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Khadas Mind Pro: 30-second review

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by just how much processing power Khadas had managed to squeeze into such a small machine. Now, with the arrival of the Mind Pro, the company has retained much the same compact form factor and innovative modular design, while introducing Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor and Arc integrated graphics.

The result is an exceptionally powerful mini PC that feels just as capable as many considerably larger desktop systems, especially when it comes to everyday productivity as well as creative applications.

It once again features the premium metal construction, and with dimensions of just 146 × 105 × 28mm, it’s small enough to slip into a bag and carry between home and office. What makes this particularly useful is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery, which allows the machine to maintain your Windows session while moving between those locations, much the same as using a laptop.

During testing, I was able to leave applications open, disconnect the computer, throw the Khadas Mind Pro in my backpack and travel home. Then I was able to reconnect to a monitor, mouse and keyboard at home and continue the session without needing to re-open applications and work. This is what we have come to expect from laptops, but not with a Mini PC, and it’s a surprisingly useful feature, boosted by the option of extras such as the Dock and GPU modules.

Performance is equally impressive as it features an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, combined with 64GB of RAM and integrated Arc B390 graphics. This combination proved to handle Microsoft Office, Photoshop and Lightroom extremely well. Even Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve proved more usable than I had anticipated with 4K footage shot on the GoPro Mission 1 ILS.

Gaming was another surprise, with Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle both running at medium-quality settings; although as I extended play there were occasional frame drops, there was nothing too much to impact gameplay. The other point here was that the fans kicked in and, while audible, they remained relatively quiet.

The machine also has considerable AI potential, with a dedicated NPU and 64GB of shared memory. My initial CPU-based Lemonade AI testing showed that it could handle practical local AI tasks, although switching between models wasn’t always straightforward. Using the dedicated NPU with the right models gained some impressive results, but again selecting the right LLM manager and model takes some time, this process took me from Lemonade to the LM Studio.

Through the test, my main issue with the machine was the connectivity. With only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, it’s easy to run out of high-speed connections when using a USB-C monitor, power supply and external storage. If you are using the Mind Pro as your main desktop, this is where the optional Mind Dock starts to make sense and is more like an essential purchase.

Ultimately, the Mind Pro is an impressive example of innovation and how far mini PCs have progressed. It won't be the best mini PC for most users. It isn’t cheap, and you’ll need to invest further to see the full potential of its modular design, but the impressive processing power, portability and modular extras make it expensive but very desirable.

Khadas Mind Pro: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $2,559
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Khadas

The Khadas Mind Pro costs $2,599 for the Core Ultra X7 358H, 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD configuration that I’ve looked at in this review and is available directly from Khadas. Alongside the Mini PC, you can also purchase the optional Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2, although these will add considerably to the overall cost.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Specs

CPU: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 16 cores / 16 threads
Graphics: Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics
NPU: Intel AI Boost NPU 5, up to 50 TOPS
RAM: 64GB LPDDR5X, 8533MT/s
Storage: 2TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2230 SSD
Additional storage: M.2 2230 NVMe expansion slot
Rear Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 2× USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1 FRL
Expansion: Khadas Mind Link proprietary modular interface
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0
Audio: Audio output via supported display, USB and compatible expansion accessories. Battery: 7.98Wh internal standby battery
Dimensions: 146 × 105 × 28mm
Weight: 562g
Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Power: 100W USB-C power adapter
Optional Accessories: Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2

Khadas Mind Pro: Design

Unpacking the compact AX9 Max, the metal casing and detailed plastic base of this mini PC instantly reinforced its price point. Only after carefully checking the detailing and the large, shiny logo on top did I start to question whether this was a premium machine or just one trying to look premium.

Checking the specifications and that the price point was justified, but there’s still something about the design that feels a little over the top. The rest of the design is solid, and at 134.9 × 131.8 × 57.7mm and 777.5g, it’s a great size and weight for this style of machine.

Around the casing, there are four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. On the left side of the casing is an SD 4.0 memory card slot, while the back has two USB4 Type-C ports, a USB 2.0 port, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two 2.5Gb RJ45 sockets, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and the DC-in port.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by the combination of its exceptionally small size, processing power and innovative modular design. With the arrival of the Mind Pro, it’s immediately apparent that the company has retained much of the ethos of those initial machines and what made them so interesting.

The form factor is familiar, the design remains incredibly minimalist, and once again, it’s the modular expansion ecosystem that differentiates this from the usual mini PCs I look at.

The first impression is that this is an exceptionally well-made and small mini PC. The metal casing gives it a premium feel, with solid construction, and it’s just understated when it comes to styling, which I really like.

The front just features the power button mounted into a subtle cutaway, and all connectivity options are lined up at the rear.

The compact dimensions are great if you have limited desk space or you need to take the machine between locations. This portability is one of the key features and, like a laptop that enables you to close the lid without powering down, the Mind Pro enable you to do much the same when you move from one location to another. Simply unplug the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and pop it in your bag; then, when you get to the next location, connect up and off you go. All the apps and work that you were working on will still be there and ready for you to continue with.

The idea behind the machine is that you have the core, which is the Mind Pro, then you have the accessories, so in the office where you need to focus on high-demand work, you’ll have the Mind Graphics 2 eGPU Module and Mind Dock All-In-One Docking Station.

While at home, where you may just want to check email and do some light work, you may just need the Mind xPlay Portable Display + Keyboard, which will, in low-power mode, essentially give you the same abilities as a Windows Home laptop. You can also plug in the Tone2 for audio. The point is the Mind Pro is just the core, and how and where you use it will dictate what additional extras you want and need.

What makes the portability possible is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery. This isn’t designed primarily to power the machine in the same way as a laptop battery and instead is used to maintain the machine's working state when disconnected from external power.

Taking a look at the limited ports on the back, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 connection and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. While this matches most premium laptops, I found that the two Thunderbolt connections became a bit of an issue, particularly when using the Mind Pro for creative work.

With a Thunderbolt monitor and power connected, there was no fast connection left for connecting high-speed external SSDs or card readers without using an additional adapter. The two USB-A connections are useful, but their 10Gbps maximum transfer rate is far slower than the Thunderbolt 4’s 40Gbps connection bandwidth.

Considering the performance on offer here, a third Thunderbolt connection would have been welcome. For anyone intending to use the Mind Pro as their main desktop computer, the Mind Dock is essential, and at $199, that's quite an additional cost on an already expensive machine.

The all-metal construction does make the Mind Pro look like it should be passively cooled. However, there is an active cooling system inside, and while the fans become audible on many of the more demanding tasks, I was generally well controlled.

During intensive creative work, the casing also became warm to the touch, which isn’t particularly surprising given the amount of processing power packed into such a small space.

The design of this small machine is stunning, and the portability of the design with the integrated standby battery is actually a great idea. However, when it comes to the design, the limited port selection is frustrating, especially at this price, but it has been designed to be used as a modular setup, and the dock and GPU are available to boost the performance further at a cost.

• Design: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Features

The Khadas Mind Pro builds on the modular design of the machines that I have looked at in the past from the company and combines powerful processing with a proprietary expansion interface and an integrated standby battery.

At the heart of the system is Intel’s Core Ultra X7 358H, a 16-core processor supported by Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics and a dedicated AI Boost NPU. In this review, I have looked at the standard Pro machine with 64GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

While those specifications are impressive, what separates this from most other mini PCs is that it has been designed so that the Mind Pro can easily move between different work and home environments, with a range of Mind Link connection expansion modules that adapt its use depending on your needs.

These modules include the Mind Dock that provides additional connectivity for when it’s used as a desktop workstation, and this comes in at around $200. Then there's the Mind xPlay portable display at $99, or with keyboard at $399, which offers a more mobile configuration.

There’s also the Mind Graphics 2 that adds dedicated graphics processing for creative applications, gaming and potentially supported AI workloads, and this will set you back a further $1449.

Unfortunately, none of these modules was available during my testing, so I wasn’t able to assess the complete ecosystem. Even without the expansion options, however, the Mind Pro has plenty of raw processing power.

The internal 7.98Wh battery is the most unique, and as I found this on a normal working day when I regularly travel between office, home and college, with a journey time that can vary from ten minutes up to an hour and a half.

With a conventional mini PC, that would mean saving everything, closing applications and shutting down before leaving, then re-opening everything when I get to my next destination. Which is one of the reasons I use a laptop, as I can keep everything open; however, the laptop isn’t light.

With the Mind Pro, I could simply disconnect the power, place the machine in my backpack and reconnect it at the other end, just like a laptop, just minus the screen, keyboard, and trackpad.

Throughout testing, this worked exceptionally well. I could leave Adobe Premiere Pro and other applications open, move between locations and return to the same Windows session without having to reopen everything.

It certainly makes for a lightweight alternative, although the internal 2TB SSD provides plenty of space for applications and smaller projects; I generally edit video from external storage.

This makes the portable workflow slightly more complicated, as unplugging an external SSD while Premiere Pro is accessing footage isn’t particularly advisable, but then that’s the same on a laptop. For shorter productions, however, the system really comes into its own.

During testing, I was editing approximately five-minute videos using footage from the GoPro Mission One, with the files stored directly on the internal SSD. This enabled me to start editing at the office, disconnect the computer and finish the project at home without closing Premiere Pro or shutting down Windows.

The battery also allows the Mind Pro to operate independently of external power for short periods, although this is very much a secondary feature. Using the Khadas Mind app, it’s possible to select the Use Battery option under Device Mode When Unplugged, allowing the computer to continue operating instead of immediately entering a standby state.

To see how practical this was, I tested the machine using three power settings, with a mixture of Microsoft Word, web browsing and Adobe Lightroom. At maximum power, the system lasted approximately seven minutes before displaying a low-battery warning and entering its low-power state.

Switching to the medium power setting in the Mind application was able to extend this working time to around 14 minutes, while the lowest power setting was around 30 minutes. These figures are far less than the 60 minutes quoted by Khadas for light active use. Most importantly, this internal battery feature means the machine wasn’t losing my work when the battery ran low.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Benchmark scores

CrystalDiskMark Read: 5,224.09 MB/s
CrystalDiskMark Write: 4,860.54 MB/s
Geekbench 6 CPU Multi: 16,660
Geekbench 6 CPU Single: 2,883
Geekbench 6 GPU: 58,502
Geekbench 7 CPU Multi: 18,118
Geekbench 7 CPU Single: 2,587
Geekbench 7 GPU: 55,027
PCMark Overall: 9,429
Cinebench R23 CPU Multi (Threads): 20,252
Cinebench R23 CPU Single (Threads): 2,084
Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi (Threads): 4,835
Cinebench 2026 CPU Single (Threads): 505
Fire Strike Overall: 15,128
Fire Strike Graphics: 18,110
Fire Strike Physics: 29,411
Fire Strike Combined: 5,105
Time Spy Overall: 7,647
Time Spy Graphics: 7,049
Time Spy CPU: 14,738
Wild Life Overall: 44,322
Steel Nomad Overall: 1,601
Windows Experience Overall: 8.9
Procyon: 1,485

Getting started with the Khadas Mind Pro follows the usual process, and the machine arrives with Windows 11 Home preinstalled, alongside the Khadas Mind software, and the initial Windows setup takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

Aside from the usual process of accepting or declining Microsoft’s various additional services, there is very little to do before you’re up and running. Then the Khadas Mind application provides access to the machine’s power management and battery options, highlighting that this is far more than a normal mini PC.

While the modular ecosystem enables you to expand the system with a docking station or external GPU, even as the core unit when used as a standalone computer, the Mind Pro offers impressive performance, especially considering its small size.

I started the test by installing Microsoft Office; there was more than enough performance to run Word, Excel and PowerPoint all at the same time, alongside multiple browser windows. Everything remained fast and responsive, and even when adding Photoshop and Lightroom into the mix, there was little indication that the system was struggling.

As is now common, there’s also a dedicated Intel NPU, and that adds potential for supported local AI features, although cloud-based Microsoft Copilot functionality shouldn’t be confused with processing directly on the NPU. Opening up the task manager indicates when the NPU comes into play and often as a support role to cloud-based connections and some app integration.

After seeing that standard office applications were well within the machine's capabilities, I moved on to Adobe’s creative applications, and running these showed just how powerful this machine is even without the boost that the optional modules would obviously offer.

Lightroom Classic ran extremely smoothly, opening large catalogues, processing high-resolution photographs and exporting batches of images without difficulty. The internal 2TB SSD also performed well, keeping up with the demands of loading, editing and saving substantial image files.

Loading Photoshop and the performance was equally impressive. I worked with high-resolution photographs from the Canon EOS R5 C and Sony A7 IV, and the Mind Pro handled them without any noticeable problems. Opening Adobe Bridge, thumbnails appeared quickly, and I could select batches of up to 30 files and open them in Adobe Camera Raw for editing.

If you’re a professional photographer, then the small size of the machine and its portability make it a great option, especially when connected to a large monitor. I also found that the 64GB RAM provided substantial headroom, and with the Arc B390 integrated graphics, all image editing and processing was again well within the machine's abilities.

One of the features that I really liked was the ability to plug into my monitor and dock in the office and use the machine as I do with any Mini PC; then, when I headed home, I was able to leave several video projects and other documents open, pop the machine in my bag and then reconnect to another monitor in the home office, with all apps and documents still open and ready to go. The machine in that respect is just like a laptop without the screen and keyboard, of course. The benefit here is that it’s far smaller and lighter, so even more portable than a laptop, especially a laptop with this kind of power.

While the performance is good, I did have a connectivity issue. My test monitor uses USB-C rather than HDMI, so connecting the display and power supply occupied both Thunderbolt 4 ports. This left only the two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 connections for external storage and accessories. While these are rated at 10Gbps, they’re considerably slower than the 40Gbps connection bandwidth offered by Thunderbolt 4.

For photographers and videographers using fast external SSDs, the optional Mini Dock would make a difference on this front.

When video editing, this machine again proved surprisingly capable and while I initially had reservations about how comfortably a mini PC of this size would handle 4K footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, editing a short five-minute project went well with few problems.

There were occasional slowdowns, particularly as the edit became more complex, but the overall workflow was better than I expected. After switching the video editing application to DaVinci Resolve, I found through the edits that the performance was similar. Straightforward 4K timelines were fine, although increasing the complexity of the edit resulted in additional slowdowns, particularly during rendering.

This is where an external GPU would potentially make a significant difference, and the Mind Graphics 2 looks like an interesting expansion option if you are planning to use this system for more intensive video production. Although, again, this does come at quite a financial cost.

Before moving on to the AI potential, I tried out a few games, and again I was surprised by the ability of the machine. I tested Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and both titles loaded successfully, with no issues with the integrated CPU.

At medium graphics settings, gameplay was surprisingly good considering that all the graphics processing was being handled by that integrated Intel Arc B390. While I wouldn’t position the Mind Pro as a replacement for a dedicated gaming PC, the ability to run demanding modern titles on a computer this small is impressive.

The final test was to take a closer look at the AI potential of the Khadas Mind Pro, loading Lemonade AI and the Qwen model to see just how capable this compact mini PC was when running AI workloads locally.

I started by testing several AI models to code a website, generate images, organise files, recognise image content and handle general chatbot and text-generation tasks. The results were mixed, although the 64GB of RAM provided enough headroom to run some relatively large models locally.

One issue with the stability of the Lemonade and the AI process that I came up against was when switching between tasks and therefore LLM models. While there was enough memory to load and run individual models, running two larger models side by side seemed to cause issues and checking Task Manager, it showed the RAM maxing out. Instead, I found myself working through different stages, unloading one model before loading the next.

For example, when organising images, I first used PowerShell to create a CSV file containing a list of images before handing that information over to the Qwen model to help manage the files. I then switched to an image recognition model to identify image contents and add the relevant tagging information. For small batches, this worked; however, increasing the count from 20 to 100 images, something between the CPU, Lemonade, and the model kept falling over.

Through this process, I also found that switching models wasn't always straightforward. Rather than simply unloading one model and loading another, it was often more reliable to close Lemonade Server completely, restart it and then load the next model. Without restarting, the software could become confused, and the process was noticeably less reliable.

For a measurable test, I ran through a batch of 20 images, using the AI tools to assist with basic file organisation and CSV-based content management. Because the workflow involved switching between several models, it was difficult to calculate the total number of tokens used across the entire process.

However, during one of the main processing stages, the system recorded a time to first token of 9.08 seconds and generated 1,340 tokens in total. CPU utilisation reached 100%, while RAM usage fluctuated between 60% and 80%, showing the machine was capable of handling the workload but was also being pushed relatively hard.

The synthetic AI benchmark results backed up the practical testing, with the Khadas Mind Pro achieving a Procyon AI performance score of 1,485. This highlights that when configured correctly with the AI LLM management software, it will have impressive AI processing capabilities, although the real-world tests highlighted that available memory, model management and workflow optimisation are just as important as raw processing performance.

What impressed me most was that all of this was possible on such a small machine without an external GPU. The integrated graphics and 64GB of RAM provide a useful starting point for local AI development, experimentation and lighter production tasks, although experimentation with models and setup is at present a necessity.

That said, if you're planning to use the Mind Pro extensively for AI processing, the optional Mind Graphics 2 external GPU will be worth the upgrade.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Khadas Mind Pro is an exceptionally compact and powerful mini PC aimed at professionals, creatives and anyone who needs desktop performance across multiple locations without carrying a laptop.

What makes this small machine so versatile is the modular design, although I haven’t tested the additional modules in this review, focusing on the RAW power of the core unit.

As it stands, used in isolation, it’s surprisingly powerful and a small and stylish option for use in the office or studio; then, if you do need that boost, it can, at a price, be connected to the optional Mind Dock and Mind Graphics 2 external GPU, transforming it into a far more capable workstation for demanding creative applications, video editing and AI workloads.

Likewise at home, simply connect a monitor and keyboard, potentially alongside the Mind xPlay portable display, and you’re ready to continue working, or just the occasional check on email.

The solid metal construction gives the Mind Pro a premium feel, and its weight and small size make it easy to carry between locations. More importantly, the integrated standby battery means you can unplug the machine, slip it into your bag and reconnect elsewhere without closing applications or restarting Windows.

There are some issues, most notably the limited connectivity without a dock and the integrated GPU’s limitations under heavier workloads. However, the impressive CPU performance, 64GB of RAM and excellent portability do make this a highly versatile and desirable machine.

You are paying a premium for the quality of the build, the innovation, and the modular concept, but for professionals who regularly move between workspaces, the Mind Pro offers an attractive alternative to a conventional desktop or laptop.

Should I buy the Khadas Mind Pro?

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Value

Expensive, but impressive versatility and upgrade potential.

4

Design

Exceptionally compact, solid construction with an innovative integrated battery.

4.5

Features

Excellent modular expandability, although onboard connectivity is limited.

4.5

Performance

Powerful CPU, plenty of RAM and impressive creative performance.

4.5

Overall

An innovative, portable workstation with genuine professional appeal.

4.5

Buy it if...

You want a powerful, portable mini PC

The Mind Pro combines impressive performance, compact metal construction, and an integrated standby battery, making it easy to transport between workspaces.

You like the idea of a modular workstation.

The Mind Dock expands connectivity, while the Mind Graphics 2 external GPU boosts performance for demanding creative workloads.

Don't buy it if...

You need plenty of ports without buying accessories.

Connectivity is limited, especially when using USB-C for both power and a display. The optional Mind Dock starts to feel like an essential purchase.

You need serious graphics performance out of the box.

The integrated GPU handles lighter workloads, but demanding video editing, gaming and AI tasks will benefit from an external GPU.

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

Khadas Mind Pro: 30-second review

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by just how much processing power Khadas had managed to squeeze into such a small machine. Now, with the arrival of the Mind Pro, the company has retained much the same compact form factor and innovative modular design, while introducing Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor and Arc integrated graphics.

The result is an exceptionally powerful mini PC that feels just as capable as many considerably larger desktop systems, especially when it comes to everyday productivity as well as creative applications.

It once again features the premium metal construction, and with dimensions of just 146 × 105 × 28mm, it’s small enough to slip into a bag and carry between home and office. What makes this particularly useful is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery, which allows the machine to maintain your Windows session while moving between those locations, much the same as using a laptop.

During testing, I was able to leave applications open, disconnect the computer, throw the Khadas Mind Pro in my backpack and travel home. Then I was able to reconnect to a monitor, mouse and keyboard at home and continue the session without needing to re-open applications and work. This is what we have come to expect from laptops, but not with a Mini PC, and it’s a surprisingly useful feature, boosted by the option of extras such as the Dock and GPU modules.

Performance is equally impressive as it features an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, combined with 64GB of RAM and integrated Arc B390 graphics. This combination proved to handle Microsoft Office, Photoshop and Lightroom extremely well. Even Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve proved more usable than I had anticipated with 4K footage shot on the GoPro Mission 1 ILS.

Gaming was another surprise, with Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle both running at medium-quality settings; although as I extended play there were occasional frame drops, there was nothing too much to impact gameplay. The other point here was that the fans kicked in and, while audible, they remained relatively quiet.

The machine also has considerable AI potential, with a dedicated NPU and 64GB of shared memory. My initial CPU-based Lemonade AI testing showed that it could handle practical local AI tasks, although switching between models wasn’t always straightforward. Using the dedicated NPU with the right models gained some impressive results, but again selecting the right LLM manager and model takes some time, this process took me from Lemonade to the LM Studio.

Through the test, my main issue with the machine was the connectivity. With only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, it’s easy to run out of high-speed connections when using a USB-C monitor, power supply and external storage. If you are using the Mind Pro as your main desktop, this is where the optional Mind Dock starts to make sense and is more like an essential purchase.

Ultimately, the Mind Pro is an impressive example of innovation and how far mini PCs have progressed. It won't be the best mini PC for most users. It isn’t cheap, and you’ll need to invest further to see the full potential of its modular design, but the impressive processing power, portability and modular extras make it expensive but very desirable.

Khadas Mind Pro: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $2,559
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Khadas

The Khadas Mind Pro costs $2,599 for the Core Ultra X7 358H, 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD configuration that I’ve looked at in this review and is available directly from Khadas. Alongside the Mini PC, you can also purchase the optional Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2, although these will add considerably to the overall cost.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Specs

CPU: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 16 cores / 16 threads
Graphics: Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics
NPU: Intel AI Boost NPU 5, up to 50 TOPS
RAM: 64GB LPDDR5X, 8533MT/s
Storage: 2TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2230 SSD
Additional storage: M.2 2230 NVMe expansion slot
Rear Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 2× USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1 FRL
Expansion: Khadas Mind Link proprietary modular interface
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0
Audio: Audio output via supported display, USB and compatible expansion accessories. Battery: 7.98Wh internal standby battery
Dimensions: 146 × 105 × 28mm
Weight: 562g
Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Power: 100W USB-C power adapter
Optional Accessories: Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2

Khadas Mind Pro: Design

Unpacking the compact AX9 Max, the metal casing and detailed plastic base of this mini PC instantly reinforced its price point. Only after carefully checking the detailing and the large, shiny logo on top did I start to question whether this was a premium machine or just one trying to look premium.

Checking the specifications and that the price point was justified, but there’s still something about the design that feels a little over the top. The rest of the design is solid, and at 134.9 × 131.8 × 57.7mm and 777.5g, it’s a great size and weight for this style of machine.

Around the casing, there are four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. On the left side of the casing is an SD 4.0 memory card slot, while the back has two USB4 Type-C ports, a USB 2.0 port, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two 2.5Gb RJ45 sockets, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and the DC-in port.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by the combination of its exceptionally small size, processing power and innovative modular design. With the arrival of the Mind Pro, it’s immediately apparent that the company has retained much of the ethos of those initial machines and what made them so interesting.

The form factor is familiar, the design remains incredibly minimalist, and once again, it’s the modular expansion ecosystem that differentiates this from the usual mini PCs I look at.

The first impression is that this is an exceptionally well-made and small mini PC. The metal casing gives it a premium feel, with solid construction, and it’s just understated when it comes to styling, which I really like.

The front just features the power button mounted into a subtle cutaway, and all connectivity options are lined up at the rear.

The compact dimensions are great if you have limited desk space or you need to take the machine between locations. This portability is one of the key features and, like a laptop that enables you to close the lid without powering down, the Mind Pro enable you to do much the same when you move from one location to another. Simply unplug the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and pop it in your bag; then, when you get to the next location, connect up and off you go. All the apps and work that you were working on will still be there and ready for you to continue with.

The idea behind the machine is that you have the core, which is the Mind Pro, then you have the accessories, so in the office where you need to focus on high-demand work, you’ll have the Mind Graphics 2 eGPU Module and Mind Dock All-In-One Docking Station.

While at home, where you may just want to check email and do some light work, you may just need the Mind xPlay Portable Display + Keyboard, which will, in low-power mode, essentially give you the same abilities as a Windows Home laptop. You can also plug in the Tone2 for audio. The point is the Mind Pro is just the core, and how and where you use it will dictate what additional extras you want and need.

What makes the portability possible is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery. This isn’t designed primarily to power the machine in the same way as a laptop battery and instead is used to maintain the machine's working state when disconnected from external power.

Taking a look at the limited ports on the back, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 connection and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. While this matches most premium laptops, I found that the two Thunderbolt connections became a bit of an issue, particularly when using the Mind Pro for creative work.

With a Thunderbolt monitor and power connected, there was no fast connection left for connecting high-speed external SSDs or card readers without using an additional adapter. The two USB-A connections are useful, but their 10Gbps maximum transfer rate is far slower than the Thunderbolt 4’s 40Gbps connection bandwidth.

Considering the performance on offer here, a third Thunderbolt connection would have been welcome. For anyone intending to use the Mind Pro as their main desktop computer, the Mind Dock is essential, and at $199, that's quite an additional cost on an already expensive machine.

The all-metal construction does make the Mind Pro look like it should be passively cooled. However, there is an active cooling system inside, and while the fans become audible on many of the more demanding tasks, I was generally well controlled.

During intensive creative work, the casing also became warm to the touch, which isn’t particularly surprising given the amount of processing power packed into such a small space.

The design of this small machine is stunning, and the portability of the design with the integrated standby battery is actually a great idea. However, when it comes to the design, the limited port selection is frustrating, especially at this price, but it has been designed to be used as a modular setup, and the dock and GPU are available to boost the performance further at a cost.

• Design: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Features

The Khadas Mind Pro builds on the modular design of the machines that I have looked at in the past from the company and combines powerful processing with a proprietary expansion interface and an integrated standby battery.

At the heart of the system is Intel’s Core Ultra X7 358H, a 16-core processor supported by Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics and a dedicated AI Boost NPU. In this review, I have looked at the standard Pro machine with 64GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

While those specifications are impressive, what separates this from most other mini PCs is that it has been designed so that the Mind Pro can easily move between different work and home environments, with a range of Mind Link connection expansion modules that adapt its use depending on your needs.

These modules include the Mind Dock that provides additional connectivity for when it’s used as a desktop workstation, and this comes in at around $200. Then there's the Mind xPlay portable display at $99, or with keyboard at $399, which offers a more mobile configuration.

There’s also the Mind Graphics 2 that adds dedicated graphics processing for creative applications, gaming and potentially supported AI workloads, and this will set you back a further $1449.

Unfortunately, none of these modules was available during my testing, so I wasn’t able to assess the complete ecosystem. Even without the expansion options, however, the Mind Pro has plenty of raw processing power.

The internal 7.98Wh battery is the most unique, and as I found this on a normal working day when I regularly travel between office, home and college, with a journey time that can vary from ten minutes up to an hour and a half.

With a conventional mini PC, that would mean saving everything, closing applications and shutting down before leaving, then re-opening everything when I get to my next destination. Which is one of the reasons I use a laptop, as I can keep everything open; however, the laptop isn’t light.

With the Mind Pro, I could simply disconnect the power, place the machine in my backpack and reconnect it at the other end, just like a laptop, just minus the screen, keyboard, and trackpad.

Throughout testing, this worked exceptionally well. I could leave Adobe Premiere Pro and other applications open, move between locations and return to the same Windows session without having to reopen everything.

It certainly makes for a lightweight alternative, although the internal 2TB SSD provides plenty of space for applications and smaller projects; I generally edit video from external storage.

This makes the portable workflow slightly more complicated, as unplugging an external SSD while Premiere Pro is accessing footage isn’t particularly advisable, but then that’s the same on a laptop. For shorter productions, however, the system really comes into its own.

During testing, I was editing approximately five-minute videos using footage from the GoPro Mission One, with the files stored directly on the internal SSD. This enabled me to start editing at the office, disconnect the computer and finish the project at home without closing Premiere Pro or shutting down Windows.

The battery also allows the Mind Pro to operate independently of external power for short periods, although this is very much a secondary feature. Using the Khadas Mind app, it’s possible to select the Use Battery option under Device Mode When Unplugged, allowing the computer to continue operating instead of immediately entering a standby state.

To see how practical this was, I tested the machine using three power settings, with a mixture of Microsoft Word, web browsing and Adobe Lightroom. At maximum power, the system lasted approximately seven minutes before displaying a low-battery warning and entering its low-power state.

Switching to the medium power setting in the Mind application was able to extend this working time to around 14 minutes, while the lowest power setting was around 30 minutes. These figures are far less than the 60 minutes quoted by Khadas for light active use. Most importantly, this internal battery feature means the machine wasn’t losing my work when the battery ran low.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Benchmark scores

CrystalDiskMark Read: 5,224.09 MB/s
CrystalDiskMark Write: 4,860.54 MB/s
Geekbench 6 CPU Multi: 16,660
Geekbench 6 CPU Single: 2,883
Geekbench 6 GPU: 58,502
Geekbench 7 CPU Multi: 18,118
Geekbench 7 CPU Single: 2,587
Geekbench 7 GPU: 55,027
PCMark Overall: 9,429
Cinebench R23 CPU Multi (Threads): 20,252
Cinebench R23 CPU Single (Threads): 2,084
Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi (Threads): 4,835
Cinebench 2026 CPU Single (Threads): 505
Fire Strike Overall: 15,128
Fire Strike Graphics: 18,110
Fire Strike Physics: 29,411
Fire Strike Combined: 5,105
Time Spy Overall: 7,647
Time Spy Graphics: 7,049
Time Spy CPU: 14,738
Wild Life Overall: 44,322
Steel Nomad Overall: 1,601
Windows Experience Overall: 8.9
Procyon: 1,485

Getting started with the Khadas Mind Pro follows the usual process, and the machine arrives with Windows 11 Home preinstalled, alongside the Khadas Mind software, and the initial Windows setup takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

Aside from the usual process of accepting or declining Microsoft’s various additional services, there is very little to do before you’re up and running. Then the Khadas Mind application provides access to the machine’s power management and battery options, highlighting that this is far more than a normal mini PC.

While the modular ecosystem enables you to expand the system with a docking station or external GPU, even as the core unit when used as a standalone computer, the Mind Pro offers impressive performance, especially considering its small size.

I started the test by installing Microsoft Office; there was more than enough performance to run Word, Excel and PowerPoint all at the same time, alongside multiple browser windows. Everything remained fast and responsive, and even when adding Photoshop and Lightroom into the mix, there was little indication that the system was struggling.

As is now common, there’s also a dedicated Intel NPU, and that adds potential for supported local AI features, although cloud-based Microsoft Copilot functionality shouldn’t be confused with processing directly on the NPU. Opening up the task manager indicates when the NPU comes into play and often as a support role to cloud-based connections and some app integration.

After seeing that standard office applications were well within the machine's capabilities, I moved on to Adobe’s creative applications, and running these showed just how powerful this machine is even without the boost that the optional modules would obviously offer.

Lightroom Classic ran extremely smoothly, opening large catalogues, processing high-resolution photographs and exporting batches of images without difficulty. The internal 2TB SSD also performed well, keeping up with the demands of loading, editing and saving substantial image files.

Loading Photoshop and the performance was equally impressive. I worked with high-resolution photographs from the Canon EOS R5 C and Sony A7 IV, and the Mind Pro handled them without any noticeable problems. Opening Adobe Bridge, thumbnails appeared quickly, and I could select batches of up to 30 files and open them in Adobe Camera Raw for editing.

If you’re a professional photographer, then the small size of the machine and its portability make it a great option, especially when connected to a large monitor. I also found that the 64GB RAM provided substantial headroom, and with the Arc B390 integrated graphics, all image editing and processing was again well within the machine's abilities.

One of the features that I really liked was the ability to plug into my monitor and dock in the office and use the machine as I do with any Mini PC; then, when I headed home, I was able to leave several video projects and other documents open, pop the machine in my bag and then reconnect to another monitor in the home office, with all apps and documents still open and ready to go. The machine in that respect is just like a laptop without the screen and keyboard, of course. The benefit here is that it’s far smaller and lighter, so even more portable than a laptop, especially a laptop with this kind of power.

While the performance is good, I did have a connectivity issue. My test monitor uses USB-C rather than HDMI, so connecting the display and power supply occupied both Thunderbolt 4 ports. This left only the two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 connections for external storage and accessories. While these are rated at 10Gbps, they’re considerably slower than the 40Gbps connection bandwidth offered by Thunderbolt 4.

For photographers and videographers using fast external SSDs, the optional Mini Dock would make a difference on this front.

When video editing, this machine again proved surprisingly capable and while I initially had reservations about how comfortably a mini PC of this size would handle 4K footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, editing a short five-minute project went well with few problems.

There were occasional slowdowns, particularly as the edit became more complex, but the overall workflow was better than I expected. After switching the video editing application to DaVinci Resolve, I found through the edits that the performance was similar. Straightforward 4K timelines were fine, although increasing the complexity of the edit resulted in additional slowdowns, particularly during rendering.

This is where an external GPU would potentially make a significant difference, and the Mind Graphics 2 looks like an interesting expansion option if you are planning to use this system for more intensive video production. Although, again, this does come at quite a financial cost.

Before moving on to the AI potential, I tried out a few games, and again I was surprised by the ability of the machine. I tested Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and both titles loaded successfully, with no issues with the integrated CPU.

At medium graphics settings, gameplay was surprisingly good considering that all the graphics processing was being handled by that integrated Intel Arc B390. While I wouldn’t position the Mind Pro as a replacement for a dedicated gaming PC, the ability to run demanding modern titles on a computer this small is impressive.

The final test was to take a closer look at the AI potential of the Khadas Mind Pro, loading Lemonade AI and the Qwen model to see just how capable this compact mini PC was when running AI workloads locally.

I started by testing several AI models to code a website, generate images, organise files, recognise image content and handle general chatbot and text-generation tasks. The results were mixed, although the 64GB of RAM provided enough headroom to run some relatively large models locally.

One issue with the stability of the Lemonade and the AI process that I came up against was when switching between tasks and therefore LLM models. While there was enough memory to load and run individual models, running two larger models side by side seemed to cause issues and checking Task Manager, it showed the RAM maxing out. Instead, I found myself working through different stages, unloading one model before loading the next.

For example, when organising images, I first used PowerShell to create a CSV file containing a list of images before handing that information over to the Qwen model to help manage the files. I then switched to an image recognition model to identify image contents and add the relevant tagging information. For small batches, this worked; however, increasing the count from 20 to 100 images, something between the CPU, Lemonade, and the model kept falling over.

Through this process, I also found that switching models wasn't always straightforward. Rather than simply unloading one model and loading another, it was often more reliable to close Lemonade Server completely, restart it and then load the next model. Without restarting, the software could become confused, and the process was noticeably less reliable.

For a measurable test, I ran through a batch of 20 images, using the AI tools to assist with basic file organisation and CSV-based content management. Because the workflow involved switching between several models, it was difficult to calculate the total number of tokens used across the entire process.

However, during one of the main processing stages, the system recorded a time to first token of 9.08 seconds and generated 1,340 tokens in total. CPU utilisation reached 100%, while RAM usage fluctuated between 60% and 80%, showing the machine was capable of handling the workload but was also being pushed relatively hard.

The synthetic AI benchmark results backed up the practical testing, with the Khadas Mind Pro achieving a Procyon AI performance score of 1,485. This highlights that when configured correctly with the AI LLM management software, it will have impressive AI processing capabilities, although the real-world tests highlighted that available memory, model management and workflow optimisation are just as important as raw processing performance.

What impressed me most was that all of this was possible on such a small machine without an external GPU. The integrated graphics and 64GB of RAM provide a useful starting point for local AI development, experimentation and lighter production tasks, although experimentation with models and setup is at present a necessity.

That said, if you're planning to use the Mind Pro extensively for AI processing, the optional Mind Graphics 2 external GPU will be worth the upgrade.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Khadas Mind Pro is an exceptionally compact and powerful mini PC aimed at professionals, creatives and anyone who needs desktop performance across multiple locations without carrying a laptop.

What makes this small machine so versatile is the modular design, although I haven’t tested the additional modules in this review, focusing on the RAW power of the core unit.

As it stands, used in isolation, it’s surprisingly powerful and a small and stylish option for use in the office or studio; then, if you do need that boost, it can, at a price, be connected to the optional Mind Dock and Mind Graphics 2 external GPU, transforming it into a far more capable workstation for demanding creative applications, video editing and AI workloads.

Likewise at home, simply connect a monitor and keyboard, potentially alongside the Mind xPlay portable display, and you’re ready to continue working, or just the occasional check on email.

The solid metal construction gives the Mind Pro a premium feel, and its weight and small size make it easy to carry between locations. More importantly, the integrated standby battery means you can unplug the machine, slip it into your bag and reconnect elsewhere without closing applications or restarting Windows.

There are some issues, most notably the limited connectivity without a dock and the integrated GPU’s limitations under heavier workloads. However, the impressive CPU performance, 64GB of RAM and excellent portability do make this a highly versatile and desirable machine.

You are paying a premium for the quality of the build, the innovation, and the modular concept, but for professionals who regularly move between workspaces, the Mind Pro offers an attractive alternative to a conventional desktop or laptop.

Should I buy the Khadas Mind Pro?

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Value

Expensive, but impressive versatility and upgrade potential.

4

Design

Exceptionally compact, solid construction with an innovative integrated battery.

4.5

Features

Excellent modular expandability, although onboard connectivity is limited.

4.5

Performance

Powerful CPU, plenty of RAM and impressive creative performance.

4.5

Overall

An innovative, portable workstation with genuine professional appeal.

4.5

Buy it if...

You want a powerful, portable mini PC

The Mind Pro combines impressive performance, compact metal construction, and an integrated standby battery, making it easy to transport between workspaces.

You like the idea of a modular workstation.

The Mind Dock expands connectivity, while the Mind Graphics 2 external GPU boosts performance for demanding creative workloads.

Don't buy it if...

You need plenty of ports without buying accessories.

Connectivity is limited, especially when using USB-C for both power and a display. The optional Mind Dock starts to feel like an essential purchase.

You need serious graphics performance out of the box.

The integrated GPU handles lighter workloads, but demanding video editing, gaming and AI tasks will benefit from an external GPU.

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

Banks are warning against giving too much access to AI agents.

• US civilian federal agencies must immediately remove DeepSeek from government systems
• Federal departments can no longer purchase DeepSeek products or affiliated services
• Military and intelligence organizations remain excluded

The US government has directed civilian federal departments to immediately eliminate DeepSeek artificial intelligence software and related services from their technology systems.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive over concerns the Chinese company's technology could expose sensitive information to foreign intelligence operations.

The restriction also covers applications incorporating DeepSeek models, although privately owned computers and personal installations fall outside the federal government's directive.

DeepSeek faces removal over security concerns

The directive requires affected agencies to discontinue purchases involving DeepSeek technology, including offerings supplied by affiliates and external developers incorporating its models.

Government departments must also withdraw affected applications from approved purchasing catalogs, supplier inventories and online procurement platforms used for federal acquisitions.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin authorized the measure following a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council, which evaluates potential technology supply chain threats.

The decision relies on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, legislation allowing authorities to restrict technologies considered dangerous.

Officials cited Chinese legislation permitting state intelligence organizations to demand corporate information, raising concerns about government access to data processed through DeepSeek.

The department also identified privacy concerns involving account registration information, user monitoring and device fingerprinting associated with the company's hosted services.

Because conversational AI systems process submitted prompts, officials warned that government employees could inadvertently disclose confidential material through ordinary interactions with DeepSeek.

Information obtained through such exchanges could potentially support intelligence assessments involving American citizens, federal operations, or other sensitive government activities.

Security evaluations conducted by NowSecure also identified serious vulnerabilities affecting DeepSeek's iOS application, adding technical concerns to the government's assessment.

However, the directive concerns federal technology procurement and deployment rather than establishing a nationwide prohibition on individuals downloading or operating DeepSeek.

Agencies must comply, while exceptions remain possible

Military organizations and intelligence agencies are excluded because their procurement arrangements operate under separate authorities.

Departments seeking permission to retain affected technology must submit written exemption applications through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Such applications must reach the relevant Homeland Security official within 60 days and explain why an exception is necessary for government operations.

Applicants must identify the relevant products, provide substantial operational or national security grounds, and propose safeguards addressing the identified security concerns.

While completing the removal of DeepSeek, agencies are expected to strengthen network surveillance, record suspicious information transfers, and investigate unusual activity involving affected systems.

CISA will assist departments with technical implementation, while the Homeland Security Secretary must reconsider the directive annually.

The notice appears in the Federal Register under docket DHS-2026-0628, establishing the administrative record supporting the government's exclusion and removal requirements.

Although officials describe several potential security exposures, the supplied notice does not establish that every DeepSeek deployment has transmitted confidential American information.

Its application to third-party implementations also raises practical questions about identifying affected software, particularly where developers operate DeepSeek models independently.

Get your Pip-Boy ready, Vault Dweller! Fallout Shelter: The Experiment is coming soon.

• A new report claims that Amazon is buying up more AI GPU racks than it can deploy in data centers
• An analyst links this report to Nvidia's GeForce GPU supply woes, theorizing that there's a connection
• The contention is that Nvidia is deliberately 'channel stuffing' or in other words, pushing an excess of AI GPUs to the detriment of gaming GPU chips

Nvidia's supply issues with its gaming GPUs are seemingly the result of a strategy to get AI giants to stock up on more graphics chips than they can handle, if fresh reports are to be believed.

You can't have failed to notice the stock issues around Nvidia's GeForce GPUs, and the spike in prices that has happened over the past few months, particularly for higher-end graphics cards.

Well, according to the musings of tech pundit and analyst Ed Zitron (via RespawnFirst) — who picked up on a report by Business Insider — the consumer GPU shortage is a direct result of Nvidia pushing AI graphics cards on the likes of Amazon.

Business Insider informs us that Amazon (or rather AWS) is buying more Nvidia GPUs than it can deploy. Apparently, racks of the AI graphics cards are being kept unused in holding warehouses until there's power available at the data centers where they'll be used (electricity capacity, not space, is the issue here).

Amazon is paying out huge sums for these GB300 racks from Nvidia, and according to an internal email that Business Insider got hold of, a new 'Early Rack Receipt' process (buying these GPUs upfront, before they're installed) saw some $5 billion worth of server racks paid for in August 2026. Seemingly $3 billion more are on order every month for the "foreseeable future" going by another email.

We're told one AWS team didn't have a "clear forecasted path" for getting the purchased racks installed — in other words, they're not even sure when these GPUs might be used.

Zitron's argument is based on a key phrase in the Business Insider report, where the author states that the reason for the switch in policy — Amazon only used to pay for racks when they were installed in a data center — is that "Amazon has to compete more for scarce resources as it jockeys with rivals for access to Nvidia GPUs and other AI components."

The conclusion Zitron draws is that this is basically indicating that Nvidia is making Amazon, and others buying up AI GPUs, compete with each other by agreeing to order a whole pile of them there and then — more than they possibly need — otherwise they won't get their allocation (presumably).

Analysis: GPU misery is clear enough to see

(Image credit: Shutterstock / aslysun)

In short, these AI GPUs aren't actually needed as such — not by Amazon in this quantity, as per the Business Insider report — but Nvidia is effectively strong-arming the company into buying the chips, or as Zitron puts it, this is "deliberate channel stuffing." Meaning Nvidia is forcing this AI demand artificially to the seeming detriment of GeForce GPUs, with lesser chip supply for those gaming cards causing price inflation and general misery for gamers.

Obviously we need to take this with a good deal of caution — that goes for the initial report from Business Insider, and doubly so with the theorizing that Zitron applies on top of that article.

There's no denying, however, that we have witnessed a frustrating shortage of consumer GPUs, and in particular Nvidia's high-end gaming graphics cards have become painfully thin on the ground — and pricey. The RTX 5090 is either unobtainable, save through third-party marketplace sellers trying to gouge you out of the best part of 10 grand (in the US), or it's hideously expensive to the tune of over £6,000 in the UK, for example.

What's worse is the RTX 5080 is now getting ridiculously pricey too, reaching £1,400 in the UK. And in the US on Newegg, there's now only one model for sale (direct from the retailer) — and it'll set you back $2,000. It's all getting silly, frankly, and with rumors that the RTX 5090 is being discontinued doing the rounds — speculation Nvidia has denied, I should make clear — it's currently a disappointingly gloomy picture for GPUs.

The expectation is that matters are only going to get worse for RAM, SSDs, and GPUs, as next year rolls into town — and that makes all the above theorizing seem a bit more plausible. It's certainly clear that Nvidia's priority is AI GPUs rather than GeForce graphics cards because of the profits involved with AI, but of course, Team Green is a business — so what do we expect? Prioritization is one thing, though, and the levelled accusation of the practice of 'channel stuffing' is entirely another.

Apple’s iPhone Duo brings iOS to a bigger tablet-like display, and these creative apps are already optimized to make the most of it.

• NATO's modernization command plans to buy six portable kits that can jam GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou, plus drone control and video links
• The blackout radius is adjustable from 500 m to 11 km, and each kit must deploy in 30 minutes, run for four hours on battery, and be controllable remotely over encrypted satellite links
• The purchase is a direct response to years of Russian-blamed GPS interference over the Baltic, including the 2025 jamming of the President of the European Commission's aircraft over Bulgaria

NATO is shopping for the ability to make satellite navigation disappear, on command, over an area the size of a small city.

The alliance's modernization command has signaled plans to buy six portable kits that can jam satellite navigation signals and the radio links drones use for control and video, so trainers can expose ships, aircrews, and drone operators to realistic interference during exercises.

For context, NATO wants to practice fighting in the same electromagnetic fog Russia has been generating over Europe's eastern flank for most of the past three years.

What is the NATO actually buying?

The buyer is Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the Norfolk, Virginia, command that runs NATO's training and modernization work. According to the notice, first reported by Defence Blog, the command intends to issue a request for proposals on October 26, 2026, with bids due November 30 and a resulting fixed-price contract expected on December 11.

The kits are framed as training gear, but the fine print leaves the door open for much more: they could also be used in operations. The requirements read like a wish list for electronic warfare.

Each kit must be light enough for one or two people to carry, ready to use within 30 minutes, and able to operate from a ship, rigid inflatable boat, uncrewed surface vessel, vehicle, tripod, or fixed ground site. It must also be able to target all satellites at once.

The system must be able to jam all four major satellite navigation constellations, America's GPS, Russia's GLONASS, Europe's Galileo, and China's BeiDou, across multiple frequency bands simultaneously, with each band individually selectable.

Operators must be able to set the area where satellite navigation is denied anywhere from 500 meters to 11 km (6 nautical miles), in increments of no more than 500 meters. That is a jamming bubble you can expand or shrink like a volume knob.

Because an invisible wall of interference near civilian aviation is potentially a genuine hazard, vendors must supply tables predicting how far the effect will reach at altitudes up to 10,000 ft (about 3,050 m), so exercise planners can keep it clear of civilian air traffic.

The drone-killing side is more complex but equally specific: beyond satellite signals, the kits must jam drone video links in the 5 to 6 GHz band and drone control links at 400 to 500 MHz and 2 to 3 GHz, along with several cellular and other bands. That maps neatly onto how small drones actually get beaten in the field. As the notice itself explains, interfering with a drone's navigation or control signals can push it off course, force it to hover, land, or fly home, or cut the operator's video feed.

NATO also does not want a system that only a signals-intelligence professional can run. The requirement calls for the kit to be operated from a laptop with an interface simple enough for non-specialists, with both omnidirectional and directional antennas, at least four hours of battery operation, and the ability to be controlled remotely anywhere in the world over encrypted satellite links, with a local override and a remote shutdown.

Not just a random wishlist for a GPS jammer

This procurement does not come out of nowhere. GPS interference has shifted from a rare curiosity to daily background noise along NATO's eastern edge. The alliance's own notice points to the pattern, noting that jamming has become a regular problem around the Baltic Sea, where airlines and shipping have reported widespread interference that several European governments have blamed on Russia.

The most politically pointed episode came in 2025. The NATO notice recalls that an aircraft carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lost GPS signals while approaching an airport in Bulgaria, an incident Bulgarian authorities attributed to suspected Russian interference.

An important distinction underlies all of this, and it explains why NATO wants crews to practice against the real thing rather than read about it. Jamming simply drowns the signal. Spoofing is nastier: it feeds a receiver a convincing but false position, so the crew never gets a clean warning that anything is wrong. As explained in our coverage of GNSS vulnerability, the real danger of spoofing is that the victim doesn't know what is happening and keeps acting on false information.

NATO argues that its training and evaluation teams need equipment that can create controlled interference on demand, so crews can be watched as they detect, report, and adapt.

For an alliance that has spent three years on the receiving end of Russia's electronic harassment, buying six suitcases that can do the same thing on cue is less about matching Moscow and more about making sure its own people are not blind when the signal drops. The kicker is obviously that the for-training component could just as easily be used aggressively by the same organization, that is, if the spec sheet holds.

The Pentagon is building weapons and projects with AI capabilities that officials say don't always closely adhere to the agency's own guidelines for AI, according to a congressional watchdog report published in October.

(Image credit: Government Accountability Office)

Apple Watch Ultra 4: One minute review

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn't a radical aesthetic redesign, but it doesn't need to be. Apple's rugged smartwatch keeps the familiar 49mm titanium build, bright display, and customizable Action Button, while upgrades to its rear health sensors and internals make it a more capable companion for everyday wear and endurance workouts.

The biggest upgrade is arguably its battery life. Apple promises up to 50 hours of normal use, but I've easily managed two days with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some lower-power rivals like the best Garmin watches can last longer.

The new S11 chip keeps everything feeling responsive, with apps opening quickly and watchOS 27 running smoothly. Faster charging is another welcome addition, letting me replenish around 30% of the battery in just 15 to 20 minutes.

Health and fitness tracking also gets a meaningful boost. The new Health Sensing System improves measurements, and Readiness Score is one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. It gives you a useful snapshot of how prepared you might be for the day, without requiring another subscription.

It also adds plenty of smaller quality-of-life improvements, including real-time step-count complications. Siri AI also brings more intelligence to the wrist, with features like Shazam and Sound Recognition. Siri Rewind and Live Recap have yet to arrive and prove themselves.

The downside is that the Ultra 4 looks and feels much like its predecessor, so Ultra 3 owners may not find enough here to justify an immediate upgrade. And while the battery life is excellent, the Ultra 4 still can't match every rival in sheer endurance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349 and is available now in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium. Both finishes come with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, so there's no need to choose between separate Bluetooth-only and cellular models, as you can with the Apple Watch Series 12.

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a refined, reliable smartwatch that builds on an already excellent foundation. Its multi-day battery life, capable fitness tracking, and smoother watchOS experience make it a compelling choice for endurance athletes and Apple fans who want a rugged watch that does it all.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Video reviewApple Watch Ultra 4: Specs Table

Component

Apple Watch Ultra 4

Price

$799 / £749 / AU$1,349

Dimension

49 x 44 x 12mm

Weight

63g (without band)

Case/bezel

Grad 5 Titanium

Display

49mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 3,000 nits)

Processor

Apple-made S11 chip

GPS

Dual‑Frequency GPS (GPS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)

Battery life

Up to 50 hours with normal use

Connections

4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3

Water resistant

Water resistance 100m

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Price and availability

• $799 / £749 / AU$1,349
• No increase from last year
• You’re paying for an LTE model as usual

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, and comes in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium, with both finishes including Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity as standard. This means you’re paying for your phone’s ability to add to a data plan whether you want to or not.

The watch is more expensive than other Apple Watches, which is standard for the Ultra series, but crucially, it’s the same price as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with no annual price increase. In an era of an electronics components crisis, this is great news. It’s also absolutely stuffed with features as usual, with a premium build quality that, together, justifies the high price.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Redesigned sensor array
• Identical display and case
• Useful programmable Action button

Like the Apple Watch Ultra 1, 2, and 3 before it, the Ultra 4 stands on its own in Apple's smartwatch lineup, offering one option: a squircle 49mm screen in a thicker, much more rugged design that's ready for the road — and truly any road. It still comes in Black or Natural Titanium and looks pretty much the same as previous iterations on your wrist. Still, the one-size-fits-all device is an issue for smaller wrists.

I've been testing the silver Natural Titanium version, and it's been a welcome change after rocking the Black Ultra 3 for well over a year. I like the contrast of the silver rim around the 49mm Retina display, and especially how the ‘Ultra Orange’ Action Button on the left side pops against the silver case.

The Action Button remains a nice addition for easily running a customized Siri Shortcut or quickly starting a workout, and the 49mm Always-On Retina OLED LTPO3 display still looks great in pretty much any condition, whether that's under fluorescent lights, in the gym, or outside on a very sunny day.

The Action Button sits alongside the speaker and microphone on the left side, while the rugged Digital Crown (with its orange ring) and the main side button live on the right. The top and bottom of the Apple Watch are still where the bands connect, and there's no change to the connector — fingers crossed Apple never changes that, as it’s exemplary.

The main design changes, aside from the new bands, are on the rear. Apple is rolling out a new Health Sensing System to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, which looks a little like a complex sundial on the back of the case. It features a new wider layout for electrodes and diodes to cover a larger surface area on the wrist, which lets the Apple Watch take more accurate health measurements — particularly when tracking heart rate.

This is also where the magnetic Apple Watch charger attaches, and the box includes an updated charging puck. It still connects to a wall adapter or another power source via USB-C, with improvements to charging speed. And while the Series 12 is still a stunner and the Ultra 3 could run laps around plenty of other watches, there's a larger battery inside the Ultra 4. I'll share more on this in the Performance section, but battery life is seriously impressive, surpassing its 50 listed hours.

Aside from the Health Sensing System on the back, though, much of the design here is Apple sticking with what has made the Ultra successful since its launch. It's an ultra-rugged, road-ready Apple Watch that's likely a necessity for endurance athletes, but its distinctive build also appeals to those who simply want something different from the standard Apple Watch.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Features

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Readiness score is excellent
• Siri AI features to come
• Improved vitals app

With the design mostly unchanged, much of what's new with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 comes from watchOS 27 and its health and activity features. I'm starting with the latter, as it's truly been the highlight of my testing.

I've worn an Apple Watch since it first launched in the spring of 2015. My original aluminum model arrived on launch day, and I was admittedly hooked on closing my rings. Now, after more than a month with the Ultra 4 — alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 — my new favorite feature is Readiness Score. It received a big round of applause at the launch event, and for good reason: it fills a gap in Apple's health feature set compared with the competition.

Many other wearables, including smartwatches and smart rings, offer ways to contextualize your data and help you understand what it means. Most notably, the Oura Ring provides a daily score that gives you an idea of what you're ready to take on. It's not medical advice, of course, but it can help you make sense of the data it collects. However, that feature sits behind a paywall, as do comparable offerings from Whoop, although Google Health, Garmin, and others provide it for free after you purchase a tracker.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Apple's take on a Readiness score is sometimes less elaborate, but it's free if you have a compatible new Apple Watch and enough data for it to work. Based on your sleep score and previous day's activity, you'll get a score from 0 to 10 tailored to you, alongside a matching phrase. It's presented as a curved line or half-moon graphic. Sometimes, I was greeted with a blue 7, marked "Ready," with the explanation: "You had a good night's sleep last night, and all your other metrics are typical. It looks like you're rested and ready for today."

Jacob Krol/FutureJacob Krol/Future

Below is a smaller breakdown of Fitness, Vitals, and Sleep Score. These can change throughout the day depending on your activity rings and whether you log workouts. When you open the Health or Fitness app on your connected iPhone, there's more data to explore, too.

It's become my favorite feature of watchOS 27 because of how it integrates with the Activity Rings experience, while building on Vitals. Rather than opening another app each morning and scrolling through a series of statistics, you're presented with a single score that feels actionable. Compared with other health wearables, it's also nice that Apple isn't locking it behind a monthly subscription. You do need a compatible recent Apple Watch, so there's an upfront cost, but you won't have to keep paying to use the feature.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

watchOS 27 also brings Siri AI to the wrist, provided your Apple Watch is paired with a compatible iPhone. While some more extensive requests can take an extra beat, the experience has been smooth, whether I raise my wrist to talk or simply say "Hey Siri." You can also ask for relevant information about your activity directly from your wrist.

The new Siri Modular watch face certainly spotlights this feature, placing Siri Suggestions below the time and above other complications. At times, it might suggest identifying a song with Shazam, remind you of your upcoming bedtime, provide the weather forecast, or offer other contextually relevant information.

Thanks to the new Health Sensing System, which supports activity and heart-rate tracking, blood oxygen measurements, hypertension notifications, and sleep tracking, Apple says heart-rate measurements are more accurate than ever. The Ultra 4 also introduces heart-rate variability (HRV) to the experience. You can add a complication that updates your heart rate in real time, as well as one for your step count.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Performance

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Battery life performs as described
• Accurate against HRMs and competitor wearables
• Not yet able to test Audio Intelligence features

Apple's new S11 chip is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and it's a noticeable part of the experience. Apps open quickly, navigating watchOS 27 feels incredibly responsive, and everything runs smoothly. Suffice to say, it’s what you expect from a $799 smartwatch in 2026, and while it doesn’t run laps around the Ultra 3, it has its moments where it has a bit more pep in its step.

The S11 also features a Secure Enclave and a separate always-on processor, helping balance performance with efficiency. That last part matters even more with the Ultra 4's physically larger battery.

Apple promises up to 50 hours of battery life with normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode. In my testing, I've easily managed two and a half days on a charge with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some competing watches can last longer. The Ultra 4 won't win every battery-life comparison, but getting multiple days of use without sacrificing those everyday features is a big deal.

When you do eventually run low, faster charging makes it easier to top up. I've been able to get about 30% battery back in 15 to 20 minutes, which is handy if you forgot to charge overnight or want to give the watch extra juice before heading out. It doesn't eliminate the need to charge, of course, but combined with that extended runtime, it makes battery anxiety much less of a concern.

The S11 chip and new Health Sensing System also help power features like Readiness Score, which has quickly become one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. But the chip is also laying the groundwork for Apple's forthcoming Siri Rewind and Live Recap features.

I haven't been able to test either just yet, and while I still expect them to arrive in the coming months, Apple hasn't confirmed exactly when they'll ship. If those features are the main reason you're considering the Ultra 4 — or the Apple Watch Series 12, for that matter — I'd wait until Apple provides a firm release date and we've had the chance to put them through their paces.

There are other smaller improvements that make the Ultra 4 nicer to use, too. Shazam and Sound Recognition are handy additions to have on your wrist, letting you identify music or recognize certain sounds without needing to reach for your iPhone. Shazam still struggles with some live music, though, so don't expect it to identify every song you hear at a concert.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Then there's the pedometer. It's a little wild that it's taken this long, but you can finally add a complication that updates your step count in real time right on your watch face. It's a simple quality-of-life improvement, but one that makes the Ultra 4 more useful at a glance.

In my testing across indoor cycling, outdoor walks, yoga, and indoor walks, the overall workout statistics and heart-rate readings have been in line with those from other devices, including the Oura Ring 5, Pixel Watch 5, Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12. Against an electrical heart rate monitor during a 5km run, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s average heart rate reading was just 2 bpm away from the monitor’s. That’s well within the margin for error and just 1 bpm away from the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s readings during the same run.

Taken together, these aren't necessarily the sorts of changes that will make an Ultra 3 owner immediately rush out to upgrade. Instead, the S11 chip delivers a smoother, more efficient experience, while the larger battery makes it easier to take advantage of everything the watch has to offer. And with two and a half days of real-world battery life, that's a combination that's hard to beat.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Ultra 4?Buy it if..

You need long battery life

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 can last for days, performing for up to two and a half days of real-world use in my testing.

You want Apple’s latest health features

The Readiness Score and Health Sensing System are only available on the current gen watches.

Don’t buy it if..

You don’t need Apple’s AI features

If you don't want the Audio Intelligence features or the Readiness Score, the experience is pretty close to Ultra 3.

Also consider

Apple Watch Series 12

Apple's cheaper, less powerful wearable.

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Apple Watch Ultra 4's biggest competitor in the premium adventure watch space.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Ultra 4 by sleeping, working out, and living with the watch during a testing period comprising multiple weeks, staff members, and a review unit. We compared the watch's readings against competitor wearables, including an electrical heart rate monitor, drained the battery, and used as many available features as possible.

First reviewed October 2026.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: One minute review

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn't a radical aesthetic redesign, but it doesn't need to be. Apple's rugged smartwatch keeps the familiar 49mm titanium build, bright display, and customizable Action Button, while upgrades to its rear health sensors and internals make it a more capable companion for everyday wear and endurance workouts.

The biggest upgrade is arguably its battery life. Apple promises up to 50 hours of normal use, but I've easily managed two days with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some lower-power rivals like the best Garmin watches can last longer.

The new S11 chip keeps everything feeling responsive, with apps opening quickly and watchOS 27 running smoothly. Faster charging is another welcome addition, letting me replenish around 30% of the battery in just 15 to 20 minutes.

Health and fitness tracking also gets a meaningful boost. The new Health Sensing System improves measurements, and Readiness Score is one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. It gives you a useful snapshot of how prepared you might be for the day, without requiring another subscription.

It also adds plenty of smaller quality-of-life improvements, including real-time step-count complications. Siri AI also brings more intelligence to the wrist, with features like Shazam and Sound Recognition. Siri Rewind and Live Recap have yet to arrive and prove themselves.

The downside is that the Ultra 4 looks and feels much like its predecessor, so Ultra 3 owners may not find enough here to justify an immediate upgrade. And while the battery life is excellent, the Ultra 4 still can't match every rival in sheer endurance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349 and is available now in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium. Both finishes come with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, so there's no need to choose between separate Bluetooth-only and cellular models, as you can with the Apple Watch Series 12.

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a refined, reliable smartwatch that builds on an already excellent foundation. Its multi-day battery life, capable fitness tracking, and smoother watchOS experience make it a compelling choice for endurance athletes and Apple fans who want a rugged watch that does it all.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Video reviewApple Watch Ultra 4: Specs Table

Component

Apple Watch Ultra 4

Price

$799 / £749 / AU$1,349

Dimension

49 x 44 x 12mm

Weight

63g (without band)

Case/bezel

Grad 5 Titanium

Display

49mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 3,000 nits)

Processor

Apple-made S11 chip

GPS

Dual‑Frequency GPS (GPS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)

Battery life

Up to 50 hours with normal use

Connections

4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3

Water resistant

Water resistance 100m

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Price and availability

• $799 / £749 / AU$1,349
• No increase from last year
• You’re paying for an LTE model as usual

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, and comes in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium, with both finishes including Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity as standard. This means you’re paying for your phone’s ability to add to a data plan whether you want to or not.

The watch is more expensive than other Apple Watches, which is standard for the Ultra series, but crucially, it’s the same price as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with no annual price increase. In an era of an electronics components crisis, this is great news. It’s also absolutely stuffed with features as usual, with a premium build quality that, together, justifies the high price.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Redesigned sensor array
• Identical display and case
• Useful programmable Action button

Like the Apple Watch Ultra 1, 2, and 3 before it, the Ultra 4 stands on its own in Apple's smartwatch lineup, offering one option: a squircle 49mm screen in a thicker, much more rugged design that's ready for the road — and truly any road. It still comes in Black or Natural Titanium and looks pretty much the same as previous iterations on your wrist. Still, the one-size-fits-all device is an issue for smaller wrists.

I've been testing the silver Natural Titanium version, and it's been a welcome change after rocking the Black Ultra 3 for well over a year. I like the contrast of the silver rim around the 49mm Retina display, and especially how the ‘Ultra Orange’ Action Button on the left side pops against the silver case.

The Action Button remains a nice addition for easily running a customized Siri Shortcut or quickly starting a workout, and the 49mm Always-On Retina OLED LTPO3 display still looks great in pretty much any condition, whether that's under fluorescent lights, in the gym, or outside on a very sunny day.

The Action Button sits alongside the speaker and microphone on the left side, while the rugged Digital Crown (with its orange ring) and the main side button live on the right. The top and bottom of the Apple Watch are still where the bands connect, and there's no change to the connector — fingers crossed Apple never changes that, as it’s exemplary.

The main design changes, aside from the new bands, are on the rear. Apple is rolling out a new Health Sensing System to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, which looks a little like a complex sundial on the back of the case. It features a new wider layout for electrodes and diodes to cover a larger surface area on the wrist, which lets the Apple Watch take more accurate health measurements — particularly when tracking heart rate.

This is also where the magnetic Apple Watch charger attaches, and the box includes an updated charging puck. It still connects to a wall adapter or another power source via USB-C, with improvements to charging speed. And while the Series 12 is still a stunner and the Ultra 3 could run laps around plenty of other watches, there's a larger battery inside the Ultra 4. I'll share more on this in the Performance section, but battery life is seriously impressive, surpassing its 50 listed hours.

Aside from the Health Sensing System on the back, though, much of the design here is Apple sticking with what has made the Ultra successful since its launch. It's an ultra-rugged, road-ready Apple Watch that's likely a necessity for endurance athletes, but its distinctive build also appeals to those who simply want something different from the standard Apple Watch.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Features

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Readiness score is excellent
• Siri AI features to come
• Improved vitals app

With the design mostly unchanged, much of what's new with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 comes from watchOS 27 and its health and activity features. I'm starting with the latter, as it's truly been the highlight of my testing.

I've worn an Apple Watch since it first launched in the spring of 2015. My original aluminum model arrived on launch day, and I was admittedly hooked on closing my rings. Now, after more than a month with the Ultra 4 — alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 — my new favorite feature is Readiness Score. It received a big round of applause at the launch event, and for good reason: it fills a gap in Apple's health feature set compared with the competition.

Many other wearables, including smartwatches and smart rings, offer ways to contextualize your data and help you understand what it means. Most notably, the Oura Ring provides a daily score that gives you an idea of what you're ready to take on. It's not medical advice, of course, but it can help you make sense of the data it collects. However, that feature sits behind a paywall, as do comparable offerings from Whoop, although Google Health, Garmin, and others provide it for free after you purchase a tracker.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Apple's take on a Readiness score is sometimes less elaborate, but it's free if you have a compatible new Apple Watch and enough data for it to work. Based on your sleep score and previous day's activity, you'll get a score from 0 to 10 tailored to you, alongside a matching phrase. It's presented as a curved line or half-moon graphic. Sometimes, I was greeted with a blue 7, marked "Ready," with the explanation: "You had a good night's sleep last night, and all your other metrics are typical. It looks like you're rested and ready for today."

Jacob Krol/FutureJacob Krol/Future

Below is a smaller breakdown of Fitness, Vitals, and Sleep Score. These can change throughout the day depending on your activity rings and whether you log workouts. When you open the Health or Fitness app on your connected iPhone, there's more data to explore, too.

It's become my favorite feature of watchOS 27 because of how it integrates with the Activity Rings experience, while building on Vitals. Rather than opening another app each morning and scrolling through a series of statistics, you're presented with a single score that feels actionable. Compared with other health wearables, it's also nice that Apple isn't locking it behind a monthly subscription. You do need a compatible recent Apple Watch, so there's an upfront cost, but you won't have to keep paying to use the feature.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

watchOS 27 also brings Siri AI to the wrist, provided your Apple Watch is paired with a compatible iPhone. While some more extensive requests can take an extra beat, the experience has been smooth, whether I raise my wrist to talk or simply say "Hey Siri." You can also ask for relevant information about your activity directly from your wrist.

The new Siri Modular watch face certainly spotlights this feature, placing Siri Suggestions below the time and above other complications. At times, it might suggest identifying a song with Shazam, remind you of your upcoming bedtime, provide the weather forecast, or offer other contextually relevant information.

Thanks to the new Health Sensing System, which supports activity and heart-rate tracking, blood oxygen measurements, hypertension notifications, and sleep tracking, Apple says heart-rate measurements are more accurate than ever. The Ultra 4 also introduces heart-rate variability (HRV) to the experience. You can add a complication that updates your heart rate in real time, as well as one for your step count.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Performance

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Battery life performs as described
• Accurate against HRMs and competitor wearables
• Not yet able to test Audio Intelligence features

Apple's new S11 chip is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and it's a noticeable part of the experience. Apps open quickly, navigating watchOS 27 feels incredibly responsive, and everything runs smoothly. Suffice to say, it’s what you expect from a $799 smartwatch in 2026, and while it doesn’t run laps around the Ultra 3, it has its moments where it has a bit more pep in its step.

The S11 also features a Secure Enclave and a separate always-on processor, helping balance performance with efficiency. That last part matters even more with the Ultra 4's physically larger battery.

Apple promises up to 50 hours of battery life with normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode. In my testing, I've easily managed two and a half days on a charge with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some competing watches can last longer. The Ultra 4 won't win every battery-life comparison, but getting multiple days of use without sacrificing those everyday features is a big deal.

When you do eventually run low, faster charging makes it easier to top up. I've been able to get about 30% battery back in 15 to 20 minutes, which is handy if you forgot to charge overnight or want to give the watch extra juice before heading out. It doesn't eliminate the need to charge, of course, but combined with that extended runtime, it makes battery anxiety much less of a concern.

The S11 chip and new Health Sensing System also help power features like Readiness Score, which has quickly become one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. But the chip is also laying the groundwork for Apple's forthcoming Siri Rewind and Live Recap features.

I haven't been able to test either just yet, and while I still expect them to arrive in the coming months, Apple hasn't confirmed exactly when they'll ship. If those features are the main reason you're considering the Ultra 4 — or the Apple Watch Series 12, for that matter — I'd wait until Apple provides a firm release date and we've had the chance to put them through their paces.

There are other smaller improvements that make the Ultra 4 nicer to use, too. Shazam and Sound Recognition are handy additions to have on your wrist, letting you identify music or recognize certain sounds without needing to reach for your iPhone. Shazam still struggles with some live music, though, so don't expect it to identify every song you hear at a concert.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Then there's the pedometer. It's a little wild that it's taken this long, but you can finally add a complication that updates your step count in real time right on your watch face. It's a simple quality-of-life improvement, but one that makes the Ultra 4 more useful at a glance.

In my testing across indoor cycling, outdoor walks, yoga, and indoor walks, the overall workout statistics and heart-rate readings have been in line with those from other devices, including the Oura Ring 5, Pixel Watch 5, Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12. Against an electrical heart rate monitor during a 5km run, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s average heart rate reading was just 2 bpm away from the monitor’s. That’s well within the margin for error and just 1 bpm away from the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s readings during the same run.

Taken together, these aren't necessarily the sorts of changes that will make an Ultra 3 owner immediately rush out to upgrade. Instead, the S11 chip delivers a smoother, more efficient experience, while the larger battery makes it easier to take advantage of everything the watch has to offer. And with two and a half days of real-world battery life, that's a combination that's hard to beat.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Ultra 4?Buy it if..

You need long battery life

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 can last for days, performing for up to two and a half days of real-world use in my testing.

You want Apple’s latest health features

The Readiness Score and Health Sensing System are only available on the current gen watches.

Don’t buy it if..

You don’t need Apple’s AI features

If you don't want the Audio Intelligence features or the Readiness Score, the experience is pretty close to Ultra 3.

Also consider

Apple Watch Series 12

Apple's cheaper, less powerful wearable.

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Apple Watch Ultra 4's biggest competitor in the premium adventure watch space.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Ultra 4 by sleeping, working out, and living with the watch during a testing period comprising multiple weeks, staff members, and a review unit. We compared the watch's readings against competitor wearables, including an electrical heart rate monitor, drained the battery, and used as many available features as possible.

First reviewed October 2026.

Ohio has been a reliably red state for several elections but it's competitive this year. If Democrats want to prevail, they'll have to win people who have backed Republicans, like rural voters.

(Image credit: Keren Carrión)

Trump's most recent rendering of East Potomac Park overtakes the D.C. peninsula with a sprawling golf course, without the grassy areas and road beloved by locals. That's prompted grassroots pushback.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb)

• Craft is Canva's first publicly available AI image generation model
• It was trained on existing templates so it understands layers
• Developers can access the model via an API

Canva has launched its first-ever publicly available AI image generation model, and it's already proving to be hugely successful.

Looking to take on the likes of industry giants such as OpenAI and Google, 'Craft', its image generating model, debuted at number four on DesignArena's leaderboard, falling short of three leaders from OpenAI but coming in better than a number of other GPT, Grok and Gemini models – including Nano Banana 2.1.

With such high performance, Canva is proudly boasting that Canva Research, its internal research division, is now the second-highest performing AI lab in terms of image generation models behind OpenAI, which is a big deal.

Canva Craft

The launch follows significant investment from the company into its own internal lab, which has tripled in size over the past year.

But besides placing fourth overall for image generation, Canva Craft actually came in first place of 87 models for people and portraits, first of 85 in landscapes and nature, and second for abstract designs and patterns.

The company explained that Craft workers by planning an image's composition before generating a result, which means it decides where individual elements should appear, how composition should be structured, where words need to appear and how the entire thing can come together in a cohesive, readable way. Something that's especially important for the type of work Craft is likely to conduct, particularly around generating marketing materials and social media graphics.

The model's success likely stems from training – it was trained on millions of human-made templates in Canva's library, so it understands layout, visual hierarchy and typography unlike models that were trained on flat images.

Craft came about because Canva is a firm believer that developing its own in-house models gives it greater control over the economics of generative AI, rather than having to rely on third parties, and we're already seeing how unpredictable agentic AI costing is impacting enterprise-grade users.

But Craft isn't being locked into the Canva ecosystem, because the company is also making it available via an API to let developers integrate the model into other platforms.

As for the next steps, Canva already promises it's working on future generations of Craft with faster and more affordable options on the cards.

There are many software packages out there designed to help you organise and edit your photographs, so how do you differentiate yourself from the herd? How about by using AI as much as possible? That’s the direction Skylum’s Luminar Neo has taken, and I’ve taken a look at the results.

Skylum Luminar Neo: Pricing & plans

• A welcome one-off fee
• Subscription options for regular updates
• Keep all features you buy if you cancel

You can pick up Luminar Neo with a 7-day free trial by clicking here.

First the good news: it’s multi-platform, available for both Windows, Macs and mobile platforms (Android, iOS and Chrome). And here’s even better news: you’re not expected to rent this software; it’s a one-time purchase.

The desktop-only version (for either platform) will set you back just under €100. Choosing the ‘All Platforms’ options for around €130 gives you cross device editing, be it on desktop or mobile machines. That tier also allows you to upload your chosen shots to a web gallery.

Finally, the top level will allow you to edit your shots online (that feature isn’t yet ready for prime time), and incudes one year of ‘Luminar Prime’, for €160.

It’s worth focusing on that subscription for a little bit to explain something important: this is a true subscription. It’s like when you subscribe to a magazine: cancel your subscription, and you still have those issues that dropped through your letterbox. Here, subscribing to Luminar Prime unlocks new features over time, and these unlocked features remain yours once your cancel. This is a very important distinction. Once the first year is done, it will cost you around €5 a month or €60 a year to keep using it.

Between you and me, that’s what all subscriptions should be about. Anything else is just rentals.

Be aware that these prices fluctuate a lot and there might be better deals available when you check their website.

Skylum Luminar Neo: Interface

(Image credit: Future)

• Clear menus remove the guesswork when editing
• Easy to choose the right tool when you need it

The installation process offers you the option of adding a Luminar plugin to either Photoshop, Lightroom, or both, which would offer you all the tools inside a more familiar interface. I though it was important to mention, even though I won’t be looking into this option in this review.

Reviewing so many similar apps as I have, you end up recognising the interface instantly as most are incredibly similar. Sure the sidebar may be on the left instead of the right, but the tools and especially the icons used to activate them are immediately recognisable.

Not so with Luminar Neo, and that’s actually a very good thing. Rather than handing you a bunch of icons for you to use on your photos, the tools are divided into categories. And forget about icons: each section is clearly labelled. Take ‘Essentials’ for instance. That’s where your usual color correction is located, in such submenus as ‘Develop’, ’Enhance’, ‘color’ and ‘Detail’.

Working on a Landscape? Then you need to explore the ‘Landscape’ category, where you’ll find such tools as ‘Sky’, ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘Water Enhancer’. Taken a photo of a person? ‘Portrait’ is where you need to go. ‘Professional’ is where some more advanced options are stored, and ‘Creative’ allows you to let loose and have a little more fun with your image manipulation. Clear, simple, and effective.

Skylum Luminar Neo: Tools

(Image credit: Future)

• Tools work extremely well
• Simple to make even complex changes to your photos

A good, intuitive, and easy to use interface is one thing, but if the tools aren’t up to scratch, it’s just a fancy wrapper full of useless features.

Thankfully, Luminar Neo is far from that.

Let’s start with Presets. Luminar Neo comes with a bunch of them, many of which are free. Those that aren’t can be identified with a small shopping trolley icon top right of their thumbnail. As always when it comes to presets, their results will vary but what I appreciated was the fact the software analyses your image and presents you with categories that should match what you’re working on.

For instance I brought up a photo of a sunrise, and was offered ‘sunsets’, ‘scenery’, and ‘easy landscapes’ menus for me to explore. Easy, simple, and of course you’re by no means forced to go down that selected road, but it’s nice when an app feels like it’s working with you.

How you work on an image is done with the help of sliders, which makes the process very simple to do and undo. If you’re more of a ‘type the value into a field’ kind of person, you’re free to do that too. You’re also able to work with multiple layers, letting you perform more complex effects on a photo with ease.

You can achieve very good results on your own that way, especially if you know what you’re doing. This is very similar to practically every other image manipulator out there. But what about all that AI I mentioned at the start? That’s where it gets more interesting.

Skylum Luminar Neo: AI

(Image credit: Future)

• Many AI-based tools to speed up workflows
• Doesn't feel like it's taking over the creative process

This is not generative AI. There are no text prompts or anything like that. This kind of AI is a collection of complex algorithms designed to facilitate a particular task. Think of them as a powered screwdriver as opposed to a manual one. If that’s still not your thing, you can recognise them in the sidebar as those tools are all labelled with a small orange ‘AI’ next to their name.

But I wouldn’t dismiss them out of hand so quickly myself. Let’s take a look at a few examples, starting with ‘Sky’.

This is the big tentpole feature you might have seen in adverts as it offers the most striking alteration: Luminar Neo can analyse your image, identify the sky and replace it with another. You have 35 to choose from, with the option of acquiring others.

Replacing the sky can be seen as a simple process: just mask what’s blue, cut it out, and add a new sky behind it on a separate layer. But ‘Sky’ goes further, noticing where the sky is reflected somewhere in the image and applying the change there as well, even going as far as altering the colors of the rest of the photo so it blends in with its new sky.

The result can be fantastic. I have a photo of the Eiffel Tower I use to test such features out, as the complex metallic mesh can be a challenge to mask, and Luminar Neo passed with flying colors.

It’s not always perfect of course, but most of the time the results were impressive, and achieved in seconds whereas it would’ve taken me ages to do the same manually.

Speaking of masks, Luminar Neo doesn’t have a dedicated tool in its list, but that’s because it’s embedded into pretty much all the others: select a tool, and switch to its ‘Masking’ tab to affect the image solely on a section of your choice. AI does the selection based on your input. For instance I told it to select the human in a photo, and after a few seconds, the mask was perfectly done with no further input needed from me.

The Bokeh AI tool is also excellent, giving you control over where the effect should be thanks to an easy to understand interface where you drag a slider up or down to limit the extent of the effect.

Perhaps the tool I was most impressed by was the Light Depth Tool. Somehow, it does its best to recreate the 3D environment the photo was taken from, allowing you to alter the light in various ways, even placing it in between objects. It’s most impressive.

Skylum Luminar Neo: Extras

(Image credit: Future)

• Good selection of additional fine-tuning tools
• Pales in comparison to Lightroom for organizing photos

And that’s not all: there’s an ‘Extras’ section where you’ll find tools to help you restore old photographs, increase the resolution of an image, stitch shots together to create a panorama, and more.

Luminar Neo offers you a wealth of features to help you fine tune your images to perfection.

If there’s one thing I’m not that impressed by though, is its organisational feature. Sure you can find folders on your computer and add them to the left sidebar, or create albums and add photos to them, but to be honest, that kind of functionality has been available for years and has been surpassed by most of its competitors.

Put it this way: it’s no threat to Lightroom on that front and maybe that’s why you were given the option to insert Luminar's tools into Lightroom upon install: this software knows its limitations.

Should I buy Luminar Neo?

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

You’re a professional looking for a powerful, well designed and versatile image manipulator which you can actually own rather than subscribe.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t like interfaces that are too different from what you’re used to, and would need software that can handle organising your photos beyond just adding basic folders and albums.

FutureFutureFutureFutureFutureHow I tested Skylum Luminar Neo

As always, when an app is compatible with multiple platforms, I choose the underdog (ie the Mac). I used a laptop running a high-end Apple Silicon chip for my testing, and my machine had no problem with the software.

I did notice that when using some AI tools, it can take a few seconds for the analysis to be done, and the computer’s thinking process was too subtle for me.

Yes there’s a small message beneath the image saying ‘Analysing’. But if you’re more focused on the sliders at the time, you could end up wondering why dragging them isn’t having any effect - until the AI work is done and your slider went to 100, blowing the image up. Thank goodness, like all modern image processing app, everything you do to a photo is non destructive.

For more picks, we've tested the best photo editors.

• Audi is the first manufacturer to introduce Spotify’s ground-up app for cars
• New platform takes advantage of passenger screens
• A more comprehensive interface brings with it more features

Audi has announced that it is the first automaker to introduce Spotify’s dedicated in-car application, which has been co-developed by the music streaming service and the Volkswagen Group’s Cariad automotive software company.

Yes, a dedicated Spotify app already exists for cars running Android Automotive, such as those from Renault, Volvo and more, but that is a template-based solution, which uses standardized layouts and controls. It also keeps a tight lid on the myriad Spotify features that have been introduced over the past few years.

Jonathan Tarlton, Automotive Business Development Lead at Spotify, told The Verge that the company was “drawing all the pixels” during the development stages, going on to state that it owns the user experience and that it is “100 percent Spotify”.

Unlike the limited Google Automotive OS app, as well as the smartphone projections experienced by both Android and Apple users in Android Auto and CarPlay, the software debuting on Audi models uses a layout that feels more like the desktop experience, making the most of massive infotainment real estate.

When passenger screens are specified, for example, front-seat passengers can watch Spotify music videos while the vehicle is moving, they can also see real-time lyrics and scan QR codes to join listening parties or create ad-hoc road-trip playlists.

The large central display in Audi’s current line-up can do all of those things, but for safety reasons, this functionality is blocked as soon as the wheels start rolling.

Analysis: A slicker Spotify experience

(Image credit: Audi/Spotify)

Audi says that this is the first time that music videos and real-time lyrics, as well as popular features like Spotify Jam and Spotify DJ have been featured on a native app, but doesn’t mention if or when it will be arriving on other models within the Volkswagen Group or further afield.

Judging from the imagery Audi has provided, the native app looks a lot cleaner than anything currently found on Android Automotive OS, with a layout that closely mimics the set-up found on laptops and desktops.

I don’t now about you, but I often get frustrated with the limited capabilities of the Apple CarPlay projection, as well as the clunky music search functionality. I often end up listening to the same old playlists on repeat because of this.

In contrast, Audi says that its AI-powered voice assistant works seamlessly to control the music while driving, with the “Hey Audi” command used to switch playlists or search for individual tracks.

Spotify users must have an account and use a smartphone to sign in, but Audi says the new Spotify app can be downloaded from the Audi Application Store free of charge.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y: Two-minute review

The tagline for Beyerdynamic’s latest consumer-grade, ANC-equipped wireless headphones is “What is your why?” — and, unfortunately, “Why?” was the first question on my lips when I first listened to them. A lacklustre sonic profile is accompanied by a lack of convincing dynamics, at least when listening actively in a quiet room.

My “why?” was answered in part by the Aventho Y’s own “why”: they are clearly designed to be used outdoors, to compete with a constant thrum of traffic and people and cut through accordingly. And this they do, quite commendably. The ANC is impactful, which is more than you can say for most headphones in this price range; there’s also a Transparency mode which is similarly effective outside. The long battery life is a genuine boon, as is the fact you can replace that battery with ease whenever it does eventually lose its edge. 

A shoo-in for our best noise-cancelling headphones guide then? Not so fast. Better as the Aventho Y's performance is when on the move, it’s not saved wholly from its shortcomings. It’s necessary to visit the Beyerdynamic app to reintroduce some low end, and there’s still a sense that you’re not hearing songs as they ought to be heard.

Well-designed and well-priced though these headphones are — and excellent as that ANC is for its price — I can’t love the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y as much as I’d like to, purely for how poorly the sound is handled. Curmudgeonly as this review may at some points seem, I am no stranger to whimsy; I did really enjoy my time with these headphones. They shine in loud environments. Anywhere else, though, that shine is predestined to dull.

(Image credit: Future)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Price & release date

• Released on September 3, 2026
• Priced $149.99 / £129 / AU$280

Beyerdynamic is one of the pre-eminent names when it comes to matters of professional audio. The German brand’s reputation precedes itself, thanks to a near-faultless gallery of clean, clear and natural-sounding monitor headphones beloved by audio engineers and pro producers innumerable — and to say nothing of its microphones, too. 

Beyerdynamic’s reputation in the wider consumer-audio world is less well-tested, though still hugely positive. The brand’s had its hands in MP3 player-era in-ears, gaming headphones and wireless earbuds over the last two decades, in the middle of which the word ‘Aventho’ first appeared. Most of these consumer-friendly audio interventions trucked in the same professional elegance as the brand’s pro-level interventions, with sharp lines or important-looking negative spaces; a stern-ness of design which makes this latest intervention all the more interesting.

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are a pair of wireless, ANC-toting over-ear headphones, and a clear signal of fairly naked ambition by the brand to appeal to a new generation of listeners. Some semblances of the Beyerdynamic signature remain, but they’re overtaken by a quartet of somewhat-bold color options and a somewhat-bolder, somewhat-existential marketing push to accompany them: “What is your why?”

In terms of succession, the Aventho Y is a young, hip relative of the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 — which, specs- and price-wise, still appears to be the adult in the room. The Y, then, is a much more expressive and accessible piece of consumer listening gear, taking the long battery and solid audio philosophies of its late-Millennial Dad, cramming them into a pastel-colored knapsack and promptly running for the Reels.

At $149.99 / £129 / AU$280, the Aventho Y hurls itself right into the middle of an already-stacked field of affordable wireless headphones. So, is the Aventho Y’s “why” compelling enough to beat them?

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Specs

Drivers

45mm dynamic drivers

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

90+ hours (60+ hours with ANC)

Weight

316g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C, 3.5mm mic input

Frequency range

20Hz - 20kHz

Waterproofing

IP53

Other features

1m USB-C to USB-C cable, soft drawstring carry pouch

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Features

• Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency modes
• 90-hour battery life (60 with ANC engaged)
• Bluetooth 6.0 with Multipoint

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are an affordable set of wireless over-ear headphones, with active noise cancelling and a prodigious battery life to fuel it. More specifically, the Aventho Y boast 90 hours of non-stop listening, or 60 with ANC engaged — that’s easily a month of morning-commute listening, at least. And in the unlikely event that you burn through your Aventho Y’s juice prematurely, you’ll still have the rest of the day’s listening back in no time at all; a five-minute quick charge yields six hours of listening life.

Humongous reservoir of power aside, the Aventho Y sport a pair of 45mm dynamic drivers, serviced by a Bluetooth 6.0 receiver capable of Multipoint connectivity, and of decoding SBC and AAC codecs. On the face of things, it’s a real shame not to see some lossless aptX or LDAC support here, but practically speaking, AAC is fidelity aplenty for day-to-day listening. 

That Bluetooth is, of course, two-way too; there’s a microphone on board for wireless phone calls, and some well-sized control buttons for playing, pausing and skipping songs without pulling your phone out. It’s also the means by which the Aventho Y connects to Beyerdynamic’s smartphone app, which allows control of ANC and user-preset EQ modes, amongst other things. As for physical I/O, there’s a USB-C port that supports both charging and wired listening, and a 3.5mm output for an add-on boom microphone (more details of which are yet to surface).

A big win for me on the features front — which you’ll hear more about later on — is the easily-removable, magnetically-attached ear-pads; behind them, you’ll find a replaceable battery and a tellingly-shaped hole for a USB-C dongle. The dongle is also yet to surface, but will reportedly enable low-latency Bluetooth connectivity to other devices, in tandem with better-quality audio from the aforementioned and as-yet-unreleased boom mic.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Sound quality

• Lacklustre, telephonic bass profile
• Performs better when competing with outside noise
• Smartphone-app EQ-ing essential

To be completely honest, my first impression of the Aventho Y’s performance was not a positive one. On connecting to my laptop and streaming some music from Qobuz, the out-of-the-box sound profile threw me for a loop; being accustomed to Beyerdynamic’s flat-response monitor headphones, I wasn’t expecting a near-telephonic treatment of high mids and voices from this consumer-focused entry.

Queens Of The Stone Age’s Everybody Knows That You’re Insane, taken from expansive 2005 slow-cooker Lullabies To Paralyse should be an urgent, propulsive assault of information from bright guitars to thudding bass and kicks, but the Aventho Y presents it as a peaky mess of honky leads and vocals. Why? Or should I say, “Y”? (Sorry.)

Some artists get a little bit of a better break than others. Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights demonstrated a clarity with respect to monophonic lead guitars, but at the expense of clarity in other areas. The snare in Untitled sounded boxed-up, restrained — as did the bass, which should swell and envelope but instead seemed stuck behind everything else, revving up in hopes of getting past. It’s a peculiar sensation, really. It feels like these headphones can’t fully handle the music they’re receiving, whether it’s through a lack of headroom, or a lack of vacancy for low end to thrive.

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)

It occurred to me, then, that I wasn’t testing the Aventho Y in the environment they were designed for. Marketing copy, express-yourself colorways and aesthetic ads of headphone-clad models dancing in public all point to the Aventho Y being expressly created for soundtracking your life outside. So that’s where I went.

And the experience was much, much different. Everything I’ve said about the default sound profile stands, but matters much less in public. Contending with the everyday noises of urban traffic means that honky high-mids turn, somewhat, into tactile presence. LA Priest’s latest LP Into The Sky is a gratuitously texture-rich compendium of electronic love songs, and had exactly the bite I was looking for while I waited for the bus.

Against the noise of the outside world, It’s less apparent that your music is straining against the limits of the headphones; it’s designed to compensating for a living, breathing world around you. The bass is still a let-down, but, luckily, there’s an app for that.

The Beyerdynamic app gives you control over a few features, including a customisable graphic EQ. Even just some slight adjustments between 60Hz and 200Hz brought back some essential thump and hum; I just don’t understand “Y” (sorry) the Aventho Y shipped with the sound as is. 

I will also say, to the Aventho Y’s credit, that its ANC is frightfully effective — much more so than more expensive headphones I’ve tried before, and to an almost discomforting degree. It does introduce a hissy noise floor, so you aren’t getting a pristine listening environment with it engaged; still, it’s better than cranking the volume over the roar of a bus (or, indeed, the interminable TV-borne whinings of Tempting Fortune’s contemptible contestants while you’re trying desperately to finish a review about some wireless headphones. I mean, honestly).

The Aventho Y also sport a Transparency mode, which pipes a little more of your surroundings into your cans. It’s less effective than the ANC is indoors, but incredibly effective outdoors — albeit with that same underlying hiss.

Sound-wise, the Aventho Y are hard to score. They sound, frankly, quite bad out of the box and in a quiet listening space; they’re clearly not for active listening, or pairing with pricey hi-fi systems. But out and about, they deliver quite well, and especially so when it comes to more practical interventions like ANC and transparency mode. But they wouldn’t sound anywhere near as good as they could without app-based EQ intervention. It’s a mess of “buts”, and all a bit of a shame, really.

• Sound quality score: 3 / 5

They also come in 'Platinum Greige' (Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Design

• Cool visual design
• Comfortable for long durations
• Easy to repair and replace elements

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are demonstrably nice to look at, courtesy of the smart-and-simple ear cup design and those four tasteful color options. My set are this peachy pastel orange, with tinted cream ear and head cushions — an easy-going Zillennial two-tone, offset by metal-effect silver plastic brackets. That they are plastic is, of course and always, a bit of a shame, but it’s no surprise in a consumer-forward set of wireless over-ears (and even less of one for a pair that ask only for $149 / £129). 

A big win for me is the repairability of the Aventho Y, typified by the magnetically-secured ear pads that pull off with a firm-but-fair tug. Beyerdynamic offer velour-clad pad upgrades, too, for an even comfier experience. 

Removing the left ear pad unearths the enclosure for the Aventho Y’s battery, allowing easy replacement should your battery eventually die on you. This level of replaceability has been historically rare for consumer-grade products in the same camp as the Aventho Y, which makes this a real breath of fresh air — but only so much in the way of props can be delivered Beyerdynamic’s way. 

With the EU now mandating the self-repairability of consumer electronics from 2027, it’s no surprise that new products increasingly bear such customer-friendly design choices, and it’s a shame that, after years of impenetrable products from more unscrupulous brands elsewhere, it’s such a pleasantness to encounter them. Still, I’m allowed to be impressed for now.

While I’m here, I’m also pretty keen on the physical buttons in the ear cups — particularly the literal switch that turns the Aventho Y on and enables Bluetooth pairing. That kind of tactile responsiveness is similarly rare, and hugely welcome.

Finally, I can’t fault the Aventho Y at all on comfort. I could easily wear them for hours (and actually, I have), thanks to some light, comfy ear pads and a fold-up design that lets them sit around your neck without applying undue pressure. How these are put together, and how they interact with you as owner, are easily some of the best things about these cans.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Value

• Excels on all practical fronts…
• …but the sound is hard to get past
• Well-priced for features

At $149.99 / £129 / AU$280, the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y undercut a lot of its large-battery-having, ANC-toting contemporaries as an affordable piece of outdoor-listening kit. There are cheaper headphones, yes, but rarely do headphones as cheap as this offer up to 90 hours of uninterrupted listening and a noise-cancelling algorithm that actually, tangibly makes a difference to your day-to-day. It’s rare also to see a pair of headphones so smoothly designed. The aesthetics and execution are undeniably great. But…

I just can’t get over that initial disappointment I felt listening to them for the first time, at my desk. Beyerdynamic is capable of so much more than this, so it’s difficult to understand “Y” (sorry) they settled on this sound at this price. Without the steady thrum of urban life to contend with, there’s nowhere for the Aventho Y’s sonic shortcomings to hide — and EQ isn’t quite enough to fix them, either.

Again, it’s clear that the Aventho Y’s own “Y” is facilitating some groovy movement in your day-to-day. And they do succeed in that regard, but still need a bit of a helping hand along the way. If you do just want a set of wireless headphones for drowning out the wider world during your commutes, these are excellent value for money. Elsewhere, it’s much harder to truly see what the “why” is with them.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y?

Section

Notes

Score

Features

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y is a pair of wireless over-ear headphones with 90-hour battery, some brilliant ANC and Bluetooth 6.0 Multipoint connectivity — though it’s lacking hi-res codec support.

4/5

Sound quality

Unfortunately, the Aventho Y’s sound quality just isn’t there out of the box. There’s no decent low end to speak of, and the high mids are peaky to the point of discomfort. This makes sense when they’re competing against public hubbub, but even then, the only way to create any weight is by boosting lows in the proprietary Beyerdynamic app.

3/5

Design

The design is (nearly) the best thing about the Aventho Y, with a choice of four tasteful colorways and some clever replaceable ear pads — not to mention a neat fold-up design and hours of listening comfort. 

4.5/5

Value

There’s some undeniable value to the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y. The ANC is great, the build quality is good for the price and the battery life is even better. The sound lets them down, insofar as they aren’t wholly suitable for anything but out-and-about.

4/5

Buy them if...

You’re always on the move
The long, long battery life is already reason enough to lean into the Aventho Y as your new pair of leaving-the-house headphones, but consider also the fetching color options, on-board controls and outside-friendly sonic profile.

Active Noise Cancelling is a non-negotiable
I’ve found it hard to get good ANC at all, to be honest, let alone at a functionally budget price point. The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are frankly excellent for noise cancelling, and well worth it for less chaotic commutes.

Don't buy them if...

You’re after wireless headphones for sit-down listening
Quite simply, the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are not designed for active listening. Between the marketing, battery life and color scheme, they’re begging to be worn out and about, where a near-telephonic frequency response with a honky preference for upper-mids makes far more sense.

You want stellar sound out of the box
The Aventho Y don’t really become themselves until you’ve spent some time tweaking EQs in Beyerdynamic’s app — which, incidentally, you can only do on a smartphone.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y review: Also consider

Beyerdynamic Aventho Y

Sony WH-CH730N

JBL Live 780N

Drivers

45mm dynamic

30mm

40mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Quoted battery life

90+ hours (60+ hrs with ANC)

75 hours (50 hrs with ANC)

80 hours (50 hrs with ANC)

Weight

316g

207g

270g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C, 3.5mm mic input

Bluetooth 6.0, 3.5mm

Bluetooth 6.0

Frequency range

20Hz - 20kHz

20Hz - 20kHz

10 Hz - 40 kHz

Waterproofing

IP53

No rating

No rating

Extras

1m USB-C to USB-C cable, carry pouch

3.5mm to 3.5mm cable

USB-C to analog cable, carry pouch

Sony WH-CH730N
These come in a little cheaper than the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y, but sport many of the same features — and a few of the same shortcomings. There’s good ANC and great battery life, but, unlike the Aventho Y, no USB-C audio passthrough. 
Read our full Sony WH-CH730N review

JBL Live 780NC
For slightly more money, you could get yourself a much more aggressively-hued set of these JBL over-ears, with formidable ANC and some respectable sound performance to match. These are solid performers at a solid price. 
Read our in-depth JBL Live 780NC review

How I tested the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y

• Tested for 4 weeks
• Used both in and out of the home 
• Predominantly tested using music streamed from Qobuz, via Bluetooth-connected laptop or smartphone

The Beyerdynamic Aventho Y spent around 4 weeks with me, in a variety of listening situations both active and passive. They were tested partly at home, connected to my HP Pavilion 15 laptop via Bluetooth and receiving music from the streaming service Qobuz, as well as from my digital audio library. I also took the Aventho Y out and about on my various day-to-day gallivantings, connected to my Samsung S23 FE via Bluetooth and, again, listening to music streamed from Qobuz.

Read more about how we test at TechRadar

• First reviewed: October 2026

• Critical PHP2Shell flaws also impact internet-exposed NAS devices and PHP-based Docker workloads
• Major vendors are still releasing patches, leaving some Synology, QNAP, and other systems exposed
• Researchers urge immediate updates, removal of public exposure, and VPN-only remote access

Websites and web servers are apparently not the only products affected by the php2shell vulnerability - Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are at risk, too - and to make matters worse, some of the most popular manufacturers have not yet released a patch, despite the flaws being actively abused in the wild.

Research by Apple Insider noted that the flaw also affects software maintained by NAS manufacturers, as well as applications running independently in Docker containers, with NAS devices that are reachable through the public internet also at risk.

What's particularly concerning is that some of the biggest NAS manufacturers have said to be working on a fix, but the work is yet to be done. Synology, for example, released a new security advisory saying PHP versions 7.3 - 8.4, Mail Station, and Synology Calendar are all affected and adding that it released updated PHP packages to address the flaws. Those running Synology NAS products should head over to the company’s Package Center and download archive and look for updated PHP 8.2 and PHP 8.4 packages.

Twofold risk

The company also stressed that there is a difference between installed PHP packages and PHP components within DiskStation manager, and added that its built-in PHP isn’t exposed to the public internet, therefore most likely not at risk.

Another major NAS manufacturer, QNAP, confirmed a wide range of affected products, including QTS 5.2.11 and older, QTS 6.1.9, QuTS hero and QuTScloud, and Note Station 3. It said it was currently working on a fix, but did not give a timeline on when the patch might become available. So far, there is no evidence of in-the-wild attacks, but the company does recommend removing the devices from the open internet, disabling unnecessary port forwarding, UPnP, and remote-access services.

Other manufacturers are also currently working on a fix, including TerraMaster, Ugreen, and Asustor, Apple Insider found. “NAS owners should check their manufacturer's security notices and available updates for their specific models,” the publication said.

For NAS owners, the risk is twofold, since PHP is found in both the operating system and Docker containers.

Those running PHP-based services in Docker should check if their container images are running affected versions of PHP, and update them as soon as humanly possible.

There is also the problem of running older devices that have reached end-of-life and are, as such, no longer supported with patches. These, security experts agree, should be removed from public access. Unsolicited inbound connections should be blocked, and the device should be kept accessible only locally. Remote access should be achieved through a secure VPN, instead of forwarding NAS management ports.

P2PShell?

PHP2Shell is a name for a pair of vulnerabilities - CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 - that were recently discovered in the PHP programming language. They are considered critical and allow malicious actors to take over websites, steal data, deploy malware, and more. However, the story that has so far revolved around internet sites and web apps is now expanding into NAS devices, too.

PHP2Shell is shaping up to be the biggest security incident of the year, and possibly longer, arguably rivaled only by the Spectre/Meltdown flaws from eight years ago.

The pair of vulnerabilities - both critical in severity and both allowing for remote code execution - affects the vast majority of websites and web apps in existence today.

Knowledge of the flaws leaked four days before the patches were released, according to Amazon, and the number of exploitation attempts went from a few hundred 10 hours before publication, to millions today.

However, most of these attempts seem to have been unsuccessful. Analysis is ongoing as to why that is the case, with some researchers thinking code execution needs to get past ASLR, which is a difficult thing to do remotely. However, breaking in only seems to be a matter of time, which is why the security community urges manufacturers to release a fix as soon as possible, and owners to apply them without delay.

• Clayface's director has revealed why Batman doesn't appear
• James Watkins has also addressed the lack of a post-credits scene
• The new DC Universe movie is out now in theaters worldwide

Full spoilers follow for Clayface.

Clayface director James Watkins has explained why Batman doesn't appear — despite confirmation that the Caped Crusader is already active in Gotham City when the film takes place.

Prior to the movie's late October release, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran confirmed to Collider that the Dark Knight is already fighting crime during the events of Clayface. Despite this, the new DC Universe (DCU) film doesn't feature a cameo from Bruce Wayne's alter ego.

On the surface, the decision not to include Batman makes sense, because nobody has been cast as the DCU's iteration of the iconic DC superhero yet. Myriad actors have been linked with the role, but Safran and his studio co-chief James Gunn have repeatedly denied that someone has been picked to play him.

Batman made his DCU debut, albeit via a very brief cameo, in Creature Commandos season 1 (Image credit: Max/DC Studios)

Even so, a precedent has already been set for Batman appearing in the DCU.

Indeed, the World's Greatest Detective showed up — albeit in silhouetted form — in season 1 episode 7 of Creature Commandos, i.e. the adult animated show that kickstarted the DCU when it premiered on HBO Max in late 2024. So, why is the crime-fighting vigilante conspicuous by his absence in a movie that tells the origin story of one of his most formidable foes?

"If you look at [the 2019 Joaquin Phoenix-starring movie] Joker, it's one man's story in the world of Gotham, which is a city of many million people," Watkins told me as part of an exclusive chat ahead of the DCU Chapter One flick's launch. "So, for me, it was just trying to tell another man's story, Matt Hagen's story, to the best of my ability.

"I didn't want to be cute or cheap or tricksy," he added about Batman's no-show. "So, to try and crowbar something in, I felt was was inappropriate. There are references and Easter eggs, but I didn't want to include a stunt casting cameo."

That's not the only thing missing in Clayface, because the body horror movie also lacks an end credits scene of any description.

Again, initially, that's to be expected for a DCU film. Sure, Superman included a mid- and post-credits scene, but neither sequence offered a tease for what's to come in Gunn and Safran's fledgling cinematic universe. Meanwhile, Supergirl came and went without a single post-credits stinger.

Gunn has gone on record to discuss his philosophy regarding end credits scenes and why it differs from Marvel's. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly last year, Gun said he doesn't want to use them "unless they really, really work", and he can fulfil the promise of what they tease to fans in future projects.

Read more exclusive Clayface coverage

- Clayface review: Tom Rhy Harries shines in solidly sculped comic book flick
- Where does Clayface sit on the DCU timeline?
- Clayface director on the fierce fan backlash to the Batman villain's reframing as an anti-hero

It seems, then, that Watkins had to follow that approach for Clayface — but there's another reason why he elected not to include a post-credits scene, and it's to do with its last frame that shows Matt Hagen's full transformation into the shape-shifting villain's final form.

"I think, where the film ends, it ends in a really tragic way," Watkins said. "I just wanted people to walk out of their screening with that shot still imprinted in their minds, rather than undercut the emotional tragedy of it with a tease for a future film."

Magic: The Gathering is ready to boldly go where it has never gone before with its upcoming Star Trek Universes Beyond set, and I have a pair of cards from it to showcase for you today!

Let’s start with Jake Sisko, War Correspondent. A mono-Green Commander with Landfall is nothing new, though I see them working much better in the 99 given their ability, especially in more budget-friendly or color-restricted decks after somewhat reliable card draw.

(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast / CBS)

I’m coming back around on incidental lifegain, especially on cards like this where it’s not the only reward for your chosen strategy — in this case, playing as many lands as possible. In more grindy, elongated games, it can help you cling to life for a turn or two more to eke out a win, and can offset any life loss afflicted by your value engines.

The Clue reward for your second land drop each turn isn’t as useful as a full card, but in a deck with access to plenty of mana (which Landfall decks tend to be) and especially in such decks without the card draw efficiency afforded by Blue, it’s not a terrible alternative.

Tireless Tracker sees play for this reason, and while Jake Sisko is arguably worse given the restrictions on its Clue generation, it does offer a little redundancy.

If you do want to build Jake Sisko, War Correspondent out as a Commander, I’d recommend including cards like Academy Manufactor, Stridehangar Automaton, and Tippy-Toe, Terrific Partner which each turn you Clue into a Clue and other tokens — Tippy-Toe will also turn even one Landfall trigger into card draw on your end step. You’ll also want cards like Captain Kathryn Janeway, Exploration, and Asuza, Lost but Seeking to help you consistently play two lands a turn.

(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast / CBS)

Turning to Ravenous Cosmozoan, a Red Tolarian Terror that gives up protection and some stats for Flying and Haste — lending itself to a more immediately aggressive approach the turn it comes down.

At Uncommon, the Cosmozoan won’t see the Pauper play of its predecessor, but I fear it may mimic Terror’s low Standard play rate.

There are some notable differences. Flying and Haste should help the Cosmozoan pressure opponents more aggressively the turn it comes down — even if it packs a softer punch — and notably it cares about all nonland, noncreatures in your Graveyard, not merely your Instants and Sorceries.

We’ll have to wait and see if that’s enough to save it, though.

The best (perhaps only) place for it may unfortunately be Limited. If the environment is more grindy and games tend to go a little longer, it shouldn’t cost more than a couple of mana in the late game, and a few of these could swing over an opponent’s board to steadily chip them down to zero — perhaps as a surprise attack thanks to its Haste.