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Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: one-minute review

Since Philips introduced the world to the first air fryer back in 2010, the market for this health-conscious kitchen appliance has boomed. Manufacturers like Ninja dominate best air fryers lists, but British Philips continues to improve upon its patented Rapid Air Technology, and its most recent offerings, like the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer, are increasingly impressive.

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer NA150X isn't quite on par with the 5000 and suffers from some of the same issues around ease of use, but it's also considerably cheaper at £133.99. For that price tag, you get a well-performing air fryer with plenty of room and a handful of useful features, such as a shaking reminder and sync cooking, without bombarding you with a bunch of extras.

When the 1000 Series works well, it's excellent: chicken is succulent with just enough crispiness on the skin, muffins are soft inside without being dry, and chips (homemade and frozen) are golden and fluffy inside. I found the presets are mostly accurate and provide top-notch – though you do need to keep an eye on cooking at times – and the recipes provided in the accompanying Home ID app (though limited) are delicious.

(Image credit: Vic Hood)

Frustratingly, you have to rely on that Home ID app a lot, especially at the start. Like the Steam Air Fryer, this appliance comes with a limited physical user manual. You need to download the Home ID app to access the full digital manual that gives clear instructions on each button's functionality and the food tables listing recommended weights and food types. While these tables are helpful, they aren't as thorough as others we've seen and don't cover some commonly air-fried foods. For example, I need to know what weight and settings to use for individual vegetables, like carrots and broccoli, more than I likely need to know the weight to cook meatballs with baked gnocchi.

However, once you get to grips with how the air fryer works, the digital interface is straightforward to use. You have the option to cook in one 7.1L XXL basket or to add the provided divider to create two individually programmable baskets – these can also be set to sync and finish cooking at the same time or to have matching settings. This air fryer is surprisingly compact (compared to its competitors) given its capacity, and the deep baskets are deceptively spacious, with a handy Max line indicating how much you can fill each.

(Image credit: Vic Hood)

The XXL basket and crisping plates are dishwasher friendly (though we always advise against this), and their non-stick coating makes them straightforward to clean – in theory. The XXL basket is cumbersome to clean, especially in a sink, and even if you just use one side, the entire basket needs to be removed and washed. Similarly, if you are cooking two foods at once and need to shake one side, you inadvertently remove and shake the other at the same time.

Ultimately, this is a great air fryer with an affordable price tag, even if the user experience isn't ideal. You may just need some patience (like with many air fryers) to find the optimal settings and weights for foods not listed in the table.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: price and availability

• £133.99 at Philips (roughly $181.45 / AU$281.43)
• Available in the UK, but not in the US or Australia currently
• Available at third party retailers like Amazon, but cheaper from Philips directly

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer is a budget to mid-range appliance at £133.99 (roughly $181.45 / AU$281.43). At that price, it's worth considering if you don't want to shell out £200+ on a premium air fryer like the Ninja Double Oven and Dreo ChefMaker. While it does come with fewer bells and whistles than more premium options, including the excellent Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer, it gets the job done. While the results aren't always as consistent, this is a solid air fryer for this price tag.

At the time of writing, the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer NA15X is only available in the UK as the NA150/09 (the Australian model has seemingly been discontinued). In the US, the closest model to the one we tested appears to be the Philips 3000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer, which costs $199.99.

You can pick up the model we reviewed from third-party retailers like Currys or Amazon for £159.99, though you'll save some cash purchasing from Philips directly (£133.99).

• Value score: 4.5/5

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: specifications

Review model

NA15X

Number of baskets

2 (with divider), or one XXL basket

Number of cooking functions

6 presets, plus three extra functions

Cooking functions and modes

Presets: Frozen Fries, Steak, Chicken Drumsticks, Mixed Vegetables, Cake/Muffin, Reheat

Extra functions: Copy (apply same settings to both baskets), Time (syncs cooking times), Shaking reminder

Smart control

No

Rated power

2,450W

Capacity

7.1 liters

Temperature range

40C-200C / 104F-392F

Time range

Up to 60 minutes

Dimensions (including handles)

17.23 in (L) x 11.87 in (W) x 11.61 in (H) / 437.69mm (L) x 301.43mm (W) x 294.91mm (H)

Dishwasher safe

Yes

Weight

12.79lbs / 5.8kg

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: design

• Black modern design
• Fairly compact for an XXL air fryer
• Spacious 7.1L capacity
• Clear digital LED interface
• Cumbersome to hand wash
• Full user manual is digital only

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer has a matte black body with a black digital LED interface on the top, a glossy black plastic strip around the middle, and two large handles. The XXL basket is pulled out using the handles, like a drawer, and has two crisping plates inside, with each drawer also showing two maximum fill lines, one indicating the max capacity for frozen potato snacks and the other for other food types. A plastic divider is provided, which slides into slots between the two plates, creating two individually programmable, smaller baskets rather than the one XXL basket.

(Image credit: Vic Hood)

Given its 7.1 liter capacity, this air fryer is much more compact than others we've tested of similar size, measuring 17.23 in (L) x 11.87 in (W) x 11.61 in (H) and weighing 5.8kg. So, while it will take up some room in your kitchen, it's nowhere near as chunky as the likes of the Russell Hobbs Satisfry 9L Dual Basket Air Fryer. If you've kids at home, you'll be pleased to hear it's cool to the touch when on, with the airflow temperature out the back (on XXL cooking) averaging around 43C, and it's not too intrusive volume-wise either, averaging around 60 decibels (again on XXL cooking),

The digital LED interface is clear and easy to use, with minimal clutter on the screen. However, to understand how to use its various presets and functions, you need to download the companion Home ID app using the QR code on the front of the appliance. The physical user manual provided mostly consists of confusing illustrations that try to explain how to use the air fryer, but the digital user manual accessible through the app is much more thorough.

t's extremely frustrating that you can only read the 918-page user manual on your phone as a sort of PDF, though, and if you don't have a smartphone to download the app, you're snookered. This is a recurring issue with Philips air fryers we've found, but at least the QR code on this one works, and the app's recommended recipes are actually pretty tasty.

(Image credit: Vic Hood)

The digital user manual provides clearer instructions on the air fryer's presets and features, and how to use them, alongside food tables which recommend the weights and settings to use for certain food types. While these tables cover common food types like fries, chicken breast, and muffins, they could be more detailed – and some of the times listed in the tables are slightly different than the presets on the appliance. Instead of recommendations for cooking turkey roulade and veggies, a clear table on the settings for individual vegetables would be much more useful or what type of vegetables to use for the Mixed Vegetable preset would be much more helpful.

Another annoying issue I found with this appliance was cleaning it. While the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer's basket and crisping plates can be put in the dishwasher, and I successfully did, we typically advise not to use a dishwasher to clean anything with a non-stick coating (as this has) to ensure it doesn't wear away over time.

You may have difficulty dishwashing the basket on this one anyway because it's pretty cumbersome and will take up a lot of room in your dishwasher. The entire XXL basket comes out as one and therefore the whole thing must be cleaned, even if you only use one of the baskets within it. While it cleans easily with dish soap and water, it can be a bit tricky to get it in the sink and give it a thorough clean.

While it's a shame Philips has dropped the ball again when it comes to a clear, physical user manual (which would benefit older, less savvy users), once you do get to grips with this air fryer, it's straightforward and convenient to use.

• Design score: 4/5

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: performance

• What it cooks well, it does brilliantly
• Six presets, mixed accuracy
• Time function to sync cooking
• Copy function to match basket settings
• Quality of life features, like shaking reminder

The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer comes with six cooking presets (Frozen Fries, Steak, Chicken Drumsticks, Mixed Vegetables, Cake/Muffin, Reheat) and three extra functions (Time, Copy, and a Shaking reminder).

When the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer works well, the results are impressive. I started my testing with frozen chips, adding 400g of frozen steak cut fries to one of the smaller baskets and selecting the Frozen Fries/Potato Snacks preset. This automatically adds the Shaking reminder (which can also be selected manually), which sees the appliance chirping about halfway through cooking to indicate when to shake or turn your food.

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(Image credit: Vic Hood)

Frustratingly, this does mean you need to shake the whole basket, whether you want the other half shaken or not. The results were excellent, with the chips cooked pretty evenly (though some were a tad more done than others) and crispy outside but fluffy inside. I had similar results when cooking homemade fries, following the food table instructions, though I had to pull the chips out a few minutes earlier than the recommended time to prevent them from becoming overdone.

The results for chicken wings and muffins were perhaps the best I've had from an air fryer yet. Into the XXL pan, I added six full-size wings coated in a Louisiana dry rub and selected the Chicken Drumstick preset (the food tables have no chicken wing recommendation).

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(Image credit: Vic Hood)

Apart from turning the wings when prompted, I made no changes, and the resulting wings were perfectly crispy outside and juicy inside without being too much of either. Likewise, using a Ninja (sorry, Philips) blueberry and lemon muffin recipe with the Muffin preset in the XXL basket resulted in perfect muffins: soft and fluffy inside but not too dry.

While the recipes in the Home ID app are somewhat limited, at least for my specific appliance, they have stellar results. When you sign up for the app, you choose your appliance and are offered recipes that are suited to your specific air fryer. To start, I tried a green bean recipe that was simple but resulted in the most delicious green beans I've ever had from an air fryer: not too soggy, just perfectly cooked.

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The spicy drumstick recipe was even more impressive and produced eight piping-hot drumsticks from the XXL basket that tasted and smelled amazing. Again, they weren't "grab a napkin, quick!" juicy and had just the right amount of crisp on the skin.

But not every food test worked out this well, and I found a lot of my issues boiled down to the food tables not being detailed enough. I'm always intrigued by an air fryer steak preset and have yet to find one that produces pan quality. The Philips 1000 Series has a Steak preset, but the food table only gives a rough weight for the steak and doesn't recommend the type of steak to cook or if the recommended weight (150g-200g) is per steak or total. I opted for two medallion steaks weighing 340g total and added them to one basket.

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(Image credit: Vic Hood)

The food table recommends one basket can fit four steaks, but I seriously doubt it, as I would have struggled to add more than two. How you like your steak is a personal preference, and with no notes on timings for specific doneness, I left the steaks in the full preset time and was left with two leather-like chunks of meat. They were like chewing on old shoes. One side of each was nicely seared, and the other wasn't, and they were drier than the Sahara. This is something you could probably experiment with to get the right level of doneness, but my advice is this: just don't cook steak in an air fryer.

I also had disappointing results with mixed veg. Again, the food table wasn't clear on what type of mixed veg it recommends or whether to add oil, but it does state timings may vary due to preference and to cut the veg roughly. I added the recommended weight in broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower to each basket and selected the Mixed Vegetable preset – making use of the Copy function to match the settings for both baskets. When I shook the veg halfway through the 20-minute cooking time, I saw my cauliflower and broccoli had browned on top, but, on tasting, my carrots weren't cooked properly.

(Image credit: Vic Hood)

This could, like the steak, likely be rectified with some experimentation, but without clear instructions on what individual vegetable cooking times are recommended or what to include in your mixed vegetables, it's difficult to know off the bat what the best approach is.

Overall, this Philips air fryer is a solid appliance, and it provides great results more often than poor ones. If you've never owned an air fryer before or don't have the patience to get the most out of some of its peskier presets, you may struggle with it. But if you're a seasoned air fryer user or don't mind a few failed attempts before getting optimal results, it's worth the time, money, and potential effort.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air FryerPhilips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

Great value for a solid air fryer, but don't expect the consistency and high quality of more premium appliances.

4.5/5

Design

A sleek and fairly compact air fryer given its spacious capacity. The XXL basket can be divided into two separate programmable baskets, which are easy (but cumbersome) to hand wash. But Philips has dropped the ball with its user manual and instructions, so you'll need to use the Home ID app for thorough instructions.

4/5

Performance

What this air fryer does well, it does brilliantly. It has produced some of the best air-fried food I've had in all my testing. However, the user manual food tables could have more detail on optimal preparation and the settings to use for more common foods, as the results with some of the presets were thoroughly disappointing.

4/5

Buy it if

You want a spacious air fryer that isn't massive

This air fryer offers good capacity but isn't huge and bulky. It will still take up some counter space, but it's relatively small given its size.

You want an air fryer for under £150

This air fryer may have some pesky issues, but it's great value at £133.99 and offers a much higher quality than others we've seen in this price range.

You want an air fryer for simple, day-to-day meals

While mixed veg was a mixed bag, I found it easy to cook common air fryer foods in this appliance, like chicken, chips, and muffins. If you want a convenient air fryer that will cover the basics well (with some adjustment), this is a good option.

Don't buy it if

You have a small sink or dishwasher

While this air fryer's components can be cleaned easily thanks to their non-stick coat, the act of cleaning it can be a pain. The XXL basket is chunky and a struggle to clean, even in our fairly large Belfast sink. That's mainly because it's cumbersome and you need to clean the whole basket even if you just use one side of it. It's dishwasher safe if you have the room, but I advise against it to ensure the longevity of your components.

You want clear, physical instructions

The physical user manual provided with this air fryer is pretty useless and doesn't cover what its functions and features are or how to work them. You can access a digital user manual via the Home ID app, but if you haven't got a smartphone or struggle reading smaller digital print, this may not be the air fryer for you.

You want a heap of extra features

This air fryer doesn't come with a bunch of extra features, functions, or smart control – it sticks to the basics. So, if you do want extra functions like steaming, dehydrating, or grilling, this isn't the appliance for you.

Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer: also consider

Ninja Double Stack

If you don't have space for a full-width two-drawer air fryer, the Double Stack is the appliance for you. It's deeper and taller, but much narrower than the Russell Hobbs Satisfry or the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone, and in our tests it produced evenly browned, crispy fries every time.

Read our full Ninja Double Stack review

Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone

If you live outside the UK where the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer isn't available, this is two-drawer air fryer is a great alternative. It looks smart, and produces consistently good results (though we'd appreciate a reminder to shake to food for even cooking).

Read our full Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone review

How I tested the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer

I used the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer for a week, cooking a wide variety of foods including fries, chicken drumsticks, steak, fresh vegetables, and muffins. I tested all the air fryer's various modes and cleaned the air fryer in line with the instructions provided in the manual. For more details, see how we test.

First reviewed May 2025.

• MathWorks confirmed suffering a ransomware attack
• It is bringing systems online but the process is taking time
• No threat actors have yet claimed responsibility

MathWorks, a prominent mathematical computing software developer, has confirmed suffering a ransomware attack that crippled its operations.

In an announcement published on a dedicated status page, the company said the attack happened almost two weeks ago, and it still hasn’t been fully remedied. The company did start to tentatively bring operations back online.

“MathWorks experienced a ransomware attack. We have notified federal law enforcement of this matter. The attack affected our IT systems,” the status page reads. “Some of our online applications used by customers became unavailable, and certain internal systems used by staff became unavailable, beginning on Sunday, May 18. We have brought many of these systems back online and are continuing to bring other systems back online with the assistance of cybersecurity experts.”

Negotiations ongoing?

The newest update, posted on May 27, says MATLAB Answers, Cloud Center, and File Exchange, have been restored for existing users. The latter is operating “in a degraded state with file viewing and GitHub sync not yet enabled.”

MathWorks is best known for MATLAB and Simulink, two popular solutions used worldwide for data analysis, simulation, and model-based design in engineering and scientific applications, with its products used by more than 100,000 organizations and more than 5 million customers across the world.

At press time, there was no information about the perpetrators, as no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and crucial details are still missing.

We don’t know who the threat actors are, or if they stole any sensitive company or customer data from MathWorks’ systems, as is the usual practice with ransomware attacks.

One of the possibilities is that the attackers are currently negotiating with the company, which is why the details are being kept hidden.

Via BleepingComputer

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Manuel Pellegrini's Andalusians take on Enzo Maresca's west Londoners in this showpiece showdown in Wrocław, Poland.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2: key information

- No release date confirmed yet
- Announcement could be made at Netflix Tudum 2025
- Production began in September 2024 and wrapped in May 2025
- Main cast set to return from season 1
- New cast additions revealed in November 2024 and Mat 2025
- Story will reportedly feature a time jump
- Its Nickelodeon animated TV namesake holds the key to where its plot will go next
- A third and final season is now in production

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 could be released on Netflix sooner than any of us think. Indeed, with filming wrapped in May and the possibility of a launch date announcement being made Netflix Tudum 2025 on May 31, we could be reunited with Aang and company before the end of the year.

Before Netflix's live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated classic returns to our screens, what do we know about it? Below, we've rounded up the latest information on Avatar season 2, including our prediction about when it'll be released, its confirmed cast, story specifics, and more.

Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Possible spoilers are also discussed for the show's sophomore season.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 release date prediction

The Avatar will return. AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Seasons 2 & 3. Only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/sUnY5w6JgfMarch 6, 2024

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 doesn't have a release date yet. However, we've known it's been on the way for a while now. Indeed, Netflix renewed the hit fantasy show for two more seasons last March.

Principal photography began in September 2024 and officially wrapped in May 2025. Now, we've just got to wait for post-production to be completed before one of the best Netflix shows' second season is available to stream.

So, when do we think it'll be released? A release date of late 2025 to early 2026 isn't out of the question, especially with filming having been completed. Will we get more details – or, whisper it quietly, an actual launch date reveal – at Netflix Tudum 2025? That would be enough to make us shout "Yip yip!"

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 trailer: is there one?

Prepare yourselves for season 2's official teaser, whenever it'll be released (Image credit: Netflix)

A trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 hasn't made its debut yet. Once one is released, we'll update this section.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored

Commander Zhao's return in season 2 seems unlikely (Image credit: Netflix)

Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1.

Here's the confirmed cast for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 so far:

• Gordon Cormier as Aang
• Kiawentiio as Katara
• Ian Ousley as Sokka
• Dallas Liu as Zuko
• Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai
• Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Zuko
• Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula
• Miya Cech as Toph
• Chin Han as Long Feng
• Justin Chien as King Kuei
• Amanda Zhao as Joo Dee
• Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong
• Kelemete Misipeka as The Boulder
• Hoa Xuande as Professor Zei
• Lourdes Faberes as General Sung
• Rekha Sharma as Amita
• Madison hu as Fei
• Dichen Lachman as Yangchen
• Dolly De Leon as Lo and Li
• Lily Gao as Ursa
• Terry Chen as Jeong Jeong
• Jon Jon Briones as Piandao
• Tantoo Cardinal as Hama

The first seven actors will reprise their respective roles from the series' first outing. Everyone else from Cech onwards, though, is new to the show.

Speaking of Cech, she was cast as fan-favorite character Toph in November 2024. For the uninitiated, she's an extremely powerful Earthbender, who'll accompany Aang and company on their quest to stop the Fire Nation's attempts to become this world's tyrannical rulers.

We have our Toph!! Please welcome Miya Cech to Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/p7V7akclraSeptember 20, 2024

There have been plenty more cast reveals since Cech was added to the show's roster, too. Last November, eight more actors were confirmed to appear, including Justin Chien as King Kuei, aka the Earth Kingdom's current ruler, and Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong – the latter being Toph's mom.

A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)

A photo posted by on

Then, to celebrate the end of filming on season 2, Netflix unveiled another seven cast additions. The most notable name among this contingent is Dichen Lachman, who some viewers will recognize as Gemma Scout/Ms Casey from the hugely successful Apple TV+ series Severance. She'll be playing Yangchen in Avatar season 2.

A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)

A photo posted by on

For Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), he appears to meet his demise in the season 1 finale following a battle with Zuko, who unleashes his fire powers upon him. Asked by RadioTimes.com about his potential return, Leung said, “In the original, we do know what happens to him – he ends up in the Fog of Lost Souls in the spirit world. As this is a re-imagining, I don’t know how that part of it will be re-imagined, if it will be, so I’m in the same boat as you!”

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 story speculation

Suki and Sokka will continue to support Aang in battle (Image credit: Netflix)

Major spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Potential season 2 spoilers also follow.

When it comes to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, there’s certainly a storyline and timeline for Netfli'sx adaptation to follow. One of the biggest issues that Netflix’s version faces, though, is that the original took place across the same 12-month period.

By keeping the same cast in this remake, season 1 showrunner Albert Kim had to allow for the actors to grow up on screen. Given they'll have aged up since the first season was released, a narrative tweak was needed in the form of including a time jump, as Kim previously confirmed in a chat with Entertainment Weekly (EW).

How does this impact the arrival of Sozin’s Comet, aka the celestial object that depicts the passage of time in the original show? Kim added: "We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now because we couldn’t know exactly how old our actors would be for the subsequent seasons."

Season 1's mid-credits scene revealed Sozin’s Comet would be part of the story moving forward, though, so it'll be interesting to see how its inclusion factors into the time jump that's been introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2.

Aang will be older than the last time we saw them (Image credit: Netflix)

Elsewhere, in conversation with Netflix's in-house Tudum, website, executive producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani revealed a bit more about what viewers can expect next time around.

"We’re going to challenge our characters with more complex and nuanced obstacles as they navigate a more tactile world," the pair teased. "Just as the animated series matured and progressed, the live- action will also take these characters and worlds, and grow them."

The show's exploration of more mature themes won't be a surprise to anyone who watched Netflix's remake and/or the original.

Where the former is concerned, Aang and the Waterbenders successfully repelled the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe at Agna Qel’a. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation simultaneously attacked the Earthbenders in the city of Omashu and were successful in defeating those defending their tribal stronghold.

This sets the plot up nicely for the Earthbending focus of season 2, which matches the original series. More training, more harnessing of skills, and more battles for Aang and company are certainly on the cards, then.

"I thought it was really clever of the writers to end season 1 in that way, because you want to get a sense that the universe of the show is expanding with every season," Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Zuko and Azula’s ruthless father, Fire Lord Ozai, told Tudum. "And they really did a good job of that with that cliff-hanger and also created a sense of urgency and time."

What's next for Zuko (center) and his allies? (Image credit: Netflix)

There’s also the escalating tension between Zuko and Azula as they continue their complicated family dynamic. Azula took the city of Omashu and its King Bumi captive, while an injured Zuko fled from the battle in the North. Zuko is one of the most fascinating characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender and, while long-time fans know what lies in store for him in future seasons, it'll be no less intriguing to see him evolve as an individual.

And what of Aang’s face-to-face with the aforementioned pair's father and ruler of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai?

"Always leave the audience wanting more," Lee teased. "I just had chills seeing Lizzy as Azula. You’ve got King Bumi in shackles, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, there’s so many cliff-hangers.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I want to shoot season 2 [and] 3 right now.'"

Unfortunately for Kim, he hasn't done that, with Boylan and Rassani assuming the reins as co-showrunners. It'll be equally interesting, then, to see if Avatar: The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 are better (or worse) than what's come before. Speaking of the show's third season...

Has Avatar: The Last Airbender been renewed for a third season?

That’s a wrap on Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2!The time of Sozin’s comet draws near. Season 3 is now in production! pic.twitter.com/Esx3ZOOGAqMay 20, 2025

It has. As we mentioned earlier, Netflix renewed Avatar: The Last Airbender for two more seasons last March. As the above X/Twitter post reveals, season 3 has entered full production as of May 2025, too.

With season 2 taking around six months to film, its sequel could take a similar amount of time. If that's the case, principal photography could wrap on the series' final installment before the end of 2025. That could allow Netflix to release seasons 2 and 3 within close proximity of one another, or ensure season 3 arrives no later than a year after Avatar season 2's launch. In short: Avatar: The Last Airbender could be done and dusted as a Netflix TV Original by the end of 2026.

For more Netflix TV-based coverage, read our guides on One Piece season 2, Stranger Things season 5, Wednesday season 2, and Squid Game season 3.

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: One-Minute Review

Acer is well-known for its Predator range of gaming PCs and displays, but the company also makes a number of Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems that are designed for gaming as well. There are several models in the Predator range, including some very affordable Wi-Fi 6 routers, but at the top of the range is the blazing fast Predator Connect T7 Mesh Router, which Acer claims can provide ‘wired-level latency’ for serious gamers with lightning fast reflexes, potentially making it one of the best gaming routers money can buy.

Its rigidly rectangular design may not be much to look at, but the T7 provides state-of-the-art Wi-Fi performance, with tri-band Wi-Fi 7 that offers a top speed of 11Gbps. And, as the name suggests, you can buy additional T7 routers and use them together to create a far-reaching mesh wi-fi system for larger homes.

Admittedly, those features will probably be overkill for many people – especially if you’re still using older computers and mobile devices that don’t have full support for Wi-Fi 7 – but the T7 is competitively priced for a high-end router, and will certainly appeal to the hard-core gaming audience.

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $329.99/£236.22/AU$699
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Tracking down Acer products can sometimes be a little tricky, as it often relies on third-party retailers to stock its products. Customers in the US are fortunate as they can buy the T7 direct from Acer’s own website for $329.99, which is a similar price to Netgear’s Nighthawk RS300 that runs at 9.3GBps.

We were also pleased to find that the T7 doesn’t require an additional subscription for parental controls and security features, so it’s certainly competitively priced for such a high-end model. Customers in the UK, Australia and other regions will have to look around online, with the T7 selling for £236.22/AU$699 on Amazon and other sites.

• Value: 4/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Mini-tower design, available in black or white
• 2.5Gb Ethernet for broadband connection
• 2x Gigabit Ethernet for wired (LAN) connections

The T7 has a fairly subdued design for a gaming router. You do get a choice of a black or white for the main casing, and there’s a stylised ‘mask’ LED on the top panel, but this is primarily used to provide status information, and the T7 doesn’t have the over-the-top RGB lighting and effects offered by some of its gaming rivals.

Instead, the T7 opts for a rather staid rectangular obelisk that stands an imposing 212mm high, so you’ll need a shelf or table with quite a bit of room available when you’re setting it up.

One minor oddity is that the On/Off switch is cunningly hidden on the base of the router, while the power connector is more visible on the back panel. The Quickstart guide and the longer PDF manual that we downloaded from Acer’s website both fail to mention this, simply telling you to plug in the power connector and then download the Predator app. That left me wondering why the router wasn’t working when I first plugged it in - until I turned it upside down and found the power switch lurking below.

The back panel isn’t exactly overflowing with other ports and connectors, either. There’s a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port for a high-speed broadband connection, but it’s disappointing that such a high-end router only includes two 1Gb Ethernet ports to provide a wired connection for a PC or games console. There’s a USB-C port on the back as well, which will allow you to connect a hard drive or other storage device to you network. Again, though, this only supports the aging USB 2.0 standard, which is disappointing.

• Design: 3/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Features

It’s also slightly irritating that you’re forced to create an account with Acer before you can use the Predator Connect app to get started. However, the app does provide a number of useful features that will appeal to gamers and more experienced users. Many routers aimed at a more general audience will try to keep things simply by merging the router’s different frequency bands into a single network, but the T7 creates three separate networks using the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands. This allows you to reserve the high-speed 6.0GHz band for gaming, while you connect other devices to the 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz bands.

There’s a QoS option – quality of service – that allows you to prioritise high-bandwidth tasks such as gaming or streaming video for specific devices. The T7 even provides useful security features and parental controls without requiring an additional subscription as some of its rivals do.

The app is a little jargon-heavy at times, and if you don’t know what ‘band steering’ or ‘NAT acceleration’ mean then you might struggle with the app at times. Acer’s manual also makes the rookie mistake of simply listing features without really explaining how they work, so you will need a bit of network know-how to make the most of the Predator app.

• Features: 4/5

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: PerformanceImage 1 of 3

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(Image credit: Future)

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 7
• Top speed of 11Gbps
• QoS to prioritise gaming

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Specifications

Wi-Fi: tri-band Wi-Fi 7 (2.4GHz, 5.0GHz, 6.0GHz)

Wi-Fi Speed: 11Gbps

Ports: 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 2x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-C (2.0)

Processor: Quad-core ARM Cortex @ 1.5GHz

Memory: 1GB RAM

Storage: 512MB Flash

Dimensions: 212 x 109 x 109mm, 0.9kg

Predator Connect T7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: Benchmarks

Ookla Speed Test – 2.4GHz (download/upload)

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 125Mbps/125Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 125Mbps/125Mbps

20GB Steam Download – 2.4GHz

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 125Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 125Mbps

Ookla Speed Test – 5.0GHz (download/upload)

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps/150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps/150Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 5.0GHz

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps

Ookla Speed Test – 6.0GHz (download/upload)

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps/150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps/150Mbps

20GB Steam Download - 6.0GHz

Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps

The T7 creates three networks on different frequency bands, but with its top speed of 11Gbps it comes as no surprise to find that it walks all over my aging office router even on the slowest 2.4GHz band.

Our office Internet service provides a top speed of 150Mbps, but my normal router can only manage 80Mbps on the 2.4GHz band when running the Ookla speed test even for devices that are close by in the same room as the router.

Steam downloads are even worse with a sustained speed of only 40Mbps. The 5.0GHz band is slightly better but can still only manage 120Mbps on the Ookla speed test, and 100Mbps for Steam downloads. Even worse is the fact that both frequency bands struggle to reach an office at the back of the building, forcing me to use Ethernet cables to provide a wired connection instead.

Unsurprisingly, the T7 takes this in its stride. Its slower 2.4GHz band hits 125Mbps for both Ookla and Steam downloads in both locations, while the 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands simply shrug their shoulders and give us a pitying look as they breeze along at the maximum speed of 150Mbps even in our back office deadzone.

Admittedly, the T7’s top speed of 11Gbps will be massive overkill for many homes, but if you’re a keen gamer who wants fast, lag-free Wi-Fi for competitive gaming, then the Predator T7 is hard to beat. Then again, it's a router that's not strictly going to be for today's gaming (or business) market, but for the near future (or enthusiasts) instead. If you want to be on the cutting edge, you can be for a price.

(Image credit: Future)Should you buy the Predator Connect T7?

Category

Verdict

Score

Value

Wi-Fi 7 routers are still relatively expensive, but the T7 is competitively priced for a high-end tri-band router.

4/5

Design

The design is fairly staid, but we’re more concerned about the limited selection of ports available for wired connections.

3/5

Features

Acer’s app can be a bit full of jargon at times, but its tri-band networking features will appeal to serious gamers.

4/5

Performance

A speed of 11Gbps is completely over-the-top for most users, but it’s ideal for the latest gaming rigs that support Wi-Fi 7.

5/5

Overall

Wired connectivity could be improved, and the Acer app isn’t very user-friendly, but the T7’s Wi-Fi performance is hard to beat, and it won’t break the bank either.

4/5

Buy it if...

You’re a serious gamer
The high-speed Wi-Fi of the T7 is ideal for hardcore gamers with lightning reflexes and super-fast broadband.

You’re an early adopter
The adoption of Wi-Fi 7 is still in its early stages, but Wi-Fi 7 is still backwards-compatible with older devices, so the T7 is a good way of future-proofing your network for years to come.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget
Routers with Wi-Fi 7 are still relatively expensive, and most home broadband services really don’t need this sort of speed, so you can get perfectly good performance from less expensive routers.

Your PC is a bit old
Millions – maybe even billions – of people are still using older devices that only have Wi-Fi 5 or 6, so the tri-band Wi-Fi 7 provided by the T7 really isn’t necessary for most of us right now.View Deal

Predator Connect T7: Also consider

Netgear Nighthawk RS300

Netgear’s making an effort to produce more affordable routers and mesh systems, and the RS300 provides tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with a top speed of 9.3Gbps for roughly the same price as the Acer Predator T7.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98

Another router for hard-core gamers, the Rapture GT-BE98 from Asus is even faster and more expensive than the Predator T7. With quad-band Wi-Fi 7 and a top speed of 24.4Gbps the Rapture is an utterly no-compromise option for gamers who have cash to burn.

Acer Predator Connect T7 vs its competition

Router

Acer Predator Connect T7

Netgear Nighthawk RS300

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98

Price (as reviewed)

$329.99/£236.22/AU$699.00

$329.99/£299.99/AU$1497.00

$749.99 / £699.99 / AU$1,499

Wi-Fi Type

Tri-band Wi-Fi 7

Tri-band Wi-Fi 7

Quad-band Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi Speed

11Gbps

9.3Gbps

24.4Gbps

Connectivity

1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 2x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-C (2.0)

1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 2x 2.5Gb Ethernet (LAN), 2x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-A (3.0)

1x 10Gb Ethernet (WAN/LAN), 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN/LAN), 1x 10Gb Ethernet (LAN), 3x 2.5Gb Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-A (3.0), 1x USB-A (2.0)

Processor

Quad-core 1.5GHz

Quad-core 2.0GHz

Quad-core 2.6GHz

Memory

1GB RAM

2GB RAM

2GB RAM

Storage

512MB Flash

512MB Flash

256MB Flash

Dimensions

212 x 109 x 109mm

249 x 150 x 102mm

350 x 350 x 221mm

• First reviewed: May 2025

• ExpressVPN's mobile applications just recieved a major redesign
• This major update comes only a few days after the provider released its new AircoveOS v5.3
• Both upgrades promise to deliver faster and smoother performances

ExpressVPN now promises an even better experience for users after releasing some major updates on some of its applications.

The first to undergo a revamp has been its router with a built-in VPN, Aircove. The AircoveOS v5.3 update unveiled on May 22, 2025, now brings a more intuitive design to better manage all its flagging features and settings.

Only a few days later, ExpressVPN has now also launched a completely redesigned version of its mobile apps. The ethos is the same, though – make the VPN "faster, smarter, and more user-friendly across both platforms," explains the provider.

ExpressVPN's new mobile apps

Despite being one of the best VPN services thanks to its reliable performance and easy-to-use applications, the ExpressVPN team has decided to make the experience for mobile users even better.

Both its iOS and Android VPN apps now offer a cleaner and faster design (see image below) to make the overall experience more intuitive.

This includes a new built-in speed test tool that allows users to check how the VPN server they're connected to performs in real-time, and discover which may be the fastest choice. This could be advantageous for those who use ExpressVPN as a streaming or gaming VPN.

The redesign also includes a new map view for the very first time, helping more visual users get a sense of where they're connected, especially when they need to change location often.

A new server map view (on the right) and speed test (on the left) both aim to help users choose the best server for their needs. (Image credit: ExpressVPN)

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than five minutes to complete!

To take part, click the link below: https://futurenet.questionpro.eu/tr-vpn

With this update, ExpressVPN's Smart Location – a feature which connects you to the best server location automatically – also promises to be even "smarter."

"It uses speed, latency, and distance to suggest the best servers for you, plus you’ll see the top 3-5 fastest locations at the top of your list," the provider explains in a blog post.

Lastly, iPhone VPN users now have the option to pick OpenVPN as their chosen protocol, in addition to the provider's very own Lightway and IKEv2.

"Lightway is still our go-to protocol for speed, reliability, and security, but we know one size doesn’t fit all. Adding OpenVPN to iOS gives you more flexibility and control," said the provider.

The team started to roll out this update on May 27 and ensured it would become available for all users by May 30.

ExpressVPN AircoveOS v5.3

The revamp of both Aircove and Aircove Go has a simple goal – strengthening the core infrastructure to make the user experience more stable and easier.

"Whether you’re streaming, managing multiple devices, or setting up your router for the first time, you’ll spend less time troubleshooting and more time enjoying the internet safely," said the provider in its official announcement.

To achieve this, the team implemented a series of technical fixes, including updating some key system components like the Linux kernel and Wi-Fi drivers, as well as improving internal hardware component management. You can find the full technical details here.

What you can expect, though, is a faster experience when setting up your Device Group choices, thanks to less scrolling required and the ease of setting up the VPN location directly when creating a device group.

Managing groups got easier, too, thanks to improved drag-and-drop capabilities and a new dropdown option. The provider explains that these changes would be especially advantageous on mobile and tablets.

Helpful setup tips and smoother animations would also make it easier for new VPN router users to get started.

Enhancements to Wi-Fi Link and parental controls are also among the new batches of releases coming for Aircove users, so stay tuned.

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• ExpressVPN's latest upgrade to Lightway hopes to create "the VPN protocol of the future"
• The perception of lifetime VPN deals has changed, but are they really just "a true Ponzi scheme"?
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A judge has denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Elon Musk and DOGE are wielding unconstitutional power within the government. Separately, Musk also criticized a Trump-backed spending bill.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

In his forthcoming book, The Party's Interests Come First, American University professor Joseph Torigian writes about Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongxun, a noted Chinese politician himself.

(Image credit: History)

• Microsoft spots fake Entra pages being distributed in phishing emails
• The attacks targeted organizations in the West, mostly in critical infrastructure
• The goal was to gather intelligence for the Russo-Ukrainian conflict

Russian hacking campaigns, part of the country’s wider war effort against Ukraine, are getting more aggressive, security researchers from Microsoft have claimed, after they spotted a change in how a specific threat actor, called Void Blizzard, is running its operations.

Void Blizzard, also known as Laundry Bear, would usually buy login credentials off the dark web and use them to gain access to their targets’ IT infrastructure. Once inside, the hackers would exfiltrate emails, sensitive files, and business data, and look for means to continue moving laterally throughout the organization.

However, in recent times, the group has switched from buying login credentials into stealing them itself, and to do that it started spoofing Microsoft Entra login pages.

NATO in the crosshairs

Microsoft Entra is a comprehensive identity and network access solution that many organizations use to secure access to their digital resources across both cloud and on-prem. Void Blizzard would create fake pages using typosquatted domains and then distribute them to the victims using spear phishing and similar methods.

The victims are mostly small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) located in the West, as the campaign “disproportionately” targets organizations in Ukraine and NATO member states, Microsoft says, suggesting it is actually part of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and is designed to collect intelligence from critical sectors.

That being said, the majority of the victims are in government, defense, transportation, media, NGO, and healthcare.

In some instances, the hackers targeted education, telecommunications, and law enforcement agencies, as well, with more than 20 NGOs in Europe and North America targeted.

“Void Blizzard primarily targets NATO member states and Ukraine. Many of the compromised organizations overlap with past—or, in some cases, concurrent—targeting by other well-known Russian state actors, including Forest Blizzard, Midnight Blizzard, and Secret Blizzard,” Microsoft concluded.

“This intersection suggests shared espionage and intelligence collection interests assigned to the parent organizations of these threat actors.”

You might also like

• Global Russian hacking campaign steals data from government agencies
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
• We've rounded up the best password managers

PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera: one-minute review

If you're interested in installing one of the best bird feeder cameras in your garden but don't quite know where to start, the PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera is a great option.

It's not only one of the more affordable options (on sale for $119 / £85 at the time of writing), it also offers superb 2K image quality, live broadcasting, a night vision camera, playback features, a built-in feeder compartment, and a unique perch, plus the option for smart AI bird detection of over 10,000 species if you subscribe to PeckPerk's VIP package.

I hadn't used a bird camera before getting my hands on the PeckPerk, and I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this camera was to set up and operate in just a few minutes. The camera arrived pre-charged and ready to go right out of the box; I just needed to add some bird seed, download the free PeckPerk app to my phone, and connect the camera to Wi-Fi.

The PeckPerk comes with a separate optional solar panel, which makes it easy to keep the camera charged up 24/7 without needing to move it indoors. The package also includes an array of assembly tools, including brackets and screws, offering plenty of options for installing the camera. I initially opted for the belt strap tied around a tree, which I highly recommend starting with if you plan on moving the camera around to test multiple spots in your garden or outdoor space.

The PeckPerk camera and connected solar panel (Image credit: Beth Nicholls)

It might take a day or two for local birds to find and adjust to your new feeder camera, but once they do, you can sit back and enjoy the different bird species visiting your space and interacting with the camera – and if you subscribe to PeckPerk's VIP features, the app will identify bird species for you. I had no idea that there were so many blue tits in my local area in south-west England, but other frequent visitors caught on the camera included crows, seagulls, pigeons, cats, and even a few foxes at night.

Top tip: set up your bird feeder camera opposite a bird bath if you want to capture the most interaction – I found that birds loved to bathe later in the evening as the sun set.

I didn't have the highest of hopes that I'd get much activity with the PeckPerk bird feeder camera at first, considering that my dog tends to scare off most of the local wildlife, and the sheer size of the feeder stood out like a sore thumb against our smaller tree. But I was pleasantly surprised, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time testing out this camera and spotting all of the different bird species.

The sensors on the PeckPerk are excellent at detecting movement, the setup process is quick and easy, the app offers everything you could need, and it has superb battery life thanks to the included solar panel.

PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera: price and availability

• US$319 / £247 / AU$505
• VIP subscription plan US$36.99 / £29 per year or US$3.99 / £4 per month

The PeckPerk has a pretty high list price of $319 / £247 / AU$505. However, at the time of writing, it perches at the more affordable end of the scale, having been reduced to just $109 / £85 / AU$173 at PeckPerk's website.

That discount suggests that PeckPerk feels it's overpriced this camera, and my opinion it's very much worth the current asking price – though I'd be reluctant to spend anything over $200 on it, unless the camera quality could be boosted to 4K or higher. There's nothing much wrong with the image quality of the PeckPerk, but there's certainly room for improvement to match its high full asking price.

Compared to more premium yet similarly styled options like the Birdfy Feeder 2 Duo ($419.99 / £379.99 / AU$665), the PeckPerk does offer a lot for your money, considering that the Birdfy Feeder is only capable of Full HD resolution, whereas the PeckPerk has a generous UHD 2K output. For a more affordable option than both of these models, check out our review of the FeatherSnap Scout bird feeder camera which costs $179.99 / £159.99 (and the design is great, too).

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(Image credit: Beth Nicholls)PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera: specsPeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera specs

Camera

Built-in

Video output

2K UHD live stream

Field of view

165 degrees

Memory

MicroSD (not included)

Sensor

Detection proprietary

Microphone

Yes + audio

Battery

5200mAh (USB-C rechargeable)

Weather resistance

IP65

Operating temp

(-20.5C to 48.5C)

Seed capacity

1.6qt / 1.8 liters

Dimensions

25.3 x 16 x 19.2cm

Weight

1.45lbs / 660g (Unfilled)

PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera: design

• Bird-friendly IP65 weatherproof design
• Multiple install options supplied
• Made from Recycled Plastics (BPA Free)

The PeckPerk stands out compared to more traditional-style bird cameras thanks to its large and slightly odd acorn-like design, which is necessitated by the camera's size and the large-capacity seed tray surrounding it. You can get the PeckPerk in a beige color, which is the variant that I was sent and which blended in nicely with the bark of our tree, or a more vibrant orange hue, which I'm less of a fan of).

The nature-inspired design of the PekPerk makes it appealing to birds, and it's easy to remove from the mount and clean, too. It's made from recycled plastics and food-grade ABS materials, along with UV-resistant, anti-oxidation materials intended for lasting protection.

Design and aesthetic aside, the PeckPerk is built to be robust and sturdy, with its IP65 rating ensuring that it'll survive outdoors all year round. It arrives fully assembled, minus the perch and solar panel, which are great-quality optional accessories that you can choose to attach or leave out.

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I think the perch is a really nice touch that encourages birds to visit the PeckPerk, and the solar panel works wonderfully (at least in the spring season in the UK) to keep the camera fully charged without the need to bring it indoors to charge via the USB-C port every so often.

The fiddliest part of setting the bird feeder camera up was keeping it in place while strapping it securely to our tree, but this installation option is the best method for getting started with the PeckPerk, as you might decide that you want to change its location at a later time while getting to grips with using it, and this way you can avoid having to unscrew it each time.

PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera: performance

• 2K Infrared night vision or color night vision
• Two-way communication and live broadcast
• Free 7-day looped cloud recording included

The PeckPerk bird feeder is a lot fun to use, and I was impressed by its performance. The unit comprises a single camera with an ultra-wide 165-degree field of view, and makes use of proprietary motion sensors to detect when a bird is visiting.

You can adjust the sensitivity of the motion detectors via the free PeckPerk app, and I found that it worked extremely well at detecting any movement in the garden from several meters away. The Playback feature is excellent, and will instantly record 10-second clips whenever motion is detected to ensure you never miss a moment.

You can view all of the playback events from the day and up to seven days prior via the app, and download or save any video captures to your phone or the in-app album as you please. The best part is that all of this is accessible for free, and not hidden behind a subscription fee or paywall, as you might find with other bird cameras on the market.

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PeckPerk gave me a free trial code to test out the AI services it offers through its VIP subscription plan, but this really didn't hit the mark for me. On several occasions the AI would state that no birds were detected when there was very clearly a bird in the frame, and I would often get notifications that a squirrel was visiting the feeder, but there was nothing to be seen, and no evidence on playback either. I think the PeckPerk bird camera performs just as well on its own, and you really aren't missing anything by not upgrading to the VIP subscription.

I also found it just as easy and sometimes more accurate to use Google's Circle to Search feature on my Samsung phone to identify birds, and after a few weeks of use the only bird that PeckPerk's AI managed to detect and register in the app was a common pigeon.

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While the AI might need some work, the overall performance of the PeckPerk has been wonderful, and it's a breeze to use. I started off by setting the PeckPerk up in my garden, but, as I suspected, no birds arrived after five days of me patiently waiting, adding more seed, and regularly checking the app (this is not fault of the PeckPerk, I should add).

I then moved the camera to my mother-in-law's house a few doors down, where we set the camera up opposite her bird bath. This worked an absolute treat, and within a few hours we were getting blue tits, magpies and blackbirds drinking from the fountain and hesitantly approaching the feeder.

The camera's real-time observation via live streaming through the app is easy to access, making it suitable for users young or old who might not be especially tech savvy. There were a few occasions where it would take a minute or longer for my phone to connect to PeckPerk's live feed, but given that it relies on a stable 2.4GHz network connection, this could be down to poor Wi-Fi coverage where the camera was placed, and not necessarily an issue with the device.

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Are you sure, PeckPerk? (Image credit: Beth Nicholls)

If you tend to get a lot of wildlife wandering through your garden at night you'll definitely appreciate the PeckPerk's infrared night vision and color night vision options. The camera's playback feature is activated 24/7, so you can check on any nighttime visitors you may have had the next morning – I spotted a few foxes and cats dropping by during the night.

The PeckPerk is equipped with a mic and two-way audio, so you can not only hear the chirps of birds but you can talk through the camera should you wish (though I never found a use for this). There's also an alarm feature via the app which allows the camera to blast a sound scaring away any unwanted guests, animal or otherwise.

I'll finish off by saying that the camera quality of the PeckPerk is more than enough for spotting and detecting birds, though it could definitely be better (especially for the price). This is the first bird feeder camera that I've used, and I have no complaints about its 2K camera quality, other than that the playback feature can sometimes be a bit blink-and-you-miss-it, and I'd like the option to record for longer or watch the footage back at a slower speed.

Should you buy the PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera?Buy it if...

You want to spy on your backyard wildlife
Bird feeder cameras are an affordable option for getting a close-up view of the wildlife around you, and could technically double as a deterrent to put off potential intruders.

You want a gift for a budding bird watcher
The PeckPerk is relatively affordable (when on sale) and would make an excellent gift for anyone interested in bird spotting. The app is very user-friendly and suitable for all.

You want a bird feeder camera that you can leave outdoors
The PeckPerk is weatherproof and comes with a separate solar panel, which can be positioned close to the camera to maintain stable charging in warmer months. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You're looking for 4K quality
The PeckPerk is great for bird watching, but it won't win you any prizes for wildlife photography. The quality isn't up to par with a smartphone, but it's fine for fun.

You want reliable AI bird detection
The PeckPerk has an optional VIP package for detecting thousands of bird species with AI, but I found that it's not quite up to scratch yet.

You want a budget bird feeder camera
While the PeckPerk is excellent value for money at its current price (see the price section above), it's not the most budget-friendly when retailing at full price.

How I tested the PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera

• I set it up in multiple areas across two different gardens
• I monitored the feed via the app during both the day and night
• I tested the paid VIP upgrade subscription

I attached the PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder camera to a tree in my garden to begin with, and it performed just fine, although very few birds made an appearance. After I moved to a more discrete location near a bird bath I saw much more activity, bird and otherwise, which the camera had no issues detecting.

I tested the PeckPerk in the UK during the warmer spring months of April and May, and it withstood several rain showers, though I'd be interested to see how this camera holds up in the colder months when more birds and animals are seeking warmth and shelter.

I used the paid VIP PeckPerk upgrade to test the full capabilities of AI bird detection and registering of species in the app's database.

Mariam Mohammed says her younger son died when she could not get treatment for him at a U.S.-funded clinic that had temporarily closed. Researchers say there are many thousands of cases like his.

(Image credit: Lawrence Abah)

It was just a glimpse, two 8-second Veo 3 videos, but as with so many life-altering things, I'll never forget my first time generating synchronized audio and video with one deftly crafted prompt.

I'm currently running Google AI Pro, the $19.99 a month account that gives you access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and, more importantly, a limited trial of Veo 3 video generation.

Veo 3 is the tipping-point level of generative video creation that, for the first time, makes it possible to create videos with dialogue, background noises and sound effects, all synced to the action.

While I understood that my Veo 3 access might be limited, I wasn't sure how many videos I could generate with the new model. The answer, it seems, is exactly two. If I want unlimited access, I can switch to Google AI Ultra for an eye-watering $249.99 a month (there's a three-month deal for $124.99 a month). And Veo 3 is currently US-only.

Since Veo 3 launched at Google I/O 2025, my TikTok feed has been filled with these incredible and often quite realistic AI clips. Some look like infomercials or commercials, others are just impossible, like a woman interviewing a smiling man who is clearly on fire.

I was torn between creating realism, hyper-realism, and something fantastic. In the end, I built a prompt in the Gemini 2.5 Pro window that supports video creation that was a mix of sci-fi, drama, and whimsy.

Writing inside the prompt window, though, turned out to be a mistake because I accidentally hit return before fully fleshing out my idea, and suddenly Veo 3 was busy generating my video.

This was my first prompt:

"Bill and Jessica live in a log cabin built on the surface of Mars. Bill emerges from the cabin to find jessica fighting a martian using nothing but a stuffed animal.

Bill screams at Jessica: What are you doing?

Jessica: This damn martian wants our land and he can't have it."

As you can see, there isn't much detail, and as easy as it is to generate a video in Veo 3 (and the audio-free Veo 2), you'll get a better result by including more detail and dialogue. Veo 3 will not have the characters say anything you didn't script. In this case, because I hit return too soon, Jessica's dialogue is cut off and I didn't get to polish my prompt.

Even so, Veo 3 took the scant details and in roughly 5 minutes created a striking piece of video. Take a look (sound up for the full effect).

It's far from perfect. Bill doesn't actually speak his line, though we hear it from off-camera. Jessica's scream (or is it the Martian's?) also comes from somewhere off camera.

There's an unfortunate sound effect that might be coming from Bill, and that I did not script. Also, I don't know why Jessica speaks her lines directly to camera.

Again, I assume that had I directed who she should be talking to, Veo 3 might have made a different choice.

Still, there are so many more subtle things that are impressive. Veo 3 gets the setting right; notice the reddish overcast of Mars daylight. The Martian is terrifying. I'm more impressed, though, by the sound effects like the sound of the cabin door, footfalls on the Martian soil, and the sound of the stuffed animal hitting the Martian's chest.

Take 2

For my second prompt, I wrote and edited it outside of Gemini. I did my best to set the scene, describe the characters, and delineate the dialogue and any sound effects. Here's the prompt:

The scene is a lush forest with sunlight streaming in from overhead. We hear the shrieks of pterodactyls in the background and the sound of leaves swaying in a light breeze.

A Tyrannosaurus is carefully painting a large canvas that depicts a colorful image of a man about to be destroyed by an asteroid.

The Tyrannosaurus is quietly singing to himself, “Pink Pony Club, I’m gonna keep on dancing at the...”

A Velociraptor wanders over and asks, “Why are you painting that?”

The Tyrannosaurus: “The AI made me do it.”

The Velociraptor backs away in horror and says, “The what?!!”

As you can see, I was, in part, inspired by some of the self-referential Veo 3 videos I'd been seeing on TikTok where the characters break the fourth wall and mention they're AIs in a video. While my detail work mostly paid off, Veo did make a number of questionable choices.

I don't know why it chose to dress the T-Rex but neglected to give him a paintbrush, or why the character in the painting looks like some sort of 1970s kid detective. And while Gemini clearly knows a thing or two about what dinosaurs look like, it got the relative sizes of the T-Rex and Velociraptor all wrong. I was also disappointed that instead of "shrieks of pterodactyls," I got a static image of pterodactyls and the sound of birdsong in the background.

The dialogue sync is mostly good, though I was hoping for more emoting from the velociraptor.

Overall, it took me a few minutes to write these prompts and another 3-to-5 minutes for Veo 3 to generate each video. I believe that if I spent more time painting a detailed picture, even writing a whole short story, I might get an even better result.

I'd let you know for sure, but I just ran my brief trial dry. If you plan on attending a couple of Veo 3 videos, here are my core tips:

• Write your prompt outside of Gemini
• Choose your topics carefully
• Spell out every detail, from the look of the characters to the scene
• Detail every action, or Veo 3 will make something up or have a character doing nothing
• Spell out the dialogue so it's clear.
• Describe the emotion behind dialogue delivery
• Include details on background noises
• Include sound effect descriptions if you desire specific sounds
• Each video is 8 seconds maximum. Plan accordingly
• Try creating multiple videos that continue a storyline, but keep descriptions consistent

Good luck with your Veo 3 test drives. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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• Nintendo's list of compatible Switch games for Switch 2 has been updated
• The company has identified well over 100 games with start-up issues
• The vast majority should still work without issue on the new system

The list of Nintendo Switch 2 games that could have compatibility issues at launch has been updated by the company.

Nintendo's compatibility page has links to three PDFs. These highlight 115 games "with start up issues on Nintendo Switch 2," 46 games that successfully start up but may have some compatibility issues, and finally 49 games that have issues "planned to be addressed at launch or shortly after."

Furthermore, Nintendo has highlighted software that outright cannot be used on Nintendo Switch 2. These include Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit, as well as video apps including Crunchyroll, Niconico, Abema, and Hulu. The comics and manga app InkyPen will also be unusable. It remains to be seen if these apps will receive dedicated Switch 2 versions in the future.

Lastly, a bunch of original Nintendo Switch games will require the use of that console's Joy-Con controllers, and presumably won't be compatible with the Joy-Con 2. These are as follows:

• Ring Fit Adventure
• 1-2 Switch
• Everybody 1-2 Switch!
• Game Builder Garage
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• WarioWare: Move It!
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 02: Robot Kit
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit

So far, Nintendo has tested well over 15,000 Nintendo Switch games for Nintendo Switch 2. The vast majority, around 99% of Nintendo games and 65% of third-party games, have no compatibility issues.

For everything else, the issues are at least being investigated by Nintendo, and it should be fair to expect most Switch 1 games to work just fine on Switch 2 by the end of 2025.

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• Anthropic is rolling out a new voice mode for its AI chatbot Claude
• You can use it to search Google Calendar and Gmail on a paid plan
• Voice mode will also be available on the free tier, but with usage limitations

Claude, the popular AI chatbot from Anthropic, is rolling out a voice mode to all its mobile app users. Whilst still in beta, the new voice mode will be in English and accessible for users on all current plans, including the free plan.

Voice mode with Claude works just like voice mode in Gemini or ChatGPT. In fact, you tap on an icon that looks pretty much identical to the Gemini Live icon to activate it.

Once voice mode is activated, you just start talking to Claude to hear its voice responses. As it talks, it displays its key points on screen, which enables you to seamlessly switch between text and voice within the same conversation.

You get five different Claude voices to choose from, according to the Claude voice mode documentation, and you can change between them at any time by simply going to Settings, then Voice Preferences.

Hey Claude

You can get a preview of how voice mode will work in Claude thanks to a handy video Anthropic has posted on X.com:

We're rolling out voice mode in beta on mobile.Try starting a voice conversation and asking Claude to summarize your calendar or search your docs. pic.twitter.com/xVo5VHiCEbMay 27, 2025

The video demonstrates how, by simply talking to Claude (even while brushing your teeth) you can get the AI to check your calendar, search through your Gmail inbox or Google Drive, and even draft an email for you.

This kind of ability moves Claude firmly into the role of a digital assistant however it’s worth noting that Gmail and Google Calendar integrations are only available on Claude’s paid plans, which start at $20 (around £16 / AU$32)for a Pro account, and go up to $200 (around £148 / AU$311) a month for Max 20x.

Usage limits

You don’t get unlimited access to voice conversations in Claude. Each conversation counts towards your regular usage limits based on your subscription plan.

Free users of Claude can expect approximately 20-30 voice messages before reaching session limits, while paid plans have significantly higher limits.

Voice mode is a timely upgrade to Claude, which was lagging behind its rivals, ChatGPT and Gemini, by not providing a voice mode. Anthropic has also just updated Claude's LLM to Claude Opus 4.0 and Claude Sonnet 4.0. Opus 4.0 is a powerful AI model that excels at coding, while Sonnet is a lightweight model designed for regular use and a big improvement on the previous Sonnet 3.7 model.

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• Lilo and Stitch fans are raging about the changes made to the story's ending
• The live-action remake's final scene is completely different from the animated classic
• Viewers are heading to Disney+ to watch the original movie and its sequels amid the controversy

Disney's live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch might be breaking records at the global box office, but it's also breaking long-time fans' hearts over the unnecessary change to the story's ending.

Following its release last Friday (May 23), one of 2025's most anticipated new movies set a new record for the largest four-day Memorial Day weekend in the US. Indeed, according to an official press release from The Walt Disney Company, Lilo and Stitch's reimagining earned over $182 million stateside and $361 million worldwide across its opening weekend.

It's not all good news for the rambunctious but lovable blue alien and his Hawaiian counterpart, though. Despite also earning a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, some viewers have hit out at Disney for altering the film's final scene – a creative decision that's infuriated some who adored the 2002 animated original.

Full spoilers immediately follow for 2002 and 2025's Lilo and Stitch.

"Ohana means family", unless your sister wants to pursue her own career on the other side of the US (Image credit: Disney)

In the original, the film ends with Stitch remaining on Earth with Lilo and her older sister Nani. That's because, according to an adoption form that the pair signed at an animal shelter that was housing Lilo (he was presumed to be a dog at the time), Nani and Lilo legally own him.

However, the live-action remake upends that heart-warming ending. Instead of staying with Stitch and her younger sibling and rebuilding their family home, Nani heads off to the University of California to study marine biology. Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch are taken in by David and Tutu, with the latter duo becoming the former pair's guardians.

Why has this alteration enraged fans? Because, in some viewers' eyes, Lilo and Stitch's most recognizable line of dialogue – "Ohana means family" – and, by proxy, the film's primary theme, is completely ruined by the fact that Nani leaves her sister and Stitch behind to study on the other side of North America.

Indeed, numerous irked fans have taken to Reddit to express their frustration and exasperation over the unwelcome change. "I’m happy Nani got her ending," Parmesan_Pirate119 wrote, "But it felt forced and untrue to the original spirit of the film."

Comment from r/disney

"This was not a Lilo & Stitch story, this was a Nani story," an annoyed TownIdiot25 said. "And, as a Nani story, I don’t like how they completely changed the ending when it comes to the guardianship-of-Lilo situation."

"In the end, they actually have Nani give Lilo up to the neighbors (...though nani gives lilo up to state first) and go to college instead, which feels completely wrong and out of character," spider-man2401 added. The most frustrated reaction that I've seen, though, comes from noakai, who wrote: "Nani agreeing to give custody of Lilo to the state and then Lilo going to live with other people so Nani could go to California for college is so amazingly stupid I can't believe they went with it."

This quartet is a mere snapshot of fans vexed by the change, but there are some who have defended the remake's final sequence. For example, MrChiquitaBananaRN said: "The ending will be the big divide – Ohana IS family, but Ohana is also found family (i.e. Stitch). So, Lilo telling Nani to 'go to the marines' and Nani actually doing it, while Lilo has her new support system there, I think it works."

2002's Lilo and Stitch movie is the most popular film on Disney+ in the US and UK right now (Image credit: Disney+)

Regardless of what people think of Lilo and Stitch's modified ending, there's one unmistakable positive impact that the remake has had: it's caused an uptick in the number of people watching the original and its sequels on Disney+.

Indeed, in the UK, viewers have flocked to one of the world's best streaming services to watch the 2002 animated movie and its sibling films. At the time of publication, Lilo and Stitch is the number one movie on Disney+ UK, with Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch placing at number two. Stitch! The Movie and Leroy and Stitch find themselves at numbers five and six, respectively.

It's a similar story in the US, with Lilo and Stitch sitting atop of the most-streamed movies list and Stitch! The Movie ranked at number two. Leroy and Stitch is in fifth position, too.

Will these flicks have staying power on Disney+? Probably not. They've likely seen a surge in viewership off the back of the remake's release and the controversy surrounding its ending. Nevertheless, it's interesting to see how well these animated films are performing on Disney's primary streamer. Maybe 2002's Lilo and Stitch deserves a spot on our best Disney+ movies list!

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Todd and Julie Chrisley, who rose to fame in a reality show highlighting their lavish lifestyle, had been serving yearslong prison sentences after 2022 convictions on bank and tax fraud offenses.

(Image credit: Jordan Strauss)

With Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware has created the definitive blueprint of how to use the parts of an existing game to craft an entirely different experience. In doing so, the developer has built a refreshingly freeing and flexible co-op experience that draws upon Elden Ring’s best bits while continuing to innovate and push FromSoftware into new territory, even if the matchmaking and co-op still feel partially stuck in the past.

Review information

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: May 30, 2025

FromSoftware has always reused aspects of its previous games for new IPs or titles. For example, Bloodborne and Dark Souls animations can be found in Elden Ring, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice bosses like the Blazing Bull were given a new paint job in Elden Ring to create the Fallingstar Beast. It’s a smart, efficient way to constantly generate new content and worlds without having to redo a bunch of work.

But here, the studio goes one step further and uses Elden Ring’s bones to craft a game in an entirely new genre, resulting in a clever roguelike with a lot more going on than first meets the eye. On top of that, unsurprisingly, Elden Ring Nightreign is an incredibly fun and addictive combat experience on par with FromSoftware’s other work.

A convergence of worlds

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Set in an alternate timeline from the main lore of Elden Ring, in Nightreign, you play as one of eight Nightfarers. These are mysterious characters with their own combat specialisms that act as classes. They have been summoned to the land of Limveld and the Roundtable Hold. Upon meeting a mysterious hooded maiden, you are urged to survive three days in Limveld and defeat the Nightlord who appears on the third day. Fail and you begin your journey in Limveld again from the beginning of your first day.

During each day, you will drop into a random spot in Limveld and explore the map, gearing up as a ring of rain called The Night’s Tide closes in on you from all directions. Upon exploring during a 45-minute run, you will come across an assortment of castles, outposts, camps, and landmarks from Elden Ring that are filled with randomized enemies, loot, items, consumables, and, most importantly, bosses from the base game and even some of the older Dark Souls titles.

You can also find nods to other FromSoftware games, whether it be a character’s ability that resembles a Bloodborne weapon or reference to a beloved Souls NPC.

Despite seeing bosses and references from old games pop up, they never felt like eye-rolling fan-service moments. It was actually fascinating to see how these challenges from older games have been updated to keep up with Elden Ring’s combat, and there are compelling lore tidbits hidden away in the game that hint at what has caused these many worlds to collide and why these Nightfarers have been brought together.

Learning the lay of the land

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

While it takes a few runs through Limveld to attune to the game’s faster pace and freeform structure, by the time I tackled my first Nightlord, I was already addicted to the captivating concoction FromSoftware had cooked up.

Instead of a guiding path pulling you and your friends from location to location, Nightreign is all about learning how to make the most of each day in Limveld. Whether that is running from boss to boss at each landmark to stock up on Runes and upgrades to obtain new weapons or level up, exploring caves to find smithing stones to enhance your armaments, or traversing the map to find extra healing flasks to improve your survivability.

Best bit

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Finally defeating the Darkdrift Knight after several attempts, only succeeding because my rapier dealt rot damage and slowly ticked down his health as we all dodged attacks with low health and no healing flasks left. The Darkdrift Knight is the hardest fight in the game, I think, and the satisfaction, rush, and relief at finally beating it was immense.

It is very easy to think Nightreign is a brainless boss rush, combat sandbox at first glance, but it is actually a considered roguelite that focuses on map knowledge, where to find the best loot, and when it is best to adjust strategies in a similar way to a battle royale or extraction game. The satisfaction of doing this also reminds me a lot of the best puzzle games like Return of the Obra Dinn or Blue Prince, where you finally decipher how a mechanic works or uncover a clue.

Learning the map and how to optimize my runs through Limveld was one of the most satisfying parts of Nightreign. It is not something I expected to be as vital as it is, but through talking with others in voice chat, sharing findings from our own individual runs, and combining ideas, we eventually found buried strategies.

Examples include figuring out how to max out our level or discovering how to obtain the most legendary weapons in a run to increase our chances of defeating the Nightlords. This sense of player discovery and word-of-mouth knowledge that was rife throughout Elden Ring’s launch is just as potent here in Nightreign, and it’s part of the magic that makes it work, especially if you are able to play with a large group of friends or Discord server.

The same goes for the game’s overarching progression, which revolves around randomized relics you unlock at the end of runs through Limveld. Three of these can be equipped before each run on each character in the Roundtable Hold and unlock small buffs like extra elemental damage, or bigger Nightfarer bonuses like enhancing Nightfarer abilities or allowing you to share the healing from your healing flasks with your co-op partners - giving you triple the healing if standing near each other.

I heard about abilities on these that I never saw from other people while playing during the review period, and the flexibility of Elden Ring’s many levelling systems, elemental damage types, weapons, and the Nightfarers themselves open up the possibility for hundreds, if not thousands, of build combinations and optimizations.

Play your way

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Nightreign is about doing as much as you can with the little time you have, rewarding players who stick together and melt bosses in seconds. It encourages teams to combine abilities and attacks to stun foes quickly, while communicating to ensure they are all on the same page.

This makes it an incredibly hard game to play alone (which is an option that is available). While it can be done, the game’s enemy scaling and progression rewards teams that can complete as many objectives as possible, which just isn’t easy to do on your own.

I could spend ages talking at length about the Nightlords themselves, but in reality, fans already know what to expect, and the actual structure and systems in Nightreign are far more innovative. Even still, these Nightfarer fights are incredible spectacles, and some of the best FromSoftware has made. They are brimming with difficult moves to master and a combination of abilities and forms to learn, all set against an impressive, bombastic orchestral soundtrack for each one. FromSoftware simply doesn’t miss when it comes to combat and enemy design, and Nightreign is no different.

One area FromSoftware could have fumbled is the Nightfarers. While they could have felt like cheap forced classes, they are actually really flexible and well-rounded archetypes, with abilities that have a variety of uses. For starters, every Nightfarer can use any weapon or item. If you want to play the katana-wielding, parry-centric Executor with a dagger, you can, even though you won’t be as effective as you would be with a katana.

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

This means you can craft your build on the fly and you never feel locked into a certain playstyle, allowing you to adapt during your run through Limveld. Bows don’t have ammo, and weight isn’t factored in either, which gives the game’s combat a brisk speed and pace that isn’t found in Elden Ring. It also removes a lot of the barriers to enjoying the game’s wide variety of weapon types, as you can basically pick up anything and begin using it right away. Yes, they actually made ranged combat and magic fun here.

On top of that, the ability kits for each Nightfarer are multi-faceted with several uses that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, Ironeye, the archer, can use his Single Shot ultimate ability to fire a huge supersonic arrow. That arrow can be used to stun larger bosses, wipe out hordes of mobs, and also revive teammates instantly if they are downed. Not only can it do those things individually, but you can also do all three at once with a well-placed shot, and it has saved my team’s run many times.

Each character and their abilities can be used in many ways to deal damage and also support your party and discovering how to utilise them in new ways is just as satisfying as discovering Limveld itself. You can also easily use three of one Nightfarer or any combination and succeed, removing even more barriers, as you don’t need any particular Nightfarer to come out victorious (even if some of them have stronger abilities than others).

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Some major barriers to Nightreign, however, do emerge after a few hours. Because so much of Nightreign comes from Elden Ring, it is imperative that you have that existing knowledge to enjoy what Nightreign is offering. You can’t sit and try to fight the Golden Hippopotamus again and again to learn its attacks, because the next time you run through Limveld, it could be in a different location or not spawn at all.

The same goes for the Nightlords. You can’t just skip to the third day and practice them over and over, you need to complete a full 45-minute run through Limveld to reach them again, which is taxing. So, you need to be familiar with Elden Ring’s combat and have completed both the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion because of the difficulty of some of those Nightlords.

While returning players will be able to pick things up after a few runs, it feels like Nightreign is built for the hardcore Soulslike players and addicts who have memorised every attack pattern in Elden Ring and across FromSoftware’s pantheon of titles.

Another key issue at the time of this review is the matchmaking and lack of crossplay. During the pre-release period, we had issues creating lobbies using passwords where matchmaking would fail or simply not put players together when we all tried to matchmake with the same password set. Nightreign definitely retains some of the dated multiplayer quirks of FromSoftware’s other games.

It is also unforgivable in my eye that in the year 2025 Nightreign doesn’t have crossplay, and because of the demanding nature of the game and the reliance on communication, I simply do not see how you can complete any of the Nightlord bosses reliably, especially the tougher ones, without friends whom you know and people you can talk to. I don’t necessarily think this is a straight-up weakness of the game, but it's a huge condition attached to the game that will prevent a lot of people from seeing everything it has to offer.

Should I play Elden Ring Nightreign?

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)Play it if...

You are an Elden Ring veteran with a lot of experience with FromSoftware’s other games
Nightreign is built on Elden Ring’s foundations, and the roguelike nature rewards those who have already memorised existing bosses and are familiar with the franchise’s combat.

You have a group of friends whom you can rely on and play with consistently
Trying to play Nightreign solo is not a fun time initially, and remains a challenge even for experienced players. The game is built for 3-player co-op, and you need to be able to strategize and talk to your teammates to assist each other and optimize your builds.

Don't play it if...

You don’t have any experience with Elden Ring or other soulslikes
Nightreign is not a game you can use to introduce yourself to FromSoftware’s behemoth world, especially if you want an experience you can enjoy at your own pace, as the game is focused on time-limited, fast-paced 45-minute runs through the world.

Accessibility

Elden Ring Nightreign offers limited accessibility options. There are basic speed adjustments for the camera and aiming with ranged weapons. There are no difficulty settings, and the game is best played in a co-op party of three, where you can communicate, which may not be possible for everyone.

There is also no subtitle customization or HUD alteration options, and there are no specialist options for those with eyesight or hearing issues. While you can rebind some controls on console, you cannot rebind every button, potentially preventing some people from playing on custom controllers.

How I reviewed Elden Ring Nightreign

I played Elden Ring Nightreign for 30 hours, completing all of the game’s Nightlord bosses and experiencing most of the world and map events available. I played the game entirely in performance mode on PS5 with a DualSense Edge controller on a Gigabyte M28U gaming monitor and using SteelSeries Arena 3 computer speakers.

This review was conducted in an environment where I was able to team up with other creators and journalists reviewing the game to play with them and complete the game’s various challenges.

First reviewed May 2025

The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, with new threats and solutions appearing every day. But the rate of change in the past two years, intensified by the mass implementation of AI, has seen meteoric growth in the number of cyber-attacks. Unfortunately for businesses and their IT security teams, AI-driven attacks are becoming more sophisticated, and businesses must rethink their security strategies to stay resilient in the face of changing cyber threats.

Accelerating security and networking enhancements will continue to take center stage for UK organizations in 2025, but added complexity can slow enterprises down. Adding simplicity as a key vector for networking and security posture optimization is key to successful, secure connectivity strategies for the year ahead.

The growing threat of AI-powered attacks

In today’s threat landscape, cybercriminals are leveraging artificial intelligence to orchestrate attacks with unprecedented speed and accuracy. AI’s capability to identify vulnerabilities, craft hyper-realistic phishing scams, and execute complex malware campaigns is increasing the difficulty of threat detection and mitigation. One of the most concerning trends is the rise of “deep phishing” attacks, where AI-generated deepfake content is used to impersonate trusted individuals and deceive employees into revealing sensitive information.

Cyber breaches are already a top concern for organizations, downtime prevention and data protection taking center stage, but what is more unsettling is not being aware when a breach occurs. The longer an attacker remains in the system - intruder dwell times can range from several weeks to months and even over a year - the more costly and damaging these “silent breaches” become. Being unable to identify when a breach took place means that restoring systems to a safe version is much harder.

To counteract these risks, organizations need to deploy security tools capable of recognizing behavioral anomalies and responding in real time to potential breaches.

AI cyber defense - the other side of the cybersecurity coin

As the advent of AI presents new security challenges, it also offers us the tools to strengthen cyber defenses. AI-based networking assistants and correlation engines are gaining traction, providing advanced capabilities in real-time threat detection and response.

The potential for human-supported with various degrees of AI autonomy for secure networking deployments is being explored, which could change how enterprises approach security and networking. By leaning into AI-led penetration testing, automated vulnerability mitigation, and self-healing network infrastructure AI is revolutionizing security strategies.

With intuitive AI tools, security teams can gain deeper insights into vulnerabilities and rapidly address potential threats. This will be particularly crucial as UK businesses face a growing cybersecurity skills gap, requiring intelligent automation to bridge expertise shortages and upskill quickly. In 2025, we will see more businesses will turn to AI-driven security intelligence tools that allow teams to query complex security data using natural language interfaces.

The democratization of security intelligence through intuitive AI tools will empower non-experts to play an active role in cyber threat mitigation. This shift will be instrumental in fostering a culture of shared responsibility between IT and security teams, enhancing collaboration and improving overall security outcomes.

The shift from prevention to incident response

While traditional security strategies have focused on threat prevention, 2025 will also see a distinct shift towards rapid incident response. Companies will do well to prioritize detecting and containing breaches to augment preventive measures, increasingly allocating budget resources to solutions that enable swift incident identification and response.

This shift reflects an understanding that breaches cannot always be prevented, and in reality, should be expected. Instead, mitigating their impact through rapid detection and containment will be the key to minimizing damage.

One development that is representing this shift is the adoption of self-healing security systems. These AI-powered systems can autonomously detect, analyze, and respond to threats, significantly reducing response times and mitigating damage.

Indeed, using machine learning, self-healing networks can dynamically adjust a company’s cybersecurity measures based on real-time risk assessments. This self-healing security will be a game-changer, as automated incident response will enable businesses to bolster their security teams and protect their assets. AI and human partnerships can help businesses strengthen their overall resilience when facing a cyber-attack.

So, what’s next for businesses navigating the threat landscape?

As cyber threats become more advanced, businesses must embrace a holistic approach to security, that can introduce simplicity for observability, control, management and response. Consolidating cyber defense, network and data management, and operational resilience into a single, integrated platform will help organizations navigate the increasingly turbulent threat landscape efficiently.

This access to and complete visibility over these systems and tools means that teams can identify risks and opportunities as a passive activity, and invest time into value-driving initiatives, as opposed to combing through multiple applications for status updates.

Ultimately, 2025 will be the year where more AI-driven corporate security strategies move from theory to practice. Organizations that proactively adapt to these emerging trends will be better equipped to withstand the ever-evolving challenges of the digital age. For businesses, staying ahead of the curve will require embracing automation, strengthening incident response capabilities, and continuing to hold security as an organizational priority.

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• Security researchers spot new campaign targeting Docker instances
• The attack deploys a cloud crypto miner, and a worm for further propagation
• The miner generates the Dero currency

Hackers are building a botnet out of misconfigured Docker API instances and using it to mine the Dero cryptocurrency, experts have warned.

Security researchers from Kaspersky reported finding a “container zombie outbreak” that started with an exposed Docker API.

“This led to the running containers being compromised and new ones being created not only to hijack the victim’s resources for cryptocurrency mining but also to launch external attacks to propagate to other networks,” they explained.

Negotiations ongoing?

In this zombie outbreak, the “patient zero” is a misconfigured API that’s left open to the internet. There, the attackers deploy a piece of malware disguised as ‘nginx’, a high-performance, open-source web server and reverse proxy server.

The malware scans for vulnerable instances and infects them, and then creates new malicious containers and forces existing ones to mine Dero. At the same time, it continues to spread to other systems.

This is a two-step process, Kaspersky explains. Nginx is the propagation tool that scans for new victims, with the miner being a cloud-based solution. Both components are written in Golang, which makes them rather difficult to detect.

Kaspersky also says that unlike traditional cryptojacking campaigns, this one doesn’t rely on a command & control (C2) server, but instead spreads autonomously, like a worm.

Users running Docker should check their API settings, and make sure it’s not exposed to the internet. Furthermore, they should fortify their login credentials, and perform regular security audits and monitoring.

While cybercriminals usually hijack servers to mine Monero with the XMRig, this is not the first time researchers spotted Dero. According to The Hacker News, CrowdStrike saw Kubernetes clusters being targeted back in March 2023, and a subsequent iteration of the same campaign was spotted by Wiz in June 2024.

Similar to Monero, Dero is also a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain, built to support decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

Via The Hacker News

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The AI race is accelerating, with tech giants announcing multi-billion-dollar investments to supercharge computing power and infrastructure. From headline making supercomputer projects to record-setting data center expansions, the scale of ambition is unmatched.

This surge, supported by billions in investment from governments and corporations, has extended from advanced chipmaking to the expansion of high-powered data centers. The AI market has tripled in size over the past year alone and is expected to quadruple again by 2030.

Yet alongside the opportunity lies a growing complexity. AI brings with it a new wave of environmental, ethical, and operational challenges that organizations, particularly their boards, must confront with urgency. While the excitement around AI often focuses on what it can do, there is an equally critical question being: is it being done responsibly?

Board visibility and decision-making are becoming ever more important to navigate the opportunities and challenges.

But the challenge of keeping pace with AI’s rapid evolution while sustaining progress on long-term sustainability goals remains. Addressing this requires a governance approach that is both agile and strategic, capable of enabling quick decisions, without compromising ethical considerations. One that requires stronger alignment between technology, ESG targets, and long-term value creation.

AI – both part of the problem and the solution

AI is already testing the boundaries of many companies’ ESG strategies. We’ve already seen big corporations like the famous GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft) struggling to manage the environmental impact of AI expansion, with some AI investments consuming millions of liters of water or gigawatts of power.

That said, organizations are also exploring how AI can actively support in reducing emissions through the additional capabilities it brings to the table.

Optimizing energy & asset utilization in data centers through AI driven workload and capacity distribution is one of the promising use cases AI bring to the table.

Greater visibility on current status and data-driven insights on sustainability projects with direct prioritization based on ROI and impact, is another one. For example, conversational AI tools designed to help business leaders see and interact with their energy and sustainability data. Tools like this allow companies to ask natural language questions about their energy use and sustainability projects, instantly generating prioritized recommendations to maximize carbon reduction and financial return.

These initiatives, among others, show that while AI presents new sustainability challenges, it can also be part of the solution. The central question for companies of all sizes is how to understand how AI can apply to their business model and operating models in a way that bring tangible business value, but also how that usage is meaningful with regards to the resource consumed for it, which are not yet part of the economic equation of AI business models for the time being, without losing eye on the longer term implications of AI.

Indeed, responsibly embracing its potential without compromising environmental targets or stakeholder trust is key. Maximizing it’s impact on workforce future proofing & ethical usage with regards to customers are others aspects to look into.

Boards have a central role to play in this balancing act. As stewards of long-term strategy, they are uniquely positioned to oversee the development of frameworks that can mitigate AI’s risks- while unlocking its potential to support sustainability goals.

However, this requires foresight, subject matter expertise, and adaptability to the sheer speed of evolution we see in the AI space, and hence an updated and adapted governance structures that is adapted to the pace of change.

Evolving board structures for effective AI Oversight

To manage AI’s risks and opportunities effectively, organizations need to evolve their own internal governance structures. One way companies are doing this is by including dedicated AI or technology oversight committees. These may be supported by panels of external advisors, futurists, ethicists, data scientists who help translate emerging risks into actionable insight.

Equally important is the distribution of responsibility across the board, ensuring that AI oversight doesn’t rest with a single function or team. Adapted executive compensation and well defined leading and lagging KPIs, tied to the outcomes and progress sought after are a good way to ensure the above.

Education is also a critical enabler here. Many board members (but also executives!) today are not technologists, and that’s entirely reasonable. However, in the context of AI’s growing influence on strategy, risk, and reputation, a baseline understanding of its capabilities and implications is now essential. Ongoing board & executive education, training programs, and engagement with research institutions or industry conferences will help bridge this gap and ensure AI oversight is both informed and effective, beyond the current hype seen in the market.

Another practical mechanism for improving oversight is the use of real-time metrics. Much like ESG dashboards that track emissions or water usage, similar systems should be developed for AI-related performance, ethics, and environmental impact. These tools can give board members a clearer view of how AI is evolving inside the business, whether it’s aligning with sustainability commitments or where interventions may be needed.

Empowering the ecosystem

Importantly, boards must also consider how AI’s effects ripple through their entire value chain, especially for large corporations aiming to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

Be it the need for resources the investment in AI will require; to the issues (including Sustainability related ones) companies will be enabled to solve with AI tools. Implications certainly do not limit themselves to the very company’s very own operations but go across. In this context, a company’s business ecosystem is a strategic resource giving access to expertise, applied knowledge, access to markets and customers, as well a common drive for mutual success, and should not be overlooked, but rather engaged and if possible embedded when making plans in order to reach objectives.

Building transparent, structured frameworks that boards & executives can look to when shaping responsible AI strategies inclusive of the whole value chain will help maximize outcomes and turn sustainability and AI from siloed priorities into shared ecosystem goals that can drive impact at scale.

Future proofing governance

In the end, the challenges AI presents are significant, and hence need to be anticipated for financial returns and impact maximization. The key lies in understanding the speed and scale at which technology evolves and responding with governance that is equally adaptive, in term of knowledge (or access to it), access to data and insights, and with strong frameworks to maximize value and mitigate risks across the value chain, with strong translation mechanisms into the business operations, including through executive compensation mechanisms.

Whether through dedicated oversight committees, external advisory panels, real-time performance dashboards, companies have the tools to lead responsibly. Boards that embrace this moment, investing in education, fostering cross-functional agility, and embedding sustainability at all levels-will be better positioned to harness AI for long-term impact, not just for short-term gains.

As we look to the future, one thing is clear: effective AI governance is no longer optional. It is a fundamental requirement for preserving stakeholder trust, delivering on climate commitments, and ensuring that innovation serves the business together with people and the planet.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro