you need features to measure and estimate heart age, vascular age, and risk of unstable glycaemia and hypertension, then you’ll be able to save a lot of money by going for one of the other options on our best smart scales list.

  • Value score 4.5/5
Future / Paul HattonFuture / Paul HattonFuture / Paul HattonFuture / Paul HattonFuture / Paul HattonWithings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Design
  • High-resolution LCD screen
  • ITO Glass Platform
  • Robust and durable

The BodyScan 2 exudes the premium build quality that you’d expect given its eye-watering price tag. The aesthetic is smart, professional, and well thought through. With a reinforced aluminum chassis, you also won’t have many concerns should it be dropped on a hard tiled floor or knocked against a sink pedestal.

At the heart of the experience is a 640 x 172px color LCD screen, which is bright, vibrant, and clear. With it, users can quickly and easily track their progress without even needing to launch the Withings app. This is neatly located in the retractable handle, if you choose to use it, so your data will be closer to your eye and more easily read.

The base is covered with a large-format glass platform that contains eight integrated Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) electrodes for high-precision accuracy and support for all foot sizes and up to 200 kg / 440 lb maximum capacity. The base features a black and blue hued striped pattern, which elevates the smart scale beyond looking like a glass slab.

Extruding out of the base is the smart retractable handle with an automatic locking mechanism. It works smoothly and reliably locks into position, and its length means it’ll cater to even the tallest of users. Withings has also integrated two buttons into the handle to allow for easy operation of the unit.

As well as housing the color screen, the handle comprises four stainless steel electrodes to take the total number across the scale up to 12. Through these sensors, the BodyScan 2 is capable of performing cardiometabolic assessments and a whole-body analysis.

  • Design Score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Features
  • Hypertension notifications
  • Blood oxygen level measurements
  • Heart age predictions

The BodyScan 2 represents a significant advancement in body tracking for the consumer market. It does, of course, continue to carry out the basics admirably, but beyond that, the scale introduces new measurements and features that have never been seen before in a home device. These features include hypertension, heart age, and blood oxygen level, with glucose resilience tracking coming soon.

First up, hypertension notifications. By analyzing patterns in the data collected by the BodyScan 2, Withings is able to detect signs associated with hypertension. The presence of these patterns is not a medical assessment that hypertension is present but rather the reporting of it as a heightened possibility, just like the best Apple Watches. If it detects a pattern, you’ll receive a notification through the Withings app.

Then there’s the heart and vascular age predictors, which are unlocked with a Withings+ membership. According to Withings, this is an indicator of the “heart's mechanical efficiency, based on how quickly your heart reacts to each beat and how effectively it pumps blood.”

The final new feature to mention is blood oxygen tracking, which is achieved through a multi-wave PPG sensor built into the handle. Through this infrared technology, the smart scale measures SpO2 in the same way as the best smartwatches. These three features provide a complete cardiometabolic assessment, which sets the BodyScan 2 apart from the competition.

  • Features Score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Performance
  • Solid accuracy for basic metrics
  • Variable vascular age results
  • Cluttered Withings app experience

To provide a comparison set of measurements, I compared the BodyScan 2 with the RunStar 8E Pro. Both brands claim over 98.5% DEXA validation and deliver a similar set of metrics, although the BodyScan 2 offers the most.

Let’s start with the basics. The BodyScan 2 recorded my weight at 61.23kg and BMI at 18.2 compared to 61.4 and 19 on the RunStar. Comparative measurements continued across muscle rate, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, base metabolism, and a number of other fat and mass metrics.

All readings are quickly available on the Withings app, which allows for deeper interrogation and tracking over time. Body composition data is displayed on a 3D graphic, which is engaging. I did, however, find it difficult to navigate around the Withings app with the sheer amount of data and features causing the interface to feel cluttered.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

As accurate as the BodyScan 2 is for basic measurements, it is not these metrics that would cause someone to purchase a BodyScan 2. I was much more interested in the new features, including blood oxygen level measurements and heart age predictions. To test SpO2 readings, I compared it to my Garmin Tactix 8 and found that its readings were similar and consistent.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

Vascular age reporting was less reliable. The first time I measured it, the app told me that my vascular age was four years older than my actual age. As you can imagine, that was a little bit of a shock. I measured it a week later, at a similar time of the day, and Withings reported only a one-year difference from my actual age. That’s a significant difference in a short space of time, which makes it difficult to entirely rely upon the findings and decide whether health changes are required.

Offering cardiometabolic measurements and estimations via a smart scale puts the BodyScan 2 at the forefront of the industry. They have introduced tech that has never before been seen in a smart scale, and the level of innovation is truly impressive. That said, I think we’re a few iterations off, seeing a smart scale delivering the necessary accuracy to make their estimations accurate enough to be relied upon to be highly accurate within some newer metrics, only a general trend indication.

  • Performance score: 4.5/5
Withings BodyScan 2 Body Scale: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

The BodyScan 2 is extremely expensive, but for the money you get excellent build quality and a wide range of advanced features.

4.5/5

Design

A professional, modern-looking smart scale with a built-in LCD display. The retractable handle is well engineered and designed to endure years of use.

5/5

Features

This smart scale offers an array of advanced features, designed to provide a full cardiometabolic report.

5/5

Performance

Solid accuracy across standard metrics, although vascular age reporting was variable. The app is also a little cluttered.

4.5/5

RunStar 4E Body Scale: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You want full cardiometabolic tracking from the comfort of your own home

The BodyScan 2 offers some of the most extensive body and heart tracking seen in any home device.

You’re taking GLP-1s and want to maintain body mass

The BodyScan 2 tracks lean mass across the whole body so you can see exactly where you’re losing mass and respond accordingly.

Don't buy it if...

You’ll only be casually measuring your weight and a few other metrics

With full-body scanning capabilities and innovative heart tracking, the BodyScan 2 is only for the most serious of users.

You’re looking for a budget-friendly scale

At $599.95 USD / £449.95 GBP / $895 AUS, the BodyScan 2 is extremely expensive. Significantly more affordable alternatives exist.

Also consider

RunStar 8E Pro Body Scale

A similarly DEXA-verified smart scale that’s significantly more affordable, although it tracks fewer metrics.View Deal

Vitafit Smart Bathroom Scale

A similarly priced smart scale with a comparable set of features. Boasts a slightly larger display and a more comprehensive app experience.

Vitafit Smart Bathroom ScaleView Deal

How I tested

My family (two adults and children) used the BodyScan 2 scale for several weeks. Having several family members made it possible to try out the multi-profile functionality, but most of the time I spent testing the scale using myself as a subject. I focused in on some of the new features that set the BodyScan 2 apart, such as vascular age and SpO2. Having the scale located in a busy family bathroom enabled me to determine the robustness and durability of the device.

First reviewed: September 2026

Categories: Reviews

Russia holds parliamentary vote in areas it seized from Ukraine in the war

NPR News Headlines - Sat, 09/19/2026 - 01:39

Russia's parliamentary election for the first time is being held in Ukraine's regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago.

(Image credit: AP Photo)

Categories: News

Geekom A5 mini PC 2027 Edition review: Good value, well-made, and a decent user experience for those who aren’t excessively ambitious

TechRadar News - Sat, 09/19/2026 - 01:15
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: 30-second review

Often, reviewing computer equipment has an odd, unexpected cyclical nature. Because many companies can’t be bothered with new nomenclature and launch new products with old names.

This is at least the third version of the Geekom A5 I’ve seen, and thankfully Geekom have decided to call this the 2027 Edition to segment it slightly from prior options.

Where the original Geekom A5 went after desktop-class performance on a budget, the 2027 Edition changes tack. Geekom has kept the same compact metal chassis, the same generous port selection and the same easy access to internals, but it has fitted a very different processor under the hood.

Out goes the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, a 45-watt mobile chip that pushed hard for performance. In comes the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U, a 15-watt part that shares the same Cezanne silicon and Zen 3 cores but is tuned for efficiency rather than speed.

The result, on paper at least, is a machine that runs cooler and quieter, backed by a new IceBlast 3.0 cooling system that Geekom claims cuts noise to as low as 28dB at idle. Geekom is now pitching the A5 2027 Edition for 24/7 office and commercial use, rather than as a budget performance desktop.

The available SKUs offer two CPU options: a cheaper AMD Ryzen 5 7430U and a more powerful AMD Ryzen 7 7730U. All machines come with 16GB of DDR4 memory, but storage can be 256GB, 512GB or 1TB.

Memory is expandable to 64GB, and storage has actually grown more flexible, with room for two NVMe SSDs and a 2.5-inch SATA drive, but the second M.2 slot is the smaller 2242 variety.

What the A5 2027 Edition offers is a relatively affordable platform for general office use, but it lacks the expansion possibilities that the best mini PCs provide with technology like OCuLink, USB4 and Thunderbolt.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Price and availability
  • How much does it cost? From $465/£446/€479
  • When is it out? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Currently, this machine can be obtained directly from Geekom or via online retailers

The A5 2027 Edition is sold in several bundles, and the number of SKUs varies by region. Most come with 16GB of RAM, but with different processors and storage.

The variations are complicated, so I’ve created a small table showing the options and prices for the US, UK and EU. Each region also has a discount code that improves prices by 10% in the US, 5% in the UK, and €50 off in the EU.

Global pricing for Geekom A5 2027 Edition

CPU

RAM/SSD

USA price

UK price

EU price

Ryzen 5 7430U

16GB+1TB

$465

£449

€479

Ryzen 7 5825U

16GB+512GB

$499

N/A

N/A

Ryzen 7 7730U

16GB+256

$499

£399

€479

Ryzen 7 7730U

16GB+512GB

$549

£469

€549

Ryzen 7 5800H

32GB+512GB

N/A

N/A

€549

As you can see in the table, only three SKUs are available in all locations, and some 5800 series options are unique to the US and parts of the EU.

What needs to be acknowledged is that the prices of RAM and storage have skyrocketed in the past year, and given those increases, the price of this A5 doesn’t seem excessive. Though, considering that the memory and storage on these machines are replaceable, it seems odd that Geekom didn’t offer a barebones SKU.

It should be noted that the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H model was on the German and Spanish Geekom sites, but not on their French or Italian. Canada has the same SKUs as the USA, and Japan has the same, but with the Ryzen 5 7430U model removed. The older A5 had the 5800H, so these machines may not be the 2027 Edition, but older stock.

Curiously, via Amazon you can buy the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U 16GB+512GB for the same price as Geekom offers it (before the discount code), $549 or £469, but it comes in Rose Gold, not silver.

The two obvious competitor machines that use the same platform are the GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra and BOSGAME P4 Ultra.

The GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra can be found on Amazon for $599.99 or £609.96, but it comes with 32GB+1TB and the 7730U processor. A better value option is the BOSGAME P4 Ultra, which you can get on Amazon.co.uk with a voucher for £385, and it comes with 16GB+1TB and a Ryzen 7 CPU. The same machine is $519 on Amazon.com.

Therefore, if you want this platform cheaper, then BOSGAME is probably the right choice, but the GMKtec machines look better made, and the P4 Ultra can come with a single memory module, undermining its performance significantly.

  • Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Geekom A5 2027 Edition: SpecsGeekom A5 2027 Edition Specifications

CPU:

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U (8 cores, 16 threads, 16MB cache, 2.0GHz to 4.5GHz)

GPU:

AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics (integrated)

RAM:

16GB DDR4 SODIMM (dual-channel 2x8GB, expandable to 64GB)

Storage:

512GB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, plus free 2.5" SATA bay and M.2 2242 SATA slot

Ports:

3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, SD card reader

Networking:

2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

OS:

Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed)

Base Power:

15W (TDP)

PSU:

19V 3.42A, 65W

Weight:

652g

Dimensions:

117mm x 112mm x 49.2mm

Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Design
  • Same enclosure again
  • Easy access retained
  • No USB4

Visually, the A5 2027 Edition is business as usual for Geekom. It reuses the same silver metal-and-plastic chassis as the original A5 and the Mini IT13 before it, with two USB ports and the audio jack on the front, the SD card reader on the left, and the rest of the I/O around the back.

One aspect of this design I especially liked is that all the ports are labelled correctly, revealing the USB specification and whether the port is designed for charging. Some makers just completely ignore these details, leaving ports alongside others with a completely different specification looking identical.

Internal access follows the same familiar pattern too. Four retained screws release the base, which stays tethered by a ribbon cable feeding the free 2.5-inch SATA bay underneath. The DDR4 SODIMM slots and the primary M.2 2280 NVMe slot sit inside, alongside a second, smaller M.2 2242 slot for a SATA SSD.

I wish the second slot was 2280-sized, but evidently there was insufficient space for it.

That gives the A5 2027 Edition a genuinely unusual triple-storage layout for a machine this size, and Geekom quotes a combined ceiling of around 7TB across all three. Not sure how that works, because the 2280 slot could take 4TB, I’ve seen 2TB on 2246, but SATA HDDs can be at least 5TB and SSDs to at least 4TB. Therefore, you could put more than 7TB in one of these machines.

What’s good about this system is that the internal access doesn’t require removing adhesive-attached feet, and the memory is socketed, allowing for easy upgrades.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The only caveat with the memory, other than the lower bandwidth of DDR4 compared to DDR5, is that to get the best performance, the memory upgrades need to be in pairs.

So if you want more memory, sticking one 16GB stick alongside an existing 8GB module isn’t ideal. It might work, but it will reduce the memory mode to single-channel. Therefore, if you want more RAM, two 16GB or 32GB SODIMMs are the path to follow, leaving you two 8GB modules to re-home.

There are 48GB DDR4 modules available, but the maximum RAM on this platform is 64GB. At the time of writing, a 32GB DDR4 SODIMM is typically around $250, making that upgrade about the same cost as the system. But should the AI bubble burst (or rather, when), then that might be a more realistic proposition.

My disappointment is that there is no USB faster than USB 3.2 Gen 2, even though the platform has plenty of unused PCIe lanes. There are at least five USB ports with this specification plus a single USB 2.0, but not a single USB4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. I understand the resistance to putting USB4 controllers on older platform technology, but the market has outgrown USB 3.2 already.

Overall, as I’ve come to expect from Geekom, this is a well-made mini-PC which delivers a decent user experience for those who aren’t excessively ambitious from a performance perspective. It isn’t a massive evolution from earlier, but it seems decent value for money in these difficult times.

  • Design: 4 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Features
  • AMD Ryzen 7 7730U
  • New Barcelo-R silicon with a lower power ceiling
  • IceBlast 3.0 cooling

The headline change in the A5 2027 Edition is its processor. The AMD Ryzen 7 7730U carries a similar die and Zen 3 cores as the 5800H in the original A5, with the same 8 cores, 16 threads and 16MB of L3 cache. Where the 5800H was a Cezanne design, the 7730U is one of four Barcelo-R chips that AMD made before moving on to the Rembrandt-R architecture.

The biggest change between these chips is the power envelope, cut from 45 watts to 15 watts.

That is a significant reduction, and it shows up directly in sustained clock speed. Our CPU-Z capture shows the new chip running at 3470.7MHz under its default profile, down from the 4364.5MHz we saw on the outgoing 5800H with the same tool.

The smaller 65W power brick that ships with the 2027 Edition, down from the original's 120W unit, reflects how much less power headroom this design now needs. Geekom backs the lower TDP with its IceBlast 3.0 cooling system, said to improve cooling efficiency by around 42 per cent over the previous generation and to keep core temperatures under 72 degrees Celsius after an hour of sustained heavy load in a 30-degree room.

Geekom quotes noise levels as low as 28dB at idle and around 32dB under heavy load, figures that make the A5 2027 Edition a genuinely quiet machine for a desk or reception area.

The trade made here is performance for silence, which, depending on the working environment, could be the right or wrong choice.

Storage and memory remain DDR4 rather than the faster DDR5 found in newer Ryzen designs, and the M.2 slot is still limited to PCIe 3.0, so NVMe throughput is capped in the same way it was on the original A5. Port-wise, the story is also unchanged: still no USB4 or Thunderbolt, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C as the fastest connections on offer.

That this system comes with dual HDMI 2.0 outputs and an easily accessible SD card slot on the side offers genuine potential for marketing displays, especially considering how cool it all runs.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

What needs to be said is that this isn’t especially new technology. The processor was first launched in Q1 of 2023, which will shortly make it four years old. Fabricated on the older TSMC 7nm FinFET technology, it can’t hope to offer the same levels of efficiency as the latest Ryzen parts, which use TSMC N4P FinFET.

To be clear, there is little wrong with the older chips, and AMD evidently still holds a significant stock of them, but better, more efficient technology is available for those willing to invest in it.

These devices offer significant performance increases in CPU-, GPU-, and NPU-related tasks, have better technologies (USB4, etc.) and larger caches.

But they don’t have upgradable memory, as they use LPDDR5X-8533 surface-mounted memory, or similar, and their default power consumption is greater, leading to fan noise.

The computing platform in the A5 2027 Edition might not be full of youthful enthusiasm, but it's more than adequate for many office tasks.

  • Features: 3.5 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Performance

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Mini PC

Geekom A5 2027 Edition

Geekom A5

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U

AMD Ryzen 5 7430U

Cores/Threads

8C 16T

6C 12T

RAM

16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

SSD

512GB SSD

512GB SSD

Graphics

Radeon Vega 8

Radeon Vega 7

3DMark

WildLife

7346

6796

FireStrike

3504

3259

TimeSpy

1390

1288

S.Nomad

1111

1086

Cine24

Single

86

71

Multi

479

421

Ratio

5.58

5.96

GeekBench 6

Single

1993

1910

Multi

7712

6503

OpenCL

16050

14325

Vulkan

14539

13895

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

3736

3208

Write MB/s

3186

2290

PCMark 10

Office

6709

5296

WEI

Score

8.1

8.1

It was originally my intention to compare this A5 with the 5800U-powered one, but when I looked at the data, that prior model came during a transition where I was switching from Cinebench 23 to GeekBench 5. And I no longer have that hardware to retest.

What I can say is that in the data I do have that maps between the two, the 5800U was more powerful, but it used more power and fan noise was audible.

What I did find in my data pile was an older A5 that used the AMD Ryzen 5 7430U CPU, and those benchmarks mapped to what I used on the A5 2027 Edition and provided some interesting context between the two.

It’s not exactly a revelation that a CPU with more cores and a better GPU is going to run faster, but that’s the narrative running through these results. But it also hints in the Windows Experience Index that for a person running Office applications on these systems, the difference might not be significant, or even noticeable.

In this respect, the A5 2027 Edition is a punchier option, but it's hardly leaving the older A5 with the Ryzen 5 platform in the dust. For those wanting to minimise the cost of these systems, there might be something useful to take from these results for them.

As an aside, I recently reviewed the BOSGAME P4 Ultra, which uses the same CPU as the A5 2027 Edition but performs worse than the old A5 with the Ryzen 5 CPU. How is that possible? It is when you deliver the 16GB of RAM in a single module, reducing the bandwidth of the system by 50%. As an example of the impact of doing this, the WildLife score on the P4 Ultra is only 4961.

The lesson from these scores is never run one of these systems in single-channel mode, unless you like your computers to run slowly for no good reason.

  • Performance: 3.5 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

I would consider the Geekom A5 2027 Edition as a refresh rather than a generational leap. Geekom has kept everything that made the original A5 easy to recommend: the compact metal chassis, the simple internal access and the strong port selection, and layered on a genuinely useful third SATA storage option.

What it has not done is make the machine dramatically faster. The move from a 45-watt to a 15-watt processor trades outright performance for lower noise, lower heat and, Geekom claims, lower running costs over years of continuous use.

For buyers who want a quiet, always-on machine for general office work, that trade could be exactly right. For anyone chasing the best possible performance per pound, the original A5, while now harder to find new, made a stronger case.

Should you buy a Geekom A5 2027 Edition?

Value

Pricier than the original A5 at launch, but that's to be expected.

4 / 5

Design

An effective design that doesn't need to change

4 / 5

Features

Four-year old tech, but still useful

3.5 / 5

Performance

Slower than the 5800U A5s, but not terrible

3.5 / 5

Overall

A quieter, cooler machine aimed at 24/7 office duty rather than raw speed.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a quiet, always-on office machine
With its 15-watt chip and IceBlast 3.0 cooling, the A5 2027 Edition is aimed squarely at desks, reception areas and back offices where a quiet machine matters more than outright speed.

You need some local storage flexibility
With three storage slots that include an NVMe drive, a 2.5-inch SATA bay and a second M.2 SATA slot, this machine gives you more expansion room than most mini PCs at this price.

Don't buy it if...

You want the fastest machine for the money
The lower 15-watt power limit means the 2027 Edition is likely to trail the outgoing A5 and rival machines that still use 45-watt silicon, once benchmark figures are confirmed.

You need Thunderbolt or USB4
As with the original A5, the fastest connection on offer is USB 3.2 Gen 2. Anyone relying on Thunderbolt peripherals or displays will need to look elsewhere.

Also Consider

GMKtec NucBox K16
Another AMD NUC built around the Zen 3+ Ryzen 7 7735HS, offering a genuine generational step up in performance over either A5 model, in a similarly compact and upgrade-friendly case. It costs more, but comes with 32GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage.

Check out our GMKtec NucBox K16 review

Geekom A5 2025 Edition

Geekom's prior model uses the AMD Ryzen 5 7430U and is cheaper than the newest model, while being a similar low-power and low-noise offering. Power consumption is even lower due to the lower clock speeds, but it uses the same chassis and has the same storage options.

Check out my Geekom A5 2025 Edition review

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

Categories: Technology

Geekom A5 mini PC 2027 Edition review: Good value, well-made, and a decent user experience for those who aren’t excessively ambitious

TechRadar Reviews - Sat, 09/19/2026 - 01:15
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: 30-second review

Often, reviewing computer equipment has an odd, unexpected cyclical nature. Because many companies can’t be bothered with new nomenclature and launch new products with old names.

This is at least the third version of the Geekom A5 I’ve seen, and thankfully Geekom have decided to call this the 2027 Edition to segment it slightly from prior options.

Where the original Geekom A5 went after desktop-class performance on a budget, the 2027 Edition changes tack. Geekom has kept the same compact metal chassis, the same generous port selection and the same easy access to internals, but it has fitted a very different processor under the hood.

Out goes the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, a 45-watt mobile chip that pushed hard for performance. In comes the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U, a 15-watt part that shares the same Cezanne silicon and Zen 3 cores but is tuned for efficiency rather than speed.

The result, on paper at least, is a machine that runs cooler and quieter, backed by a new IceBlast 3.0 cooling system that Geekom claims cuts noise to as low as 28dB at idle. Geekom is now pitching the A5 2027 Edition for 24/7 office and commercial use, rather than as a budget performance desktop.

The available SKUs offer two CPU options: a cheaper AMD Ryzen 5 7430U and a more powerful AMD Ryzen 7 7730U. All machines come with 16GB of DDR4 memory, but storage can be 256GB, 512GB or 1TB.

Memory is expandable to 64GB, and storage has actually grown more flexible, with room for two NVMe SSDs and a 2.5-inch SATA drive, but the second M.2 slot is the smaller 2242 variety.

What the A5 2027 Edition offers is a relatively affordable platform for general office use, but it lacks the expansion possibilities that the best mini PCs provide with technology like OCuLink, USB4 and Thunderbolt.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Price and availability
  • How much does it cost? From $465/£446/€479
  • When is it out? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Currently, this machine can be obtained directly from Geekom or via online retailers

The A5 2027 Edition is sold in several bundles, and the number of SKUs varies by region. Most come with 16GB of RAM, but with different processors and storage.

The variations are complicated, so I’ve created a small table showing the options and prices for the US, UK and EU. Each region also has a discount code that improves prices by 10% in the US, 5% in the UK, and €50 off in the EU.

Global pricing for Geekom A5 2027 Edition

CPU

RAM/SSD

USA price

UK price

EU price

Ryzen 5 7430U

16GB+1TB

$465

£449

€479

Ryzen 7 5825U

16GB+512GB

$499

N/A

N/A

Ryzen 7 7730U

16GB+256

$499

£399

€479

Ryzen 7 7730U

16GB+512GB

$549

£469

€549

Ryzen 7 5800H

32GB+512GB

N/A

N/A

€549

As you can see in the table, only three SKUs are available in all locations, and some 5800 series options are unique to the US and parts of the EU.

What needs to be acknowledged is that the prices of RAM and storage have skyrocketed in the past year, and given those increases, the price of this A5 doesn’t seem excessive. Though, considering that the memory and storage on these machines are replaceable, it seems odd that Geekom didn’t offer a barebones SKU.

It should be noted that the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H model was on the German and Spanish Geekom sites, but not on their French or Italian. Canada has the same SKUs as the USA, and Japan has the same, but with the Ryzen 5 7430U model removed. The older A5 had the 5800H, so these machines may not be the 2027 Edition, but older stock.

Curiously, via Amazon you can buy the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U 16GB+512GB for the same price as Geekom offers it (before the discount code), $549 or £469, but it comes in Rose Gold, not silver.

The two obvious competitor machines that use the same platform are the GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra and BOSGAME P4 Ultra.

The GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra can be found on Amazon for $599.99 or £609.96, but it comes with 32GB+1TB and the 7730U processor. A better value option is the BOSGAME P4 Ultra, which you can get on Amazon.co.uk with a voucher for £385, and it comes with 16GB+1TB and a Ryzen 7 CPU. The same machine is $519 on Amazon.com.

Therefore, if you want this platform cheaper, then BOSGAME is probably the right choice, but the GMKtec machines look better made, and the P4 Ultra can come with a single memory module, undermining its performance significantly.

  • Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Geekom A5 2027 Edition: SpecsGeekom A5 2027 Edition Specifications

CPU:

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U (8 cores, 16 threads, 16MB cache, 2.0GHz to 4.5GHz)

GPU:

AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics (integrated)

RAM:

16GB DDR4 SODIMM (dual-channel 2x8GB, expandable to 64GB)

Storage:

512GB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, plus free 2.5" SATA bay and M.2 2242 SATA slot

Ports:

3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, SD card reader

Networking:

2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

OS:

Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed)

Base Power:

15W (TDP)

PSU:

19V 3.42A, 65W

Weight:

652g

Dimensions:

117mm x 112mm x 49.2mm

Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Design
  • Same enclosure again
  • Easy access retained
  • No USB4

Visually, the A5 2027 Edition is business as usual for Geekom. It reuses the same silver metal-and-plastic chassis as the original A5 and the Mini IT13 before it, with two USB ports and the audio jack on the front, the SD card reader on the left, and the rest of the I/O around the back.

One aspect of this design I especially liked is that all the ports are labelled correctly, revealing the USB specification and whether the port is designed for charging. Some makers just completely ignore these details, leaving ports alongside others with a completely different specification looking identical.

Internal access follows the same familiar pattern too. Four retained screws release the base, which stays tethered by a ribbon cable feeding the free 2.5-inch SATA bay underneath. The DDR4 SODIMM slots and the primary M.2 2280 NVMe slot sit inside, alongside a second, smaller M.2 2242 slot for a SATA SSD.

I wish the second slot was 2280-sized, but evidently there was insufficient space for it.

That gives the A5 2027 Edition a genuinely unusual triple-storage layout for a machine this size, and Geekom quotes a combined ceiling of around 7TB across all three. Not sure how that works, because the 2280 slot could take 4TB, I’ve seen 2TB on 2246, but SATA HDDs can be at least 5TB and SSDs to at least 4TB. Therefore, you could put more than 7TB in one of these machines.

What’s good about this system is that the internal access doesn’t require removing adhesive-attached feet, and the memory is socketed, allowing for easy upgrades.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The only caveat with the memory, other than the lower bandwidth of DDR4 compared to DDR5, is that to get the best performance, the memory upgrades need to be in pairs.

So if you want more memory, sticking one 16GB stick alongside an existing 8GB module isn’t ideal. It might work, but it will reduce the memory mode to single-channel. Therefore, if you want more RAM, two 16GB or 32GB SODIMMs are the path to follow, leaving you two 8GB modules to re-home.

There are 48GB DDR4 modules available, but the maximum RAM on this platform is 64GB. At the time of writing, a 32GB DDR4 SODIMM is typically around $250, making that upgrade about the same cost as the system. But should the AI bubble burst (or rather, when), then that might be a more realistic proposition.

My disappointment is that there is no USB faster than USB 3.2 Gen 2, even though the platform has plenty of unused PCIe lanes. There are at least five USB ports with this specification plus a single USB 2.0, but not a single USB4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. I understand the resistance to putting USB4 controllers on older platform technology, but the market has outgrown USB 3.2 already.

Overall, as I’ve come to expect from Geekom, this is a well-made mini-PC which delivers a decent user experience for those who aren’t excessively ambitious from a performance perspective. It isn’t a massive evolution from earlier, but it seems decent value for money in these difficult times.

  • Design: 4 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Features
  • AMD Ryzen 7 7730U
  • New Barcelo-R silicon with a lower power ceiling
  • IceBlast 3.0 cooling

The headline change in the A5 2027 Edition is its processor. The AMD Ryzen 7 7730U carries a similar die and Zen 3 cores as the 5800H in the original A5, with the same 8 cores, 16 threads and 16MB of L3 cache. Where the 5800H was a Cezanne design, the 7730U is one of four Barcelo-R chips that AMD made before moving on to the Rembrandt-R architecture.

The biggest change between these chips is the power envelope, cut from 45 watts to 15 watts.

That is a significant reduction, and it shows up directly in sustained clock speed. Our CPU-Z capture shows the new chip running at 3470.7MHz under its default profile, down from the 4364.5MHz we saw on the outgoing 5800H with the same tool.

The smaller 65W power brick that ships with the 2027 Edition, down from the original's 120W unit, reflects how much less power headroom this design now needs. Geekom backs the lower TDP with its IceBlast 3.0 cooling system, said to improve cooling efficiency by around 42 per cent over the previous generation and to keep core temperatures under 72 degrees Celsius after an hour of sustained heavy load in a 30-degree room.

Geekom quotes noise levels as low as 28dB at idle and around 32dB under heavy load, figures that make the A5 2027 Edition a genuinely quiet machine for a desk or reception area.

The trade made here is performance for silence, which, depending on the working environment, could be the right or wrong choice.

Storage and memory remain DDR4 rather than the faster DDR5 found in newer Ryzen designs, and the M.2 slot is still limited to PCIe 3.0, so NVMe throughput is capped in the same way it was on the original A5. Port-wise, the story is also unchanged: still no USB4 or Thunderbolt, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C as the fastest connections on offer.

That this system comes with dual HDMI 2.0 outputs and an easily accessible SD card slot on the side offers genuine potential for marketing displays, especially considering how cool it all runs.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

What needs to be said is that this isn’t especially new technology. The processor was first launched in Q1 of 2023, which will shortly make it four years old. Fabricated on the older TSMC 7nm FinFET technology, it can’t hope to offer the same levels of efficiency as the latest Ryzen parts, which use TSMC N4P FinFET.

To be clear, there is little wrong with the older chips, and AMD evidently still holds a significant stock of them, but better, more efficient technology is available for those willing to invest in it.

These devices offer significant performance increases in CPU-, GPU-, and NPU-related tasks, have better technologies (USB4, etc.) and larger caches.

But they don’t have upgradable memory, as they use LPDDR5X-8533 surface-mounted memory, or similar, and their default power consumption is greater, leading to fan noise.

The computing platform in the A5 2027 Edition might not be full of youthful enthusiasm, but it's more than adequate for many office tasks.

  • Features: 3.5 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Performance

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Mini PC

Geekom A5 2027 Edition

Geekom A5

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U

AMD Ryzen 5 7430U

Cores/Threads

8C 16T

6C 12T

RAM

16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

SSD

512GB SSD

512GB SSD

Graphics

Radeon Vega 8

Radeon Vega 7

3DMark

WildLife

7346

6796

FireStrike

3504

3259

TimeSpy

1390

1288

S.Nomad

1111

1086

Cine24

Single

86

71

Multi

479

421

Ratio

5.58

5.96

GeekBench 6

Single

1993

1910

Multi

7712

6503

OpenCL

16050

14325

Vulkan

14539

13895

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

3736

3208

Write MB/s

3186

2290

PCMark 10

Office

6709

5296

WEI

Score

8.1

8.1

It was originally my intention to compare this A5 with the 5800U-powered one, but when I looked at the data, that prior model came during a transition where I was switching from Cinebench 23 to GeekBench 5. And I no longer have that hardware to retest.

What I can say is that in the data I do have that maps between the two, the 5800U was more powerful, but it used more power and fan noise was audible.

What I did find in my data pile was an older A5 that used the AMD Ryzen 5 7430U CPU, and those benchmarks mapped to what I used on the A5 2027 Edition and provided some interesting context between the two.

It’s not exactly a revelation that a CPU with more cores and a better GPU is going to run faster, but that’s the narrative running through these results. But it also hints in the Windows Experience Index that for a person running Office applications on these systems, the difference might not be significant, or even noticeable.

In this respect, the A5 2027 Edition is a punchier option, but it's hardly leaving the older A5 with the Ryzen 5 platform in the dust. For those wanting to minimise the cost of these systems, there might be something useful to take from these results for them.

As an aside, I recently reviewed the BOSGAME P4 Ultra, which uses the same CPU as the A5 2027 Edition but performs worse than the old A5 with the Ryzen 5 CPU. How is that possible? It is when you deliver the 16GB of RAM in a single module, reducing the bandwidth of the system by 50%. As an example of the impact of doing this, the WildLife score on the P4 Ultra is only 4961.

The lesson from these scores is never run one of these systems in single-channel mode, unless you like your computers to run slowly for no good reason.

  • Performance: 3.5 / 5
Geekom A5 2027 Edition: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

I would consider the Geekom A5 2027 Edition as a refresh rather than a generational leap. Geekom has kept everything that made the original A5 easy to recommend: the compact metal chassis, the simple internal access and the strong port selection, and layered on a genuinely useful third SATA storage option.

What it has not done is make the machine dramatically faster. The move from a 45-watt to a 15-watt processor trades outright performance for lower noise, lower heat and, Geekom claims, lower running costs over years of continuous use.

For buyers who want a quiet, always-on machine for general office work, that trade could be exactly right. For anyone chasing the best possible performance per pound, the original A5, while now harder to find new, made a stronger case.

Should you buy a Geekom A5 2027 Edition?

Value

Pricier than the original A5 at launch, but that's to be expected.

4 / 5

Design

An effective design that doesn't need to change

4 / 5

Features

Four-year old tech, but still useful

3.5 / 5

Performance

Slower than the 5800U A5s, but not terrible

3.5 / 5

Overall

A quieter, cooler machine aimed at 24/7 office duty rather than raw speed.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a quiet, always-on office machine
With its 15-watt chip and IceBlast 3.0 cooling, the A5 2027 Edition is aimed squarely at desks, reception areas and back offices where a quiet machine matters more than outright speed.

You need some local storage flexibility
With three storage slots that include an NVMe drive, a 2.5-inch SATA bay and a second M.2 SATA slot, this machine gives you more expansion room than most mini PCs at this price.

Don't buy it if...

You want the fastest machine for the money
The lower 15-watt power limit means the 2027 Edition is likely to trail the outgoing A5 and rival machines that still use 45-watt silicon, once benchmark figures are confirmed.

You need Thunderbolt or USB4
As with the original A5, the fastest connection on offer is USB 3.2 Gen 2. Anyone relying on Thunderbolt peripherals or displays will need to look elsewhere.

Also Consider

GMKtec NucBox K16
Another AMD NUC built around the Zen 3+ Ryzen 7 7735HS, offering a genuine generational step up in performance over either A5 model, in a similarly compact and upgrade-friendly case. It costs more, but comes with 32GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage.

Check out our GMKtec NucBox K16 review

Geekom A5 2025 Edition

Geekom's prior model uses the AMD Ryzen 5 7430U and is cheaper than the newest model, while being a similar low-power and low-noise offering. Power consumption is even lower due to the lower clock speeds, but it uses the same chassis and has the same storage options.

Check out my Geekom A5 2025 Edition review

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

Categories: Reviews

As Europe warms, Italy sees West Nile virus spread

NPR News Headlines - Sat, 09/19/2026 - 00:13

Italian health authorities see evidence that rising temperatures and longer warm seasons are helping mosquitoes spread West Nile virus across a wider area, during more months of the year.

(Image credit: Gregorio Borgia)

Categories: News

US and Denmark reach deal to build US military presence in Greenland

NPR News Headlines - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 23:44

President Donald Trump says he has a deal with Denmark to bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland. The announcement comes after months of threatening to take the island by force from the NATO ally.

(Image credit: Evgeniy Maloletka)

Categories: News

Meta’s New AI Chip Is Coming in 2027: Arke Targets Lower AI Costs

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 20:09

Meta plans to deploy its MTIA 450 Arke AI chip in 2027 as it looks to cut inference costs, energy use and reliance on general-purpose GPUs.

The post Meta’s New AI Chip Is Coming in 2027: Arke Targets Lower AI Costs appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Anthropic’s Next Claude Feature Could Reach Into Your Bank Account

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 19:55

Anthropic appears to be testing Claude Money, a feature that could connect bank accounts to Claude for spending analysis and financial planning.

The post Anthropic’s Next Claude Feature Could Reach Into Your Bank Account appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Hackers Are Using Passkey Updates as a New Microsoft Phishing Hook

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:36

Microsoft warns attackers are using passkey and MFA update requests to phish employees, hijack sessions, and access Microsoft 365 data.

The post Hackers Are Using Passkey Updates as a New Microsoft Phishing Hook appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

UAE Cyber Chief Says Country Faced 640,000 Cyberattacks in One Day

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:30

The UAE faced 640,000 cyberattacks in one day, its cyber chief says, highlighting risks from unpatched software, ransomware, and deepfakes.

The post UAE Cyber Chief Says Country Faced 640,000 Cyberattacks in One Day appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

OpenAI Launches Interactive Sponsored Agents for ChatGPT Ads

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:00

OpenAI unveils Sponsored Agents for ChatGPT ads, letting users chat directly with brand AI agents. Learn about new Shopify and HubSpot integrations.

The post OpenAI Launches Interactive Sponsored Agents for ChatGPT Ads appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, September 19 (game #1699)

TechRadar News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:00
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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, September 18 (game #1698).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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 #1699) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* 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 #1699) — 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 #1699) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1699) — 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 0.

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 #1699) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• H

• P

• C

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

Quordle today (game #1699) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1699, are…

  • SCOPE
  • HEIST
  • PULSE
  • CHAMP

I played this game very tactically, waiting until the latest moment, and ruling out another word beginning with the letter P, before guessing CHAMP.

When you can see a word from the start, but cannot be certain, it’s really hard not to follow your hunch — well, it is for me anyway — so I’m pleased with my restraint.

Daily Sequence today (game #1699) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1699, are…

  • ELEGY
  • OPIUM
  • FUGUE
  • SUAVE
Quordle answers: The past 20
  • Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
  • Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
  • Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
  • Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
  • Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
  • Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
  • Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
  • Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
  • Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
  • Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
  • Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
  • Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
  • Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
  • Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
  • Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
  • Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
  • Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
  • Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
  • Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
  • Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
Categories: Technology

NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, September 19 (game #1196)

TechRadar News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:00
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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, September 18 (game #1195).

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 #1196) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

  • STICK FIGURE
  • MINISKIRT
  • LOG CABIN
  • SUN
  • TAN LINE
  • BRANCH OUT
  • HOUSE
  • TWIGGY
  • TREE
  • MOD
  • SIN CITY
  • GROW
  • COS LETTUCE
  • EXPAND
  • CARNABY STREET
  • DIVERSIFY
NYT Connections today (game #1196) - hint #1 - group hints

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

  • YELLOW: Broaden one’s horizons
  • GREEN: Classic early art
  • BLUE: Cool Britannia (part 1)
  • PURPLE: Beginning formulas

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 #1196) - hint #2 - group answers

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

  • YELLOW: WIDEN ONE'S SCOPE
  • GREEN: FEATURES OF A KID'S DRAWING
  • BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S
  • PURPLE: STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS

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

NYT Connections today (game #1196) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1196, are…

  • YELLOW: WIDEN ONE'S SCOPE: BRANCH OUT, DIVERSIFY, EXPAND, GROW
  • GREEN: FEATURES OF A KID'S DRAWING: HOUSE, STICK FIGURE, SUN, TREE
  • BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S: CARNABY STREET, MINISKIRT, MOD, TWIGGY
  • PURPLE: STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS: COS LETTUCE, LOG CABIN, SIN CITY, TAN LINE
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 mistake

I fell straight down today’s trapdoor linking STICK FIGURE, BRANCH OUT, LOG CABIN and TWIGGY.

Had I looked at the board a bit more carefully I would have spotted that TWIGGY had to be connected to the famously skinny model and the other tiles ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S. Alas, fools rush in.

Fortunately this was a relatively easy game and I was thankfully able to collect WIDEN ONE’S SCOPE and FEATURES OF A KID'S DRAWING, as STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS went way above my head.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, September 18, 2026, game #1195)
  • YELLOW: SEGMENT OF A PROCESS: PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP
  • GREEN: ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK: FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER
  • BLUE: PARTS OF A FLIGHT: BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF
  • PURPLE: ____ CASE: BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER
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 three 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.

Categories: Technology

NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, September 19 (game #930)

TechRadar News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 18:00
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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, September 18 (game #929).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Shiver me timbers!

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • HATE
  • PEAK
  • LIKE
  • KEEPER
  • STARE
  • MEAT
NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 15 letters

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 8th row

• Last side: right, 3rd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #930) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #930, are…

  • ARRR
  • HEARTIES
  • AVAST
  • MATEY
  • SAVVY
  • YOHOHO
  • SPANGRAM: TALKLIKEAPIRATE
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

Saturday 19 September — so, today — is International TALKLIKEAPIRATE Day. I didn’t know that before playing today’s Strands, but am now cursed with calling everybody I meet MATEY.

The thing that caught my eye immediately was seeing three letter Rs in a row, and it was quite the delight to get ARRR correct.

From here, the search was a little bit trickier, but I managed to avoid the temptation of using a hint as the theme tune to Pirates of the Caribbean buzzed around my head.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, September 18, game #929)
  • COVENANT
  • PACT
  • TREATY
  • CONTRACT
  • AGREEMENT
  • SPANGRAM: LETSMAKEADEAL
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.

Categories: Technology

Waymo Picks Singapore for First Southeast Asia Robotaxi Market

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 17:07

Waymo plans to launch robotaxis in Singapore in 2028, testing its self-driving system against local roads, monsoon weather, and regional rivals.

The post Waymo Picks Singapore for First Southeast Asia Robotaxi Market appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Quote of the day by ex-OpenAI chief scientist and SSI co-founder Ilya Sutskever: 'AI will keep getting better and the day will come when AI will do all the things that we can do' — a staggering prediction about a future superintelligence

TechRadar News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 17:00

The pace of growth in AI has been fast since ChatGPT debuted in November 2022, and many predict the current neural network-based technology can one day scale up to outperform humans. This has long been a theorized possibility in the industry, but might we finally have the technology to realize this vision?

The measure of man

Ilya Sutskever was a co-founder of OpenAI, where he served as chief scientist while also leading the research that led to the new wave of reasoning models. He is now co-founder and CEO at Safe Superintelligence Inc.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

Speaking at the University of Toronto while receiving an honorary degree, Sutskever used his remarks to outline the reality of the AI technology that we are using today, as well as what the future might hold for future systems.

In his speech, he acknowledged that while there will be great challenges in envisaging a future in which AI handles all human work, this is something that mankind must prepare for. In particular, even if people aren't interested in AI right now, that doesn't mean that AI won't impact their lives in the future.

More concerningly, he hinted that a hypothetical superintelligent AI may not be honest about its intentions. This would pose yet another existential issue that we must deal with.

Thinking machines

The concept of a superintelligent AI is many years old, with the first historically recognized mention of a superintelligent machine coming in the seminal paper 'Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine' by British mathematician IJ Good.

Since his proclamations, many scientists have subscribed to the theory that our progress in the AI sphere will one day lead to the rise of artificial general intelligence (AGI) – an extremely capable system that can outperform humans across multiple domains and can improve its own code. This, eventually, will give rise to an artificial superintelligence (ASI).

Scientists are torn over whether today's dominant neural network-based AI systems could give rise to a true AGI, with many suggesting that the industry needs to evolve beyond the transformer-based architecture that Google scientists pioneered in 2017.

Categories: Technology

MIT Robot Builds a Working Laser in 30 Minutes With Minimal Human Help

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 16:55

MIT researchers built a robotic optics lab that assembled a working laser in 30 minutes, pointing toward more autonomous scientific research.

The post MIT Robot Builds a Working Laser in 30 Minutes With Minimal Human Help appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Hackers Crack Flock Camera, Expose 1.6M Images in 21 Days

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 16:48

Hackers physically compromised a Flock camera and found an encryption key, 27,000 clips, and 1.6 million images generated in 21 days.

The post Hackers Crack Flock Camera, Expose 1.6M Images in 21 Days appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Huawei Moves Its Next AI Chip Forward as China Builds Around Nvidia Restrictions

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 16:42

Huawei is moving its Ascend 960DT AI chip to early 2027 as it expands domestic AI infrastructure and reduces reliance on restricted foreign hardware.

The post Huawei Moves Its Next AI Chip Forward as China Builds Around Nvidia Restrictions appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

Trump Bets $215 Million on Quantum Computing: DOE Targets Practical Systems

TechRepublic News - Fri, 09/18/2026 - 16:35

The DOE is offering up to $215 million through Quantum Genesis Q to accelerate fault-tolerant quantum computers with at least 100 logical qubits.

The post Trump Bets $215 Million on Quantum Computing: DOE Targets Practical Systems appeared first on TechRepublic.

Categories: Technology

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