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Robotics company 1X recently revealed its NEO Gamma robot, a humanoid clothed in soft 3D-printed nylon fabric and designed for use in the home.

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• Asus is making a Fragrance Mouse with an essential oil compartment
• No pricing has been announced, but it’s expected in April or May
• Asus last year announced a laptop with a scent dispenser

If you’ve ever wanted to improve the aroma of your workspace, Asus could have the answer: it’s working on a wireless computer mouse with a refillable fragrance compartment.

The idea is that you’ll fill the perfumed peripheral with an aromatherapy oil of your choice. As you use the mouse, it will passively scent your desktop.

Not an early April Fools’ joke – in fact, it's really quite a genius idea – the MD101 is very real and very much in development. Asus hasn’t confirmed pricing or a release date, but a company spokesperson has been quoted by The Verge as saying that the mouse will hit US shelves in “late April, early May.”

It follows last year’s announcement of the Asus Adol Book 14, a laptop with a built-in fragrance dispenser. Whether other Asus product lines are due to receive a scented upgrade remains to be seen, the company did also recently announce three new air-purifying monitors – so it's very much into the idea of melding homeware with computing tech. And we reckon it's onto something.

The scent of a good idea

(Image credit: Asus)

When choosing one of the best computer mice, most users go for physical ergonomics over the smell of a given model. Yet there could be an argument for scented accessories.

While oils can naturally give your workspace a nicer aroma, they could also have soothing benefits for different health conditions. Many people find aromatherapy oils soothing for headaches and stress, for example.

There’s an argument, then, that the olfactory characteristics of accessories do have a role to play in making workspaces more ergonomic. That certainly seems to be what Asus is suggesting with the MD101. How many people will buy into that thinking is another matter.

It’s worth noting that 100% pure essential oils can’t be used with the Fragrance Mouse. In the small (smell?) print of the product listing, Asus instructs users to only fill the vial with “essential oils for reed diffusers, ultrasonic diffusers, and aroma stones.” While that means you can’t mix up your own blend of pure essential oils, it still gives you plenty of scents to choose from.

(Image credit: Asus)

Unlike powered diffusers, it seems the MD101 won’t actively distribute whatever oil you choose to fill it with. Instead, it appears to be a passive diffuser. While this approach will be beneficial for battery life, only real-world testing will determine how effective the mouse actually is at scenting an area.

Besides the refillable vial, the Fragrance Mouse MD101 is otherwise a pretty standard wireless mouse. Available in Iridescent White or Rose Clay finishes, it can connect to Windows, macOS and Chromebook devices via Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wireless. DPI is adjustable up to 2400, while PTFE feet promise to glide easy on different surfaces.

A single AA battery is expected to deliver up to a year of usage, although that may vary depending on how much you make use of the MD101’s “delicate underglow lighting”. Together with the fragrance compartment, Asus reckons it will add “a dash of elegance” to your work surface.

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• Dummy units for four iPhone 17 models appear
• The Pro and Pro Max are set for a noticeable redesign
• Apple is also tipped to launch an iPhone 17 Air

The pace is starting to pick up when it comes to iPhone 17 leaks and rumors, and some new images of dummy units for all four expected models have now found their way online, giving us a detailed look at the various designs Apple has been working on.

These pictures come courtesy of well-known tipster @SonnyDickson, and cover the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max – which we've heard may in fact be called the iPhone 17 Ultra.

Dummy units often appear ahead of phone launches: they're based on schematics sourced from the supply chain, and they help manufacturers producing cases and other accessories to get their wares ready in time for the actual launch day.

That means these are just metal blocks – there are no electronics inside them, and we can't take a look at the phones in action, but we can see the sizes and the contours of the handsets that are due to make their actual debut in September.

Four models expected

Here’s your first look at the iPhone 17 dummies, Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/WnOjD71IbaMarch 16, 2025

The iPhone 17 seems to be the only one of these phones to not get a noticeable redesign: it's going to look a lot like the iPhone 16, based on this leak and previous ones we've seen. The other models, however, are apparently getting raised camera bumps on the back.

These bumps are the biggest on the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, as these handsets are set to have the most cameras. The Pixel-style camera bar could be made from a different material or come in a different color, as per earlier rumors.

Then there's the iPhone 17 Air, which is said to be replacing the iPhone 16 Plus. We can see the camera bump on this model too, as well as how thin it is compared to the other three handsets – some leaks suggest it's as thin as 5.5 mm, front to back.

We're going to have to wait another six months for all of this to be confirmed of course, but we've now seen a substantial number of leaks showing off this same design. No doubt more details are going to emerge ahead of launch day.

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Money no object

We love to give practical buying advice on the latest gadgets here at TechRadar. But sometimes what we love even more is to indulge in the most high-end, cutting-edge, luxurious tech on the planet. That's what we bring you in our Money No Object columns – you can find the whole series here.

In case you missed the news, a quick recap: back in mid January, the gloriously oddball Portland Oregon IEM specialist Campfire Audio and Alessandro Cortini – oh yes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inductee and celebrated Nine Inch Nails synth player/guitarist/bassist – announced an in-ear monitor collaboration called Clara. And the story goes that it was actually Cortini humbly sniffing around Ken Ball's Campfire, if you will, not the other way around.

I still don't know how it happened (and look, this isn't the place to get into that) but I got hold of a pair. And reader, I put them in my ears. I am not about to bite the hand that feeds…

(Image credit: Future)

This is not to be considered a full review – you'll note the lack of a star-rating at the top of this missive. But you should note that I have tested many, many in-ear monitors over the years (including most of the best wired earbuds on the market), and listening to Nine Inch Nails with Campfire-and-Cortini's Clara was a rare joy indeed.

My listening session included reference Flac files stored on my trusty FiiO M23; downloaded Apple Music tracks on my lowly old iPhone 12 Pro via the superb iFi hip dac 3 (this CA x AC collab arrives with a USB-C to Lightning adapter and a Pilot 3.5mm to USB-C DAC/dongle, plus Campfire's 3.5mm and 4.4mm 'Time Stream Duet' cables, so practically all portable sources are on the menu), and the Astell & Kern HC4 to my MacBook Pro, streaming Tidal's hi-res output.

All I ask is that if you're using your smartphone as a source, please, please hardwire these in-ears to a good digital-to-analog-converter – and by that I mean one of the best portable DACs. Because given the highest resolution you (and your wallet) can muster, CA's Clara IEMs will have at it, pull it apart, separate it, emphatically not violate or desecrate it, and bring it closer to God.

Let me be abundantly clear: if you've never heard Nine Inch Nails (or in fact any layered, heavier track) in hi-res audio or on a decent high-res portable player, and you're a fan, I really hope you get the opportunity to at least try these in-ear monitors.

(Image credit: Future) We're in this together… 

Deep breath everyone: Campfire Audio's Clara IEMs are available now, as I type, priced at $1,999 / £1,999 (around AU$3,900). So nearly two grand – yes, with a capital G. And I think they're worth every last cent. If you cannot get your head around that right now, it's okay. But I'd like you to try…

Aside from being some of the most stunning-looking in-ear monitors I've seen in some time – think ice cubes permeated with a deep-blue melancholy – the pre-fitted Comply memory foam tips slip into my ears happily to allow the ergonomic driver housing to hug my concha. The cable also snakes neatly around my auricle as if its sole desire is to be there, and that's highly unusual for my smaller ears. Often, fitting IEMs is an issue for me, the kind of thing I wouldn't do in a rush but worth it once I get it right. That's simply not the case here; these earpieces are spot on.

I've written countless words on this Portland Oregon IEM maker's output since I became a full-time audio journalist in 2018, (see my considered thoughts on the Trifecta, Fathom, excellent Solaris Stellar Horizon, and Moon Rover) but the Clara have stolen the spot on heavy rotation I'd previously assigned to the Solaris Stellar Horizon. Why? Because for me, Campfire Audio x Alessandro Cortini – specifically Ken Ball on design and production; Cortini on headshell and overall sonic profile – is the perfect drug.

(Image credit: Future) No, you can't take it

I cue up Head Like a Hole, because if you can convince me Cortini did anything other than tune Clara using tracks on which he's played synth, guitars, keys and bass live, I'll give up (and perhaps head into the void). The percussion, drum kicks and samples over in my right ear reveal themselves like sonic artifacts in cut-glass jars, each ready for my approval – but only if I've fully appreciated the previous article, intake of breath, or frequency.

Even if I didn't know it beforehand, listening to the IEMs Cortini has put his name to emphatically confirms that he'd already mastered various axes before joining NIN in the mid noughties. Cortini never lets anything go awry. Keys are human, brought deftly to the front of my cerebral cortex; guitars remain resolutely held in check but with miles of space to expand; a hardcore industrial inky bass underpins the whole. The band's more ambient or purely instrumental soundscapes (A Warm Place; The Persistence of Loss) call to mind the silky layers one sees in French pastry lamination.

(Image credit: Future)

The brooding With Teeth intro slithers from my left to right ear. A guitar arrives somewhere above my left collarbone. It moves to my right ear and ultimately back again, of course. It always does. But this time I hear how slowly it snakes over; I notice an overlap I'd not detected before, as if I've just glanced at it anew.

I also listened to a treasured Cortini collaboration with Daniel Avery, (one I was lucky enough to hear at L-Acoustics in London), Illusion of Time, and seldom have I heard a set of in-ears so eager to open out and celebrate the delightfully dark and pensive detail in these tracks. A set of headphones rarely reveals fresh elements within much-thumbed albums for me any more. But it happened here.

(Image credit: Future)

What else should you know? The cable is flat in design, noise-free, and certainly will not tangle. Oh, the accessories! Yes, there's plenty to get through. You get a hard case, a folding leather pouch with a carabiner to clip it to things (it's marginally smaller than the one I got with the Solaris Stellar Horizon, but still), a mesh zipper bag, and a two-pocket IEM pouch for just the headshells. Then, there's a microfiber cleaning cloth, assorted eartips (foam, silicone, Final Type-E) and a little IEM cleaning tool.

(Image credit: Future)

Underneath it all is the latest version of Campfire’s dual-magnet dynamic driver, an advanced dual-diaphragm balanced armature driver for mids, and Campfire’s signature dual super-tweeters with proprietary Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (TAEC) tech. And I have no complaints about their integration.

In fact, I've yet to detect a significant flaw in the dynamic rise and fall, healthy low end, sparkling treble or stone-cold sonic precision that Campfire Audio and Cortini have achieved here for the money. You could even say that when Campfire agreed to send me a set, I had to try… and I came back haunted.

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• EIZO FlexScan FLT is first-ever monitor with a Class A European Energy Label ranking
• 95% recycled plastic housing ensures reduced waste and resource conservation
• USB Type-C enables single cable for power, video, and data transmission

EIZO has unveiled what may be the world’s most power-efficient portable monitor, the 23.6-inch, 1080p, Eizo FlexScan FLT Monitor.

With its monitor consuming only 6W of power (less than that used by an average light bulb), and in housing constructed from 95% recycled plastic, EIZO has gone a step further in promoting sustainability, and has been awarded a Class A European Energy Label ranking.

At 2.4 kg, it's one of the largest portable monitors available, and the frameless design, powered by a USB Type-C connection, eliminates the need for bulky AC adapters.

A new era of energy conservation?

Using a single-cable solution for video, data transmission, and power, the Flexscan FLT delivers up to 60 watts of power to connected devices.

It comes with EIZO’s advanced EcoView technologies for ultralow power consumption. While the EcoView automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness based on the surrounding lighting, the EcoView Optimizer 2 fine-tunes the brightness based on the type of content being displayed.

It also comes with a new Eco Mode that automatically presets the EcoView features and users can display the viewing information on one edge of the screen for quick access.

The FLT is engineered to complement hybrid work, thanks to a frameless design. The monitor features a hollow bezel, while the relatively lightweight build can be mounted on a unique arm for a minimalist setup.

The monitor's packaging reflects an eco-conscious ethos, using recycled materials and optimizing size to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during transportation by up to 42%. The device has also earned some of the top environmental certifications available, including TCO Certified Generation 10, EPEAT Gold, and EPEAT Climate+.

The company claims that, by achieving a 32% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to previous models, it sets a new standard for responsible innovation.

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Alien: Earth: key information

- Releasing on Hulu and Disney+ in mid-2025
- First TV show from the Alien franchise
- Multiple teaser trailers, but no full trailer yet
- Cast list confirmed, including some character names
- Plot being kept firmly under wraps
- Unknown whether there will be more seasons

Alien: Earth marks the epic sci-fi/horror franchise’s first foray onto the small screen – and it’s been a long time in the making.

First announced back in 2020, we’re nearing the finish line with FX confirming Alien: Earth will finally premiere in mid-2025. With eight movies already in the franchise, it’s time for the Xenomorphs to descend upon Earth under the watchful eye of showrunner, Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion).

Though Alien: Romulus was the last movie released, Alien: Earth is not its sequel. Bringing back the H. R. Giger’s nightmarish concept is instead focused on taking the franchise in a whole new direction.

Fortunately, we’ve gathered a vast amount of intel, including the show's release window, possible plot, confirmed cast, news, rumors, and more. Plus, while you wait, feel free to immerse yourself in every Alien movie ranked: worst to best.

Alien: Earth: is there a release date?

A post shared by Alien: Earth (@alienearthfx)

A photo posted by on

FX has confirmed that Alien: Earth is coming to Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally in mid-2025. Announced during the one of the show's teaser trailers (seen below), it's not a specific release date, but this at least means it'll arrive sometime around June to September.

In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter in July 2024, showrunner Noah Hawley confirmed that filming had “just wrapped” and the show was officially in the next stage: “I’m in post, editing away, and obviously there’s a large visual effects component that takes time. But I couldn’t be happier with the show we shot. If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I’m gonna give them something special.”

A post shared by Alien: Earth (@alienearthfx)

A photo posted by on

And more exclusive insights into Alien: Earth were unveiled during the SXSW film festival in early March. A series of 'recovered' files from the USCSS Maginot for the Weyland-Yutani Corp show clips from the ship recorded on a camera attached to a cat's collar. The files show people working on the ship, talking about going back to Earth (if they could) and a cryochamber labelled 'Morrow'.

FX boss, John Landgraf, first announced the project back in December 2020, so having a release window is a big deal. And, the wait is almost over. When we have a confirmed date, we’ll be sure to update here.

Alien: Earth: has a trailer been released?

So far, we’ve had a few short teaser trailers of Alien: Earth which, in true Alien fashion, have been incredibly ominous and fueled by horror. In the latest, released in late January, events are shown through the eyes of an alien as it slithers frantically through the spaceship - in a sort of theme park immersive ride experience that’ll leave you feeling a little dizzy.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, it doesn’t last too long before you’re swept out of the ship to see it hurtling towards Earth. As we’ll explore more in the plot details below, and as is quite obviously suggested in the show’s title, the Xenomorphs will crash land on Earth. So, this is only the beginning.

Alien: Earth: confirmed cast

The main cast will return for The Handmaid's Tale season 7 - plus, two new faces (Image credit: FX/Hulu/Disney Plus)

The following cast list has been officially revealed for Alien: Earth, but most of their roles are being kept under wraps:

• Sydney Chandler as Wendy
• Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
• Alex Lawther as CJ
• Kit Young as Tootles
• Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
• Essie Davis as Dame Silvia
• Adarsh Gourav as Slightly
• David Rysdahl as TBC
• Babou Ceesay as TBC
• Jonathan Ajayi as TBC
• Erana James as TBC
• Lily Newmark as TBC
• Diêm Camille as TBC
• Adrian Edmondson as TBC
• Moe Bar-El as TBC
• Sandra Yi Sencindiver as TBC

As reported by Variety, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) will be the lead character. It has also been revealed that she's a meta-human, with the body of an adult, but brain and consciousness of a child. Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) is Wendy's mentor and Sandra Yi Sencindiver's currently unnamed character holds a high position at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. It's not a lot to go on, but it's certainly starting to paint a picture.

Alien: Earth: story synopsis and rumors

Potential spoilers follow for Alien: Earth below.

We don't know much about Alien: Earth given that its plot has been kept locked up tightly. But what we do know is that it will be set on Earth, no surprises there, in the not-so-distant future. In fact, thanks to the teaser above, it says: "In 2120 Mother Earth is expecting," with the image of Earth a reflection in the Xenomorph's helmet. Visiting our planet is certainly a new direction for the franchise and one that actual acts as a prequel to the original Alien movie, which took place in 2122.

And then there's the show's official synopsis that expands on this concept: "When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. In 2120, Mother Earth is expecting."

Speaking to Deadline, Hawley said: "There's something about seeing a Xenomorph in the wilds of Earth with your own eyes that is truly chilling to think of it moving here among us." And when talking about the Xenomorph he's created for Alien: Earth, he added: "What was really fun for me was to be able to engage with the creature and bring some of my own thoughts to its design while not touching the silhouette because that's sacrosanct. But some of the elements of it as we know, whatever the host is, informs what the final creature is."

As well as the Xenomorphs themselves, we also know that Weyland-Yutani will, once again, play a major part in the franchise. The conglomerate well-known for their controlling grip over space with their own bad intentions with the Xenomorphs rearing its ugly head over the course of the eight movies prior.

And FX chief John Landgraf was keen to express how Alien: Earth sets itself apart from the rest of the franchise, while still staying true to it. In an interview with THR, he explained: "All I can tell you is Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) won't be a part of it, and neither will any other characters - other than the alien itself."

Adding: "Noah has an incredible ability to both find a way of being faithful and showing fidelity to an original creation, like to the Coen brothers (with Fargo) or to Ridley Scott's movie and Jame's Cameron's follow-up Aliens, but also to bring something new that represents both an extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time."

Will there be more seasons of Alien: Earth?

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Considering Alien: Earth season 1 is a little while away still, unsurprisingly news on more seasons is thin on the ground. Though there has been a report from Production Bulletin, yet unconfirmed but revealed by Comic Book Resources, that season 2 is planned for development for filming in Thailand.

And while this news is unconfirmed, Collider also reported in January 2024 that FX has disclosed to Hawley that there was more to come. Hawley said: "I knew that their desire was for a recurring series, not a limited series, and I had an idea that I was excited about, that I could see the escalation of it from one year to another."

It seems like he's already got an idea of where he'd like to go next too, adding: "that's where we ended up not pitching them having a bible or pitching them blow-by-blow, but saying, "Big picture: this is the first movement, this is the second movement, and we're ultimately going here."

Of course, it'll depend on viewing figures and how Alien: Earth is received, but joining part of an existing and iconic franchise is a great place to start and one that Hawley, and reportedly FX, are already eager to look into expanding.

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