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• 10 Lego cars just drove around Miami's F1 track
• They're each built from around 400,000 Lego bricks
• A 26-person team took over 22,000 hours to build all 10 cars

A new kind of electric vehicle just took to the Miami Grand Prix ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 race there: 10 fully drivable racecars built almost entirely out of Lego.

The bespoke big builds – one for each of F1’s 10 teams – are close to 1:1 scale with their F1 counterparts. They were constructed out of 400,000 Lego bricks each and powered by an 8kW electric engine, which allows them to reach speeds of 20km/h (roughly 12mph).

Real tires, Lego everthing else (Image credit: Lego)

The only non-Lego elements are the engine, the wheel rims and tires (which were each sourced from their respective F1 teams and Pirelli for authenticity), the steering wheel (though it is decorated with Lego), and the steel frame attaching all these elements.

Also, glue and bolts are holding the bricks and frame together.

Otherwise, the designers and engineers behind the builds told me that they wanted this to be something that a kid (with enough Lego bricks) could build at home, or perhaps construct a smaller version using fewer bricks and Lego Technic motors that can drive around on a more manageable scale.

Built to drive

The steering wheel uses non-Lego elements for comfort (Image credit: Lego)

The team behind the F1 big builds explained that each car is based on its respective Speed Champions Lego set, blown up from minifigure to human scale. The only changes to the Lego design were to incorporate space for two passengers rather than one and replace stickered elements with the same detailing constructed from bricks (such as the branding and logos decorating each vehicle).

Once the outer Lego design was decided, the engineers had to work out how a steel frame and engine would be incorporated to make it move.

“We are Lego so our designs are always bricks first,” they explained. “So we created the Lego design then built a frame and engine design that would fit inside the Lego rather than the other way around.”

Apparently, their only major challenge with this brick-first approach was working out how to make the front wheels turn, given the tight space the steel frame had to move. They were forced to come up with a new approach compared to their previous moving Lego big builds, but once that was solved, they were off to the races.

The team's inspiration (Image credit: Lego)

The project has been a major labor of love.

The 26-person strong design team spent over 22,000 combined hours working on the cars in Lego’s Kladno factory located in the Czech Republic, and it was their first time working on so many cars at once in a tight time frame.

“We had around eight months to build all 10 cars, which is the time we might take for one.”

But roughly 4 million bricks later (which account for around two-thirds of each big build’s 1,500kg weight) they said seeing all 10 cars together for the first time in Miami was “definitely worth it.”

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• Most CFOs say they still can't make money from AI yet
• Traditional pricing fails in a usage-driven artificial intelligence economy
• AI monetization now sits firmly on the boardroom's priority list

Artificial intelligence is transforming every industry, but a new report has claimed many companies are failing to capture its financial value.

A global study of 614 Chief Financial Officers conducted by DigitalRoute found nearly three-quarters (71%) said they were struggling to monetize AI effectively, despite nearly 90% naming it a mission-critical priority over the next five years.

Only 29% of companies currently have a working AI monetization model, and the rest are either experimenting or “flying blind,” according to the data, and over two-thirds (68%) of tech firms say their traditional pricing strategies are no longer applicable in an AI-driven economy.

Second digital gold rush?

“AI is in the second digital gold rush,” said Ari Vanttinen, CMO at DigitalRoute. “But without the usage-level visibility, companies are gambling with pricing, profitability and even product viability. Our data shows CFOs urgently need real-time metering and revenue management to turn AI from a cost line into a genuine profit engine.”

Boardrooms are taking notice - nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed say AI monetization is now a formal board priority, yet just one in five businesses can track individual AI consumption, leaving finance teams with limited tools for accurate billing, forecasting, or margin analysis.

70% of CFOs cite pricing complexity as the biggest barrier to scaling AI, and more than half report misalignment between finance and product teams.

Legacy systems are also a challenge: 63% of companies are investing in new revenue management infrastructure, acknowledging that traditional quote-to-cash systems aren’t fit for usage-based AI pricing models.

The study also highlights regional differences. Nordic countries lead in implementation but struggle with profitability, while France and the UK are showing stronger early commercial returns. The US remains a global leader in AI development, but the data suggests a slightly more cautious approach to monetization at the organizational level.

Although American businesses clearly understand the importance of AI, many are still developing the internal frameworks needed to scale effectively.

The US scores highly on perceived significance but lags slightly behind the UK in terms of perceived criticality, indicating a broader, more experimental AI culture that has yet to fully transition to commercial execution.

The report recommends three steps for success: first, meter AI consumption at the feature level; second, model value-based and usage-based pricing before launch; and third, align product, finance, and revenue teams around shared data.

As Vanttinen puts it, “Every prompt is now a revenue event. When businesses can see, price and bill for AI usage in real-time, they unlock the margins the market expects.”

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• Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 offers powerful AMD performance for professionals
• It delivers up to 96GB memory, Ryzen AI PRO chips, certified graphics support
• It's good for mobile work, but HP’s ZBook Ultra still leads in AI power

Lenovo has refreshed its ThinkPad portfolio aimed at meeting the evolving demands of professional and AI-driven workflows.

Leading the announcement is the ThinkPad P16s Gen 4, Lenovo’s most powerful AMD-based mobile workstation yet, designed for content creators, engineers, and technical users who need serious performance in a portable form factor.

With an AMD Ryzen AI PRO 300 series processor, support for up to 96GB of memory, and certified graphics for CAD and BIM applications, the ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 builds on Lenovo’s recent shift towards Copilot+ PCs, featuring up to 82 TOPS of AI processing performance, seamless multitasking, and improved energy efficiency.

Solid performance

Lenovo pairs the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 CPU with integrated AMD RDNA 3.5 graphics, offering solid performance for complex workloads without the thermal and power trade-offs of discrete GPU models.

The new laptop weighs around 3.9lbs and will be available in May 2025 starting at $1,619.

In addition to the P16s, Lenovo also announced the ThinkPad P14s Gen 6, a thinner and lighter mobile workstation starting at 1.39kg, as well as a range of updated ThinkPad L Series laptops and refreshed X1 Aura Editions.

While the new ThinkPad P16s is certainly a capable performer, HP’s ZBook Ultra, launched earlier in 2025, remains ahead.

It's powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395 processor with discrete AMD Radeon Graphics, 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory and the ability to allocate up to 96GB directly to the GPU.

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• Apple may launch a battery case with the iPhone 17 Air
• All-day battery life isn't guaranteed for the new model
• The phone could also lose a speaker and be eSIM only

The rumors around an iPhone 17 Air have been swirling for months at this point, but we just got some fresh information about this super-slim phone, which is set to replace the iPhone 16 Plus – including the potential return of a retired Apple accessory.

According to a new report in The Information (via 9to5Mac), Apple is planning to release an optional accessory at the same time as the iPhone 17 Air: a case with an integrated battery pack. This is apparently to make up for shortfalls in the battery life of the iPhone 17 Air.

You may remember that back in the day, Apple made a Smart Battery Case for its iPhones. As MagSafe and its wireless charging was introduced with the iPhone 12 though, the battery case was discontinued.

Now, it looks as though it might be coming back. Sources speaking to The Information say the thinness of the iPhone 17 Air means it only lasts a day without a recharge for 60-70% of users – whereas for other models, it's more like 80-90%.

eSIMs and speakers

Remember the iPhone 11 Smart Battery Case? (Image credit: Apple)

Battery life isn't the only concern around the iPhone 17 Air though. The report in The Information also suggests there's no space for a physical SIM, so it'll be eSIM all the way – which may cause issues with regulators in China.

What's more, there's only going to be room for one speaker on the device, which may impact sound quality. We've previously heard both these rumors, around the eSIM and speaker, and we've more inclined to believe them now they've been repeated.

It's set to be quite a year for the Apple iPhone. We've already had a new model in the shape of the Apple iPhone 16e, and later in the year with the Air we'll be getting another new model that doesn't really have a direct predecessor.

The same report from The Information suggests that there might be even more changes to come next year, with Apple planning to split the launches of the iPhone 18 models so that they launch at different times throughout the course of 2026 and 2027.

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When asked about the image, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York who is friendly with Trump, said "it wasn't good" and that he hoped Trump had nothing to do with it.

(Image credit: Alessandra Tarantino)

Philips Barista Brew: two-minute review

The Philips Barista Brew is an espresso machine that can either hand-hold you through brewing espresso by automating part of the process, or leave you to do everything manually once you’ve built up your confidence. It’s a nice idea that should help smooth out the typical learning curve.

The machine heats quickly, and has a useful pressure gauge on the front that lets you see whether you’ve achieved the optimal pressure while pulling a shot of espresso. The controls are simple to understand and use, and although the Barista Brew takes longer to master than some other machines I’ve tested recently (such as the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch), once accustomed to its idiosyncrasies, you’ll be able to create consistently good coffee with minimal fuss (and only a scattering of grounds on your kitchen worktop).

For me, the Philips Barista Brew had two main drawbacks: the automatic dosing and the tamper. Both issues are solvable, though; but they do mean that this is a good coffee machine rather than a great one.

On its default settings, the Barista Brew ground far too much coffee for a double shot of espresso, and I needed to reduce the grind time by half to get an appropriate dose. Changing settings isn’t too difficult using the instruction booklet, but I can’t help but feel that the presets should be better configured, since making big changes to the standard settings may be outside the comfort zone of people new to coffee-making.

I found it hard to achieve the optimum pressure using the Philips Barista Brew with its "calibrated" tamper, and my coffee tended to extract too quickly – even when very finely ground. Swapping to a conventional solid tamper solved the problem, however. (Image credit: Future)

My other issue was the tamper, which is spring-loaded and limits the amount of pressure you can put on the coffee puck. Despite the coffee being finely ground, my shots often poured too fast, and the pressure gauge on the front of the machine showed that it was failing to reach the optimal nine bars.

I found a few solutions. Grinding the coffee more coarsely means it takes up more space (imagine the difference between a bucket full of sand and one full of rocks), with it usually resulting in a faster pour because water will find its way through the grounds more quickly. But here, if you dial the grinder just right, you may be able to tamp hard enough to cancel out that effect.

Another option is to simply grind more coffee, so there's more for the tamp to compress; but this feels like a waste of beans. As with any espresso machine, add too much to your basket and it will make contact with the brew head when you insert the handle, which will stop the water passing through properly.

(Image credit: Future)

Finally, you can stick with your preferred grind size and dose, and use a simple third-party tamper to compress the puck rather than Philips' spring-loaded unit. While this one feels nice in the hand, I can’t help but feel it’s over-engineered.

Nevertheless, it’s important to bear in mind the price of the Barista Brew when you’re comparing it to others in the same category. Although I found the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch easier to master, the Barista Brew is much cheaper at its currently reduced price when you buy direct from Philips. If you don’t get along with the "calibrated" tamper, you can buy a good-quality unit separately and still pay a lot less.

It’ isn't perfect, but the Philips Barista Brew is very good for the price, and is definitely one to consider if you’re looking for a compact, all-in-one espresso machine that won’t break the bank.

Philips Barista Brew: price and availability

• List price $649.99 / £580.99 (about AU$1,000)
• For sale in US and Europe
• Dual-hopper version also available

The Philips Barista Brew launched in January 2024, with a list price of $649.99 / £580.99 (about AU$1,000). However, it can often be found at a discount if you shop around – for example, at the time of writing, it’s available direct from Philips for £449.99. You’ll find all today’s best prices below.

That’s about average for a semi-automatic espresso machine of this type, and is almost exactly the same price as the similarly specced De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo. If you want a machine that will hold your hand with features such as automatic milk texturizing or a color touchscreen (like the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch), for example, you should expect to pay a little more.

This version of the Philips Barista Brew comes with a single bean hopper, but there’s also a model with a dual hopper that can hold two different beans at once and switch between them on-the-fly. That model is slightly more expensive at $699.99 / £624.99 (about AU$1,100) before discounts.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Philips Barista Brew: specs Philips Barista Brew: design

• Stylish-looking and compact
• Easy-to-use controls for coffee and milk
• Grinder is messy to use

The Philips Barista Brew is quite compact compared to most of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines, and surprisingly light, too. This is largely down to its chassis, which is made mostly from black plastic, with brushed stainless steel only on the front. It’s a stylish appliance, and will look quite at home in a modern kitchen.

The machine is operated using a series of buttons found along the front, with a dial on the side for dispensing hot water and steam. There are three drink options (single espresso, double espresso, and americano), and you can adjust the brew time and coffee dosage manually by following the clear guidance in the instruction booklet.

(Image credit: Future)

The version of the Philips Barista Brew I tested comes with a single bean hopper, but there's also a version with a two-part hopper that allows you to switch between different beans on-the-fly – a welcome feature for those of us who prefer decaf in the afternoon. The dual-hopper version is only a little more expensive, and is well worth considering.

The hopper sits on top of a ceramic burr grinder that offers 15 grind settings, which are adjusted by rotating the hopper. The burrs move smoothly, and dismantling the grinder for cleaning proved straightforward. The machine comes with a small cleaning kit that includes a brush for this purpose.

Even with the powder ring fitted on the handle, coffee tended to fly out of the grinder (Image credit: Future)

The grinder can be set to dispense a timed dose of coffee, or operated manually by pushing the portafilter handle against the back of the machine (tilting it slightly upwards to hit a switch).

The water tank sits on the back of the Philips Barista Brew, and is easy to lift off using its robust handle. Some other reviewers have called it narrow and difficult to clean, but it’s actually wider than those of many other coffee machines I’ve tested this year, and it was perfectly possible to get my hand inside with a cloth and towel. The only downside is that it isn't supplied with a water filter.

Look behind the drip tray to find a nicely designed pin tool for clearing the steam wand (Image credit: Future)

The steam wand has a good range of motion, and can be adjusted using a cool-touch silicone handle. Should it become clogged, you’ll find a double-ended pin tool for clearing any blockages tucked away behind the drip tray, where it’s unlikely to be found by children, or become lost. The sharper end of the pin even has a safety cap to protect your fingers.

The Barista Brew comes with a 48mm portafilter and four filter baskets – single and double-walled, for single and double shots. The double-walled (pressurized) baskets are more forgiving if you haven't quite nailed your coffee-making technique just yet, and make it easier to make a consistently well-extracted shot.

The calibrated tamper feels nice and weighty in the hand, but limits how much pressure you can put on the puck (Image credit: Future)

The portafilter handle has a rubberized area at the front of the basket, which makes it easy for you to stabilize it on the edge of your kitchen counter while tamping, without the need for a separate mat. It also has a powder ring that twists onto the basket that’s intended to keep things tidy during grinding, although I found it didn't prevent grounds flying out.

You also get the usual stainless steel milk pitcher, which is perfectly well made, and a "calibrated" tamper that only lets you compress the ground coffee a certain amount. It's an interesting idea, but in practice I struggled to get a properly extracted coffee because it wasn't tamped down hard enough.

Finally, the Barista Brew has a cup-warmer on top – something I always appreciate, but which is usually missing from espresso machines in this price bracket.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Philips Barista Brew: performance

The Philips Barista Brew is fundamentally a very good coffee machine, and once you’re familiar with its quirks you’ll be able to make consistently good espresso. However, its guided brewing features aren't quite as straightforward as it might first appear – and in some cases, it’s easier to do things yourself.

The Barista Brew heats quickly, and its set of clearly labelled buttons are intuitive to use once it’s up to temperature. The standout design feature is the large central pressure gauge, which lets you see how well your coffee is extracted before you even taste it. Some higher-end coffee makers I’ve tested will determine whether the pressure was too high or too low and offer feedback on a color touchscreen, but the analog pressure meter does the job just as well.

The machine’s pump is quiet in operation, too, averaging 60dB during use (about the same as a dishwasher or normal conversation). Some coffee makers can reach up to 70dB, so the Barista Brew definitely sits towards the more comfortable end of the scale.

The powder ring is a nice addition, but doesn't fully prevent coffee spraying out during grinding (Image credit: Future)

My main issues with this machine involve grinding and tamping. The Philips Barista Brew offers a grind time setting to help with dosing. Just turn a dial on the front of the machine to decide how much coffee to dispense, hold the grind button to toggle between single and double shots, and tap it again to start grinding. Unfortunately, even when turned down to one of the lowest settings, the machine ground far more beans than I actually needed – even though I was using one of the finest grind sizes. I had to scoop out a good portion of grounds before I could consider tamping them down.

It was much easier to ignore the dosing button and do things the old-fashioned way: use a digital scale to weigh the handle, zero the scale, push the handle against the back of the machine until the dosage looked right (about 18g for a double espresso), weigh it again, and make any tweaks to achieve the correct weight.

The Barista Brew can pull a well-balanced espresso, once you're used to its quirks (Image credit: Future)

The grinder was also a bit messy. The Philips Barista Brew has a powder ring that twists onto the top of the basket before grinding, which should direct ground coffee inside. However, in use I found that ground coffee still had a tendency to shoot out onto my work surface and the rest of the machine. Coffee grounds were particularly prone to accumulating on the funnel directly below the grinder, which needed wiping after every use. It seems this issue is likely caused by static electricity.

According to Philips, the spring-loaded tamper is calibrated to help you create a perfect puck; but during my tests, I found it didn’t apply as much pressure as I'd like. As a result, water ran through the grounds too quickly, and the machine failed to reach the optimum nine bars of pressure, even with very finely ground coffee (as shown on the pressure gauge).

Therefore, the resulting drinks were often under-extracted and a little sour-tasting –something verified by my colleague Peter Berenski, the resident coffee-buff at TechRadar’s sister site, Tom’s Guide. The video below shows a typical under-extracted double espresso pouring in just 15 seconds rather than the ideal 28 seconds.

You can get around this issue by using a third-party 58mm tamper; the "calibrated" unit supplied with the machine feels like a solution in search of a problem. The machine would be better with something simple. You can also try grinding your coffee more coarsely, so that the same weight of grounds take up more space, or simply use more beans – but this feels like a waste.

On a happier note, the machine’s steam wand is excellent. You don’t have precise control over the pressure (the dial on the side of the machine simply lets you choose between steam and water), but once it’s up to temperature, it maintains good pressure for the length of time it takes you to texturize your milk.

Automatic milk systems can be a nice touch for new users, but a manual wand delivers more flexibility, letting you adjust your technique for dairy or non-dairy milks.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Should you buy the Philips Barista Brew? Buy it if

You’re looking for an affordable espresso machine

The Philips Barista Brew is often available at a healthy discount, and is one of the most affordable bean-to-cup machines you can buy.

You’re already comfortable with the fundamentals

If you already know how to dose, tamp and steam, the Philips Barista Brew will be a piece of cake to use.

Don't buy it if

You’re intimidated by manual controls

The Philips Barista Brew offers guided brewing features, but in my experience it works best when you take coffee-making into your own hands. If you want more assistance, a model such as the Ninja Luxe Café may be a better option.

You want to keep your kitchen pristine

The Philips Barista Brew’s grinder has a tendency to propel coffee across your worktop, and grounds accumulate around the chute. A barista towel will be invaluable.

Philips Barista Brew: also consider

De'Longhi Dedica Style EC685

If you’re on a tight budget, this little manual coffee maker is one of the best you can buy. You’ll need a separate grinder, but that will deliver greater flexibility because you can choose one with a wider range of grind settings.

Read our full De'Longhi Dedica Style EC685 review

Breville Barista Touch Impress

Want an espresso machine that offers more of a helping hand than the Philips Barista Brew? The Barista Touch Impress (branded as Sage in the UK) will assist you in creating the perfect puck, with a lever-operated smart tamping system. It’s much pricier than the Philips machine, though.

Read our full Breville Barista Touch Impress review

How I tested the Philips Barista Brew

I put the Philips Barista Brew through its paces for a week, using both the pressurized and single-wall baskets to compare the results. I dialled in the grinder to achieve good extraction, and used both the automatic dosing system and manual grinding options. I used fresh arabica beans from a local coffee roaster, and chilled whole milk bought immediately before testing.

I compared coffee made using the Philips Barista Brew to coffee made with my own Gaggia Classic manual espresso maker and Dualit ceramic burr grinder.

For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products on TechRadar.

First reviewed May 2025

• JPMorganChase open letter calls for urgent industry-wide action on SaaS risks
• Third-party SaaS models expose critical infrastructure to cascading cybersecurity threats
• Firms rely on insecure integrations that collapse trust boundaries between systems

JPMorganChase, the largest bank in the world, has warned about the dangers of SaaS technology used by organizations across the world every single day.

Writing in an open letter, CISO Patrick Opet outlined growing concerns that the speed of SaaS adoption has outpaced security development.

In particular, Opet noted that vendors have prioritized rapid feature delivery over secure architecture, creating systemic vulnerabilities across the software supply chain.

A call to arms

“An AI-driven calendar optimization service integrating directly into corporate email systems through "read only roles" and "authentication tokens" can no doubt boost productivity when functioning correctly,” Opet said.

“Yet, if compromised, this direct integration grants attackers unprecedented access to confidential data and critical internal communications.”

Opet went on to warn thousands of organizations are now embedded in ecosystems that depend heavily on a small group of service providers - so if one is compromised, the ripple effects could be devastating.

"Modern integration patterns dismantle these essential boundaries, relying heavily on modern identity protocols (e.g., OAuth) to create direct, often unchecked interactions between third-party services and firms’ sensitive internal resources," Opet said.

"In practice, these integration models collapse authentication (verifying identity) and authorization (granting permissions) into overly simplified interactions, effectively creating single-factor explicit trust between systems on the internet and private internal resources. This architectural regression undermines fundamental security principles that have proven durability."

JPMorganChase has already experienced a number of third-party breaches over the past three years, requiring swift action to isolate compromised partners and mitigate threats. These incidents have emphasized the risks tied to highly connected third-party ecosystems.

"Fierce competition among software providers has driven prioritization of rapid feature development over robust security," Opet wrote.

"This often results in rushed product releases without comprehensive security built in or enabled by default, creating repeated opportunities for attackers to exploit weaknesses. The pursuit of market share at the expense of security exposes entire customer ecosystems to significant risk and will result in an unsustainable situation for the economic system."

He also cited new threats emerging from token theft, opaque fourth-party dependencies, and privileged access without sufficient transparency.

"The most effective way to begin change is to reject these integration models without better solutions,” Opet concluded. “I hope you’ll join me in recognizing this challenge and responding decisively, collaboratively, and immediately.”

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Some of the most-wanted vinyl releases aren't new records; they're remastered versions of old favorites. But those remasters might not sound as good as you hope even when played on the best turntables – and in some case they might actually sound worse than the originals.

Remastering – creating a new master copy of the record that's then copied to discs and/or digital – is commonplace because it's a great way for record companies to sell you a record all over again. And it's catnip for music fans, because it promises to take an album you already adore and make it even more magical.

With a lot of old music, remastering really does deliver a massive improvement, so for example it can give you the clarity and low-end thump that's often lacking from early rock records because not everyone making music or playback kit really knew what they were doing back then. But for some remasters, it might be wise to wait until others have taken the plunge before deciding if you want to sign up.

It's all about the loudness war. If you've heard of it, you've probably heard of it in the context of digital music: CD, and more recently digital files. It existed before digital, but it was more of a skirmish until digital formats entered the battlefield.

The loudness war is what you get when records are being made to sound as loud as possible on digital formats and low-quality speakers, even if that takes all the dynamics out of the performance. And while vinyl is an analog medium, not a digital one, that doesn't mean it can't be collateral damage.

A very fine turntable can't help if the wax isn't right (Image credit: Audio-Technica) 1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a loudness war

In a fascinating post, Jeff from Magic of Analog, Vinyl, Digital and Spatial Sound sets out the issue: some vinyl releases have been made from master copies that were created for a digital release, and that can be a problem.

Making vinyl records is as much of an art as a science, and there are physical limits to what you can do – so for example, if the bass is boosted too much in the recording, when that translates into the etching on the record, the needle can move so much it bounces out of the groove on some turntables, particularly cheaper ones.

With digital, that's not a problem, so when the song's being mastered the bass can turned way up – and that's fine… unless you then use that digital master to make the vinyl version.

The key weapon in the loudness war is compression, which reduces the dynamic range of music. Dynamic range is the distance between the loudest bits and the quiet bits, and it's what makes music breathe; artists use dynamics to make their music more involving. To paraphrase Spinal Tap, if everything's turned up to 10, where do you go from there?

Compression can turn it up to eleven and keep it there.

Used judiciously, compression can make a song sound better, and more punchy. But too much of it can create a wall of volume, and that's something you hear every day: it's why ads on TV are so loud, because they're heavily compressed so they'll get your attention.

In music, if you overcook things too much you get Californication.

How to avoid catching Californication

When the Red Hot Chili Peppers released Californication in 1999, it sounded dreadful – and the band will almost admit that now. "When it comes on the radio you want it to be the loudest thing that comes on," drummer Chad Smith told SiriusXM about the "too hot" mastering.

Producer Rick Rubin got mastering expert Vlado Mello to achieve exactly that. The resulting album was indeed the loudest thing that came on the radio. But it also sounded distorted. "Audiophiles were getting upset about it," Smith admitted.

Audiophiles were right to be. What's mastered to sound massive on a cheap radio (or in a more modern sense, on tinny laptop or smartphone speakers) is not being mastered to sound good on a McIntosh system or even something as good as a pair of AirPods Pro 2, and when you listen to it on decent kit it can be positively painful, tedious and tiring.

If you're going to spend the money on gear like this, you've got to make sure the sound you're putting into it is worthwhile (Image credit: Future / Howard Kneller)

There's a lot of music out there that's been given the loudness war treatment since its original release. Jeff uses Prince's Purple Rain as an example, comparing the waveforms of the CD master with the 2015 remaster. The former looks like a song with lots of dynamics, and sounds that way too: it ebbs and flows like rainfall. The latter is like being thrown off Niagara Falls.

Jeff says the same applies to some remastered records by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Norah Jones and others – although some genres such as jazz, blues and classical are pretty safe for loudness pacifists.

What does this mean for vinyl buyers? The short answer is: it depends. There are some absolutely astonishing remasters out there – The Beatles' 2014 remasters are rightly regarded as masterpieces, pun fully intended – and remasters that are made specifically for vinyl are usually approached with respect rather than a desire to assault your eardrums unless, of course, that was the artists' intent.

The ones to watch out for aren't the audiophile editions, the reverent restorations. They're the cynical cash-ins made from masters that were only ever destined for digital. Know your enemy – and be careful out there.

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• Vertere's DG X turntable is both sonically gifted and easy to use, and for 'serious' hi-fi, that's rare

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, May 4 (game #693).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #694) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• TORPEDO
• BAT
• COAST
• LEVEL
• САРЕ
• BATON
• PLATEAU
• HOAGIE
• SETTLE
• CRUISE
• CIGAR
• CASTLE
• FLOAT
• FLATTEN
• FANG
• DRIFT

NYT Connections today (game #694) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Easy street
• GREEN: Resident of Transylvania
• BLUE: Same as it ever was
• PURPLE: A shape in common

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #694) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: GLIDE
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH COUNT DRACULA
• BLUE: STOP CHANGING 
• PURPLE: THINGS THAT ARE LONG AND CYLINDRICAL 

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

NYT Connections today (game #694) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #694, are…

• YELLOW: GLIDE COAST, CRUISE, DRIFT, FLOAT
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH COUNT DRACULA BAT, CAPE, CASTLE, FANG
• BLUE: STOP CHANGING FLATTEN, LEVEL, PLATEAU, SETTLE
• PURPLE: THINGS THAT ARE LONG AND CYLINDRICAL BATON, CIGAR, HOAGIE, TORPEDO

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

It probably says a lot about me that I didn’t get the purple group because I thought we were searching for bread products, as in the TORPEDO roll, a HOAGIE sandwich… er, to be honest it wasn’t a long sidebar

Still, this was one of those rare easy Connections days – a CRUISE around four groups you could say, rather than something to sink your metaphorical FANGs into.

I’m pretty sure I got ASSOCIATED WITH COUNT DRACULA not because of Transylvania’s famous resident, but because I’ve been watching a lot of What We Do In The Shadows. One of the greatest TV comedies of the past decade imho, about a group of four vampires who live in Staten Island. It’s wonderful.

My favourite WWDITS character is Colin Robinson, an energy vampire, who prefers to drain mental energy from his victims rather than blood – making him far more believable than the regular type of vampire. We all know someone like Colin.

Having said that, doing a daily column about Connections is exactly the kind of job Colin Robinson would do. Er…

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, May 4, game #693)

• YELLOW: QUALITIES OF OVERCOOKED MEAT CHEWY, DRY, STRINGY, TOUGH
• GREEN: PLAY SOME ELECTRIC GUITAR JAM, NOODLE, SHRED, SOLO
• BLUE: INGREDIENTS IN BUBBLE TEA BOBA, MILK, SUGAR, TEA
• PURPLE: PLANETS/ DWARF PLANET WITH FIRST LETTER CHANGED BLUTO, CARS, DARTH, GENUS

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, May 4 (game #427).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #428) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… On the side

NYT Strands today (game #428) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• KEYS
• STIR
• MEEK
• FORTS
• HOST
• RICE

NYT Strands today (game #428) - hint #3 - spangram letters How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #428) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 4th row

Last side: right, 1st row

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

NYT Strands today (game #428) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #428, are…

• STEAK
• HOME
• CURLY
• WAFFLE
• CRINKLE
• SHOESTRING
• SPANGRAM: FRENCH FRIES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

FRENCH FRIES or Freedom Fries as some like to call them, or Chips as we say in the UK, are the single reason why the potato is by far the best vegetable. That you can get so much flavor, crispy wonder and variety from of a bland starchy tuber is a miracle.

Today’s search, has of course made me hungry, although I didn’t exactly work up an appetite doing it (no thermometer headaches today), and got me wondering what my favourite type of "fry" is.

If push came to shove I think I’d have to go for a fat chip shop chip (aka STEAK fries) drowning in salt and vinegar with some curry sauce “on the side”.

Right, that’s enough of this puzzling, I’m off to the chippy!

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, May 4, game #427)

• PLANET
• EMPIRE
• SPACE
• LONG
• TIME
• GALAXY
• REBEL
• SPANGRAM: OPENING CRAWL

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, May 4 (game #1196).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1197) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1197) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1197) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1197) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1197) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• W

• C

• S

• Q

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

Quordle today (game #1197) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1197, are…

• WREAK
• COWER
• STEAD
• QUEUE

Well, that was fun! Getting QUEUE ended up being easy and instead of a rare letter tripping me up it was a common four-letter ending.

I went through three wrong -REAK words before finally getting to WREAK and just one shot at my final word.

Fortunately, with five letters in the wrong positions, COWER just needed some rearrangement.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1197) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1197, are…

• ASCOT
• HAUTE
• RECUT
• IMPLY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1196, Sunday, 4 May: PINCH, SMOKE, SCARY, CANNY
• Quordle #1195, Saturday, 3 May: PLUSH, VERGE, WROTE, CONDO
• Quordle #1194, Friday, 2 May: CAUSE, RISEN, MACAW, SMELT
• Quordle #1193, Thursday, 1 May: IDIOM, EXILE, SPOOF, DRAPE
• Quordle #1192, Wednesday, 30 April: BATON, TORSO, ANNEX, DROWN
• Quordle #1191, Tuesday, 29 April: HOVER, HENCE, OCTAL, COPSE
• Quordle #1190, Monday, 28 April: JAUNT, ALLOW, FRUIT, BURNT
• Quordle #1189, Sunday, 27 April: PRIOR, YOUTH, CREDO, CHIDE
• Quordle #1188, Saturday, 26 April: LINGO, LOCUS, THROW, CLICK
• Quordle #1187, Friday, 25 April: SHALT, WRATH, MAMBO, HUMPH
• Quordle #1186, Thursday, 24 April: CHOKE, COLOR, FRAME, CAIRN
• Quordle #1185, Wednesday, 23 April: VALET, PUPAL, CREEP, DRIFT
• Quordle #1184, Tuesday, 22 April: POUTY, CHEST, BROOM, TEPEE
• Quordle #1183, Monday, 21 April: SHARD, PRINT, SUMAC, LEACH
• Quordle #1182, Sunday, 20 April: DINER, HORDE, SHONE, FUGUE
• Quordle #1181, Saturday, 19 April: GRADE, LAUGH, RAINY, EXULT
• Quordle #1180, Friday, 18 April: DEBUT, GLADE, BASTE, PESTO
• Quordle #1179, Thursday, 17 April: SPRAY, RAMEN, SHELF, COURT
• Quordle #1178, Wednesday 16 April: STUMP, GRAFT, CHORD, INPUT
• Quordle #1177, Tuesday 15 April: SLEET, MERIT, HARSH, FORAY

The Trump administration's tariffs are already having an impact on the nation's ports. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, about the effect.

Could Xintong become the first Chinese player to be crowned world champion?

For everyday use, exercising and lengthy listening time, three is the perfect number for a headphones collection. Let me explain.

Soundbars are an effective way of boosting your TV’s built-in sound, as the built-in speakers even on the best TVs can’t match the quality of their picture.

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is one of the best soundbars on the market, delivering punchy, immersive performance across movies and music at a mid-range price.

The mid-range soundbar market is extremely competitive, with various brands offering alternatives to the Sonos Beam. One such brand is Sony.

I recently got to test the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6, a 3.1.2 channel soundbar, side-by-side with the Sonos Beam. The Theater 6 comes with a subwoofer in-box, something that isn't the case for the Sonos Beam (though it does have effective bass for an all-in-one soundbar).

How would these two similarly priced soundbars fare against one another? I hooked them up to the Panasonic MZ1500, a brilliant OLED TV, and used some reference 4K Blu-rays to test that out.

A quick note first: the Sony Theater 6 is a better value in the UK. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is priced at $449 / £449 / AU$799, and the Sony Bravia Theater 6 is priced at $649 / £499 / (roughly AU$1,000 converted from US price), meaning you’re getting a closer price match in the UK.

The case for Sonos Image 1 of 2

The Beam delivers impressive sound for its size (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

The Beam could be seen as having one big obstacle to overcome out-of-the-box: no included subwoofer. For that reason, you’d think it would have significantly weaker bass compared to the Bravia Theater 6, but that didn’t exactly turn out to be the case.

Watching a chase scene from The Batman, the Beam delivered punchy, weighty bass for a compact soundbar, perfectly capturing the rumble of the Batmobile’s roaring engine. The same was true watching Top Gun: Maverick, as the ignition of the Darkstar jet’s engine in the Mach 10 scene was impactful.

Speech clarity was another area where the Beam performed well despite its size. Watching various musical performances from A Complete Unknown (the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet), vocals were delivered precisely without sacrificing other elements in the mix. In Wicked, Elphaba’s soaring, powerful vocals in the ‘Defying Gravity’ scene were delivered accurately through the Beam. I also found myself preferring the Beam over the Bar 6 when it came to the music sequences in A Complete Unknown.

The Beam’s sound connected to the action on screen as well, accurately placing effects such as screeching tyres and careering cars in The Batman, and the jets in Top Gun: Maverick.

The case for Sony Image 1 of 2

The Bravia Theater Bar 6 delivers impressive bass and height effects, and it has a wide soundstage (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 external subwoofer gives it one big advantage over the Sonos Beam. Although the Beam is great for its size, it cannot compete with Bar 6 when it comes to bass.

Sony’s mammoth sub means the Bar 6’s bass is room-filling and delivers plenty of heft. Watching the same scene from The Batman, the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine was more powerful and engaging than what the Beam could muster – I even had to turn the bass level down. Bass was also tightly controlled and nuanced. For sheer sound power, the Bar 6 was the winner in this contest.

With two height speakers positioned on the soundbar, the Bar 6 does a better job of delivering height effects than the Beam. The sound of rain throughout The Batman was more prevalent, even during the Batmobile chase with its propulsive score and loud explosions. And in the Mach 10 scene from Top Gun: Maverick, where the Darkstar jet flies over Admiral Cain, the trajectory of the jet was more accurately mapped by the Bar 6 than by the Beam.

The Bar 6 soundbar is significantly wider than the Beam (37 inches / 950mm to the Beam’s 25 inches / 651mm), which gives it a wider soundstage. During the defying gravity scene in Wicked, the winds and direction of sound felt more immersive on the Bar 6 as Elphaba took flight on her broom, although the Beam also did a credible job here. And activating the Sound Field mode on the Bar 6 made the sound even more immersive.

During the musical performances in A Complete Unknown, the Bar 6 delivered a fuller, more spacious sound than the Beam. For instance, as Dylan and Joan Baez played at the Newport Folk Festival, the applauding crowd sounded clearer on the Bar 6, and the vocals and guitars had a more sprawling, expansive quality.

Beam vs Bar 6: the verdict Image 1 of 1

Which soundbar is better will ultimately depend on your circumstances (Image credit: Future)

Both the Beam and the Bar 6 are great examples of how effectively mid-range soundbars can improve a TV’s sound, and both have their unique strengths. The Beam shines with music-related content and has an impressive soundstage and bass considering its size.

But the Bar 6 with its included subwoofer has the more powerful bass, a wider soundstage thanks to its wider size, and upfiring speakers that deliver more accurate height effects than the Beam.

Which soundbar is ultimately better will depend on your circumstances. If you have a smaller space, the Beam will be more than enough. But if you have a medium-sized room and are looking for more powerful, spacious sound, the Bar 6 is the way to go. If you’re in the US, it will be tough to ignore the $200 price gap between the two. The Beam arguably delivers better bang for your buck in that case, but in the UK, it’s a much closer contest.

Since I’m in the UK, I’d choose the Bar 6 over the Beam, but the latter is a fantastic example of what an all-in-one soundbar can do. In the end, you’re spoilt for choice with these two great soundbars.

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Israel said it would retaliate after four people were injured and flights temporarily suspended.

(Image credit: Ohad Zwigenberg)

• Apple is rumored to be splitting the iPhone launch schedule
• The changes could be made in 2026
• Apple wants to boost sales of all four flagship models

For many years now, we've got used to Apple launching its best iPhones all together every September – most recently the iPhone 16 series – but if a new report is to be believed, that scheduling could be set for a major shakeup in the years to come.

According to The Information (via MacRumors), Apple is planning to stick to September releases for the Pro and Pro Max models, while shifting the other iPhones to springtime in the US (so presumably around March time).

The idea is that splitting up the iPhone launches like this will "rejuvenate long-stagnant sales", the report from The Information says. There also seems to be some uncertainty over how well the upcoming, ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air is going to sell.

It seems these changes aren't planned for this year, but will instead be put into place next year – with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone 18 Air launching in September 2026, and the standard iPhone 18 and quite possibly the iPhone 18e then arriving in March 2027.

All change

The high-end iPhone 16 Pro Max on launch day (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The Information acknowledges there are risks involved in shaking up this long-established schedule. However, it's thought that it'll persuade consumers to upgrade more regularly, while also easing the production pressure on Apple's manufacturing partners.

Another reason for the switch: to make room for the foldable iPhone, expected sometime in 2026. Pushing the less expensive iPhones to a launch window earlier in the year will mean more production capacity for a new model.

None of this is confirmed yet, of course: we'll have to wait and see what Apple does in the months ahead. It's possible that Apple itself hasn't fully decided whether or not to try and mix up its release schedule in 2026 and 2027.

If the company does go through with it, it's going to be a substantial shift in the annual phone launch calendar. We've already seen Samsung and Google move their flagship phone launches to earlier in the year – and it's possible that these moves are part of the reason Apple is thinking about a revamp of its own.

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• Minisforum's G1 / G1 Pro mini PC takes its design cues from Sony's game console
• The device supports desktop-class RTX 5060 GPU with up to 120W draw
• It's powered by a Ryzen 9 8945HX CPU and 350W PSU in console-sized case

At the recent Japan IT Week Spring event, Chinese mini PC maker Minisforum unveiled two exciting new systems: the MS-A2, which is a superfast AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX CPU powered follow-up to the MS-A1 micro workstation (but really the spiritual successor to the MS-01), and the G1 / G1 Pro gaming mini PC.

It’s fair to say the latter takes more than a few design cues from the Sony PlayStation 5, with a vertically oriented white chassis and a center-mounted black I/O strip that closely mimics the PS5's iconic silhouette.

Spotted by PC Watch, the G1 / G1 Pro is Minisforum’s latest living-room-friendly system aimed at gamers who want desktop-level power in a console-style form factor. The slim, upright unit - reportedly scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2025 - is the direct successor to Minisforum’s AtomMan G7 Ti.

Not just for gaming

The standout feature of the new mini PC is support for a desktop-class GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card (up to 120W), installed using a low-profile, dual-slot configuration. Minisforum says users will eventually be able to upgrade the GPU themselves.

Inside, the system is powered by AMD's Ryzen 9 8945HX processor, making it well-suited for demanding gaming workloads - or other creative tasks, if you like the look of the PS5 but aren’t that into gaming.

Storage support includes up to two M.2 SSDs, and there's a built-in 350W power supply to help reduce cable clutter in a media center setup.

Despite its compact size (216 x 315 x 57.2mm), the G1 series offers two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, two DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, 5 Gigabit Ethernet, and audio I/O jacks.

By combining console-style design with true gaming hardware, Minisforum aims to deliver a compact alternative to traditional towers without compromising performance or upgradeability.

Pricing and global availability have yet to be announced but, as with the MS-A2, more details are expected soon.

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