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I’ve been a huge fan of Dell displays for a long time. So, when I first saw the UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q), I thought two things: What a long name, and Wow, that looks incredible.

I have got really used to my 52-inch beast from Dell, so I know they are capable of delivering spectacular quality and novel ideas. So, the idea of Dell jumping feet first into a creative monitor is really exciting… and they did it very, very well.

This monitor has DisplayHDR True Black; it’s a QD-OLED anti-glare coating; it's a 120Hz, 4K panel; and it’s built from the ground up for color-critical workflows that are vital to getting the colors just right. There’s a magnetic shade for use in areas with harsh or inconsistent lighting, a built-in colorimeter, and up to 1000 nits of peak brightness.

The specs are incredible, and rightfully so; this monitor is truly brilliant in all of the best ways. As long as you forget that unseemly price tag.

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED: Price and availability

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The Dell UltraSharp 32-inch 4K QD-OLED can be purchased for $2,440 at Dell in the US. And in the UK, it's got an equivalent cost of £2,405 at Dell UK. It's also available from a range of other retailers, but not reliably so.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED: Unboxing and First Impressions

I haven't really used it on a monitor or with shaders before; however, I've recently seen several. I didn't really understand why it would be used, but now, after seeing half a dozen monitor shaders in the last six months, I have a pretty good idea of why you would want them, why you would need them, and why you wouldn't need them.

Right away, I noticed just how sleek and polished this monitor looks. Granted, I have very good experience with Dell monitors at this point, but I still recognize the build quality on this thing, even from first on most

The packaging is pretty straightforward. After testing all some of the best business monitors over the last couple of years, I've learned to expect a certain level of standard in packaging. The monitor itself had front and back protection to ensure that it won't break during transport.

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED: Design & Build Quality

There is a reason why Dell monitors are insanely popular, especially in the business world. That's because, even though they don't have all the gimmicks that many other providers do, they have built their reputation on dependability.

This monitor, even though it is a high-end performance monitor, is built the very same way. It has the essentials covered, so the user can rely on it for any use case. It's able to fit in a really small project space all around.

The last thing I'll mention about design and build quality is the shader itself. It's made from a nice material. It doesn't look like it will sag at all, and it magnetically attaches, which is fantastic.

You may not always want to use this shader, but when you need it, you can easily slip it on to the display.

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED: In use

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

Using this monitor has been fantastic. It looks super sharp. It's clean. It's simple. It's not overstated. It mounts great on modern monitor arms. It has great ports. All these things result in very smooth, easy usability for me.

I was able to get this all set up very quickly, and once everything was set up, I was able to use it right away thanks to its single USB-C cable for connecting a laptop or desktop.

Now, if I want to add more to this monitor, such as a secondary machine or something, it does have great ports and several options, though. It doesn't have nearly as many options as some of the more advanced monitors I have seen.

My team and I have used this monitor for photo editing, for video editing, and for basic website design. So far, it's been spectacular to use. Its picture quality is spectacular, and the shader is super easy to disable when I don't need it.

One thing that I'm very thankful for is that this monitor is still bright. Most of the monitors and shaders I have seen have a really dim max brightness, but this one still looks great with max brightness.

Another thing worth touching on is the ports for the Dell Ultrasharp for the desktop setup in the photo. I use a single USB-C cable running directly from my laptop to the monitor.

If you've a more complicated setup where you're using one of the mini Thunderbolt docking stations or something similar, you can plug directly into it via USB-C or, of course, HDMI.

For the longest time, I would recommend Samsung or BenQ panels for creative work - in my experience, those companies produce some of the best monitors for photo editing and the like.

However, several more companies are stepping up when it comes to high-quality creative panels. Dell is clearly one of them, and honestly, I don't think its are too late to the game either. I think it's right on time, bringing its background of reliability and dependability to a growing demographic.

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED: Final verdict

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

If you know that you are looking for a creative monitor with specific specs, the best panel possible, and you even know what a shader is and what it does, then this is the kind of 4K monitor you should be looking into.

If you have to wonder whether this is worth it, it probably isn’t. It's total overkill for running standard office software and streaming the occasional movie.

If you know you're looking for an absurdly nice monitor because you are a video editor, a photo editor, or a content creator in some way, and you need a high-quality one, then absolutely make sure you check this one out.

Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future

I’ve dipped my toes into the world of e-bikes at various tech shows, but at IFA I got to experience one of the safest models so far. I rode around on the Volkswagen and n+ collaboration e-bike, which borrows from car tech to spot dangers and alert road users to your presence.

According to VW, this is the “world’s safest e-bike” — and it might be right.

To call it an e-bike is to oversimplify the setup, because the Volkswagen comes in three parts: the bike, the glasses, and the helmet.

Beyond typical assistive riding and plenty of lights, the two big things this bike boasts are an integrated rear-view camera and a dashboard display. The camera provides a view of what’s going on behind you without you needing to turn your head, with it also warns you when another vehicle is approaching in your blind spot via a radar sensor.

This, and stats such as your speed, can be viewed on the display and on the glasses’ monocular display.

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)

The see-through screen appears in front of your right eye and will display your speed, a basic map and directions if you’ve planned a route, and warnings about blind spots. The glasses themselves are very lightweight at 47g, and offer an excellent eight-hour battery life.

Admittedly, the helmet is a bit big and goofy-looking, but it both protects your head in a fall and features built-in lights — white on the front; red in the back to make you more visible to drivers and signal if you’re braking or turning, just like a car — as well as other electronics. It comes with an IP67 dust- and waterproof rating, and built-in crash detection. Battery life is decent at three hours (commuters should be fine, although avid riders may have welcomed more), although I wish it matched the eight hours of the glasses.

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)My test ride

Safety is very much the focus of this e-bike, and I can see it becoming the ultimate vehicle for commuting across cities such as London, where cars can come at you from all angles. Making myself more visible, and getting a heads up when a driver is close behind me, are major wins.

I got a taste of this during my demo. While this year's IFA test track was larger than last year’s, it’s still a bit compact for putting an e-bike through its paces. Nevertheless, I got a great feel for how well VW’s bike handles corners, and was able to get a little speed on the short straightaways.

It was also possible to get a sense of how distracting — or not distracting, as the case proved — the HUD of the glasses might be. It sits just in the corner of your vision, so you have to actively look at it to view your speed. As such, your eyes are still facing ahead and will easily see a turn or oncoming vehicle.

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)

The display also simplifies to become less obstructing, reverting to a simple VW logo when your eyes are focused on the road. Directing your sight back at the HUD will reactivate it.

The only thing I’m not sold on is the helmet. The safety credentials seem great but the relatively low battery life and goofy design left me wishing I’d stuck with the regular helmet I was offered on the test track.

We’ll still need to review the e-bike to gauge how well Volkswagen’s design stacks up against the competition, but my first impression is a very positive one.

The article contains spoilers for Returnal.

I’ve always been a fan of roguelike games. One of my first PlayStation Plus downloads was an indie known as Tower of Guns, where you blast your way through the titular tower, only to start again each time you die. It hooked me immediately — I spent pretty much an entire summer holiday shooting through the tower’s many floors, only to get kicked back down to the start with each defeat.

From the Backlog

Every gamer has a backlog — and that’s no different for us at TechRadar Gaming. From the Backlog is a series about overdue first-plays, revisiting classics, returning to online experiences, or rediscovering and appreciating established favorites in new ways. Read the full series here.

That type of cyclical gameplay loop just scratches a deep itch in my brain. I’m the kind of player who plays carefully and hoards items for moments that may never appear. However, the high stakes of roguelike games have always given you focus, while the temporary nature of your loadout, abilities, and progress encourages experimentation.

In most story-driven games, player deaths have few consequences – dying in God of War or Control might set you back a few minutes, but you’ll typically carry on as if nothing happened. In contrast, the roguelike genre is defined by hard resets with each death. The issue is that it’s hard to tell an engaging story when you’re constantly sending the player back to square one.

But what if dying was part of the story? That’s the question at the centre of Returnal, the 2021 roguelike third-person shooter from Finnish developer Housemarque that launched as a PS5 exclusive before making its way to Windows. Crucially, Returnal makes its cycle of death and reawakening the central theme of its dense, mysterious narrative.

This summer, about a decade after downloading Tower of Guns, PS Plus delivered me another unforgettable roguelike experience with Returnal – and while I had heard some high praise for its gameplay, I wasn’t prepared for just how much its story would affect me. Keep reading for my take on why Returnal is worth returning to.

Life on loop

(Image credit: Sony)

Returnal follows space-farer Selene Vassos, an astronaut and explorer who crash-lands on the uncharted world of Atropos. After emerging from the wreckage of her ship, Helios, players guide Selene through the jungles and ruins of Atropos, fighting through rooms of alien animals and humanoids to track the ‘White Shadow’ distress beacon she hopes to use to escape.

In theory, you can do this all in one life – but Returnal quickly makes it clear that everything on Atropos wants to kill you. And unless you’ve got the reaction times of an Olympic gymnast, something on Atropos is going to kill you. When you do eventually fall to one of the planet’s many hostile creatures, the game flashes through a series of visions before Selene wakes up at the crash site, which becomes the starting point for each subsequent run. In fact, the screen displays the message ‘Helios Abandoned’ each time you leave camp, to really set the mood.

On these follow-up attempts, you’ll come across corpses – your own corpses. Versions of Selene that didn’t make it to the White Shadow are dotted around Atropos, sometimes accompanied by voice recorders that begin to explain the planet’s war-torn history.

SonySonySony

The core gameplay of Returnal is that of a competent third-person shooter with light movement mechanics. It’s Dark Souls meets Titanfall meets Resogun after three cups of coffee – you move quickly, shoot quickly, and dodge dozens of on-screen projectiles. The controls are tight; the game feels incredibly responsive, fast but never floaty.

Various gameplay aspects come together to make Returnal feel addictive and alive. The game offers ten satisfying weapons, each with a few dozen modifiers, and carefully designed combat rooms that are rearranged with a dash of random number generation (RNG) on each new run. About a third of the way through the game, you unlock the best grappling hook in gaming since Just Cause 3, which is naturally a huge plus.

And while Returnal can be punishingly hard – looking at the PlayStation trophies reveals just under a third of players have beaten the first boss – it’s always incredibly fun to play. Even after beating the main game, I spent a few weeks scaling the Tower of Sisyphus, the endless mode added with a free DLC in 2022.

Our Returnal review has a more detailed breakdown of the game’s mechanics, but it’s the game’s story that, in my opinion, makes it a must-play.

I was quickly hooked by Returnal’s enigmatic premise. It takes a relatively small idea – making the gameplay loop an essential part of the story – and runs with it, filling every spare moment with symbolism and intrigue.

An impossible Apollo-era astronaut stalks Selene around Atropos; Selene’s house appears in the overgrowth, seemingly plucked from its place on Earth and becoming a doorway to surreal cutscenes, and all the while Selene’s visions become infected with robotic beings and eldritch tentacles.

Mystery and mythology

(Image credit: Sony)

Being a fan of games like Outer Wilds and Firewatch, Returnal’s approach to scavenging lore and building your own interpretation of the narrative really clicked with me. The game has a Nolan-esque way of revealing its story (only with much better female characters). Its twists and turns work their way through the player’s expectations like the tentacles that plague Selene’s post-mortem hallucinations, and many of the big twists are hinted at from the beginning.

The first comes halfway, when Selene finds the White Shadow escape signal, is rescued and returned to Earth, lives a normal life, passes away, and wakes up… back on Atropos. The second comes at the end of the game, when it’s revealed that, back on Earth, Selene crashed into a lake after seeing the Astronaut that follows her around Atropos on a bridge, her own ‘white shadow’. In the back seat, a young boy is trapped – Helios, abandoned.

YouTube essayists and Reddit commenters have spent the last five years analysing this game to Atropos and back – some theories suggest that the planet is a manifestation of Selene’s guilt over the crash, while others point to the ghostly astronaut as an avatar of her emotionally distant mother, Theia.

(Image credit: Sony)

Others point to Returnal’s layered Greek mythology references – Selene and Theia are named for the goddesses of the Moon and sky, with Atropos being the goddess of destiny. If you’re a lore-obsessive like me, now’s a great time to explore.

To me, Returnal is a fundamentally abstract piece of art that allows its themes to resonate with one another beyond the confines of a rigid narrative structure – at times, it feels like a sort of conceptual web, tying up ideas of motherhood, trauma, ambition, and release with no prescribed interpretation. Not bad for a shoot-em-up.

In fact, I found Returnal genuinely moving. In the second half of the game, as you fight through frozen wastelands and infinite ocean depths, Selene goes totally mad, talking only in prayer and prophecy. Actor Jane Perry does a phenomenal job of making her character seem both tragically lost and genuinely enlightened. Late-game cutscenes and lore drops put the focus on how much Selene gave up to become an astronaut, again tying this story to roguelike gameplay as Housemarque links sacrifice to pushing forward.

Housemarque released its latest game, Saros, earlier this year. Like Returnal, Saros offers Housemarque’s iconic third-person bullet hell gameplay and cryptic environmental storytelling – the difference is I won’t be waiting 5 years to play it.

Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, conceded to being an "alien terrorist." It marks the first case in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

• Meta’s Danish facility converts server heat into household heating for thousands
• Odense uses existing infrastructure to transform wasted data center energy
• Heat pumps help raise server warmth to temperatures suitable for homes

A data center operated by Meta in Odense, Denmark is channeling its cooling heat straight into nearby homes.

Server operations typically send almost all of their electricity out as warmth, with one industry estimate placing that figure near 90%.

Most facilities simply vent that energy skyward, but the Odense site routes it through the city's own heating infrastructure instead.

How the recovery system actually works

Roughly 40% of a data center's total energy consumption goes toward cooling servers, and nearly all of it is released as low-grade heat.

That heat arrives too cool for direct use, since server exhaust never reaches temperatures high enough to warm buildings on its own.

Water from the municipal district-heating network runs through the facility's cooling units, absorbing that low-level warmth from the servers, and then moves to a nearby plant packed with ammonia heat pumps that raise the temperature further before distribution.

Engineering firm Ramboll designed this recovery system for district-heating operator Fjernvarme Fyn, lifting water temperatures between 70 and 75°C.

That range makes the water hot enough for household radiators once it re-enters the wider distribution network.

"Our project is relatively unique because we have a very large distribution network," said Jan Strømvig, head of Fjernvarme Fyn, adding Meta placed its facility directly inside that network, allowing highly efficient energy transfer throughout the system.

On its part, Meta described the achievement as one of scale rather than any fundamentally new engineering breakthrough.

"Heat pumps are not a new invention, nor are coils for capturing heat. What is new and innovative is the pairing of these two in hyper scale," said Lauren Edelman, energy specialist at Meta

Numbers vary, but scale remains substantial

Ramboll's published figures describe roughly 45 megawatts flowing directly into Odense's heating network, making it Denmark's largest heat-pump installation.

Recovery figures cited by Ramboll point to about 215,000 megawatt-hours annually, warming more than 12,000 homes across the region.

Earlier project details from Meta cited smaller numbers, including around 6,900 homes and 100,000 megawatt-hours during initial operations.

Following expansion, Meta's own figures rose to roughly 165,000 megawatt-hours serving approximately 11,000 households within the system.

Fjernvarme Fyn confirmed in 2025 that Meta's surplus heat output was equivalent to warming about 11,000 households.

These fluctuating figures reflect different project phases, timeframes and counting methods rather than any inconsistency in performance.

Replicating this setup elsewhere depends heavily on one specific ingredient many cities simply lack entirely — a wide-reaching district-heating network.

Heat cannot travel far without significant loss, meaning facilities must sit close to an existing distribution network.

Odense already had that infrastructure in place before Meta's data center arrived on site, and this is part of the success of the system.

This situation stands out against a backdrop of growing resistance to data centers elsewhere, particularly in the United States.

Communities there have pushed back over land use, water consumption and strain on local electricity grids.

Thailand has raised similar objections recently, citing comparable pressure on its own limited resources.

Amid that friction, Odense offers a rare example of data center heat actually benefiting the surrounding community.

Via Science Blog

News and trailers from Blizzard’s opening ceremony.

An innocent video on Instagram has gone viral and triggered a major privacy scare.

Boulies Master Rex (2026): One-minute review

The Boulies Master Rex (2026) follows up on the previous model with a few tweaks and some new additions, all in the name of improving comfort and versatility.

Just like its forebear, the 2026 version is a rather understated affair. The dark gray colorway of my review unit made it look all the more austere, although the lack of brash accents and branding help to impart a more professional veneer; this is a gaming chair that wouldn’t look out of place in an office.

The fabric finish of my review unit (there’s also a PU variant) seemed durable yet was soft to the touch, lacking the scratchy feel of cheaper examples and aligning more closely with the fabrics adorning the best gaming chairs. The stitching was very precise and strong, too.

The head pillow feels less premium, with its relatively meagre padding and elastic strap in place of a magnetic attachment as seen on more upmarket chairs. However, it was fit for purpose and provided sufficient comfort and height adjustments.

(Image credit: Future)

As for the seat, it’s firmer than the previous model’s, and the front edge has a more prominent lip, which can dig into the underside of your thighs uncomfortably. The seat height has a fairly decent range, although it’s not the largest.

The Master Rex offers plenty of other adjustments, though. The back rest reclines all the way to 165 degrees and there’s also a rocking function, although this is quite stiff even on its loosest setting.

There’s built in lumbar support as well, which is adjustable for both height and prominence. However, the former lacks range, and didn’t go as low as I would’ve liked. What’s more, the dials for both settings require far too many turns, making them a chore to use.

For me, the standout feature of the Master Rex, though, is its 6D armrests. These provide all sorts of positions, thanks to their series of pivots and rotations. However, I struggled to find a benefit to their tilt function, and they still couldn’t go low enough for my liking — although admittedly this is a problem I have with many gaming chairs. Their padding is harder than on the previous model’s, too, and they can wobble around, although thankfully they remain stable during normal use.

The footrest is a far more basic affair that you simply pull out and flip. The cushioning is sufficient, but it doesn’t extend very far; I found that it supported my calves rather than my feet.

I managed to build the Master Rex without help. It was a relatively straightforward process, although attaching the tilt mechanism to the seat base was frustrating, since this heavy piece requires a very delicate placement to avoid moving the spacers out of place.

The Master Rex is reasonably well priced considering its build quality, adjustments, and integrated footrest. Its seat may be a little too firm for some, and the clever armrests aren’t without issues, but all things considered it makes for a compelling choice at this corner of the market.

(Image credit: Future)Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Price and availability

• $479.99 / £409.99 (about AU$670)
• Seen with significant discounts
• Good price given its quality and features

The Master Rex costs $479.99 / £409.99 (about AU$670) and is available now. It comes in fabric and PU finishes, with black, grey, and green colorways optionable.

For a gaming chair of this caliber, it’s well-priced. Better yet, we’ve seen it with a considerable discount already, which only sweetens the deal. But even at its base price, the Master Rex is considerably cheaper than the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen, a chair that has less adjustments to its armrests and lacks an integrated footrest.

Its 6D armrests are also a selling point; not even Secretlab’s Titan Evo has these, and the base model of that chair is still more expensive than the Master Rex. However, the Titan Evo is a stalwart in the gaming chair market and one of our favorites. It has a superior build quality to the Master Rex and more premium flourishes, such as the magnetic head pillow, but again lacks an integrated footrest as standard.

Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Specs

Price

$479.99 / £409.99 (about AU$670)

Backrest dimensions

29.9 x 22 inches / 760 x 560mm

Max user weight

243lbs / 110kg

Max user height

5ft 11in / 180cm

Seat dimensions

18.9 x 20.9 inches / 48 x 53cm

Warranty

2 years

Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Design and aesthetics

(Image credit: Future)

• Muted looks
• Solid build quality
• Armrests can wobble

The Master Rex has a fairly smart and stoic appearance. There’s hardly any branding, save for a small Boulies logo on the back and on the head pillow, and the muted colorways only serve to further downplay its presence (the dark grey finish of my review unit was probably the most dour of the bunch). Some small suede patches provide a marginal amount of interest, but hardly add much panache. Personally, though, I’m glad it has a smarter and perhaps broader appeal than the cliched ‘adolescent gamer’ aesthetic.

I was also thankful for the quality of the materials. The fabric upholstery is pleasingly soft, devoid of the nasty scratchiness of cheaper examples, and the stitching is also impressive, with its perfect alignment and durable feel. On top of this, the metal wheel base is sturdy and a cut above the plastic units of less premium gaming chairs. I also appreciated the curved edges of its spokes, dampening the impact of knocks with your heels.

Conversely, the construction of the armrests are a little disappointing. They appear to be made from a low-grade plastic, and there’s a fair amount of play to them, lacking the stability I would’ve expected. Thankfully, no wobbling occurs during normal use, but regardless it doesn’t speak well of their overall quality.

The head pillow also lacks the premium feel of those adorning more upmarket gaming chairs. It attaches via a basic elastic strap rather than magnetically, and it doesn’t have much padding inside, although it’s still fit for purpose and the outer material is soft if not velvety smooth.

(Image credit: Future)Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Comfort and adjustability

• Firm but comfortable seat
• Difficult lumbar adjustments
• Mixed 6D armrests

The Master Rex is a comfortable chair to sit in. Its seat is sufficiently padded, although it’s noticeably firmer than the previous model’s, which might prove divisive. There’s also a more prominent lip to the front edge that rises upwards, something that can definitely be felt underneath your thighs. While this didn’t cause me any issues, I can imagine others finding it uncomfortable.

The seat height can be adjusted, although the range is somewhat disappointing. I found the minimum height low enough for my needs (I’ve sat in many gaming chairs that aren’t), but the maximum may not be high enough for taller users. Neither will the relatively short backrest; Boulies recommends the Master Rex for users who are 5’11” and under, and currently there are no larger variants.

(Image credit: Future)

As is standard on many gaming chairs, the Master Rex features a rocking mechanism. However, it’s stiffer than many others, even on its loosest setting, meaning it takes quite a bit of effort to rock it backwards from an upright position. Naturally, this becomes easier as you recline the backrest, as your weight provides more leverage.

Speaking of which, the recline function itself is easy to use. The lever only requires a relatively light pull to release, and adjustments are quite smooth. However, the notching can feel a little rough, which can make locking certain positions in place a little awkward. Also, the notches seem quite far apart, so you can’t dial in a precise angle — something that won't be ideal if you’re particularly picky about your backrest position. It can recline all the way to 165 degrees, which is reasonably far and is the same angle the Secretlab Titan Evo can achieve.

The backrest itself is comfortable, thanks to its relatively thick padding. I appreciated the soft edges of the bolsters too, so they’re not uncomfortable if you knock your elbows against them.

Given it saves the need for an additional cushion, I also welcomed the integrated lumbar support. This is adjustable via two dials either side of the backrest: one for height and one for depth. I found them quite easy to reach and twist while seated, and they provide good feedback via their clicky notches. However, they require far too many turns to make meaningful adjustments, and what’s more the height range is limited, with the bar failing to go low enough for my liking.

(Image credit: Future)

The 6D armrests are perhaps the centerpiece of the Master Rex. They can be rotated 360 degrees at two points, with one on top of the other. Since the mechanism for the lower point is offset, adjusting it alters not just the angle of the rests, but also how far apart and far forward they are when used in combination with the upper point. This means they offer far more possible positions than 4D armrests.

Despite this impressive showing, they’re not perfect. I wouldn't ever use the tilt adjustment for angling the armrests upwards or downwards, given that it lacks increments; you only get a binary choice between flat and what seems like 45 degrees, or close to it.

What’s more, the armrests don’t go low enough for my liking, although I concede this is an issue I have with many gaming chairs. And while they’re comfortable to lean on, they have less padding than those on the old Master Rex. Some of the various adjustments can also be unduly stiff, too.

A retractable footrest is also featured on the Master Rex. This operates smoothly and easily enough, requiring a gentle tug to slide it out. It doesn’t extend that far, though, with the result that it provided more of a rest for my calves than my feet. Still, there’s enough padding to use it comfortably for long periods.

Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Assembly

(Image credit: Future)

• Reasonably easy to assemble solo
• Frustrating tilt mechanism attachment
• Light backrest

Assembling the Master Rex was a relatively easy process, even by myself. The instructions are clear and the various parts are well labelled. Most of the various bolts and screws were easy to affix using the included tools, too.

However, attaching the tilt mechanism block to the seat base frame is needlessly difficult. Not only is the block very heavy, but the four plastic gaskets you have to place in between it and the frame are prone to moving out of place with the merest touch.

This means it’s all but inevitable they’ll fail to align with the bolt holes once you place the block on top of them — and thus require some slender fingers to realign them while holding the block (did I mention how heavy it is?) overhead. Oh, and you’ll have to pray the gaskets don’t move out of place so much that they fall off the frame altogether and into the tangle of webbing below. This process is as fiddly as it sounds, and not one I’ve encountered when assembling chairs from other brands. It’s a frankly baffling design choice from Boulies.

Thankfully, installing the backrest is much easier, given how light it is. It still requires some effort to push it down far enough to align the bolt holes with the brackets, but this isn’t too difficult in my experience.

Should I buy the Boulies Master Rex (2026)?Buy it if…

You want plenty of armrest adjustments
With its 6D armrests, the Master Rex offers plenty of scope for getting a comfortable position, although I do wish they went lower.

You want a footrest
Not every gaming chair comes with an integrated footrest, but the Master Rex does, and it's sufficiently supportive, if a little short.

Don't buy it if…

You’re tall
The recommended maximum height for the Master Rex is 5’11”, which is quite low compared to many other gaming chairs. There’s only one model size as well — at least for now.

You want an unfussy assembly
The Master Rex is mostly easy to put together, but attaching the tilt mechanism will test your patience.

Boulies Master Rex (2026) review: Also consider

Boulies Master Rex (2026)

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen

Secretlab Titan Evo

Price

$479.99 / £409.99 (about AU$670)

$649.99 / £649.99 / AU$999.95

From $529 / £469 / AU$799

Dimensions

29.9 x 22 inches / 760 x 560mm

33.5 x 21.3 inches / 850 x 540mm

35 x 22 inches / 890mm x 560mm

Max user weight

243lbs / 110kg

299lbs / 136kg

396lbs / 180kg

Max user height

5ft 11in / 180cm

6ft 6in / 200cm

6ft 9in / 205cm

Seat width

20.9 inches / 530mm

15.7 inches / 400mm

22.8 inches / 580mm

Warranty

2 years

5 years

5 years

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen
Razer is one of the biggest names in gaming hardware, known for its quality and feature-rich products. Its Iskur V2 NewGen gaming chair is very much in the same vein, with its multitude of adjustments allowing for various sitting styles and cooling material designed to keep users fresh. However, when we reviewed it, we weren’t so keen on its awkwardly shaped neck pillow, or its high price. Read our full Razer Iskur V2 NewGen review.

Secretlab Titan Evo
The benchmark for gaming chairs, Secretlab’s Titan Evo has been around for a while yet it remains hard to beat, thanks to its all-round quality. It’s well made, comfortable, and provides good adjustments. It also commands a higher price than the Master Rex, and lacks some of its features, but it’s still a solid choice for many gamers. Read our full Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition review.

How I tested the Boulies Master Rex (2026)

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested for several days
• Used for gaming and other tasks
• Plentiful gaming and reviewing experience

I tested the Boulies Master Rex (2026) for several days, during which time I used it for gaming and working, as well as general browsing and relaxing. I made sure to try out all of its various adjustments, and assembled it myself following the included instructions and using the included tools.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used a variety of chairs during that time, from office and productivity-focused offerings to those designed for gaming. I’ve also reviewed a variety of them across a range of brands, and have also reviewed the previous generation of the Master Rex.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: August 2026.

It proved to be a popular deal last time I wrote about it, and now the Shokz OpenRun Pro are back on sale for $109.95 at Amazon. That may be $10 more than the price I spotted a couple of months ago, but this is still an excellent offer for some of the best bone conduction headphones you can buy.

Even though this is the last-generation model as well, they still offer all the key features you want from a pair of running and fitness headphones. You get impressive audio quality, a light and comfortable design, and a respectable battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge.

The newer OpenRun Pro 2 does offer upgrades to the sound, a slightly longer battery life, and a more modern suite of charging options, but if you're a casual user or aren't sure if you'll be a fan of the tech, this is a good way to try while the headphones are significantly cheaper.

Today's best bone conduction headphones deal

If you've never tried bone conduction headphones before, now's a good time to buy while there's a solid $70 discount on the Shokz OpenRun Pro. This may be the older model, but you still get excellent audio quality, a comfortable and slim fit, and good battery life of up to 10 hours. If you're a runner or fitness enthusiast who wants to avoid in-ear options or be aware of your surroundings, these are a great budget buy.View Deal

Our Shokz OpenRun Pro review called them "the best bone conduction headphones you can buy" when we originally tested them at launch. Newer models have launched in the last couple of years that have developed the tech further, but these still remain an excellent option for the budget-conscious.

There have been improvements to audio quality, quality-of-life features such as USB-C charging, and better battery life in the current-gen version of the OpenRun Pro, but I wouldn't say there's anything fundamentally important that requires you to skip this older (and cheaper) model.

If you want to compare more pairs before making your purchase, be sure to read through our guide to all of the best bone conduction headphones, which features our expert tester's thoughts on tech from top brands including Shokz, H2O, and Nank.

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are officially available to preorder at T-Mobile today and, as expected, the carrier has some great discounts for prospective upgraders.

Firstly is perhaps the most impressive deal. It's a promotion for new customers specifically - one that lets you include an iPhone 18 Pro alongside a new line on the carrier's Experience Beyond 2.0 plan. Impressively, no trade-ins are required here, which makes this a potentially good option if you're coming in fresh from another carrier without a decent phone ready to hand over.

The other discount, and one that's eligible for existing customers, is a trade-in rebate of up to $1,200 off. That covers both the iPhone 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max, so it's possible to get a significant discount on either device. As you'd imagine, however, you will need the associated plan here; in this case, a line on either the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan or the legacy Go5G Next plan.

iPhone 18 Pro now available to preorder at T-Mobile

iPhone 18 Pro: included with a new line, or with an eligible trade-in at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal is exactly what I was expecting; it's a very competitive deal indeed. Firstly, new customers can get a standard iPhone 18 Pro included if they switch over from another carrier and pick up a device on the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan. The other option at the carrier is a trade-in rebate of up to $1,200 off, which is a good option for upgraders. That's also eligible on the Experience Beyond plan, but according to the T&Cs, it's also eligible for existing customers on the older Go5G Next plan too. View Deal

Is T-Mobile's opening deal good?

It's roughly in line with what the carrier's offered on the high-end iPhones in the past couple of months. That said, it's a little better than usual simply because the iPhone 18 Pro is $100 more expensive than the previous generation. It's kind of 'adjusted for inflation' so to speak, which is welcome when you're paying so much for a plan.

Of the two deals, the switching offer is definitely a highlight, as several other carriers still require trade-in criteria to be eligible for a similar discount. By comparison, the trade-in rebate is much more 'standard fare', but it is roughly equivilent with what the other major carriers are offering right now, so it's still a very good deal.

If you'd like to read more about the iPhone 18 Pro, I'd highly recommend checking out our hands-on feature from this year's Apple event, which includes specs, features, and our initial thoughts on the device. Our review will be following shortly, so stay tuned.

Earlier this week LG found itself at the center of a privacy storm over how much tracking and data collection its TVs were involved in. An investigation by Gamers Nexus found that as well as analyzing viewing habits, LG sets were also collecting voice recordings, details of networked devices, location data, and wireless network information.

That's all useful data that advertisers love of course, and that seems to be the primary reason that LG has this tracking tech built into its TVs. The reaction online was predictably one of outrage, with Redditors describing it as "extremely creepy" and vowing never to buy LG products again in the future.

LG itself has categorically said that the claims made by Gamers Nexus are "not true". LG says voice recordings are also used to process voice commands, for example, and get instantly deleted. LG goes on to state that the network scans are to provide "smart TV functionalities" — and that it's something TVs from every manufacturer do.

As for the Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature that tracks what you watch and serves up personalized recommendations (and ads) for you, LG emphasizes that this is opt-in, and that users can choose not to have ACR data used for advertising purposes.

So is the technology LG has implemented here standard practice for the industry and nothing you need to worry about? Or do you need to start disconnecting your TV from the internet? We spoke to four privacy experts to get their opinions.

What did LG say?

(Image credit: Getty Images / Odd Andersen)

If you missed the news earlier this week, here's the full statement LG gave us in response to the Gamer Nexus accusations.

"This is to provide LG's position regarding the claims recently raised by the Gamers Nexus YouTube channel.

The claims made in the recently published video are not true. LG TVs process voice data only when the voice button on the remote control is pressed and held, or when a wake word such as "Hi LG" is recognised after the user has activated the Far-Field voice recognition feature. Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations. If the wake word is not recognised, no voice data is transmitted to the server; wake word detection is processed locally on the device and immediately deleted.

Additionally, to provide smart TV functionalities, LG TVs feature the ability to scan for and connect to nearby devices on the same network. This is a standard function commonly available on smart TVs and smart home devices.

The ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) feature is provided on an opt-in basis to deliver personalised content recommendations, services, and advertisements. If a user does not consent to the applicable optional agreement, ACR data is not used for advertising purposes."

What do privacy experts say about LG's statement?

The LG C6 (left) and LG G5 (right) (Image credit: Future)

Anna Maria Mandalari is an Associate Professor at University College London, and co-authored a 2024 study on ACR on Samsung and LG TVs. On the ACR aspect specifically, she says "LG’s statement does not address the full privacy picture" and that the technology may go beyond what users expect.

"Our research demonstrated that ACR-related communication occurred when an opted-in LG television displayed linear television and content from HDMI-connected devices," says Mandalari. "This means ACR is not confined to the television’s own applications: it can operate when the TV is effectively being used as an external display for another device, such as a laptop or gaming console."

Based on Mandalari's testing, ACR reporting to advertisers does stop when users opt out. However, she says questions need to be asked about whether LG TV owners understand what their choices are, and about how ACR data might be used beyond advertising.

The fact that sophisticated users are still startled to learn that their living room hardware maps their local network and fingerprints their media intake shows that there is still work to do.

Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, Managing Director at the IAPP

"I would also draw attention to the precise wording of LG’s statement: it says that, without consent, ACR data is not “used for advertising purposes.” That is not necessarily the same as saying that no ACR data is collected or processed for any purpose," she added. "LG would need to clarify the complete data lifecycle, including what is collected, whether anything is retained, where it is transmitted and all the purposes for which it may be processed," she concluded.

That was a theme continued by Lillian Edwards, a Professor of Law, Innovation, and Society at Newcastle University, and a leading academic in the field of internet law. "People often consent to things they don't fully understand during a speedy setup — they just want to get the thing done and up and working," says Edwards.

"In principle this might not match the very high GDPR standard of consent which is that consent should be 'freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous'. It also has to be a positive indication of consent — i.e. opt-in not opt-out — though LG claims that's what it does."

Edwards adds that consent should be asked for "in a manner which is clearly distinguishable from other matters, in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language" as per EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules. In Edwards' opinion, "bad PR" would be more likely to get LG to change its ways than any regulator intervention.

Is it fair to single out LG?

The software interface on the LG C6 (Image credit: Future)

We also spoke to Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, a Managing Director at the IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals), a global privacy not-for-profit. "LG's response is consistent with industry practices," says Zweifel-Keegan. "However, the response focuses on its sensors and data collection practices, without addressing the advertising practices and user profiling allegations that make up a big portion of the Gamers Nexus report."

People often consent to things they don't fully understand during a speedy setup — they just want to get the thing done and up and working.

Lillian Edwards, a Professor of Law, Innovation, and Society at Newcastle University

According to Zweifel-Keegan, the kind of data collection that LG TVs do is fairly standard across the industry as a whole, and has been for years, though there are "big differences" in how companies handle the personal data that's scooped up. This sort of data collection extends to streaming devices as well as TVs, Zweifel-Keegan adds.

For Zweifel-Keegan, the most important issues are around user awareness and consent. "The fact that sophisticated users are still startled to learn that their living room hardware maps their local network and fingerprints their media intake shows that there is still work to do," he says. "A gap between consumer expectations and reality is exactly where consumer protection laws step in to hold companies accountable. As it happens, LG recently settled with the Texas Attorney General and agreed to strengthen its opt-in flows."

"The question is, what is the policy solution? Should we mandate more pop-ups with clearer disclosures, more opportunities to opt out, or different things to opt out from? Should we ban certain data collection or profiling practices? These are the questions privacy regulators wrestle with."

What do regulators say?

(Image credit: Future)

As for those privacy regulators, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK was unable to comment on LG's specific case without further investigation. But it did tell us that manufacturers "should only collect personal information that is necessary for their products and services" and be transparent about what's being collected.

"Connected TV manufacturers should build data protection into their products and offer privacy-protective settings by default," says the ICO. "Where consent is required for personal information to be used, it must be freely given, specific and informed, and people should be able to withdraw that consent as easily as they gave it, including through accessible privacy controls."

For now, it doesn't look as though LG will be changing its practices — whatever the truth is about those practices. As a consumer, your best option is to make yourself fully aware of the privacy settings on your TV and what you're opted into, and to take a close look at manufacturer privacy policies the next time you decide to upgrade your set.

Now that businesses of all sizes are adopting AI technologies, the next step is to prove the technology is delivering measurable benefits and improvements. But nailing down a singular metric to show these benefits is proving difficult.

Sure, businesses can see exactly how much it is costing them, but measuring output is another beast entirely. Tokkenmaxxing has shown that arbitrary targets of use are not necessarily the best way to measure the productive impact of AI.

But perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from the adoption of other, quieter technologies that are delivering measurable benefits in new industries, and how AI can fit into workflows alongside this new and exciting tech infrastructure.

AI isn't the only tech seeing widespread adoption

Perforce’s 2026 State of Real-Time Workflows Report found it isn’t just AI seeing widespread adoption across industries. Game engines and real-time 3D engines, once used almost exclusively by game developers, have seen a huge wave of adoption across the aerospace and defense, public sector and education, and even media and entertainment.

These tools show measurable improvements in productivity before adoption because they are tried and tested. They have decades of proven returns shown by the gaming industry. AI on the other hand is yet to show sustained, measurable return on investment for many businesses. But there are also a host of other issues accompanying AI use.

Version control software is also seeing a rapid growth in adoption in real-time workflows. AI is a driving force in this adoption as businesses now have to handle significantly more assets and content within each project. Having visibility into who changed what - especially with AI agents now involved in workflows - is no longer a choice, but a necessity.

One of the main concerns remains job replacement. Perforce’s report found that 50% of employees who had adopted AI in their workflows feared they would be replaced by the technology. But AI concerns also extend into the work they are doing; 49% feared their AI tools would produce poor or inaccurate content and 48% held ethical or compliance concerns about their use of AI technology.

To understand the challenges businesses are facing in showing measurable return from AI adoption, I spoke to the author of Perforce’s report, Brent Schiestl. Brent leads Perforce’s Digital Creation business unit and is the Senior Director of Product Management.

• Businesses may be seeing greater productivity gains when adopting AI into workflows, but it is having a negative effect on the creative outlet for employees and the perception of brands by consumers. What steps are businesses taking to maintain trust with both groups?

We see a distinction in perception when comparing AI usage in generating source code vs. binary assets. For example, if a team is using AI to autonomously fix a bug in source code, consumers seem more accepting of that use case. A bug fix is a well-defined problem where creativity is usually not the key to solving it.

In fact, one could argue that engineers are being freed from mundane work to focus more on creative work when deploying AI this way.

Where we see more negative perception is with binary assets (images, audio files, movies, etc.). Because many LLMs were trained on data without originating author consent, producing binary assets via AI tends to get more scrutiny.

Some steps we have seen companies take to maintain trust include establishing clear public AI usage disclosure policies, making it clear that humans remain in the loop for final asset creation, and maintaining strong provenance data for how the asset came to be.

With these steps, the end consumer is given a complete enough data set to decide whether they feel the AI usage clears their own ethical hurdles or not.

• There is a clear move away from tokenmaxxing to measure the value of AI. What metrics are businesses now using to show the cost-to-benefit ratio of AI deployment and what new problems has this introduced?

This is the single biggest question we get regularly from our customers. Our customers are using AI more than ever but struggling to prove that AI is benefiting them in a way that justifies the expense.

Some examples of metrics that we see related to the cost-benefit ratio of AI include release frequency, amount of content in each release, and telemetry to understand how new features are being used, for example.

In addition, we see industry standard metrics like DORA rising in importance as customers want to benchmark their productivity more broadly.

One key is to consider Goodhart’s Law, which states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Introducing new metrics around measuring the value of AI can lead to engineering teams gaming metrics at the expense of doing what is best for the final product.

In addition, isolating AI’s contribution from all other release activities is a new challenge that all companies are wrestling with.

• Why are game engines being adopted so readily by so many industries, and what blockers previously prevented their use in these industries? Are there lessons that other, less technical industries can learn from this adoption?

I believe that one of the biggest blockers was literally in the name itself, as formally referring to them as “game engines” siloed the use case right out of the gate for anyone not in gaming.

These engines were historically hard to deploy outside of a gaming context including, but not limited to, licensing, tooling for non-artists, and integration with enterprise systems.

For example, Epic Games has had to figure out how to monetize Unreal Engine outside of gaming. Even we at Perforce have historically surveyed our customers and up until last year we used to refer to our official report as the “State of Game Technology Report”.

This year we renamed the report to the “State of Real-Time Workflows Report”. Once adjacent industries realized that these engines are really a bundle of rendering, physics, networking, and asset pipelines, new industry verticals literally sprang out of nowhere. Sometimes it’s more about positioning than anything else.

• What effect is the adoption of new technologies such as AI, game engines, and 3D modelling software having on the infrastructure costs of industries that traditionally did not use these tools?

Infrastructure costs including GPU compute, storage for large binary/3D assets, bandwidth, specialized workstations, and licensing for engines/DCC tools, have led to businesses needing to justify these new expenses.

The easiest way to justify is to realize an increase in revenue based on the investment. The challenge is that these sorts of investments can oftentimes take years to realize the benefits.

Companies, especially CFOs, need to remain patient in the early stages. One of the worst outcomes for companies is reacting in a knee-jerk fashion before the rewards can be reaped.

Another challenge is that these industries often lack the IT muscle sized for this new (to them) infrastructure, meaning the cost isn't just the compute/storage line item, it's also the organizational capacity to run it.

• What tools are businesses using to manage the associated technical debt that comes with AI productivity? How are these tools helping manage quality, compliance, and security?

Technical debt is rising from new sources such as unreviewed AI-generated code (by humans and/or by agents), dependencies pulled in by AI that no one owns, license contamination, and model version drift.

Some tools that we’re seeing fill this space include AI-aware code review (e.g., CodeRabbit, Greptile, P4 Code Review, etc.), SAST/DAST tools tuned for AI output (e.g., vulnerability patterns in AI-generated code), license/provenance scanners (e.g., copyleft contamination risk), and version control practices that treat AI-generated commits as first-class artifacts.

• How is AI changing the open source market, helping businesses develop their own solutions, and what effects will it have on the traditional software licensing market in the future?

AI is changing the open source market in a couple of ways. First, it’s never been easier to develop, and then if desired, open source your own solution.

On the other extreme, we’re seeing reports of previously open source repositories being turned private due to the sheer number of AI-generated pull requests being raised and the inability of the repository owner to keep up.

Traditional software licensing that is purely seat-based is being tested as the assumption is that companies may either downsize or at least not grow at the same pre-AI rates that we had become accustomed to.

The main question that feels unanswered today is whether the build vs. buy math is genuinely changing or not.

One of my favorite memes goes something like, “I saved $30,000 in subscription costs by building my own solution and it only cost me $100,000 worth of tokens to do it.”

While the meme exists to poke fun, it is something that needs to be taken seriously because initial build and ongoing maintenance plus support needs to be accounted for.

• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis has three difficulty-scaling options
• Players can switch between hardcore, medium, and easy across combat, puzzles, and traversal
• Flying Wild Hog creative director Michał Kuk says players can individually tweak each setting for a personalized experience

Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog have confirmed Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will feature difficulty-scaling levels, offering players a personalized experience.

During a Q&A attended by TechRadar Gaming, following an exclusive presentation at Gamescom, experience director Jeff Adams and Flying Wild Hog creative director Michał Kuk discussed how the game was built from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5 and the game's modern features the developers were able to implement.

Legacy of Atlantis won't be a simple remake or remaster of the classic 1996 game, but a "reimagining" for current-gen platforms, which means all-new upgrades and features that weren't available in the original.

Among these are three difficulty levels across three core aspects of the game: combat, puzzles, and traversal; players will be able to individually scale each setting to their preference, giving them more control over their experience.

"With difficulty levels, we have prepared it in a way that I'm pretty sure everyone can set it for their own pleasure," Kuk said.

He explained that players can, for example, set the puzzle difficulty to hardcore if they want something more familiar to the 1996 game, or switch combat to easy or medium, and traversal, personally, to medium.

"You can adjust the game basically however you want," he added.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is set to release on February 27, 2027, for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13: Two-minute review

The Instax Mini 13 is the newest instant-print camera in Fujifilm’s long-standing lineup of budget, easy-to-use party snappers. These film cameras are a great way to capture memories at shindigs, weddings and the sort, and this latest model is no different.

Like most Instax mini cameras, the Instax Mini 13 has a 60mm f/12.7 optical-grade plastic lens, making it ideal for close-up snaps and selfies that require a fixed field of focus. It even has an additional close-up mode to give you a little extra control over the focal length.

These are all features already found in the Instax Mini 12, which we rate as the best instant camera for most people for its point-and-shoot simplicity — but the Instax Mini 13 does have a few small tricks up its sleeve to warrant it being the step up model in the range.

The biggest upgrade from its predecessor that was released in 2023 is the addition of a self-timer, which is normally found on more expensive models like the Instax Mini 99 that retails for more than double the price.

And while the self-timer is the most significant upgrade from the Instax Mini 12, there are other small differences, including a fresh, playful ribbed design with new pastel colors, and a small, rubber wedge that hangs on the strap for propping the camera up on a table.

If I were to sum up the Instax Mini 13 in three words, I'd say it's cheap, cheerful and charming, which is exactly what you want from a fun instant camera that's a piece of cake to use.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

• Announced in March 2026
• Shipping began in Australia on March 31
• Released in the US and UK in late June
• Priced at $94 / £79 / AU$139

As noted in our Instax Mini 12 review, many of us camera nerds have come to expect a new Instax Mini instant camera every three years from the brand, so it was surprising that this model ended up having a staggered global rollout, without much fanfare. Aussies were the first to get their hands on the new camera on March 31, followed by the US and UK on June 25.

Even more surprising is the fact that those of us in the UK didn't see the same 15% price jump from the cost of the previous generation, with the Instax Mini 13 being priced at £79 — the same as the Instax Mini 12 at launch. Those in the US and Australia weren't as lucky, however, with the Instax Mini 13 seeing an 18% increase from the Instax Mini 12 to $94 and 16% to AU$139.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: specs

Film type

Fujifilm Instax Mini

Print size

62mm x 46mm

Focus range

f = 60mm (equivalent to approximately 35-40mm)

Aperture

f 12.7

Shutter speed

1/2 second to 1/250 second

Power

Two AA-size alkaline batteries

Selt timer

2 seconds or 10 seconds

Dimensions

105.5mm x 125mm x 124.7mm x 67.6mm

Weight

376g (without batteries, film or strap)

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: design

(Image credit: Future)

• A fun, ribbed design for added grip
• Five different color options to choose from
• Comes with a handy accessory on the strap for propping the camera up

The most striking update to the Instax Mini 13 is the rounded, ribbed design and five new pastel colorways, which have been called Candy Pink, Frost Blue (featured in this review), Clay White, Lagoon Green and Dreamy Purple.

Although the new design does bring a new poppy look to the camera, the trade-off is that it's a bit bulkier and heavier than the likes of the Instax Mini 12. If that's a problem, and you're more so after a slimmer and compact build, take a look at our Instax Mini 99 review instead.

That model also has a built-in tripod thread at the bottom of the camera to help with taking group shots, which is one of the reasons why it's the more expensive, premium model. But the Instax Mini 13 brings a thoughtful budget accessory to help you stabilize shots: a rubber wedge attached to the strap that you can use to adjust the angle of the camera when placed on a surface.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Incredibly easy to use — just point-and-shoot and print
• Best for taking short-range images, like selfies
• For optimum results, make sure to hold the camera about 30cm away

The biggest selling point of the Instax Mini 13 is the fact that it's so straightforward and easy to use. Simply load up Instax’s credit card-sized Mini Film pack of 10, spin the lens dial to turn it on, and you’re all set to go.

With a shutter speed range between 1/2 a second and 1/250 a second, and a film sensitivity rating of ISO 800, it's best used in well-lit spaces, as you'll run the risk of overexposing a shot if you were to shoot in direct, bright sunlight.

At night, the constant-firing flash will automatically adjust itself to different light levels on its own, but it's important to keep in mind the distance of your subject. As mentioned earlier, it's best to use it for close-up shots to get the best quality images. And the optimum range for the flash is the same, with a distance of 30cm to two metres being the most effective.

To make selfies ever easier to capture, the Instax Mini 13 has a self-timer that works brilliantly to stabilize any photograph by reducing the chances of blurring from pressing the shutter button. You simply have to spin the dial that's fitted around the shutter button to activate it. One rotation sets the timer at two seconds, which you can tell is on by the blinking light, while holding it down activates the 10 second timer.

My only gripe is that the self-timer doesn't give you a countdown light for when it's about to take the picture (say, the blinking light speeding up). Yes, I know I can simply count the seconds down myself from pressing the button, but when you're already trying to frame yourself in the small mirror that can easily be forgotten to do.

FutureFutureShould I buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini 13?Buy it if...

You love taking selfies
This is a no-brainer. Capture memories in an instant that you can share with family and friends. View Deal

You don't have a big budget
As one of the cheapest instant cameras in Fujifilm's lineup, you're getting a lot of great value. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want manual controls
There's not a lot to get to grips with here. Simply frame your shot and pray that you don't waste one of your precious prints. View Deal

You prefer larger film prints
The Instax mini range only takes credit card-sized film prints, so you'll have a limited field of view. View Deal

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: also consider

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

It might not have the self-timer or ribbed design, but the Instax Mini 12 does retail for less than the Instax Mini 13, making it a great cheaper option, especially during the sales. You're still getting the same Fujifilm instant camera experience (minus a self timer), just for less money.

See our Instax Mini 12 reviewView Deal

Fujifilm Instax Mini 99

If you've decided that a self-timer is an essential feature for your next instant camera purchase, you can also get the Instax Mini 99, which is the most premium model in Fujifilm's mini lineup, complete with an array of creative modes. Just note, you'll have to pay premium prices for it...

See our Insta Mini 99 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Mini 13

(Image credit: Future)

• I took the Instax Mini 13 to several events over the course of two months
• Experimented with holding the camera at different distances to determine the best for image quality
• Printed 20 Instax Mini prints, which were scanned into the Instax UP! app

Being an instant camera fan, I knew the best places to bring the Instax Mini 13 to. From a friend's 30th birthday party to a Harry Styles concert, I snapped away to see how it performed in different lighting environments.

I went through two packs of Instax Mini film — the classic white border type and the Instax Mini Rainbow edition that prints out different colors. Unfortunately, the Pastel Galaxy film that was launched alongside the Instax Mini 13 wasn't available to test.

To show off some of the sample pictures I snapped over the two months that I tested the camera for, I scanned the prints onto my phone using the Instax UP! app.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13: Two-minute review

The Instax Mini 13 is the newest instant-print camera in Fujifilm’s long-standing lineup of budget, easy-to-use party snappers. These film cameras are a great way to capture memories at shindigs, weddings and the sort, and this latest model is no different.

Like most Instax mini cameras, the Instax Mini 13 has a 60mm f/12.7 optical-grade plastic lens, making it ideal for close-up snaps and selfies that require a fixed field of focus. It even has an additional close-up mode to give you a little extra control over the focal length.

These are all features already found in the Instax Mini 12, which we rate as the best instant camera for most people for its point-and-shoot simplicity — but the Instax Mini 13 does have a few small tricks up its sleeve to warrant it being the step up model in the range.

The biggest upgrade from its predecessor that was released in 2023 is the addition of a self-timer, which is normally found on more expensive models like the Instax Mini 99 that retails for more than double the price.

And while the self-timer is the most significant upgrade from the Instax Mini 12, there are other small differences, including a fresh, playful ribbed design with new pastel colors, and a small, rubber wedge that hangs on the strap for propping the camera up on a table.

If I were to sum up the Instax Mini 13 in three words, I'd say it's cheap, cheerful and charming, which is exactly what you want from a fun instant camera that's a piece of cake to use.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

• Announced in March 2026
• Shipping began in Australia on March 31
• Released in the US and UK in late June
• Priced at $94 / £79 / AU$139

As noted in our Instax Mini 12 review, many of us camera nerds have come to expect a new Instax Mini instant camera every three years from the brand, so it was surprising that this model ended up having a staggered global rollout, without much fanfare. Aussies were the first to get their hands on the new camera on March 31, followed by the US and UK on June 25.

Even more surprising is the fact that those of us in the UK didn't see the same 15% price jump from the cost of the previous generation, with the Instax Mini 13 being priced at £79 — the same as the Instax Mini 12 at launch. Those in the US and Australia weren't as lucky, however, with the Instax Mini 13 seeing an 18% increase from the Instax Mini 12 to $94 and 16% to AU$139.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: specs

Film type

Fujifilm Instax Mini

Print size

62mm x 46mm

Focus range

f = 60mm (equivalent to approximately 35-40mm)

Aperture

f 12.7

Shutter speed

1/2 second to 1/250 second

Power

Two AA-size alkaline batteries

Selt timer

2 seconds or 10 seconds

Dimensions

105.5mm x 125mm x 124.7mm x 67.6mm

Weight

376g (without batteries, film or strap)

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: design

(Image credit: Future)

• A fun, ribbed design for added grip
• Five different color options to choose from
• Comes with a handy accessory on the strap for propping the camera up

The most striking update to the Instax Mini 13 is the rounded, ribbed design and five new pastel colorways, which have been called Candy Pink, Frost Blue (featured in this review), Clay White, Lagoon Green and Dreamy Purple.

Although the new design does bring a new poppy look to the camera, the trade-off is that it's a bit bulkier and heavier than the likes of the Instax Mini 12. If that's a problem, and you're more so after a slimmer and compact build, take a look at our Instax Mini 99 review instead.

That model also has a built-in tripod thread at the bottom of the camera to help with taking group shots, which is one of the reasons why it's the more expensive, premium model. But the Instax Mini 13 brings a thoughtful budget accessory to help you stabilize shots: a rubber wedge attached to the strap that you can use to adjust the angle of the camera when placed on a surface.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Incredibly easy to use — just point-and-shoot and print
• Best for taking short-range images, like selfies
• For optimum results, make sure to hold the camera about 30cm away

The biggest selling point of the Instax Mini 13 is the fact that it's so straightforward and easy to use. Simply load up Instax’s credit card-sized Mini Film pack of 10, spin the lens dial to turn it on, and you’re all set to go.

With a shutter speed range between 1/2 a second and 1/250 a second, and a film sensitivity rating of ISO 800, it's best used in well-lit spaces, as you'll run the risk of overexposing a shot if you were to shoot in direct, bright sunlight.

At night, the constant-firing flash will automatically adjust itself to different light levels on its own, but it's important to keep in mind the distance of your subject. As mentioned earlier, it's best to use it for close-up shots to get the best quality images. And the optimum range for the flash is the same, with a distance of 30cm to two metres being the most effective.

To make selfies ever easier to capture, the Instax Mini 13 has a self-timer that works brilliantly to stabilize any photograph by reducing the chances of blurring from pressing the shutter button. You simply have to spin the dial that's fitted around the shutter button to activate it. One rotation sets the timer at two seconds, which you can tell is on by the blinking light, while holding it down activates the 10 second timer.

My only gripe is that the self-timer doesn't give you a countdown light for when it's about to take the picture (say, the blinking light speeding up). Yes, I know I can simply count the seconds down myself from pressing the button, but when you're already trying to frame yourself in the small mirror that can easily be forgotten to do.

FutureFutureShould I buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini 13?Buy it if...

You love taking selfies
This is a no-brainer. Capture memories in an instant that you can share with family and friends. View Deal

You don't have a big budget
As one of the cheapest instant cameras in Fujifilm's lineup, you're getting a lot of great value. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want manual controls
There's not a lot to get to grips with here. Simply frame your shot and pray that you don't waste one of your precious prints. View Deal

You prefer larger film prints
The Instax mini range only takes credit card-sized film prints, so you'll have a limited field of view. View Deal

Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: also consider

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

It might not have the self-timer or ribbed design, but the Instax Mini 12 does retail for less than the Instax Mini 13, making it a great cheaper option, especially during the sales. You're still getting the same Fujifilm instant camera experience (minus a self timer), just for less money.

See our Instax Mini 12 reviewView Deal

Fujifilm Instax Mini 99

If you've decided that a self-timer is an essential feature for your next instant camera purchase, you can also get the Instax Mini 99, which is the most premium model in Fujifilm's mini lineup, complete with an array of creative modes. Just note, you'll have to pay premium prices for it...

See our Insta Mini 99 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Mini 13

(Image credit: Future)

• I took the Instax Mini 13 to several events over the course of two months
• Experimented with holding the camera at different distances to determine the best for image quality
• Printed 20 Instax Mini prints, which were scanned into the Instax UP! app

Being an instant camera fan, I knew the best places to bring the Instax Mini 13 to. From a friend's 30th birthday party to a Harry Styles concert, I snapped away to see how it performed in different lighting environments.

I went through two packs of Instax Mini film — the classic white border type and the Instax Mini Rainbow edition that prints out different colors. Unfortunately, the Pastel Galaxy film that was launched alongside the Instax Mini 13 wasn't available to test.

To show off some of the sample pictures I snapped over the two months that I tested the camera for, I scanned the prints onto my phone using the Instax UP! app.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

• We may have our first proper look at Meta's Project Phoenix
• The glimpse comes from inside the Horizon OS software
• An official launch is expected to happen sometime in 2027

We've known for a while now that Meta is working on a new mixed reality (MR) headset, able to blend the real world and digital landscapes together, under the codename Project Phoenix — and the first images of the device just leaked out.

The leak comes courtesy of UploadVR (via Engadget), and the pictures were apparently hidden away in the latest version of the Horizon OS software for the Meta Quest devices. They're part of the support section of the software, showing how prescription lenses can be fitted inside the Project Phoenix headset.

You can see from the image (embedded below) that the line between headsets and smart glasses is blurring here. In terms of size and shape these look more like specs than something along the lines of the Meta Quest 3S.

Nevertheless, the device has cameras on the front for 'seeing' rather than transparent lenses, so it's technically very much a 'headset'. Perhaps we'll need to come up with another word for this product category, or maybe Meta will do it for us.

Coming soon

First official visuals of Meta's Project Phoenix, found in the HorizonOS Prescription Lens firmware package! pic.twitter.com/YmN0SCJNCDSeptember 10, 2026

Besides the design, the images don't reveal a whole lot about Project Phoenix, except how you put prescription lenses in and scan a QR code — presumably to get them configured properly so you're able to see the outside world properly.

However, we do see a cable running down from the device, backing up previous rumors that there will be a connected component somewhere else, holding the battery and possibly some of the processing power.

That's what makes the Project Phoenix headset so thin and light, and it's something we've seen on other hardware like this, including the Apple Vision Pro. A battery especially takes up a lot of space and adds a lot of weight, so it makes sense to have it somewhere else (though it's not clear exactly how you'll keep it attached to your person).

With a 2027 launch date previously predicted by those in the know, all eyes will now be on the Meta Connect event that gets underway on Wednesday, September 23. Meta is going to be announcing updates on a lot of its products, and maybe on this MR headset too.

That's a quote from former rugby star Gareth Thomas, who is HIV positive. At the International AIDS Conference in Rio this year, he spoke out about the isolation and discrimination tied to the virus.

(Image credit: Ian Cheibub for NPR)

After a short announcement window, it's official: Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max preorders are now open. If you've been thinking about picking up one of these stunning new devices, then you'll find all the biggest discounts right here on this page.

Firstly, a quick PSA. As you probably already know, Apple announced the 18 Pro, the 18 Pro Max, and the new iPhone Duo foldable during its September event on Tuesday. This page covers the Pro devices specifically, as preorders for the iPhone Duo are set to start next month.

If you're ready to preorder the Pro devices, however, then there's no need to wait. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 / £1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299 / £1,299, and there are several ways to get a discounted device, of course.

In the US, it's possible to get an iPhone 18 Pro included with either a new line (with a pricey unlimited plan) or a trade-in at the major carriers. Apple's own deals include a trade-in rebate of up to $885 for unlocked devices or a new leasing option, which I'm covering in more depth just below.

In the UK, we're currently looking at trade-in rebates of up to £885 at Apple, which is actually quite good in terms of discounts for the official store. Several networks are also stocking the devices, such as Three and Vodafone.

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the US

• Apple: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo
• AT&T: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• Verizon: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• T-Mobile: device included with switch, or trade-in
• Xfinity Mobile: 18 Pro Max included with trade and line

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with a trade or phone and plan for $80/mo, plus iPad and Apple Watch
Verizon's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal breaks down into two avenues. The first is the traditional trade-in rebate of up to $1,200, which is eligible with the carrier's myPlan unlimited plans for both new and existing customers. Secondly, there is the option to bundle a device with the carrier's new 'Simplicity Pro' with the plan and device included for $80/mo. This second option will let you upgrade your device free of charge 12 months from now. Finally, both of these deals are eligible with a 'free' iPad and Apple Watch as bonus gifts. I say free in quotation marks here, because you need to take out relevant cellular lines on each device to be eligible for a freebie.View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: included with a new line, or with an eligible trade-in at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal is exactly what I was expecting; it's a very competitive deal indeed. Firstly, new customers can get a standard iPhone 18 Pro included if they switch over from another carrier and pick up a device on the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan. The other option at the carrier is a trade-in rebate of up to $1,200 off, which is a good option for upgraders. That's also eligible on the Experience Beyond plan, but according to the T&Cs, it's also eligible for existing customers on the older Go5G Next plan too. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with an eligible trade-in and unlimited plan at AT&T
AT&T's deal is pretty much in line with what we were expecting from the carrier, but that's not to say it isn't an excellent promotion. For example, you can currently trade-in a device in any condition to hit the maximum rebate of $1,200 off - which is conveniently enough to cover the entire cost of the iPhone 18 Pro. Not bad if you were looking to upgrade. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo at Apple
Apple's own iPhone 18 Pro deals remain the best (and only) option for unlocked devices. Nonetheless, there are a few good options here for upgraders. First is the usual trade-in rebate, which is hitting up to $885 for unlocked devices in this preorder window. Another option for this year is Apple's new upgrade program, which lets you lease a device for as little as $34.99/mo over two years. That actually equates to being cheaper than buying a device outright, and you're also entitled to upgrades. Of course, it comes with the caveat of having to pay a monthly fee - and you don't own your device, either!View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the UK

• Apple: up to £885 off with a trade-in
• EE: up to £750 off with a trade-in
• Carphone Warehouse: from £52/mo with 100GB plan
• Mobiles.co.uk: unlimited data from £55/mo, plus trade discounts
• Sky: from £38 per month
• Three: save up to £1,035 with trade-in and plan
• Vodafone: up to £885 off with a trade-in

Apple iPhone 18 Pro: what's new?

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

• A20 Pro chipset on both models
• Improved battery life
• New variable aperture lens, plus photographic styles

The star of the show in this year's September Apple event was undoubtedly the iPhone Duo, but that doesn't mean the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max aren't without their merits. In fact, both devices have a decent number of upgrades that could justify a trade-in, depending on what you're eligible for.

For example, both devices now carry the new A20 chipset. While we haven't tested this to confirm, Apple claims the new chipset delivers a claimed 20% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU than its predecessor due to its 2nm architecture. Battery life has also improved, with the iPhone 18 Pro offering up to 36 hours of video playback, matching last year's 17 Pro Max, while the 18 Pro Max reaches up to 45 hours.

The biggest upgrades, however, are arguably focused on the 18 Pro's camera. The devices now feature a 48MP main camera with variable aperture and a new sensor. In layman's terms, that means better low-light performance and greater user control over depth of field. There's also talk of a "computational imaging pipeline", which includes new Photographic Styles for share-ready JPEGS.

We'll have full reviews on these devices in the following weeks, so don't hesitate to keep checking in for more details.

After a short announcement window, it's official: Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max preorders are now open. If you've been thinking about picking up one of these stunning new devices, then you'll find all the biggest discounts right here on this page.

Firstly, a quick PSA. As you probably already know, Apple announced the 18 Pro, the 18 Pro Max, and the new iPhone Duo foldable during its September event on Tuesday. This page covers the Pro devices specifically, as preorders for the iPhone Duo are set to start next month.

If you're ready to preorder the Pro devices, however, then there's no need to wait. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 / £1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299 / £1,299, and there are several ways to get a discounted device, of course.

In the US, it's possible to get an iPhone 18 Pro included with either a new line (with a pricey unlimited plan) or a trade-in at the major carriers. Apple's own deals include a trade-in rebate of up to $885 for unlocked devices or a new leasing option, which I'm covering in more depth just below.

In the UK, we're currently looking at trade-in rebates of up to £885 at Apple, which is actually quite good in terms of discounts for the official store. Several networks are also stocking the devices, such as Three and Vodafone.

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the US

• Apple: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo
• AT&T: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• Verizon: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• T-Mobile: device included with switch, or trade-in
• Xfinity Mobile: 18 Pro Max included with trade and line

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with a trade or phone and plan for $80/mo, plus iPad and Apple Watch
Verizon's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal breaks down into two avenues. The first is the traditional trade-in rebate of up to $1,200, which is eligible with the carrier's myPlan unlimited plans for both new and existing customers. Secondly, there is the option to bundle a device with the carrier's new 'Simplicity Pro' with the plan and device included for $80/mo. This second option will let you upgrade your device free of charge 12 months from now. Finally, both of these deals are eligible with a 'free' iPad and Apple Watch as bonus gifts. I say free in quotation marks here, because you need to take out relevant cellular lines on each device to be eligible for a freebie.View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: included with a new line, or with an eligible trade-in at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal is exactly what I was expecting; it's a very competitive deal indeed. Firstly, new customers can get a standard iPhone 18 Pro included if they switch over from another carrier and pick up a device on the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan. The other option at the carrier is a trade-in rebate of up to $1,200 off, which is a good option for upgraders. That's also eligible on the Experience Beyond plan, but according to the T&Cs, it's also eligible for existing customers on the older Go5G Next plan too. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with an eligible trade-in and unlimited plan at AT&T
AT&T's deal is pretty much in line with what we were expecting from the carrier, but that's not to say it isn't an excellent promotion. For example, you can currently trade-in a device in any condition to hit the maximum rebate of $1,200 off - which is conveniently enough to cover the entire cost of the iPhone 18 Pro. Not bad if you were looking to upgrade. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo at Apple
Apple's own iPhone 18 Pro deals remain the best (and only) option for unlocked devices. Nonetheless, there are a few good options here for upgraders. First is the usual trade-in rebate, which is hitting up to $885 for unlocked devices in this preorder window. Another option for this year is Apple's new upgrade program, which lets you lease a device for as little as $34.99/mo over two years. That actually equates to being cheaper than buying a device outright, and you're also entitled to upgrades. Of course, it comes with the caveat of having to pay a monthly fee - and you don't own your device, either!View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the UK

• Apple: up to £885 off with a trade-in
• EE: up to £750 off with a trade-in
• Carphone Warehouse: from £52/mo with 100GB plan
• Mobiles.co.uk: unlimited data from £55/mo, plus trade discounts
• Sky: from £38 per month
• Three: save up to £1,035 with trade-in and plan
• Vodafone: up to £885 off with a trade-in

Apple iPhone 18 Pro: what's new?

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

• A20 Pro chipset on both models
• Improved battery life
• New variable aperture lens, plus photographic styles

The star of the show in this year's September Apple event was undoubtedly the iPhone Duo, but that doesn't mean the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max aren't without their merits. In fact, both devices have a decent number of upgrades that could justify a trade-in, depending on what you're eligible for.

For example, both devices now carry the new A20 chipset. While we haven't tested this to confirm, Apple claims the new chipset delivers a claimed 20% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU than its predecessor due to its 2nm architecture. Battery life has also improved, with the iPhone 18 Pro offering up to 36 hours of video playback, matching last year's 17 Pro Max, while the 18 Pro Max reaches up to 45 hours.

The biggest upgrades, however, are arguably focused on the 18 Pro's camera. The devices now feature a 48MP main camera with variable aperture and a new sensor. In layman's terms, that means better low-light performance and greater user control over depth of field. There's also talk of a "computational imaging pipeline", which includes new Photographic Styles for share-ready JPEGS.

We'll have full reviews on these devices in the following weeks, so don't hesitate to keep checking in for more details.

After a short announcement window, it's official: Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max preorders are now open. If you've been thinking about picking up one of these stunning new devices, then you'll find all the biggest discounts right here on this page.

Firstly, a quick PSA. As you probably already know, Apple announced the 18 Pro, the 18 Pro Max, and the new iPhone Duo foldable during its September event on Tuesday. This page covers the Pro devices specifically, as preorders for the iPhone Duo are set to start next month.

If you're ready to preorder the Pro devices, however, then there's no need to wait. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 / £1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299 / £1,299, and there are several ways to get a discounted device, of course.

In the US, it's possible to get an iPhone 18 Pro included with either a new line (with a pricey unlimited plan) or a trade-in at the major carriers. Apple's own deals include a trade-in rebate of up to $885 for unlocked devices or a new leasing option, which I'm covering in more depth just below.

In the UK, we're currently looking at trade-in rebates of up to £885 at Apple, which is actually quite good in terms of discounts for the official store. Several networks are also stocking the devices, such as Three and Vodafone.

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the US

• Apple: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo
• AT&T: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• Verizon: up to $1,200 off with a trade-in
• T-Mobile: device included with switch, or trade-in
• Xfinity Mobile: 18 Pro Max included with trade and line

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with a trade or phone and plan for $80/mo, plus iPad and Apple Watch
Verizon's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal breaks down into two avenues. The first is the traditional trade-in rebate of up to $1,200, which is eligible with the carrier's myPlan unlimited plans for both new and existing customers. Secondly, there is the option to bundle a device with the carrier's new 'Simplicity Pro' with the plan and device included for $80/mo. This second option will let you upgrade your device free of charge 12 months from now. Finally, both of these deals are eligible with a 'free' iPad and Apple Watch as bonus gifts. I say free in quotation marks here, because you need to take out relevant cellular lines on each device to be eligible for a freebie.View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: included with a new line, or with an eligible trade-in at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's opening iPhone 18 Pro deal is exactly what I was expecting; it's a very competitive deal indeed. Firstly, new customers can get a standard iPhone 18 Pro included if they switch over from another carrier and pick up a device on the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan. The other option at the carrier is a trade-in rebate of up to $1,200 off, which is a good option for upgraders. That's also eligible on the Experience Beyond plan, but according to the T&Cs, it's also eligible for existing customers on the older Go5G Next plan too. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $1,200 off with an eligible trade-in and unlimited plan at AT&T
AT&T's deal is pretty much in line with what we were expecting from the carrier, but that's not to say it isn't an excellent promotion. For example, you can currently trade-in a device in any condition to hit the maximum rebate of $1,200 off - which is conveniently enough to cover the entire cost of the iPhone 18 Pro. Not bad if you were looking to upgrade. View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro: up to $885 off with trade, or leasing from $34.99/mo at Apple
Apple's own iPhone 18 Pro deals remain the best (and only) option for unlocked devices. Nonetheless, there are a few good options here for upgraders. First is the usual trade-in rebate, which is hitting up to $885 for unlocked devices in this preorder window. Another option for this year is Apple's new upgrade program, which lets you lease a device for as little as $34.99/mo over two years. That actually equates to being cheaper than buying a device outright, and you're also entitled to upgrades. Of course, it comes with the caveat of having to pay a monthly fee - and you don't own your device, either!View Deal

iPhone 18 Pro preorders in the UK

• Apple: up to £885 off with a trade-in
• EE: up to £750 off with a trade-in
• Carphone Warehouse: from £52/mo with 100GB plan
• Mobiles.co.uk: unlimited data from £55/mo, plus trade discounts
• Sky: from £38 per month
• Three: save up to £1,035 with trade-in and plan
• Vodafone: up to £885 off with a trade-in

Apple iPhone 18 Pro: what's new?

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

• A20 Pro chipset on both models
• Improved battery life
• New variable aperture lens, plus photographic styles

The star of the show in this year's September Apple event was undoubtedly the iPhone Duo, but that doesn't mean the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max aren't without their merits. In fact, both devices have a decent number of upgrades that could justify a trade-in, depending on what you're eligible for.

For example, both devices now carry the new A20 chipset. While we haven't tested this to confirm, Apple claims the new chipset delivers a claimed 20% faster CPU and 40% faster GPU than its predecessor due to its 2nm architecture. Battery life has also improved, with the iPhone 18 Pro offering up to 36 hours of video playback, matching last year's 17 Pro Max, while the 18 Pro Max reaches up to 45 hours.

The biggest upgrades, however, are arguably focused on the 18 Pro's camera. The devices now feature a 48MP main camera with variable aperture and a new sensor. In layman's terms, that means better low-light performance and greater user control over depth of field. There's also talk of a "computational imaging pipeline", which includes new Photographic Styles for share-ready JPEGS.

We'll have full reviews on these devices in the following weeks, so don't hesitate to keep checking in for more details.