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A new analysis of private insurance claims data finds less than 0.1% of youth accessed puberty blockers or hormones for gender transition. This small group has garnered a huge amount of attention from Republican lawmakers in recent years.

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U.S. Steel and its would-be Japanese suitor filed twin lawsuits Monday to defend their $15 billion merger. President Biden issued an order on Friday to block the deal, citing national security concerns.

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Winter storm warnings have ben declared from Illinois to New Jersey. And some areas will get a lot of snow. They will also get freezing rain and ice, blustery winds and frigid temperatures.

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Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: One-minute review

Writing this Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active review, I wasn’t exactly expecting it to hit our list of the best fitness trackers on the market — it’s startlingly cheap, designed for people who just need the fundamentals of health tracking. However I wasn’t expecting it to miss the mark so much.

Released as an even-more-affordable alternative to the already-affordable Xiaomi Smart Band 9, the Active model cuts the cost, as well as some corners, from that predecessor. However, it cuts so many corners that, like a really bad lapidarist, it leaves nothing left to appreciate.

Testing a cheap fitness tracker like this, you have to expect some compromises, but the Band 9 Active takes it too far. Many different health tracking metrics were easily proven wrong, with GPS reading poorly compared to data from our smartphone and heart rate information being laughably inaccurate. Calorie burn predictions were also dubious, unless I truly did only burn double-figure calories in an hour-long weights session.

One surprise exception was sleep tracking, which to me seemed vaguely reliable — at least, compared to distance or heart rate. If you just want a cheap and feature-sparse sleep tracker, this could be a valuable option.

Still, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active really struggles to prove itself as a useful health tracker given how ropey the testing results were. It fares a little better with its ‘smartwatch’ lifestyle functions as it was quick to send through notifications and let you control music.

It’s par for the course for fitness trackers to opt for offering a range of features, with the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active trying to track loads of metrics and health considerations. However, it seems that Xiaomi’s focus on breadth over depth has resulted in a wearable that’s hard to recommend. If you want a fitness tracker that has all the good bits of the Band 9 Active and few of the issues, opt for the standard model or the bigger and pricier Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro.

(Image credit: Future) Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Specifications Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Costs $44.99 / £19.99 / AU$42.99
• Cheaper alternative to Band 9
• Released in October 2024

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active was unveiled in China in October 2024, alongside the Band 9 Pro, and was slowly rolled out globally over the subsequent months. It’s now available to buy in most countries globally including the US, UK and Australia.

You can buy the Band 9 Active for $44.99 / £19.99 / AU$42.99, so it’s an incredibly cheap fitness tracker — though you don’t need to know currency conversions to know that some folks get it cheaper than others. I found some significant price fluctuations on Amazon, with Australian shoppers on the retailer getting a variation of a few dollars depending on the color option, and UK buyers being shown prices literally twice as high as on Xiaomi’s own website! So shop around to find the best price.

That’s a roughly $15 / £15 / AU$20 drop in price compared to the Xiaomi Band 9, a healthy discount that means that the budget band will likely undercut the original one even when the middle child is on sale. The cost also roughly matches the Xiaomi Band 8 Active from last year.

There aren’t many cheap fitness trackers at this price bracket that bear mentioning, so the Active’s competitors are all (relatively) pricey alternatives like the other Smart Band 9 models and options from Samsung and Fitbit if you can find them reduced. More on competition later.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Display doesn't look great
• Rectangular body plus strap
• Fairly well protected against bumps and water

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active has a pretty utilitarian design. Its body measures 4.6 x 2.7 x 1cm and weighs 16.5g, so it’s pretty small, and it totes a 1.47-inch display with a 172 x 320 resolution.

The band is made of TPU, which feels like a rubbery plastic, and can be adjusted for a wide range of wrist sizes. You can pick up the Active in black, beige or light pink, and your choice is reflected in the band’s body and strap.

With a 5ATM water resistance, the watch can withstand submersion in water at up to 50 meters — however, there are no swim tracking modes on the band, making this a feature you won’t need to test.

(Image credit: Future)

I bumped and bashed the Band 9 Active a fair few times during testing and it didn’t show a mark — it’s a good pick for clumsy wearers. It’s also small enough that you can wear it to bed without it being too noticeable and annoying.

The display, frankly, doesn’t look great, but that’s what you’re getting for your low entry fee. You can put your own photos as your watchface too which is a nice touch, even if faces end up looking a little like old-school RuneScape characters.

• Design score: 3/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Many metrics seem inaccurate
• Poor at pulling data from smartphone for GPS
• 50 sports tracking modes in all

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 offers about 50 different fitness tracking modes, roughly a third as many as its two siblings though all the basics are covered (and then a few). Before you remark about how many that is, bear in mind that not all fitness tracking modes are equal.

Basically all of the fitness modes track time and heart rate, and some throw GPS in on top — the reason you’d pick between different tracking modes is so it’ll show up as a different entry in your fitness log, and because you can set different workout goals for different activities.

For testing purposes I used outdoor running, outdoor cycling and strength, but the fill list includes everything from badminton and baseball to billiards and ‘back’ (back workouts, that is).

Unfortunately, they’re not great: most of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active’s fitness tracking features don’t work as they’re supposed to.

Here’s an example: one testing day I ran to my gym, which is usually 1.6km but the ‘outdoor running’ mode only recorded it as 1.4km. Then at the gym, I turned on ‘strength’ mode for my workout, and it told me I was at a low heart rate — despite the fact I hadn’t caught my breath after the run, and could feel my heart rate to be elevated.

(Image credit: Future)

The GPS issue is the most pronounced; multiple times during testing the watch wouldn’t report the full distance of a run or cycle (or, on one occasion, any distance at all, instead of the 4km I had cycled). From my testing, I seemed to lose on average 20% of the distance I actually traveled. It seems to be an issue with how the watch connects to your phone, as the Active only has Connected GPS (which utilizes your phone’s GPS, instead of having it built-in). I would have considered it being an issue with my phone, had I not tested the Band 9 Pro immediately before the Active.

The heart rate issue is also a shame — it’s one of the most important metrics that people use fitness trackers for, so the fact that it’s so obviously inaccurate is a real shame.

Now for a surprise: sleep tracking worked pretty well, surprisingly so given the rest of the performance. It was acccurate in terms of timing, even if I lay in bed reading before sleeping or remained prone for a while after waking up. It also offered basic-but-useful breakdowns of types of sleep (REM, deep, etc) as well as wake-up times and your resting heart rate (for however accurate that is…). If all you want out of a fitness tracker for is sleep tracking, this budget option might be alright.

• Performance score: 2/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Mi Fitness app used on phone
• Music playback, notification handling and more
• 14-day battery life

Beyond the iffy fitness tracking options, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active more or less ticks all the feature boxes you’d expect for a cheap fitness tracker.

Through Bluetooth with your phone it can tell you the weather, control your music (well, skip, back a track and play/pause) and ping you with notifications. I recommend customizing which notifications get sent to your tracker, lest you want to be pinged every few minutes with the latest weather report.

The Band 9 Active connects to your phone via Bluetooth 5.3 and the connection was faultless during my testing — except, of course, for the weird GPS issue. You connect to the Mi Fitness app, which can bring you a few extra ways to use your band.

The main one (for me) is that it gives you more depth to examine your past workouts, with a rough GPS map and other metrics. You can also see the results of various metrics tracked via the watch like training load, stress, energy and your vitality score.

You can also use the app to customize your watch to a limited degree — like I said you can set a background photo or pick from a wide range of other displays. You can also tweak some settings of the fitness tracking metrics and set a password for the tracker.

Xiaomi cites the battery life for the Band 9 Active at being 18 days, or about two-and-a-half weeks. From my testing, I’d say you can reliably get two weeks of use out of the band before needing to charge it, but that extra four days may be a stretch if you’re not sparing with your use.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Scorecard Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You're only in it for sleep tracking
If you only want a sleep tracker, and don't care about other health features, then you'll find the Band 9 Active fit for purpose.

You don't care about health at all
Just want a way to control your music, see notifications and check on the weather from your wrist? Then the Band 9 Active is fine for you and you won't need to spend any more.

You want a simple user interface
The Band 9 Active strips some features from its siblings, but this makes it very simple to use for technophobes or seniors..View Deal

Don't buy it if...

Your budget goes any higher
For only a small price increase, you can buy the Smart Band 9 which is a lot better in every way.

You care about tracking heart rate, calories or location
I've already mentioned in detail how iffy the fitness tracking modes of the Band 9 Active are. Don't use it if you actually care about tracking your health.

Also consider

Xiaomi Smart Band 9

For only a small price increase, you can buy this fitness tracker which fixes all of the Active's problems, plus looks nicer and lasts for longer.

Read our full review

Fitbit Inspire 3

A few years of price cuts means that the Fitbit Inspire 3 is fairly affordable, though it'll still set you back the equivalent of several Band 9 Actives.

Read our full review

First reviewed: January 2025

• Google announced the next-generation of Google TV at CES 2025.
• It's getting a hefty infusion of Gemini to up its smarts and make it better at conversational quieres.
• Plus with proximity sensors it has a unique take on 'Ambient Mode.'

The Google TV platform powers not only the Google TV Streamer box, but also countless TVs that opt for it to be the native operating system of choice. As the successor to Android TV, it ushered in a cleaner interface with better recommendations for major streaming services – as well as support for more of them – and a hefty dose of voice control courtesy of ‘Hey Google.’

Now, though, much like many of the other announcements at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show, Google’s giving us a peak at the next generation of Google TV and it, of course, has an AI tie-in. Just like the latest Pixel phones, next-gen Google TV will feature Gemini, and quite critically here, enables much more natural conversation requests.

Further, when next-generation Google TV devices are expected to arrive by the end of 2025, it will be a mix of software and some hardware to enable an ambient experience that almost feels self-aware. Thanks to proximity sensors in forthcoming TVs, it can automatically turn the TV on a photo gallery slideshow as you enter the room, but then switch to a dashboard of sorts as you get closer. Pretty cool, right?

This is Google TV’s take on the ambient experience for sure, one that mimics the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max or even the latest Nest Thermostat as it adjusts the content being shown based on where you will be in the space. The photo gallery aspect, including an opt-in for images created through Generative AI, is reminiscent of both the Chromecast static pages and art TVs like Samsung’s Frame or Hisense’s Canvas TV.

So the requirement for this ambient will be a proximity sensor seemingly on the TVs, but I imagine as we get closer to seeing these, there might be away to trigger this dashboard via remote – that ultimately remains to be seen. But much like a smart speaker or smart display, these next-generation Google TVs will have far-field microphones built-in to let you ask Gemini or ‘Hey Google’ for really limitless queries.

Since it’s a big screen, though, Google’s optimizing and tweaking the Gemini LLM a bit in that along with answering a question like how big our galaxy is or asking to plan a trip, it can suggest YouTube videos to jump into to learn more about the answers (or answers). As we’ve seen with other AI-powered assistants, it’s sort of customizing that power to the device you’re receiving it on.

(Image credit: Future)

We’re covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

Of course, since it’s Google TV and works with plenty of Google services, you’ll also be able to control smart home devices with it and even run automation. Unlike the Google Assistant, you’ll be able to speak more like a human and with more conversational terms rather than the more rigid voice requests of the past.

This also applies when you’re asking for help finding something to watch; you can be as specific as an animated movie appropriate for all ages from Disney or something much more wide-reaching to get suggestions. As we saw with the Google TV Streamer, Gemini will summarize key reviews and sentiments about the selected title when you open up a film.

From an early look, it’s a pretty AI glow-up for Google TV as a platform, but of course, it all comes down to hardware partners. While we already have an idea of what TV makers have already opted for Google, it remains to be seen where this next-generation experience will be found, but it is announced that we’ll see these arrive on future hardware by the end of 2025.

It’s also worth noting that since there is an additional requirement for far-field microphones and proximity sensors, this likely won’t be arriving on the current Google TV Streamer. Who knows, Google might be cooking up a hardware pack.

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• Microsoft aims to spend $80 billion on AI data centers in first half of 2025
• Half of the amount will be destined for the United States
• Upskilling citizens is recognized as crucial

Microsoft has revealed plans to invest $80 billion in AI data centers throughout the first half of 2025.

Vice Chair and President Brad Smith took to a New Year blog post to boldly state the US’s opportunity to “​​harness new technology to invigorate the nation’s economy” is the greatest it has been since the advent of electricity.

Speaking about AI’s power to “drive innovation and boost productivity” across all sectors, Smith confirmed Microsoft is on track to invest $80 billion throughout its fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30, 2025.

Microsoft AI data center investment

The company’s data center investments include cash to help train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications.

Smith confirmed over half of the total investments will be destined for the US, adding Microsoft’s plans are also helping to grow the country’s economy by supporting the likes of competitors, chip suppliers, applications companies, systems integrators, service providers, software developers, construction firms, material manufacturers and more, who all play an important role in the successful deployment of AI data centers.

It was also noted the 2019 AI Executive Order prioritized the integration of AI upskilling within educational curricula and educational grant applications – a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to boast it is committed to training 2.5 million American students, workers and community members with AI skills in 2025.

AI upskilling programs are usually a highlight of investments. For example, when Microsoft decides to open a new data center, it typically aims to give back to the community in the form of training.

Apart from investing in AI and upskilling the country’s citizens, Microsoft’s plans for America’s economic success also include a third element: exporting. Smith noted China’s efforts to become a leader in AI has put the US under pressure, and it must cooperate with “allies and friends” to maintain its position at the top.

In 2024, Microsoft announced more than $35 billion in investments across 14 countries to build AI and cloud data center infrastructure.

It’s clear that Microsoft sees itself as having a vital role in helping the US maintain its AI momentum. Smith concluded: “The key to the future is to bring together the best of what we can offer across American society, from across our private sector, educational and non-profit institutions, and government.”

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Over the last decade and a half, the internet has evolved from a search-based model into a robust, interconnected ecosystem of content producers and aggregators. Early knowledge navigation was driven largely by search engines, with Google’s Knowledge Graph being a notable game-changer. The tool highlighted how audiences were increasingly satisfied with direct answers rather than detailed content, even though most answers were rooted in content produced by knowledge platforms.

Over time, content providers adapted to this system, leveraging search engine optimization (SEO) and structured data to keep their visibility and user traffic strong. This symbiotic relationship created an entire industry anchored on search-based marketing, which thrived on the interdependence of content producers and search engines.

The landscape changed again with cloud computing. Companies quickly embraced Infrastructure-as-a-Service to streamline processes and reduce costs, leading to the rise of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models. These cloud-based business models generated a wave of innovative companies that redefined how software was created, distributed, and accessed, giving rise to an era of cost-effective and scalable technology solutions.

Fast forward to another major technological shift: conversational interfaces. While early virtual assistants like Siri and chatbots were innovative, they still relied heavily on traditional knowledge resources. These systems fundamentally operated within established business models, simply presenting new ways for users to interact with content, rather than transforming how knowledge was structured and consumed.

Which brings us to the meteoric rise of large language models (LLMs) and AI agents. While the underlying AI technology has been around for years, the explosion of AI tech in the last two years has been a game-changer for businesses across sectors. These major shifts have also disrupted the knowledge creator and user dynamic in a way that threatens content ownership, attribution, and monetization for knowledge platforms.

The fragmentation of the knowledge ecosystem

AI-driven agents are not merely interfaces; they synthesize and present information in a way that can obscure or bypass original content creators entirely. In many cases, these agents surface knowledge without attributing the source, effectively severing the feedback loop that used to send traffic back to content producers. As AI systems increasingly become the interface through which users consume information, the gap between knowledge sources and user interaction has widened. This change creates a “knowledge fragmentation” effect, separating the platforms that produce knowledge from the platforms that distribute it. This fragmentation raises three critical issues for the larger knowledge ecosystem:

• Answers are not knowledge: While LLMs can retrieve data and generate responses, they often lack the nuanced understanding needed to address complex questions. These systems can provide an answer, but not always the specific context required to apply those answers in real-world scenarios. As a result, they risk oversimplifying knowledge into basic answers that lack depth or relevance.
• The LLM brain drain: The current reliance on AI-driven knowledge diminishes the feedback loop that has historically fueled content creation. As users grow accustomed to instant answers without needing to consult detailed sources, the incentive to create and share nuanced and new information decreases. This brain drain effect threatens the richness and breadth of knowledge in our ecosystem, leaving us with static, outdated data in place of evolving insights and new content.
• Erosion of Trust: Many users of AI tools are questioning the trustworthiness of responses. Without transparency around the source and credibility of information, AI tools risk losing user confidence, especially in technical fields or for corporate customers where accuracy is critical.

Knowledge-as-a-Service – a new business model

In response to these challenges, community platforms are championing a new business model: Knowledge-as-a-Service. This model emphasizes the creation, curation, and validation of knowledge within a sustainable ecosystem where content creators, platforms, and AI providers coexist and support each other. At its core, Knowledge-as-a-Service means establishing a high-quality, domain-specific knowledge base that powers technology advancements while ensuring fair and transparent use of data.

For many, this means providing access to the highly trusted, validated, and up-to-date technical content on a platform. The platform supports both existing and emerging knowledge, creating a self-reinforcing ecosystem where new information is validated, indexed, and made accessible for developers and LLM providers. By fostering this continuous loop of knowledge creation and validation, businesses can begin to address “LLM brain drain” and the lack of trust that plagues the current knowledge economy.

Powering the future

The shift towards Knowledge-as-a-Service underscores the need for ethical data use and reinvestment in knowledge-producing communities. For the model to work, content providers and platforms must ensure fair attribution and recognition for their contributors. Transparent partnerships with LLM providers are key, as they create a pathway for AI tools to responsibly leverage community-generated knowledge without depleting the source.

The future of the knowledge economy rests on a collaborative approach that respects content creation and values transparency. Knowledge-as-a-Service offers a promising blueprint for platforms to remain relevant while supporting a new generation of digital tools and applications.

This strategy isn’t just a response to current challenges, but also a vision for a sustainable future where the exchange of knowledge remains open, accessible, and beneficial to all stakeholders. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, companies must rise to the challenge of preserving the integrity and richness of community-driven knowledge - or risk losing the foundation upon which the internet has been built.

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

• Popular open source vulnerability scanner Nuclei was found to be vulnerable itself
• A bug allowed crooks to smuggle malicious code past the scanner
• The vulnerability was fixed in September 2024, but many users still haven't updated

A vulnerability scanning tool was found to have been vulnerable itself, allowing crooks to smuggle malicious code past the gatekeeper.

Cybersecurity researchers from Wiz found a bug in ProjectDiscovery’s Nuclei in August 2024, after investigating the open source vulnerability scanner, which is designed to automate the detection of security issues across various protocols, systems, and applications using customizable YAML-based templates.

The bug is tracked as CVE-2024-43405, and was given a severity score of 7.8 (high). In versions 3.0.0 - 3.3.2, a vulnerability in Nuclei's template signature verification system allowed malicious actors to bypass signature checks and possibly run malicious code via custom code template, it was said.

Upgrades and workarounds

A fix was released in early September 2024, making version 3.3.2 the first clean one. Users are urged to apply the fix immediately, since cybercriminals are expected to now start scanning for vulnerable endpoints. Those that cannot apply the patch in a timely manner should stop using custom templates, and instead only use trusted, verified ones.

“Those who are unable to upgrade Nuclei should disable running custom code templates as a workaround,” it was explained on the NVD webpage.

Wiz also stated that Nuclei should be used in a virtual machine, or isolated environment.

While open source software is generally considered safe (if nothing else, then due to countless eyes looking at the code all the time), its popularity and ease of access also make it a popular target for criminals interested in software supply chain attacks. While the exact number of Nuclei users is impossible to determine, we can say it is a popular solution, since it has 21,000 stars on GitHub, paired with roughly 2,600 forks.

Additionally, the Nuclei project boasts more than 700 contributors and has facilitated over 50 million monthly scans, indicating widespread adoption within the cybersecurity community.

Via BleepingComputer

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As more companies champion a return to the office, once empty workspaces are now back to bustling with activity. But with this shift, a new issue has surfaced: noise.

Supporters of office-based work argue that the face-to-face interactions spark creativity, strengthen working relationships and boost team spirit in ways that remote work cannot match. However, noise in busy offices is proving to be a major concern for many. The challenge for businesses lies in creating an environment where the ability to quietly focus or collaborate with colleagues can coexist.

A thriving workplace or a focus killer?

Research from Jabra found that loud workspaces do more than irritate—they impact both employee wellbeing and productivity. In fact, half of UK employees reported feeling stressed by the constant background chatter and distractions in the office. Noise ranks among the top three causes of stress for employees. So why are companies insisting on a full five-day office return?

While company culture and the benefits of connecting with colleagues face-to-face are big factors, the drawbacks cannot be ignored. Noise and overstimulation can result in decision fatigue and burnout, with nearly half (47%) of employees in Jabra’s report saying office noise hampers their ability to concentrate.

Noisy workspaces – the silent threat to employee wellbeing

The consequences of a noisy work environment can be severe, with 60% of employees agreeing that such environments leave them physically drained. And over half (59%) say it is challenging to feel passionate about their work when dealing with constant noise.

Businesses must prioritize employees’ comfort and wellbeing. A recent McKinsey survey of company executives found that hybrid work models are most effective for boosting revenue, attributing this to improved employee wellbeing.

Championing a healthier office environment

But how can organizations proactively address noise-related stress at work? Creating quiet zones and thoughtfully designed meeting rooms where employees can go to focus is a good place to start, alongside spaces that are designed for more social activities and group collaboration. Ensuring that staff are equipped with technology like high-quality noise-cancelling headsets can also minimize distractions and help them to concentrate in louder environments. A calm office atmosphere that is conducive to getting work done can significantly boost employee morale and productivity.

Workers report that improved meeting audio quality can positively impact their interpersonal skills through clearer communication (46%), better collaboration (44%) and enhanced communication skills (39%).

The top three must-haves for employees according to Jabra’s research were noise-cancelling headphones, more flexibility to work from home, and designated spaces for different activities, such as quiet or collaborative zones. Investing in these and offering flexible working practices will have a significant positive impact on employee wellbeing, which ultimately leads to a happier workplace.

From chaos to calm

As more employees transition back to the office full-time, many will grapple with heightened stress levels. Factors like noise type, intensity and individual sensitivity all impact how we function at work, which can in turn influence our mental health and performance.

Companies need to cut through the noise and listen to employees to create an office environment that works for everyone. To successfully navigate the return to the office, striking the right balance between a vibrant and lively office atmosphere and enabling staff to have focused, distraction-free time is essential.

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• A new leak may have confirmed Nvidia's RTX 5090 using 32GB of VRAM
• It comes from Inno3D's product box image acquired by VideoCardz
• An official reveal is now hours away

Nvidia's long-awaited RTX 5090 official reveal is upon us, and a leak has already kickstarted the process - an Inno3D RTX 5090 product box all but confirms the flagship GPU's 32GB of VRAM.

This comes from VideoCardz who acquired the product box image (pictured below), which reveals Inno3D's new iChill design - but most importantly, corroborates previous rumors that suggested Nvidia's RTX 5090 would have 32GB of GDDR7 memory.

While it's important to note that this isn't official as we await Jensen Huang's CES keynote (now just hours away), this is the biggest indicator. There's no confirmation on its pricing despite rumors of a $2,500 figure, but we won't have to wait very long to find out.

The RTX 5090, in all its glory. (Image credit: VideoCardz) Will the performance jump over the previous gen justify a potential huge price increase?

There may not be any official information on the RTX 5090's specifications just yet, but the leaked image points towards other rumors holding some truth. VideoCardz mentions the flagship GPU potentially taking advantage of 21,760 CUDA cores compared to the RTX 4090's 16,000 - this could certainly prove to be a huge performance increase.

Considering the RTX 4090's MSRP ($1,599 / £1,499 / AU$2,959) it won't be much of a surprise to see the 5090 reignite controversy among PC gamers. The RTX 4090 is still an absolute powerhouse for gamers (especially at 4K), but games like Indiana Jones the Great Circle have showcased its limit (while using full path tracing).

For those chasing the best of the best, you should expect the RTX 5090 to perform exceptionally if the rumors are legitimate - it could be even better if there isn't a major price jump from the RTX 4000 series' flagship GPU.

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• Bird Buddy introduces Petal and Wonder Blocks
• It's a modular camera and accessory system
• It watches for birds, bees, and especially bugs

If I have a favorite gadget, it’s probably my Bird Buddy, a Wi-Fi-connected bird-feeding webcam that delivers beautiful, up-close images of doves, cardinals, sparrows, and woodpeckers.

Getting up close to nature is fun, even inspiring, and I think that may be why Wonder, the name for Bird Buddy’s new line of products, is introducing a couple more digital nature-watching technology ideas here at CES 2025: Wonder Blocks and Petal.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

The two products are really something of a pair. One, Petal, is an HD camera on a bendable stalk that can look like a large orange flower. It has fake leaves, one of which can be an optional solar panel to keep the camera battery charged. Petal can be placed in your garden alone, or you can pair it with Wonder Blocks, a modular habitat system where you can plant flowers, invite bees to build a hive, and even offer bird-seed-friendly trays.

Modules include a Bee Hotel, Bug Hotel, seed tray, plant base, and pedestals on which you can stack all these modules.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Bird Buddy)Image 2 of 4

(Image credit: Bird Buddy)Image 3 of 4

(Image credit: Bird Buddy)Image 4 of 4

(Image credit: Bird Buddy)

The Petal stalk, which has a 1/1.9 inch sensor and shoots 12MP stills and up to 4K video, can be stuck in the dirt of one of those modules to watch the action of, say, a butterfly alighting on one of the flowers growing in your Wonder Blocks. As with Bird Buddy, the 'wonder' really begins when the AI-backed camera starts capturing photos and videos of the bird, bugs, and other nature inhabitants and sends them to the Wonder app.

Bird Buddy’s AI, the same AI used to identify birds in my Bird Buddy App, can identify the bugs and other wildlife visiting your Wonder Blocks and Petal. The Wonder Blocks system currently has no sensors, but developers tell me it could, for instance, eventually keep track of the seed you put in it, and report on how much it has left and for how many days it can feed the birds.

Bird Buddy also plans to consolidate all the Wonder Products, including Bird Buddy, into one app where you can track all of your nature-watching cameras.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Similar to Bird Buddy, the system’s AI will give you real-time and daily reports of all the different types of bugs visiting the blocks, which are about the same size of a large garden planter. You can see photos and videos of the insects, and even share them if you like.

Wonder Blocks and Petal are not a fixed pair. Remember that flexible stem? It’s bendable enough that you can wrap it around a tree branch and capture images of birds landing and bugs making the journey from leaf to brand to leaf. There are also optional Petal lens attachments for closeup and wide-angle views of birds, bees, and bugs.

(Image credit: Bird Buddy)

Despite being modular, the Wonder Block system, which Wonder has yet to announce pricing for, is large and heavy enough that it looks unlikely to get knocked over by a hungry squirrel or busy raccoon.

Since the solar panel is optional, I wonder about the longevity of that Petal battery. When I got my Bird Buddy bird feeder, we opted for the optional solar roof so I wouldn’t have to keep pulling the camera module to charge it inside my house. Bird Buddy used the somewhat aging 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, so I’d hope that Petal and, ultimately, Wonder Blocks use Wi-Fi 5.0. It has a shorter range but a higher bandwidth.

Even so, I think Wonder Blocks and Petal might inspire my bug-watching in much the same way Bird Buddy did. This might be the first time I’m happy to see some bees build a hive near-ish my home.

Pricing for the Petal is expected to be about $99 when it ships later this year. While there's no separate pricing for the solar panel, Wonder representatives told me they expect to sell bundles where you'll get a pair of Petal cameras and solar panels for around $250. Wonder expects to start shipping Petal and Wonder Blocks in the “spring", so March-May.

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Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: One-minute review

Chinese tech company Xiaomi is almost single-handedly keeping the cheap fitness tracker market alive, and the new Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro is its new entry for people who want to monitor their health on the cheap, but want a nice big screen at the same time.

This health gadget is a follow-up to the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, released in mid-2024, and for all intents and purposes, it’s a very similar fitness tracker – too similar, for reasons we’ll get to. It has the same software, is largely as accurate for measuring your health, and connects to your phone in the exact same way.

Its key selling point is that, unlike its non-Pro predecessor, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 has a big display. This won me over more than I thought it would – it doesn’t feel much more of a burden on the wrist yet is much easier to press while you’re sprinting down a park path or balancing on a parked bike. I also see it being much more convenient from an accessibility viewpoint, so if fiddly fitness tracker screens put you off, this is the Smart Band to buy.

However with great screens come great price tags and the Smart Band 9 Pro pushes the price up a lot more than its older sibling – it’s not reaching the price point of Garmin’s cheapest options or second-hand Fitbits, but if you’re on the market for something really affordable, its price might give you reason to pause.

Size and cost upgrades aside, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro ostensibly has some improvements to sleep, blood oxygen, and heart rate monitoring – it didn’t feel that different to me. But I was disappointed in how lots of my issues with the previous band weren’t fixed, namely regarding buggy software.

My experience of using the Smart Band 9 Pro was punctuated by notifications waking me up in the early hours, alerts being hidden by other alerts, and the watch maintaining a very lackadaisical approach in waking when I raised it up. These are all issues I reported in my review of the first band, and they’re back here.

As a tech fan, I wasn’t impressed by how similar the Smart Band 9 Pro is to the Band 9, but the perk of its limited number of upgrades is that it functions just as well as that stellar fitness tracker did. Its activity tracking modes aren’t in-depth but they are handy for workout fans and I found the watch very accurate and useful for tracking distance and heart rate on runs.

When it’s working bug-free, the Band 9 Pro is also a useful lifestyle companion with music control, timers, and notification handling, all features that came in handy during testing.

So the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro is definitely an upgrade over the Band 9 you should consider if the price doesn’t put you off, but you really should ask yourself if you need the bigger display.

(Image credit: Future) Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Specifications Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Unveiled in October 2024
• Goes for £62.99 / AU$99.99 (roughly $75)
• Matches Smart Band 8 Pro

Xiaomi announced the Smart Band 9 Pro as well as the Active model in late October 2024, initially for its Chinese market, but it slowly released it globally in the following months.

You can pick up the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro for £62.99 / AU$99.99 (roughly $75). That’s a fairly significant price hike, in the UK at least, over the $60 / £24.99 / AU$79.99 ‘standard’ Band 9, though it matches its predecessor the Smart Band 8 Pro.

The price cements the Band 9 Pro as the premium member of its tripartite, with the Band 9 Active coming in at £19.99 / AU$44.99 (roughly $25). The price puts the tracker equal to, or above, some of the best cheap fitness trackers in terms of cost, and I don’t quite feel that the feature set has seen an increase in step with the price hike.

In a few regions, Xiaomi sells extra straps for the Band 9 Pro, and it sent TechRadar one of these alongside the fitness track for testing. However, at the time of writing, these aren’t for sale in the UK.

• Value score: 4/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Bigger body than rivals, but not much
• Large 1.74-inch AMOLED screen
• Screen space is really useful

Its suffix is ‘Pro’ but that could well be ‘Gro’ because the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro is, in effect, a bigger version of the non-Pro model in terms of design. That is to say, it’s a standard fitness tracker that’s been scaled up a notch.

The band that comes in the box is made of TPU, and I found it pretty fiddly to clasp but comfortable when worn. It supports a pretty large variance in wrist size, which isn’t something you can say about all fitness trackers. It has an easy-release mechanism so to remove or replace the bands, you simply press a small button on the Smart Band’s body, and I found this easy to do.

You can pick up the band in three color options: black, silver (with a white strap), and rose gold (with a pink strap). As you can see in the images, I used the latter.

The body itself measures 43.3 x 32.5 x 10.8mm, not including the band, and weighs 24.5g. That makes it a little chunkier and portlier than many svelte fitness trackers on the market but its weight wasn’t noticeable on the wrist. In fact, I found it just as comfortable as any other tracker I’ve used.

(Image credit: Future)

Next, we come to the screen, the biggest change over the ‘standard’ Band 9 (literally). It measures 1.74 inches diagonally, and like the body, it’s wider and shorter than its sibling. Its resolution is 336 x 480 and the max brightness is 1200 nits, though unlike on the Band 9 I found the automatic brightness wasn’t always that quick. I sometimes struggled to see what I was looking at on my band when outdoors until it had taken a few seconds to adjust the brightness.

This extra screen space will be fantastic for people who don’t get on with the teenie icons of most fitness trackers and smartwatches, and it was especially useful when running so I could easily press a button without needing too much precision.

In terms of protection, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro has 5ATM water resistance: it can survive at depths of up to 50 meters for 10 minutes. Xiaomi advises you not to take it in heated water, though, like a sauna or in the shower.

• Design score: 4/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Uses phone's GPS but has heart rate and other trackers
• Over 150 fitness tracking modes
• 21-day battery life

In the ‘specs’ section above, I quoted Xiaomi’s estimate for the Smart Band 9 Pro’s battery life of 21 days. However in my testing, I found that the band far exceeded this – it lost a third of its charge in eight days, which included multiple runs (including a three-hour one), several weights training sessions, and sleep tracking on most of the nights. That would put the battery life at closer to 24 days although your mileage will vary.

A 14-day battery life is pretty standard for fitness trackers but 24 days is stellar, so I don’t imagine that the band will let you down. Charging is done with a proprietary charger that plugs into any USB port.

The range of workouts is the same as on the standard band, so there are over 150 fitness tracking modes. Most of these are pretty barebones: they monitor time, your heart rate, and a rough count of the calories burned, so whichever of them you select from the watch largely just dictates how it shows up in your app workout log.

A few of them have more information though, with some like running and cycling using GPS. This isn’t standard GPS but connected GPS, which means the band uses the GPS from your paired smartphone – you can’t go on workouts without your mobile by your side.

(Image credit: Future)

This is therefore as accurate as your smartphone, but that’s nothing to turn your nose up at – I ran a distance that was measured to be 5K, and the watch told me I ran 5.05km, which is a 1% error margin.

Sleep tracking is present, and it’s not as in-depth as on a fancy smartwatch: you find out how long you slept, how it’s broken down into deep and light sleep and wake-ups, and what your average heart rate was. According to Xiaomi, the sleep tracking has seen an upgrade in the Band 9 Pro.

Other metrics that are tracked – to dubious levels of reliability – are your stress, energy level, and ‘vitality score’ or cumulative exercise over the last week. The watch also tracks blood rate oxygen and heart rate and these are, according to Xiaomi, also improved over the original band.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Mi Fitness app used on phone
• Music playback, notification handling and more
• Some bugs with app and watch

I found the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro quite buggy, which isn’t something that I’m too surprised about given other fitness trackers from the maker that I’ve tested, but it was more pronounced here as some examples disrupted my experience.

Both my most prominent examples come from the band’s otherwise effective notification handling. Sometimes notifications would appear at the same time as, and therefore override more important information; the Pro was very confused when an interval pop-up was immediately succeeded by a message notification, meaning I couldn’t see how many kilometers I’d just hit. And the more annoying one is that, even with do not disturb enabled, notifications would buzz on my wrist in the middle of the night – I was woken multiple times, once at 1 am, by notifications appearing on my wrist.

This latter one is something I experienced with the Band 9, as is another lesser issue: raise-to-wake is unreliable, and sometimes you can lift up your wrist and be met by a black screen.

I shouldn’t compare those two fitness trackers too much, though, because the overall experience of using the Band 9 Pro is great thanks to the larger display. A lot more information can be shown at once using its various widgets: you can see the weather for the next few days, your heart rate on a graph, and a music player to let you pause or skip songs. Buttons overall are naturally a lot bigger, which is a great accessibility win.

Well, most buttons are great, but the exception is in the app drawer which you open by swiping up from the bottom. This is a grid of 26 buttons for different features, and none of them are labeled, so you have to guess which does what. Many of them are identical: two are icons of running people, in different colors, and it’s a real trial-and-error experience. Luckily most of the features that I found myself using can be accessed in other ways, namely by swiping through the home page widgets.

More features come from the tie-in Mi Fitness app, which you download on your phone. It lets you see your fitness and health details in much more detail as well as change your watch face from a huge range of options (including custom photos), see historical data, and set up various features.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Scorecard Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You want a big screen
Whether it’s for accessibility or convenience, a big screen can be a huge draw for some people, especially with how small fitness tracker displays tend to be. If that’s you, step right up!

You need a long battery life
I was impressed with how well the Band 9 Pro lasted, despite some intensive testing – if you can’t reliably charge wearables, a long-lasting option like this is handy.

You bring your phone on workouts
The Smart Band is an extension of your phone – you’ll need your mobile to track GPS and send your watch the music and notifications it handles. You’ll need to buy a smartwatch if you want to do away with the phone.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

Budget is a key consideration
While it’s definitely cheap, the Smart Band 9 Pro isn’t cheap – not compared to its siblings and not compared to the fare that populates Amazon. You can find cheaper options that still work well.

You get frustrated by malfunctioning tech
I’ve detailed how the Smart Band 9 family has buggy software – if this kind of thing in tech drives you up the wall, you might find yourself using the 9 Pro’s stress measuring feature more than you’d like…

Also consider

Xiaomi Smart Band 9

This cheaper option works much the same as the Pro but with a smaller display.

Read our full review

Fitbit Inspire 3

Fitbit's cheapest health band lets you try the brand's range of features and thanks to price cuts, it generally sells for around the same price as the Band 9 Pro.

Read our full review

• Demi Moore wins Best Actress in a musical/ comedy at the 2025 Golden Globes
• This award is Moore's first major recognition in in her 45-year career
• Her win is a reminder that horror movies are more than deserving of the big awards, and makes her a shoe-in for the Best Actress Oscar

Awards season is in full swing and like clockwork, the 2025 Golden Globes has kicked off the celebrations with its recognition of the best movies of 2024. But out of all the nominations for acting, Demi Moore’s victory for her performance in Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (one of the best horror movies on streaming) was by far one of the most memorable moments of the night - marking Moore’s first-ever major award ceremony win and a monumental recognition for horror movies.

Taking home the award for best actress in a musical/comedy (though I feel inaccurately describes The Substance), Moore followed her Golden Globe win with a powerful speech that shed light on her experiences with not being taken seriously as an actress. Moore opened her speech confessing that “this is the first time [I’ve] won anything as an actor” in her incredible 45-year career, which was a surprising discovery given that Moore was named the highest paid actress of the ‘90s.

But Moore’s moving speech didn’t stop there. She added: "Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress and at that time, I made that mean that [awards] weren't something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged.”

Signing off her speech, Moore concluded: “In those moments when we don’t think we are smart enough or pretty enough, or skinny enough or successful enough or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me just know you will never be enough, but you can know the measure of your work if you just put down the measuring stick.”

Alluding to the experiences of her character in The Substance, it was a powerful full-circle moment for Moore.

Demi Moore as Elizabeth Sparkle in Coralie Fargeat's body horror The Substance. (Image credit: Mubi) Demi Moore re-writes the story for horror

There’s no hiding from the fact that horror is disregarded as a legitimate genre and shunned by the biggest awards ceremonies, and yes, I’m still bitter about Toni Collette and Lupita Nyong’o’s Oscar snubs for Hereditary (2018) and Us (2019). But alas, every cloud has a silver lining, and that silver lining is The Substance.

While I enjoy horror’s campy and, at times, unserious nature, I find that these can be damaging characteristics that can tarnish the genre’s artistic credibility. However that doesn’t mean you can’t get a damn good story out of a horror movie. When it comes to The Substance, Fargeat’s screenplay is a perfect balance of unseriousness and camp but still succeeds in offering a story with a critique of the harsh realities faced by aging women in the entertainment industry.

As a fan of horror and compelling women’s stories alike, Demi Moore’s win at the 2025 Golden Globes is a reassuring reminder that horror has substantial credibility and could serve as the catalyst for her campaign for the Best Actress Oscar. The Golden Globes are an indicator of who could win big at the Oscars, so it’s safe to say that I can’t wait to see how this race pans out.

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• The 2025 version of the Samsung ViewFinity S8 offers a 37-inch diagonal
• As an entry-level model, it only has a built in KVM and misses out on Thunderbolt 4
• While it scores highly on color fidelity, its refresh rate won't impress gamers

Samsung has announced the launch of its largest 16:9 4k monitor to date, the ViewFinity S8 (S8OUD model), ahead of CES 2025.

The company says its new monitor series is designed to "maximize productivity, immersion, and efficiency”, making it a handy piece of kit for both casual and professional users.

The ViewFinity S8 boasts a 37-inch screen, making it around 34% larger than previous models in this line, but has been officially certified by TÜV Rheinland as an ‘ergonomic workspace display”, making it ideal as a possible business monitor. The device also includes an ‘eye-saver’ mode and flicker-free features to protect users from eye strain.

What to expect from the ViewFinity S8

Built with productivity in mind and boasting a larger screen, Samsung said “more information can be seen at a glance” with the ViewFinity S8, while also enabling users to maximize desk space due to its sleek design.

The S8 comes complete with an Easy Setup Stand, for example, making it a relatively compact monitor despite its large size, and also boasts a built-in KVM8 switch, allowing users to turn the monitor into a “single command station” designed to supercharge multitasking capabilities across several devices.

Devices can also be connected and charged simultaneously with a 90W USB-C connection.

While Samsung has been keen to emphasize the professional applications of the new S8 monitor, there are areas where casual users or gamers might be left wanting.

The monitor does not include Thunderbolt 4 capabilities, for example. Similarly, the monitor’s refresh rate leaves a lot to be desired.

Its high score on color fidelity might be a saving grace for gamers here, however. With its sRGB 99% color gamut, the S8 “delivers the color representation and brightness” according to Samsung.

Samsung announced the launch of the S8 alongside its M9 Smart Monitor and the Odyssey G6 and G8 models.

“Samsung will continue its tradition of innovating display technology in 2025 with the introduction of new Odyssey, Smart and ViewFinity models,” said David Phelps, head of the display division at Samsung Electronics America.

“Whether its new AI capabilities, size options, or groundbreaking refresh rates, Samsung will ensure that every type of user will have their needs met for enhancing productivity, gaming, and entertainment.”

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• Bosch has revealed a new 'Battery Lock' feature for eBikes
• The feature will be available to those with a Flow+ subscription
• It will arrive via an over-the-air software update this summer

Electric bicycle component manufacturer Bosch is revealing an innovation at this year’s CES 2025 show that it hopes will serve as a powerful weapon against bike thieves.

Gregor Dasbach, head of digital business at Bosch eBike Systems, claims that the the battery is “one of the most valuable eBike components” and recognizes that there has been a spike in battery thefts as the popularity of the electrified transport continues to grow.

Arriving this summer, a new Battery Lock feature will be available as an over-the-air update via the brand’s Flow app for those with a Flow+ subscription. That subscription typically comes free for a trial period, but unfortunately requires a monthly payment after that.

The company claims Battery Lock complements the mechanical locking mechanisms that are found on eBikes with PowerTube and PowerPack battery packs by automatically ‘locking’ the battery on a digital level when the eBike is switched off.

Simply put, it means that any stolen battery pack that is inserted into another eBike with the smart system will automatically disable the electric motor and render that bicycle unusable. According to Bosch, it also makes reselling the battery packs pointless.

The digital security feature will join several other existing technologies, such as eBike Lock, which shuts the eBike down until it is reactivated using the smartphone app or by physically removing the Kiox 300 and Kiox 500 digital displays from their respective mounts.

Similarly, an eBike Alarm sends notifications to the user’s smartphone if it detects movement, while sounding both acoustic and visual warnings to anyone who dares to try and move a locked Bosch eBike.

Peace of mind for pricey eBikes

(Image credit: Bosch)

Bike theft is nothing new, but the introduction of expensive electric motors and battery components means that pedal-assisted transport is now more attractive than ever to nefarious types.

If they can't make off with the entire bike because it is carefully locked to a post, why not take the battery and make some quick cash?

Bosch says that its latest defence against the crims is compatible with all batteries or battery combinations in its smart system range, meaning it also works with DualBatteries and the PowerMore 250 Range Extender offering.

Seeing as a number of the biggest names in cycling rely on Bosch components and smart systems, including Bergamont, Cannondale, Canyon and Raleigh in the UK, its latest Battery Lock innovation will be rolled out to thousands of customers in the summer of 2025, with the potential to put a stop to battery theft and shut down illegal re-selling markets.

However, Bosch also says that owners must be subscribed to its Flow+ package to make the most of its Battery Lock update, which – after an initial free trial period – costs £35 / €40 / AU$60 (around $45) per year thereafter.

Should some customers not want to stump up the cost, it would mean that some Bosch battery packs remain unprotected by the digital locking feature and would therefore still present an opportunity to thieves.

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• More victims of Salt Typhoon attack unveiled by WSJ
• The extent of the damage caused by the attack is still unknown
• Some telecoms providers have removed the attackers from their systems

The recent Salt Typhoon cyberattacks may have breached more telecommunications providers than previously thought, with Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Windstream all now believed to also have been affected.

The fresh list of victims comes from a new report by the Wall Street Journal, who cited people familiar with the matter.

The attack also exploited Fortinet network devices that did not have up-to-date security software installed, as well as vulnerable Cisco large network routers.

Attack may have started in 2023

The attack against US telecoms providers was first publicized in a joint statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on October 25, 2024 - however, the WSJ report states the attack is believed to have started as far back as fall of 2023 - around the same time US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was briefing telecom and tech executives on the depth and breadth of Chinese penetration into US critical infrastructure.

Salt Typhoon is now known to have successfully breached the networks of AT&T, Verizon, Lumen Technologies, and T-Mobile in the attack, but little is known about what data the China-affiliated group was able to access.

Both Lumen and T-Mobile have said that they successfully stopped the group from accessing sensitive customer information, with Verizon confirming that the data of a limited number of high-profile individuals involved in politics was targeted in attacks.

Salt Typhoon also gained access to a ‘lawful interception’ channel used by law enforcement agencies to perform court-ordered wiretaps for national security purposes, with China repeatedly denying any involvement in the attacks and accusing the US of spreading misinformation. China even went so far as to label Volt Typhoon - a similar group believed to be associated with Beijing - as a CIA asset set up to discredit the US’ rivals across the Pacific.

Both Fortinet and Cisco did not comment on the WSJ report, but both organizations have been in the cross hairs of cyber attacks from a range of cyber criminal groups.

Network routers with outdated firmware have been a favorite target as an initial access point for attackers and botnets for several years. Fortinet has also experienced a spate of attacks on its Windows VPN service and Fortigate VPN systems.

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• OWC ThunderBlade X12 offers up to 96TB super-fast storage via a dozen 8TB SSDs
• It can reach up to 6.5GBps according to OWC in RAID-0.
• The X12 doesn't have any market-ready competition at the time of writing

The OWC ThunderBlade X12, available from March 2025, is a cutting-edge NAS option for demanding production environments.

Aimed at professionals such as DITs, video editors, and VFX artists, this device caters to workflows involving multi-camera 8K RAW, 16K video, or VR production.

With support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 configurations, the ThunderBlade X12 purports to offer speed, capacity, and reliability in a compact, portable design.

Blazing fast NAS performance

Built with a focus on durability and heat management, the ThunderBlade X12 features a sleek, ridged design that acts as a passive heatsink that helps during prolonged use.

OWC says the ThunderBlade X12 achieves sustained data transfer rates of up to 6,500MB/s when configured in RAID 0.

These speeds make it an ideal choice for handling high-resolution video and large file sizes without bottlenecks. It's not even a choice; at the time of writing, OWC's offering has no market-ready competitors offering comparable speeds and capacities.

It's also equipped with two Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C ports, and offers storage capacities ranging from 12TB to 96TB, making it particularly useful for professionals managing RAW footage or high-resolution assets that demand both speed and storage.

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The company's typical slew of CES announcements made answering "Which do you want?" more difficult than usual.