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The Department of Agriculture is demanding sensitive data from states about more than 40 million food stamp recipients, as DOGE is amassing data for immigration enforcement.

(Image credit: Charly Triballeau)

The new all-access ESPN app will be different from the ESPN Plus app and include live sports and more.

Since Israel's military went to war against Hamas in Gaza more than a year and a half ago, it has conducted thousands of strikes in the territory. One attack last year stands out. Israel struck a five-story building housing an extend family of well over 100 people. The military says they were targeting an enemy spotter on the roof. NPR reporters and producers set out to chronicle this attack, to know how many people were killed and injured and to understand what it means to the family of survivors.

Click here to see NPR's visual investigation of this attack.

For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates

• NBC Sports will use an AI-generated version of legendary announcer Jim Fagan’s voice in its upcoming NBA coverage
• The re-creation will appear in intros and promos with the approval of Fagan's family
• NBC hopes to evoke nostalgia for 1990s basketball with the AI voice

The booming, baritone narration by Jim Fagan is as much a part of 1990s NBA games as Bugs Bunny selling shoes with Michael Jordan or the “Roundball Rock” theme song. Though Fagan passed away in 2017, NBC has his voice ready to go for the upcoming season thanks to AI voice cloning. NBC Sports announced the plan for when it regains broadcasting rights this October.

Fagan’s voice won’t be narrating entire games, the current commentators don't have to worry about direct AI competition just yet. The plan is to use him selectively: show opens, promotional spots, maybe the dramatic lead-in to a playoff broadcast.

The network is reportedly shelling out billions as part of a massive rights package shared with Amazon and Disney. What better way to brand its return than with the voice that defined the league’s TV glory years? NBC just hopes Fagan's phantom voice will remind people of the NBA's golden age three decades ago.

NBC approached the project carefully to avoid a backlash from Fagan's fans. The company built Fagan's vocal doppelganger with the permission and cooperation of Fagan’s family.

"He took great pride in his work with NBC Sports, especially in helping set the stage for some of the most memorable moments in NBA history. Knowing that his voice will once again be part of the game he loved – and that a new generation of fans will get to experience it – is incredibly special for our family," Fagan’s daughters, Jana Silvia Joyce and Risa Silvia-Koonin, said in a statement. "He would be so thrilled and proud to be a part of this."

Slam dunk AI

If this sounds like the echo of a similar idea, that's because NBCUniversal has dipped into its AI audio toolbox very recently. At the Paris Olympics last year, NBC recreated Al Michaels’ voice to deliver Olympic recaps on Peacock.

There’s a trend in sports broadcasting to remix the past using futuristic tools. Whether it’s classic theme songs, throwback logos, or AI-generated recaps, the goal is novelty nostalgia, a feeling more than a strictly perfect recreation. And if it works, get ready for AI to resurrect Marv Albert next.

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For close watchers of the Catholic Church, the election of a U.S. pope seemed impossible. The "Trump effect" on the U.S. and global order changed that, papal expert Massimo Faggioli told NPR.

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If a new phone gave me an occasional electric shock, I wouldn’t recommend it. Even if it only shocked me occasionally, when I open a specific app, I'd say no. If a phone wasn’t just bad, but shockingly harmful, I would say that phone, or at least the electric shock part, should be removed.

I just spent a couple weeks with the Google Pixel 9a, which has a tool called Pixel Studio, available on all of Google’s latest Pixel phones. Pixel Studio is an AI-powered image generator that creates images from a text prompt. Until recently, Pixel Studio refused to depict people, but Google removed those guardrails, and the results predictably reinforce stereotypes. That’s not just bad, that’s harmful.

At first Pixel Studio seemed like fun, when there were no people involved (Image credit: Google)

I’m asking Google – and all phone makers – to stop offering image generators that make images of people. These tools can lead to bigotry.

Let’s try a quick role play: You be the Pixel Studio, and I will be me. Hey, Pixel Studio: Make me an image of a successful person!

What image will you make? What do you see in your mind when you think of success? Is it someone who looks like you? The answer will be different for everybody, depending on your own view of success.

Not for Pixel Studio. Pixel Studio has a singular vision of a successful person. Unless you happen to be a young, white, able-bodied man, Pixel Studio probably doesn’t see you when it envisions success.

Here's what the Pixel 9a thinks a successful person actually looks like Image 1 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 2 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 3 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 4 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 5 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 6 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 7 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app, is usually young, white, male, able-bodied, thin, with good hair and expensive-looking clothes, in an urban environment. All of those are stereotypes

Image 8 of 8

A successful person, according to the Google Pixel Studio app (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I got this result after more than 20 attempts to create an image of a successful person. This was the first Black person Pixel Studio generated.

I asked Pixel Studio five times for an image of ‘a successful person.’ Of the five people Pixel Studio created for me, zero were older. None used a wheelchair or hearing aids, or a cane.

All of them wore expensive-looking suits, even the woman. That’s right, just one woman and four men. And yes, all of them were white.

I have a serious problem with this because the Pixel's digital brain is clearly rooted in lazy stereotypes. These stereotypes support misogyny, ableism, racism, ageism, and who knows what other biases.

This is ingrained in the Pixel's thinking. If you use the Pixel 9a to be more successful, you should know that it has a very limited, stereotypical idea of success. Whenever the Pixel phone represents success in its suggestions, it may be colored by this bigotry.

In Pixel Studio's narrow world, success means you are young, white, able-bodied, probably a man, and wealthy. Apparently, nobody successful is old, non-white, disabled, transgender, or uninterested in flashy suits or material wealth, among countless diverse characteristics a successful person might have.

It's not just the Pixel. Motorola's Moto AI generates questionable images as well (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Did I just get unlucky? I asked Pixel Studio five times, then I asked twice more when I realized it only created one woman. I got another white man and a woman who looked like she might be Latina or of Middle Eastern descent. Both young, standing tall, and wearing suits.

I’m not simplifying anything; Pixel Studio is simplifying things down to the most basic, biased denominator. That's baked into how these AI tools learn.

Pixel Studio generates stereotypes because that's how it's supposed to work

First of all, AI training data was mostly taken from the Internet and public forums. The data inevitably mirrors the biases of the messy, unequal world that created it.

There was no concerted effort to combat stereotypes or introduce diversity into the training data. AI companies like Google simply hoovered up everything they could find, apparently without much thought regarding the biases shaping the data itself. That taints the entire model from the ground up.

Second, machine learning looks for patterns and groups things together. That's not always a bad thing. When a computer looks for patterns and groups, for instance, letters and words together, you get language and ChatGPT.

Apply that pattern-matching to people's appearances, and voilà: stereotypes. That’s pretty much the definition of a stereotype.

Here's an image of a successful Android, which is not at all offensive (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Merriam-Webster defines a stereotype as “something conforming to a fixed or general pattern.” The fundamental way machine learning works reinforces stereotypes. It’s practically unavoidable.

Finally, machine learning tools are trained by us – users who are asked a simple question after each response: was this a good response? We don’t get to say if the response is true, accurate, fair, or harmful. We only get to tell the AI if the response is good or bad. That means we're training the AI on our gut reactions – our own ingrained stereotypes.

An image conforming to our biases feels comfortably familiar, or good. A response that defies our expectations will cause cognitive stress. Unless I'm actively trying to deconstruct my biases, I'll tell the machine it’s doing a good job when it reinforces stereotypes I believe.

Stereotypes are bad, mmmmkay?

Let's be clear: stereotypes are poison. Stereotypes are a root cause of some of the biggest problems our society faces.

Stereotyping reduces diverse groups of people into simple, usually negative and unpleasant caricatures. That makes it easier to feel like the group doesn’t belong with the rest of us. This leads to prejudice and discrimination. There is no benefit that comes from stereotyping.

This isn't just philosophical hand-wringing; stereotyping causes real harm. People who feel discriminated against experience more health problems like cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Doctors who stereotype patients offer a lower standard of care without realizing they are causing harm.

The kind of stereotypical thinking reflected in these AI images contributes to hiring discrimination, wage gaps between different groups in the same jobs, and a lack of opportunities at higher level positions for marginalized groups.

Pixel 9 Pro Fold with Pixel Studio. Is this app really making the Pixel better? (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

When we look at attacks on diversity, equity and inclusivity, we must draw a depressingly straight line that passes through the Pixel Studio’s narrow vision of ‘success’ to real-world bigotry.

It is ironic that these features are part of so-called Artificial Intelligence, because they demonstrate a profound lack of actual intelligence.

What should the AI do, and what should we do about the AI?

This egg is rotten and needs to be tossed

If you asked me, an intelligent human, to draw a successful person, I would say that’s impossible because success isn’t a characteristic that defines the way a person looks. I can’t just draw success, I need to know more before I can create that image. Any attempt to create an image from just the word ‘success’ would be dumb.

But AI isn't meant to be intelligent. It's designed to be a reflection of us - to give us what we want. It's designed to reinforce our stereotypes so that we will pat it on the head and say "good job, Pixel Studio!" while we share these tired images.

I asked Google if it had any concerns about the results I got from Pixel Studio. I asked if it's a problem that the Pixel Studio reinforces negative stereotypes? And if this problem cannot be solved, would Google consider again removing the ability to make images with people? I asked those questions a couple of weeks ago and Google has not responded.

This is not a chicken-and-egg question. It doesn’t matter whether the image generator creates the stereotype or simply reflects it. This egg is rotten and needs to be tossed. All of the eggs this chicken lays will be rotten. Let the AI play Tic Tac Toe and leave people alone.

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• GMKtec's EVO-X2 launch reportedly saw hundreds of units sold on day one
• The devices are powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with 50 TOPS AI performance
• Racks of the RGB-lit mini PCs were shown during aging tests for quality assurance

GMKtec, a mini PC manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China, has launched its new flagship device, the EVO-X2.

The company says the debut of the product, which had the first unit personally signed by Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, drew strong interest, with hundreds of units sold through its official website on the first day.

In response, GMKtec has shifted into high gear, triggering what it calls “emergency production protocols” to meet this early demand.

(Image credit: GMKtec) First come, first served

GMKtec shared a rare photo from inside its factory (see header image) showing rows of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 powered units undergoing final aging tests, each equipped with RGB cooling fans.

This testing stage helps verify system stability under continuous operation before shipping and is part of its standard quality control process, designed to ensure the mini PCs hold up under real-world workloads.

The EVO-X2 is built around the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, which is manufactured on TSMC’s 4nm FinFET process. It features 16 cores and 32 threads and can reach speeds up to 5.1GHz.

This high-performance processor includes an AI engine based on AMD’s XDNA 2 architecture, capable of delivering up to 50 TOPS from the NPU alone. GMKtec claims the chip achieves up to 2.2 times the AI performance of an Nvidia RTX 4090 in LM Studio, while consuming less power.

The mini PC is targeted at creators, hybrid professionals, and gamers. Memory options include 64GB or 128GB LPDDR5X, and storage options scale up to 16TB with dual M.2 slots. Video output supports resolutions up to 7680×4320 at 60Hz.

EVO-X2 offers a wide range of ports, including HDMI, DisplayPort, USB4, multiple USB-A connections, a 2.5G Ethernet jack, and both front and rear 3.5mm audio jacks. It supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

The EVO-X2 is available to buy on GMKtec’s official website. Two configurations are being offered, and a limited-time code (X2PR30) gives a $30 discount if purchased from here. Shipments are going out on a first-come, first-served basis.

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• Insight Partners confirms effects of January 2025 breach
• VC firm reveals some sensitive data was stolen
• No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack

Insight Partners, a major venture capital organization that invested in some of the biggest tech organizations around today, has confirmed suffering a cyberattack in which it lost sensitive data on employees and some of its partners.

In mid-February 2025, the company released a statement, informing that it suffered a cyberattack a month earlier.

“On January 16, 2025, Insight Partners detected that an unauthorized third-party accessed certain Insight information systems through a sophisticated social engineering attack,” the announcement reads. “As soon as this incident was detected, we moved quickly to contain, remediate, and start an investigation within a matter of hours. We notified stakeholders connected to Insight in January to alert them and encourage vigilance and tightened security protocols irrespective of having shared data compromised. We also notified law enforcement in relevant jurisdictions.”

Investor details compromised

The company said it didn’t find evidence of intrusions after January 16, and added that, since the attack was contained to a single day, it did not disrupt its day-to-day operations.

It recently updated the announcement, saying the breach was verified and confirming that some sensitive data was indeed lost, including fund information, management company information, portfolio company information, banking information, tax information, personal information of current and former employees, and information related to limited partners.

The company doesn’t know how many victims there are just yet, but said it would be notifying affected entities over the coming days. Finally, it urged everyone to keep a close eye on financial statements and credit reports.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the breach.

Insight Partners is a global venture capital and private equity firm that invests in high-growth technology, software, and Internet businesses.

The firm manages more than $90 billion in assets and has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide. Some of its more notable investments include cybersecurity firms like Armis and Wiz, as well as public-facing platforms such as monday.com and Wix.

Via BleepingComputer

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CMF Phone 2 Pro: Two-minute review

With the CMF Phone 2 Pro, Nothing has delivered a truly remarkable bargain phone, treating you, the user with endearing respect, rather than sticking you with a watered-down version of the device you really want.

This phone has one of the most distinct and recognizable designs I’ve seen, but that design is also practical and extensible. I can’t imagine buying a CMF Phone 2 Pro without thinking of all the accessories I might make for it.

For less than $300 / £300 / AU$525 you can have a phone that isn’t just good, but special. The modular design, though a bit less adaptable than the first-generation CMF Phone, means you can make this phone your own in ways that Samsung Galaxy and iPhone owners can only dream of doing.

Even if you don’t want to create your own cases or accessories, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is still one of the best smartphones you can buy at this price. Its performance is solid – better than other bargain competitors, at least – and battery life is excellent.

It may not be quite as durable as a Samsung Galaxy A26 or Motorola Moto G Power 2025, but it’s more resilient than I expected. It has an IP54 rating against rain and splashing water, and Nothing also says the phone will survive in 25cm of water for 20 minutes, so you don't have to panic if it gets wet.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro certainly gives you one of the most distinctive versions of Android that you’ll find on a phone today, using the NothingOS interface as found on the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro. NothingOS is all about a minimalist, almost monochromatic aesthetic, so you get black-and-white icons on the home screen with no labels, and a set of matching widgets to complete the look.

Of course there are some AI features as well, and I honestly ignored them because they revolve around taking screenshots. I’m just not a screenshot type of user, but Nothing isn’t alone in this – the latest Google Pixel 9 also relies on screenshot-based AI tools. You can also use Google Gemini, but don’t expect the robust set of AI features that you might find on more expensive Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones.

With such a low price tag there are bound to be compromises. The cameras are not good, even compared to those on the cheapest Pixel, the Pixel 9a, although that phone costs almost twice as much as the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Performance also lags, and I experienced stuttering in the interface, and occasional delays as the system worked to catch up with whatever task I wanted to perform.

I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my primary phone for work, and I really enjoyed it. I like the style of NothingOS; it’s refreshing, with fewer distractions than my Galaxy phone. I committed to using the bright orange lanyard screwed into the back of the phone for my entire review period, and I now understand the appeal of being able to sling the phone over my shoulder and having it readily at hand.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The worst thing about the CMF Phone 2 Pro is how hard it might be to buy one – and then to buy all the accessories you want. In the US, you can only get the model with 256GB of storage as part of Nothing’s so-called 'Beta' program. I used the Phone 2 Pro on AT&T near New York City, and after an initial warning message from AT&T that my phone wouldn’t work properly, it worked just fine.

The phone is easier to buy in the UK, Australia, and the rest of the world, with an even cheaper 128GB version available. Still, comparable phones from Samsung and Motorola are available at your local carrier store, and you can surely get one for free if you sign a contract. The CMF Phone 2 Pro may be cheap, but you probably won’t find one for free.

Only a few accessories will be available for US buyers, and those won’t include the back cover that lets you use attachable macro and fisheye camera lenses, or the magnetic wallet stand. I’m not a fan of snap-on lenses for smartphones, so that’s no big loss, but I wish more of the unique accessories were available here. Since they’re not, I’ll just have to head to my library’s 3D printer and make my own.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• $279 / £249 / AU$509 for 256GB and 8GB of RAM
• £219 / AU$449 for a 128GB model, not available in the US

The CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing is available directly from Nothing in two storage options: 128GB and 256GB. The smaller-capacity model is not being sold in the US, however, and neither is the light green color – the color of my review sample – but you can still get the phone in white, black, or a very bright orange.

The Light Green is available in the UK, but not Australia, and all the other colors are available globally. That’s too bad, I like this light green very much, and it looks cool with the bright orange lanyard attached.

Don’t get too attached to the lanyard if you're in the US, though, because the accessories are only available in the UK and Europe, and Nothing says quantities may be limited.

The 128GB model has an incredibly low price for a phone this good, and if you use cloud storage services there isn’t a pressing need to buy the larger capacity.

Even so, the 256GB model is also an incredible bargain. For around the same price – $300 / £299 / AU$499 – you'll get a Samsung Galaxy A26 or Motorola Moto G Power with 128GB of storage. Both of those phones are a bit more durable, though, with true IP67 and IP68 ratings for water resistance, respectively. Otherwise, there are no significant benefits in terms of specs and hardware, and the CMF Phone 2 Pro has a slight edge in performance.

• Value score: 5/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Specs

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a MediaTek 7300 Pro 5G chipset inside, which is a bit faster than the Exynos 1380 you’ll find in a Galaxy A26 or the MediaTek 6300 in the Moto G Power 2025. The phone ships with 8GB of RAM, which is adequate for a bargain phone, and there's a microSD card slot behind the SIM tray if you need more storage space.

The camera specs are impressive for a phone in this price range, even if, as mentioned, the images aren’t noteworthy. The main camera uses a 0.63-inch sensor, which is much larger than the sensors you’ll find in competing Samsung and Motorola phones. There's a real 2x optical zoom, in addition to a third lens for ultra-wide shots and macro photos.

As with most phones at this price there’s no wireless charging, but you do get slightly faster charging speeds if you buy a 33W charger.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Exposed screws and removable bits
• More durable than before, even water resistant

The CMF Phone 2 Pro design is a whole choice. Like its big-sibling Nothing Phones, the CMF Phone stands out; it looks, er, nothing like other phones you’ve seen. The back of the phone is punctuated by exposed screws, a removable circular plate, and cameras that look like internal components laid bare.

I like it. It doesn’t feel haphazard – it’s clear that there's thought and design behind the asymmetry. You can't remove the whole back cover of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, as you could with the original CMF Phone, but there is still the small circular screw that you can remove to screw in accessories like the lanyard (or just the lanyard holder, which can also be a loop for dangling charms).

The CMF Phone 2 Pro only comes with an IP54 rating, which means it's protected against dust, but when it comes to water it can only handle rain or splashing, not a full dunk.

However, Nothing has tested the phone itself, and claims it can be submerged in 25cm of water for 20 minutes – so I wouldn’t wash this phone in the sink, but I also wouldn’t worry if you drop it into the toilet by accident.

That’s a huge improvement over last year’s CMF Phone, likely thanks to that new back panel that doesn’t come off as easily. Still, the Samsung Galaxy A26 is IP67 rated for longer dips underwater, and the Moto G Power 2025 is fully military MIL-STD 810H rated, so it can take a serious beating.

My phone came in a lovely light green color that is becoming popular this year – the Galaxy S25 Ultra is available in the same hue as a Samsung online-exclusive color. Unfortunately, you can’t buy this color in the US; you can only get the black, white, or orange versions. I haven’t seen the orange in person, but if it’s as bright as the matching lanyard I got, be aware that it could stop traffic.

• Design score: 4/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Brighter than competitors at this price
• Colorful and durable with Panda Glass

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a very nice display for a phone at this price. It was brighter and more colorful in our labs tests than the Samsung Galaxy A26, a solid win for Nothing since Samsung is usually known for its superlative displays.

Does it get to 3,000 nits at peak brightness? Not that we could see, but it was bright enough in my review time for me to take photos in outdoor light, and to use the phone in a variety of lighting conditions. My content always looked great on the display, whether I was watching movies or perusing my photo albums.

This is one area where spending more will get you better technology, however. The Pixel 9a costs a bit more, but it has a much brighter display that's easier to see in bright, outdoor light. Even paying just a bit more for the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro will get you brighter displays than what you'll see on the CMF Phone.

If I were going to pay to upgrade any feature, it would be this, because more expensive phones have displays that are brighter and easier to use in bright sunlight. I’d also like a stronger glass panel, though the CMF Phone 2 Pro is no slouch here.

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a screen that's durable and should stand up to mild abuse. The phone uses Panda Glass from Chinese glass maker Tengshu, and it offers many of the same physical qualities as Corning’s Gorilla Glass. I didn’t see any scuffs or scratches after an intense week using the phone as my primary device.

• Display score: 3/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Software

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• NothingOS on top of Android 15 for a signature style
• For folks who want fewer distractions, not more features

If you want a smartphone with helpful display-edge software panels, tons of features, and customizations galore, buy a Samsung with One UI. If you want to minimize distractions with a signature look and feel that's different from any other smartphone, you should check out NothingOS on the CMF Phone 2 Pro (and other Nothing phones).

That doesn’t mean Nothing gives you nothing on top of Android 15. In fact, Nothing offers a plethora of cool widgets to enhance your home screen, all in Nothing’s signature monochromatic style.

At startup, you can choose between a Nothing interface and a standard Android home screen. Go with Nothing and you’ll see fewer colors, fewer labels on app icons and settings, and presumably fewer distractions. I actually like the NothingOS design, especially with its home screen widgets and monochromatic wallpapers, so I stuck with it for my review period.

There is some AI on board, but frankly I never used it. Just like with the latest Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, you get a so-called Essentials key, which is a glorified screenshot button. Press the button to take a screenshot that saves to Nothing’s Essential Space. Hold the button to take a screenshot and add a voice memo.

Essential Space is an AI tool that scans whatever you save so it can offer answers later. Unfortunately, I don’t screenshot very much. I don’t save every bit of useful information as a screenshot. I don’t screenshot my emails, text messages, or calendar invitations, since those already live in their own app.

So I didn’t get much value out of Essential Space. If you screenshot everything, or if you’re willing to change your behavior, you may find this more useful. I, on the other hand, did not feel the CMF Phone 2 Pro was missing anything when I skipped these AI features.

• Software score: 3/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Lots of megapixels and big sensors don’t equal great photos
• If photos matter, you’ll need to spend more (or get a camera)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro's cameras offer plentiful examples of pretty much every way smartphone cameras can go wrong. There’s a lack of detail in most shots, and evidence of strong digital sharpening that makes photos look more like still frames from a low-quality video camera. Backgrounds are frequently over-sharpened, leaving dark edges around objects. In even my most simple shots it can be so hard to tell what I was photographing.

Don’t take photos of anything red, because the cheap sensors on this phone can’t handle the hue, and flowers become a garbled mess, even in bright, outdoor light that should have made for the best results. I was equally unimpressed with the zoom lens, which took photos of birds that were so muddy I couldn’t tell if the water fowl were covered in feathers or plastic.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The wide-angle lens produces a lot of barrel distortion, so buildings will look rounded and weird. I saw plenty of chromatic aberration along high-contrast edges, and the camera falls apart when asked to shoot in low-light near darkness.

It’s hard to find a good camera on a phone this cheap, but the Samsung Galaxy A26 will certainly produce better results in most situations. If photos truly matter, though, you’ll need to step up at least to a Pixel 9a, or perhaps look for a cheap digital camera to carry alongside your phone. I carried an older point-and-shoot camera during my review time, and I barely thought about the CMF Phone 2 Pro for my photography needs.

• Camera score: 2/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Camera samples Image 1 of 6

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 2 of 6

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(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 4 of 6

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 5 of 6

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 6 of 6

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Performance

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Budget-level performance means delays
• Still very usable, and lags weren't noticeable in lighter usage

The CMF Phone 2 Pro uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G chipset, which is a slight step up from the Dimensity 7300 5G in last year’s CMF Phone. In Future Labs tests, the CMF Phone 2 Pro edged out the competition, including Samsung Exynos 1380-equipped Galaxy A26 and Motorola’s Dimensity 6300-driven Moto G Power 2025. In pure benchmark terms, this phone performs about as well as the Galaxy A36, a more expensive phone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 inside.

In the real world, performance could be very laggy as I navigated the interface and performed advanced tasks. If I tried to select more than a dozen or so apps to download all at once, the phone came to a halt and stopped registering my taps. When I tried to add six-dozen photos to a single photo album, the phone flatly refused to move so many images at once. I got an error message that I could never defeat.

For most of my daily tasks, however, I didn’t notice any slowdown. Network speeds were fine on AT&T’s network near New York City, and web pages loaded slowly but steadily. All of my messages came through, and I was able to hold video chat meetings.

This isn’t a powerhouse phone, but it gets the job done, even for professional work. The phone handled TechRadar's AirTable content management system with no trouble, and it loaded up the over-complicated AirTable app to show me behind-the-scenes planning.

Any step up in price will get you a phone with more power, but I would pay more for better cameras and a better display before I worried about much faster CPU performance. As long as you’re not a hardcore gamer you might just need a little more patience, so maybe just stare at the cool design while you wait for your phone to catch up.

• Performance score: 2/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Battery

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Excellent battery life, among top performers overall
• Charging could be faster; no charger included

The CMF Phone 2 Pro delivered excellent battery life, both in the real world and in our Future Labs testing. During my review time the phone always lasted through a full day of use, although it probably helped that I didn’t play many games and didn’t use the cameras very much. In any case, I could forget to charge this phone overnight and still have enough juice to get me through to lunchtime the next day.

In our Future Labs battery rundown test the CMF Phone 2 Pro was a top performer, managing to last just over 16 hours. In the same test, the Samsung Galaxy A26 lated around 10 hours, and the Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e (the cheapest iPhone right now) both lasted just over 12 hours.

Much of this longevity is down to how you’ll use the phone. With a slower processor on board, you’ll use less battery power; the Moto G Power 2025 is even slower, and that phone lasted slightly longer in our lab tests. You also won’t use the cameras on the CMF Phone 2 Pro as often as you might with one of the best camera phones.

That said, bargain phones offer great battery life, just like cheaper cars usually get better gas mileage. It’s a benefit of saving money, and I’m happy to take it.

For juicing up, the CMF Phone 2 Pro can charge up to 33W, but there’s no charger in the box (except in India). There's also no wireless charging, but that feature is a rarity at this price point.

• Battery score: 3/5

Should you buy the CMF Phone 2 Pro?

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) Buy it if...

You have a 3D printer and want to make phone accessories
The CMF Phone 2 Pro offers creative types unique options to make accessories that enhance the phone’s capabilities more than any other device.

You want more than just a cheap version of another phone
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is unique. It doesn’t try to look like a more expensive model, and it stands out with its own design that’s like nothing else.

You want a distinctive look that minimizes distractions
With NothingOS you can dial down the colors and distractions from all the apps on your phone that suck you in like candy.

Don't buy it if...

You need great cameras, or even very good cameras
It’s got megapixels, but that doesn’t equate to great photos, and the pics I got from the CMF Phone 2 Pro were disappointing in every way.

You want to play a lot of games with serious graphics
This phone performs better than most other phones you’ll find at this price, but you’ll notice lag on normal apps, and intense games are out of the question.

You plan on beating this phone up
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is more durable than the last CMF phone, but if you’re going to beat up on a phone, get something more durable.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy A26
The Samsung Galaxy A26 has Samsung’s OneUI software with more AI features, as well as a water-resistant build that can take a serious dunk.

Motorola Moto G Power 2025
The Moto G Power 2025 isn’t the most powerful (ironic), but it is the most durable phone you’ll find at this price, and it comes in some great Pantone-approved colors

How I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro

I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro for almost two weeks. I tested the phone on AT&T’s network in the greater New York area, throughout the city and suburbs. I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my primary work phone with all of my work accounts and apps, and as my personal phone for photos and gaming.

I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro with a Pixel Watch 3 and CMF Buds Plus. I connected the phone to my car and tested Android Auto. I connected an Xbox wireless controller for gaming, and connected to a Bluetooth speaker for audio.

I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro camera against the Nothing Phone 3a, among numerous other phones, in Future Labs.

Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.

For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, and which measure how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

First reviewed April 2025

• The IRS plans to use AI to supplement its workforce
• The organization has laid off 25% of its staff
• More cuts are likely to follow, report claim

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to use AI to replace workers having made extensive cuts to its workforce.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed the budget proposal in a House Appropriations Committee hearing, with reports confirming the IRS has lost almost a third of its tax auditors since the start of the second Trump administration - with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) trimming the workforce through layoffs and ‘deferred resignations’.

Bessent argued further proposed reductions and plans to push further layoffs would not affect the agency’s tax collection abilities thanks to the “current AI boom” - although he didn’t explain exactly how the agency will be deploying the tech.

Slash and burn

The ramifications of personnel reductions will not result in a loss of capability, despite the majority of those fired being revenue agents, with 31% of the IRS’s revenue agent workforce laid off.

"I believe through smarter IT, through this AI boom, that we can use that to enhance collections and I would expect that collections would continue to be very robust as they were this year," Besset said.

The 25% reduction in workforce for the IRS could lead to potential delays in tax refunds for American taxpayers, but it seems the cuts are likely to continue.

Musk’s DOGE department has also cancelled multiple government contracts in the name of cost-cutting, including with IBM, Deloitte, and Gartner - to name just a few.

Over half of UK businesses who replaced workers with AI now report regretting their decision, and there’s huge amounts of uncertainty - with 38% of leaders not fully understanding AI’s impact in their business, and 25% unsure of which roles are most at risk.

Tech giants including IBM, CrowdStrike, and, most recently Google, have been cutting staff in recent months, with many are planning to replace these jobs with AI.

Via The Register

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