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Beats Powerbeats Pro 2: Two-minute review

I'll be frank (you can still be whatever your name is): a lot has changed in the world of Bluetooth audio since May 2019. That's when the Powerbeats Pro 2's forefathers burst onto the relatively new true wireless earbuds scene and promptly cornered its fledgling athletic sub-genre.

The thing is, the wealth of reliable earbuds any of us can pick up now for as little as $20 were inconceivable six years ago, so the Powerbeats Pro 2 arrive as an interesting (quite large – cumbersome even) proposition. If their storied heritage did not exist, we might actually question what Beats was doing releasing a set of earbuds with a large curling tail on one end that does not facilitate open-ear listening, but instead includes a more traditional driver housing and neck for creating a closed seal betwixt its ear-tip and your ear canal.

One might argue that in the past few years engineers have collected substantial data and used it to create concha-fit and droplet-shaped ergonomic driver housings, which means we no longer need arms for our earbuds – even for sports. We might even think it odd for Beats to be pitching such a design at athletes – because other bright sparks have invented open-ear true wireless earbuds in the past four years, and these let us easily hear traffic or our trainer's voice as we work out.

But the Powerbeats Pro 2 get a pass for most of this, owing to the love we still have for the then-groundbreaking inaugural Powerbeats Pro. I remember the huge video ad I saw every day at London's Waterloo Station, featuring Serena Williams serving both looks and tennis aces while wearing an ice-white, Wimbledon-friendly set of Powerbeats Pro. Those earbuds – which arrived before the inaugural AirPods Pro and actually, before the 'Pro' suffix became a mainstay of the audio vernacular – soon seemed as iconic as the superstars who wore them.

So we need to be asking not only how the Powerbeats Pro 2 stand up against the best noise-cancelling earbuds aimed at regular users, but also how they compare to the best open-ear headphones that, until recently, were the preserve of athletes. Okay, as a set of 'regular' wireless earbuds, the case you'll be toting around is quite big – not quite coffee coaster big, but close. However, if you're an Apple Music subscriber the head-tracked spatial audio works very well, and the noise cancellation is quite good; neither is as good as what you get with the AirPods Pro 2, but the spatial audio in particular isn't far off.

Slipping them on isn't as quick a job as it is with other earbuds, but once they're on, if security is your main issue with Apple-styled buds you'll be pleased – these Beats ain't going anywhere. Also, at 10 hours from the buds and a further 3.5 charges in the case (for a whopping 45-hour total) the battery life is impressive, although if you're using ANC or spatial audio it's eight hours and a maximum playtime total of 36 hours. For clarity, you'll only get 5.5 to seven hours from your AirPods Pro 2 before they need charging. Not bad, eh?

See the sensor? (Image credit: Future)

However, for a set of sports-focused earbuds that sit inside the ear, a good transparency mode is important, and despite Beats' assurance that this is the most natural-sounding transparency mode in any set of Beats earbuds (with the adaptive algorithm powered by the H2 chip updating over 200 times per second) I've heard many more effective transparency profiles – and simply turning ANC off isn't something I'd advise, since this listening profile adds to the already-slightly tinny issues through the top end, making the soundstage a little too forward and sweet overall.

Price-wise, they're also a little hot and heavy-handed at $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$399.95. Despite arriving at the same price as their older siblings, times have changed. You can buy similar designs for considerably less now; you couldn't then.

But stop everything! We need to talk matters of the heart. Because make no mistake, you should feel ready to place your heart in Powerbeats Pro 2's hands here, either via the Health app or your compatible, linked fitness app. Beats told me heart-rate monitoring had been on the company's mood boards for inclusion since 2014, and the feature's debut here is the result of well over four years on the bench with engineers (and subsequently in the ears of over 1,000 real-world athletes for testing).

What I can tell you is that the heart-rate monitor is here now, beautifully implemented in certain third-party apps when linked with Apple's Health app. And because of the pulse readings, the super-secure fit and the excellent battery life, you may be prepared to forgive the few shortcomings I've talked about so far, plus a couple of sonic shortfalls I've yet to get into.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Price & release date

• Unveiled on February 13, 2025
• Priced $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$399.95

How often can a product come in at the same $249.99 / £249.99 / AU$399.95 price as its 2019 counterpart and still not be considered great value? Simply put, competition has brought prices right down. These days, $100 / £100 is top-end for inclusion in our best budget wireless earbuds guide, and anything above that goes into mid-range and flagship territory.

For a brief comparison in the world of 'regular' buds, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds come in at $299 / £299 / AU$449 and Technics' outstanding EAH-AZ100 are also in the same ballpark, at $299 / £259 / AU$499. Apple's AirPods Pro 2 regularly cost under $199 / £199 / AU$349. Sports-focused options often come in a fair way under these kinds of figures (the Shokz OpenFit Air arrived in summer 2024 with a $149 / £119 price-tag for example) although the Bose Ultra Open buck the affordable trend – they can now be yours for a similar $249 / £249 / AU$349.95, having arrived at $50 more than that.

All of this is food for thought, but don't forget that none of the options I've listed above can monitor your heart rate…

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Specifications

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Features

• Heart-rate monitoring is useful – unless you use an Apple Watch
• Spatial audio with head-tracking enhances commutes
• Disappointing IPX4 splash-proof rating

Let's start with the ticker-taker. Heart monitoring from the ears is not a new concept as I've already mentioned – Beats wanted to include it back in 2014 – but it's been a long time in development. The tiny sensor at the helm in Powerbeats Pro 2 (which is derived from the Apple Watch, but is actually 1/16th of the size of the sensor in the Apple Watch Series 10) contains a photodiode, an optical lens, an accelerometer and an LED sensor, but Beats admits that this component wasn't that minuscule at first. And while the ear is actually a great place to access your pulse, developing a sensor small, light and accurate enough to wear comfortably in a headshell was a difficult process.

Well, it's here now – and if you're not using anything else, it's good. You need to be wearing both earbuds to get a reading, because when you do, that green LED light sensor in each earpiece pulses over 100 times per second, then measures the light reflected back to calculate how many times your heart is beating per minute.

Accessing the feature might seem a little limited or even disappointing at first (there's no juicy 'Heart-rate' bubble in your iPhone Control Center when you click through, as I might have hoped), but this is because the Powerbeats Pro 2 are really meant to only start taking readings when you begin a workout, rather than constantly monitor your pulse throughout the day or whenever you choose to summon a reading.

That said, you can dig into your iPhone's Health app, then either tap Browse at the bottom-right then Heart > Heart Rate to call up a live figure, or go to Summary at the bottom-left then Show All Health Data > Heart Rate, to see a graph of your live heart rate. But really, you're meant to be in training and with a third-party fitness app. The only currently supported one I use is Nike Run Club, but once you've linked the app and given the necessary permissions in Settings, it works a treat.

It's worth noting two things: if you wear an Apple Watch while using the Beats, the Watch readings are always prioritized over the Powerbeats' readings; and secondly, the Powerbeats Pro 2 don't work with Apple Fitness Plus currently (and no Strava support, i.e., the one I'd really like it to work with). At the time of writing, heart-rate monitoring through the Powerbeats Pro 2 is available in these iOS apps: Peloton, Slopes, Ladder, Open, Runna, YaoYao, and Nike Run Club, so plenty of activities are covered.

If you're on Android, it's different again (and arguably, better). Here, the feature will work with any fitness app that supports heart-rate monitoring; you just need to manually start each training session with a double tap and hold on either earbud.

On both iOS and Android you can turn the feature off in the settings if you don't want it taking readings.

Yes, I love the color so much, I did this…  (Image credit: Future)

Now, on to Personalized Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and dynamic head-tracking. This is Apple's 360-degree sound tech that adjusts the audio based on the shape of your ears, head, and – if you toggle it on – using your Apple device as a source so the audio has a fixed point of origin (and this moves between each ear as you move your head towards said source device). I really rate this in Powerbeats Pro 2, thanks to the solid fit and seal the design promotes, particularly when listening to more acoustic tracks. Want to hear how good it is? Try listening to Sam Fender's Arm's Length and holding your device at arm's length. Good, no?

The Powerbeats Pro 2 only support lossless audio with ultra-low latency on the Apple Vision Pro, so while high resolution is possible on these earbuds, it's an expensive route – and I do not own a Vision Pro headset (but leave a comment if you've tested it – I'd love to know whether there's a notable uptick in audio quality).

Call quality? It's good: the Powerbeats Pro 2 have a total of six microphones (three per earpiece) and callers throughout my testing said I sounded very clear and, on one occasion, "particularly empathetic". Beats says there's machine learning-based noise isolation tech at play, so callers will hear your voice at its best, aided by a voice accelerometer to detect when you're speaking and thus enhance clarity. What I can tell you is that if you take calls often on your earbuds, you'll be pleased here.

Other notable features include the option to customize what a press-and-hold of the physical 'b' button does on each earpiece (between Siri and noise-control functions), automatic ear detection, Find My to locate a lost earbud in iOS (you can select which earbud you'd like to emit a beeping noise if it's around the house, or see where they are on a map) and Find My Beats on Android via the companion app. But there's no U1 chip in the charging case for precise location tracking – and no inbuilt speaker as there is in the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with ANC's charging nests, so the case itself is silent. There's also an ear tip fit test that's actually quite picky; I had to adjust to smaller ear tips to get the green light in both ears, even when I personally felt like I had the fit right.

As any AirPods owner will know, there's no cross-platform multi-point connectivity in Apple earbuds – and that hasn't changed here. They can auto-switch between your Apple devices as needed, but not between an Android phone and a laptop, say. You can 'share' the audio you're hearing in your Powerbeats Pro 2 to other Beats or Apple earbuds in the vicinity using Apple's proprietary Share Audio option. You cannot tweak the EQ on a dedicated tab with the Powerbeats Pro 2 – although on iOS you can go into your iPhone's settings > Apps > Music > EQ to tweak things a little.

Finally (and I'm putting this under 'features' rather than 'design' since any sports-specific earbuds really ought to focus on durability) there's a somewhat disappointing IPX4 rating for the earpieces, and the case is neither water- nor sweat-resistant at all. What that means is that while wearing the buds for sweaty workouts should be fine (the Powerbeats Pro 2 will survive light rain, humid environments and splashes of water), they absolutely positively cannot be submerged in the drink, which seems at odds with their, er… athleticism. And it's not that it can't be done: the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earpieces boast an IP57 rating, meaning they'll survive a 30-minute full submersion in water up to a depth of one meter.

• Features score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Sound quality

• Energetic and forward-sounding – almost to a fault
• A little tinny in some profiles; beaten by the original Powerbeats Pro for bass weight
• Turning off noise cancellation negatively affects the sound

This is not quite the glowing praise that long-term fans of Beats' Powerbeats Pro might have been hoping for. The 3.5-star rating for sound quality below is not bad and make no mistake, the sound here is not without merit, but this is a huge and hotly-anticipated seventh-iteration Beats earbuds product and the heavily-leaked follow-up to the iconic Powerbeats Pro, nearly six years on. And the sound simply isn't excellent – and not just because the relatively lowly SBC and AAC codecs are supported (ie. no hi-res audio, unless you're using them with the Vision Pro).

Perhaps in part because the driver is smaller than in the original Powerbeats Pro (a 9.5mm dual-layer driver versus 12mm in the originals) the sound is very different, and just a little more constricted. Deploying noise cancellation gives the Pro 2 the best chance to shine, and here, with dynamic head-tracked spatial audio also toggled on, there is separation and a healthy serving of detail in Tom Petty's textured vocal in Free Fallin', with guitar strings grazing each ear and a bridge as dynamically abrupt and agile as I remember. Nevertheless, cue up Gunna's One of Wun and the smouldering track is notably moodier, fuller and more resonant through the low end in both AirPods Pro 2 and my Technics EAH-AZ100. Listen with the Technics and I'm dropped into the mix; switch to the Beats and I'm just a little bit above it, wanting to get stuck into the bass a little more.

The lengthy acoustic guitar intro in Rod Stewart's Maggie May (known as 'Henry' and played by Martin Quittenton) has energy and pep – there's no faulting the Powerbeats Pro 2 for timing across the frequencies – but as the track continues, the forward-focused nature of the Powerbeats Pro 2 rather over-emphasises the keys and mandolin in the upper mids, even making Rod-the-Mod's voice sound a touch tinny.

And sadly, things don't improve when you turn noise cancelling off, which appears to heat the soundstage up a notch, as if I'm listening on cassette tape. Cue up the transparency mode and it helps quash the marginal sweetness, but during a run I simply didn't feel like enough ambient noise filtered in – and there's no way to tweak the levels of filtering in (or being nixed) here rather than 'Transparency', 'Off', or 'Noise cancellation'.

• Sound quality score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Design

• A triumph for security (and for on-ear volume tweaks)
• Case is smaller, but still big by today's standards
• They take a few seconds to fit – especially if you wear glasses

I've mentioned the slightly disappointing 'only splash-proof' IPX4 rating, so that's out of the way. I've also praised the up-to-45-hour stamina, which is a huge plus. Other than that, there's a lot to celebrate in the design department.

Said design (including the case, which can now charge wirelessly) is quite big by today's standards, but the Powerbeats Pro 2 are only as big as some of the best open-fit earbuds – the kind with the arm that slinks around your ear. In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is an open-fit pair of earbuds given their size, but they're not – and for me, it's one of their biggest strengths.

In 2025, it's a very unusual proposition. Each earpiece also has a physical volume rocker on the bar above the 'b'-branded driver housing and because nothing works as consistently and reliably as physical buttons (maybe you're wearing gloves 'cause you're skiing; maybe your phone's in your kit bag) it's an excellent decision. It also means you're not fiddling with multiple presses of a main multi-function button to switch volume, which, as anyone used to this knows, can often mean unintended track skips or Siri piping up.

And the praise keeps coming! The colorways are excellent (see the 'electric orange' and 'hyper purple' colorways as well as your more standard black and 'quick sand' gray) and despite squeezing in that heart-rate monitor, Beats has made the Powerbeats Pro 2 light, very comfortable and unmovable. I tried to dislodge them during aerial hoop and silks training, spinning upside-down at speeds I've no business attempting these days, and they never even moved.

In combination with the extra pair of ear tips in the box, to equal five sizes rather than four (the ear tip fit test won't let you off lightly either), they're honestly some of the most well-fitting earbuds I've ever tested.

The only downside to all this security? Fitting them requires a little bit of work and if you're someone who tends to leave the house in a rush, you might find yourself reaching for earbuds you can throw in and go with fiddling. Unlike the best open earbuds, you do need to make sure the Powerbeats Pro 2's headshell is properly in your ear, then snake the arm around your ear, then twist everything back towards your crown, to lock it in.

I often found myself accidentally pressing playback buttons while doing this or dropping one if I didn't sit calmly to perform these tasks, especially since I wear glasses to look at my screen (and the arms of your glasses sit in the same spot as the arms of the Powerbeats Pro 2, behind the ear). The thing is, if security is your main issue, it's worth it. Ultimately, the design here is still a hit with me.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Value

• Excellent battery life
• Heart-rate monitor is unique right now
• Sonically they can be beaten for the money

At $249 / £249, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are not cheap for a sports-focused set of earbuds – and indeed against Apple's AirPods lineup, considering Apple now makes its new AirPods 4 for just $129. But the Powerbeats Pro 2 do contain a ticker-tracking sensor no other AirPods can currently boast, and stamina levels that far exceed anything most earbuds can boast.

For me, the design is one of this proposition's biggest strengths; to others, the case may be a little big for the class of 2025. They aren't winning any awards sonically either – but the audio performance is a step up on most of the cheaper, sub-$100 wireless buds on the market when you deploy noise cancellation and dynamic head-tracked spatial audio. As always, it's a matter of priorities.

Honestly, I never thought I'd recommend a product that can't boast top-tier sound. But these earbuds go on for hour after hour, take your heart-rate and feel super-secure in your ears, so here we are…

• Value score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review:

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

You need buds for gymnastics, athletics, dancing or training
Niche? Maybe. But these earbuds offer the most secure fit I've ever tested in a true wireless design.

You want to track your heart rate (without a watch)
The heart-rate monitor is currently an Apple- and Beats earbuds first, and it works very well.

You're willing to pay for better stamina
A 45-hour maximum playtime is up there with the best battery life we've ever seen – and it leaves AirPods for dust.

Don't buy them if...

Sound quality is king
The sound here is a shade under excellent across the frequencies, feeling a little light in terms of bass weight, and a little heavy-handed through the treble.

You want an in-app tweakable EQ tab
No dice here, friend…

You want to keep your ear canals uncovered
Given their larger, sports-focused design and ear 'hook', you'd be forgiven for assuming this is an open-ear design in 2025. But make no mistake, these are in-ear earbuds.

(Image credit: Future) Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Also consider

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Prefer device-agnostic head-tracked spatial audio plus some of the best ANC in the business? These September 2023-issue earbuds from Bose are a great shout – and the in-ear security is nearly as good as the Powerbeats Pro 2. You'll have to forego multi-point connectivity, super-stamina (it's only 6 hours here) and a heart-rate monitor, but you'll get more detail from the sound quality.
Read more in our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review

Cambridge Audio Melomania M100
The ANC-off and transparency profiles are much more enjoyable here – as is the sound quality generally. You also get a similar battery life and the option of Matt Berry on voice prompts (his "Waiting to pair!" is a delight). The overall aesthetic isn't as striking though, and they aren't as secure in your ears – also you can forget about having your pulse read… 
Read our full Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 review

(Image credit: Future) How I tested the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

• Tested for two weeks; listened against the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, Cambridge Audio Melomania M100, Technics EAH-AZ100, JBL Live Beam 3, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra
• Used at work, at home, during aerial training and on a beach in Florida
• Listened to Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify on an iPhone 12 Pro, a Sony Xperia 1 V and a MacBook Pro

The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 became my musical travel companions for two full weeks – after a thorough 48-hour run-in period. They accompanied me while running errands (fast walking; commuting), at home and throughout a surfing vacation in Florida – although they never joined me in the water (they're not waterproof, you see).

To better test the fit and security of the Powerbeats Pro 2, I wore them during a particularly upside-down aerial silks training session, a lyra (aerial hoop) class and a pole class, and they didn't budge once.

To test the audio quality across the frequencies, I consulted TechRadar's reference playlists spanning everything from electro-pop to blues (see our guide on how we test earbuds for more on this) on Apple Music, Qobuz and Tidal, but also to podcasts and albums on Spotify, and YouTube tutorials (mostly about how to bleed car brake pads, in case you were interested) on my MacBook Pro.

I’ve been testing audio products for just over six years now. As a dancer, aerialist and musical theater performer in a previous life, sound quality, the overall user experience and security have always been non-negotiable markers for me – and having heard how effective (and stress-relieving) ANC can be when the anti-phase tech is done well, I have grown to love it.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: February 2025

Top CDs boast APYs more than three times the national average for some terms.

• The upgraded 8BitDo Ultimate 2 is launching between March and April 2025
• Improvements include TMR thumbsticks, RGB lighting and better software
• This controller is compatible with Windows and Android devices

This is not a drill! The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 - an upgraded version of the gamepad that tops our list of the best Nintendo Switch controllers - is launching very soon.

The 8BitDo Ultimate's successor has some key upgrades over the original model including a pair of TMR thumbsticks. These achieve the same objective as Hall effect thumbsticks in combating stick drift, but are more energy efficient, which should lead to a slight increase in battery life. Although, those new RGB lighting rings could certainly eat into the extra battery life gains. Thankfully, as with the previous model, this one also comes with a charging dock.

It's also providing what the manufacturer calls '8Speed' technology, which aims to deliver ultra-responsive 2.4Ghz wireless connectivity of under 1ms. If true, that'll be a very impressive upgrade.

The Ultimate 2 also adds toggles for its Hall effect triggers, allowing players to swap between instant and non-linear trigger presses. As before, you're getting two remappable rear buttons as well as two new bumper buttons for additional secondary inputs.

8BitDo's proprietary software looks like it's getting an upgrade too. The 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 will let players adjust RGB patterns and strength, as well as button mapping, stick and gyro aiming sensitivity, trigger press distance and much more.

As for price and availability, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 can be pre-ordered now for $59.99 / £49.99 at 8BitDo's Amazon store. It appears to be delivering from March 8 in the US, but UK folks will have to wait a bit longer until April 25. Three colorways are available, too - White, Black and a lovely Purple.

This initial version of the controller is also only compatible with Windows and Android devices. But, with the Nintendo Switch 2 appearing over the horizon, it's reasonable to expect 8BitDo to release a version that's compatible with the Switch family of systems.

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As data privacy laws evolve and the demand for transparency grows, privacy offices are increasingly burdened with the rising cost of processing Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). In fact, a 2024 survey indicated a staggering 246% increase in DSARs over the past two years. And they’re costing companies big time – to the tune of $1.5k per request. For offices that handle these privacy requests manually, the costs are incremental. What began as a regulatory obligation to grant individuals access to their personal data has ballooned into a costly and resource-draining task for privacy teams.

From labor-intensive manual reviews to the complexity of identifying, retrieving, and securely delivering data, DSARs require significant investments in both technology and personnel. The challenge lies not only in complying with these legal requirements but also in maintaining the balance between operational efficiency and safeguarding the personal data they are entrusted with.

But what actually is a DSAR – and why are they causing such a stir? Let’s dive in.

Why should businesses care about rising DSARs, anyway?

A DSAR is a legal right granted to individuals under data privacy regulations – such as the GDPR in the EU or CCPA in California – that allows them to request access to their personal data held by an organization. Essentially, it’s a way for people to understand what data is being collected about them, how it’s being used, and to ensure their privacy rights are respected.

When someone submits a DSAR, an organization must provide a comprehensive report on all the data they hold on that individual. This could include everything from personal details to browsing history, transaction records, or even interactions with customer service.

For privacy teams (especially those that process these requests manually) DSARs can become a complex and resource-intensive process. The challenge is not just in identifying and retrieving the right data, but also ensuring it’s done securely, within the required timeframes, and in compliance with the law – which becomes more and more challenging as new regulations appear across the globe.

In some jurisdictions like Chile, with few legacy protections, new laws are created to provide for additional individual rights. Meanwhile, the United States continues multiplying the number of data subjects with DSAR rights and adding to the list of available rights. Still other authorities have increased enforcement of existing laws, including on topics related to DSAR handling.

Public awareness is also a driving force behind this trend. With data breaches on the rise (up 78% in 2023 alone) consumers are more informed about the risks their personal data faces. Increasing media attention, stricter breach notification laws, and high-profile enforcement actions are making consumers more cautious and proactive.

Compliance isn’t just ethical, it’s economical

Meeting DSAR requirements can set your business apart by reinforcing your reputation as an ethical, customer-centric organization. Customers are more likely to trust companies that take their privacy seriously. Being proactive in addressing DSARs and offering users easy access to their data builds credibility and strengthens brand loyalty. What’s more, businesses that excel in DSAR compliance not only minimize the risk of fines and legal penalties, but they also foster a culture of transparency that can lead to higher customer satisfaction and retention rates.

To turn DSAR compliance into a strategic advantage, here are three actionable tips businesses can implement to safeguard customer data and stay ahead of the competition:

Adopt Data Minimization and Secure Storage Practices: One of the best ways to reduce the burden of responding to DSARs is to minimize the amount of personal data collected in the first place. By adopting data minimization principles (that is, only collecting the data that’s necessary and for the minimum amount of time) businesses limit the scope of DSARs and reduce the risks associated with data breaches. Additionally, secure storage practices, such as encrypting sensitive data and using access controls, can help prevent unauthorized access while DSARs are being processed.

Create Clear, User-Friendly DSAR Processes: Make it as easy as possible for customers to submit DSARs by offering easy-to-read instructions and multiple channels for requests. Whether it’s through an online portal, customer service team, or dedicated privacy email address, ensuring that the process is simple and transparent encourages individuals to take advantage of their rights. Timely and clear responses, coupled with transparency about how their data is being used, can further cement your organization as a trusted entity in the eyes of your customers.

Implement Automated Data Mapping and Retrieval Systems: Manually processing DSARs can be inefficient, error prone, and difficult to scale. By investing in automated tools that help map out where personal data resides within an organization, businesses can dramatically speed up the process of retrieving that data when a request is made. Not only does this streamline compliance, but it also helps ensure that the data you provide is complete and accurate — critical for building trust.

By embracing DSAR compliance not just as a regulatory requirement but as a business opportunity, companies can position themselves as leaders in privacy and data ethics. Because the reality is: the organizations that are ethical, responsible and accountable for their customers' personal information are the organizations who are likely to differentiate their brand from the competition.

We've compiled a list of the best data loss prevention services.

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

Amazon is set to host its first Amazon Devices event since 2023, scheduled for 10am EST / 3pm GMT / 2am ACT on Wednesday, February 26, with many expecting this to be the launching pad for a new, AI-enhanced Alexa, alongside a handful of rumored Echo and Fire TV devices.

After announcing Alexa 2.0 alongside an array of hardware launches back in 2023, all has been relatively quiet from Amazon regarding the future of the LLM (large language model)-boosted smart assistant. Elsewhere, however, rumors have spelled a challenging road to release for Alexa 2.0, including recent concerns that there may be further delays even with its unveiling on the horizon.

It could end up being a divisive event, however, and not because of AI-related concerns; Amazon could be about to fill out its "trends of the 2020s" bingo card by also announcing a subscription plan for the newly smartened Alexa.

We're on the ground in New York City attending the event, which is not publicly available to live stream, and we'll be sharing all the news live as it happens. Stay tuned!

The latest news

• Amazon has scheduled its Devices and Services event for for 10AM EST / 3PM GMT / 2AM ACT on Wednesday, February 26.
• The event is rumored to be the announcement of a new, AI-enhanced Alexa 2.0...
• ... however further rumors suggest this will be a subscription-only service.
• Further rumors suggest new Fire TV hardware and potentially new Echo devices.

Welcome to our live blog coverage of Amazon’s Devices and Services event! Our very own Lance Ulanoff and Jacob Krol are on the ground in New York City to attend the event in person, and I’ll be covering all the news as we learn more from Amazon about its 2025 products.

Stay tuned, because this could be a big moment for Amazon!

Instead of a Devices and Services event in 2024, Amazon opted to trickle various product releases throughout the year, including a surprise launch for the all-new Echo Show 21, as well as second generations of the Echo Spot and Echo Show 15.

We’ve reviewed them all - check them out!

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

With rumors flying about Alexa 2.0’s subscription fee, we’ll hopefully be learning more later today on what that means for the original Alexa. Logic would dictate they wouldn’t fully ditch it and would leave that as the ‘basic’ option in all Echo devices, right? Right?

Anyway, for a refresher on what Alexa can do, check out our list of the Best Alexa Skills and commands.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Especially at release, Alexa was a real game-changer, but with the passage of time comes new technology and new demands on aging software. That’s certainly the case with Alexa; the voice assistant has seen many quality of life updates and new features, but it’s starting to show its age.

There’s plenty that could be improved, but I wrote yesterday about five specific features that would make Alexa 2.0 genuinely worthwhile. Check it out!

Francis, 88, has been in critical condition for several days and he has remained absent from several regular appearances. The church has encouraged worshippers around the world to pray for his health.

(Image credit: Andrew Medichini)

February was a busy month for Disney+, but it seems like March is going to be even more eventful for one of the world's best streaming services.

Indeed, from the arrival of Daredevil's standalone Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) TV series – it's about time! – in Daredevil: Born Again, to the release of Stranger Things star Sadie Sink's dystopian punk-rock opera film O'Dessa and more besides, you won't struggle to find something worth streaming between March 1 and 31. So, without further ado, here's everything that's coming to Disney+ in the weeks ahead.

March 1

• Gilmore Girls seasons 1 to 7

March 3

• Malawi Wildlife Rescue season 2 episodes 1 to 6 (US only)

March 4

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episodes 1 and 2 (US only)
• Paradise season 1 episode 8 (UK and Australia)

March 5

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episodes 1 and 2 (UK and Australia)
• Family Guy season 23 episode 1 (UK and Australia)
• Morphle: Shorts season 1 episodes 36 to 50 (US only)
• Primos season 1 episodes 20 to 28 (US only)
• Will Trent season 3 episode 9 (UK and Australia)
• Win or Lose episodes 5 and 6

March 6

• Deli Boys episodes 1 to 10 (UK and Australia)
• High Potential season 1 episode 8 (UK and Australia)
• The Kardashians season 5 episode 15 (UK and Australia)

March 7

• Doctor Odyssey episode 9 (UK and Australia)

March 11

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 3 (US only)

March 12

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 3 (UK and Australia)
• Disney Jr.’s Ariel season 1 episodes 19 to 22 (US only)
• Meet the Pickles: The Making of Win or Lose
• Moana 2
• Port Protection Alaska season 8 episodes 1 to 10 (US only)
• Tracker season 2 episode 9 (UK and Australia)
• Will Trent season 3 episode 10 (UK and Australia)
• Win or Lose episodes 7 and 8

March 13

• High Potential season 1 episode 9 (UK and Australia)
• The Kardashians season 5 episode 16 (UK and Australia)

March 14

• Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years (UK and Australia)
• Doctor Odyssey episode 10 (UK and Australia)
• Grey's Anatomy season 21 episode 9 (UK and Australia)

March 17

• The Simpsons season 36 episodes 1 to 5

March 18

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 4 (US only)

March 19

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 4 (UK and Australia)
• Gannibal episodes 1 and 2 (UK and Australia)
• Hyper Knife episodes 1 and 2 (UK and Australia)
• Life Below Zero season 23 episodes 1 to 20 (US only)
• Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures season 2 episodes 12 to 23
• Stath Let's Flats seasons 1 and 2 (UK and Australia)
• Tracker season 2 episode 10 (UK and Australia)
• Will Trent season 3 episode 11 (UK and Australia)

March 20

• High Potential season 1 episode 10 (UK and Australia)
• The Kardashians season 5 episode 17 (UK and Australia)
• O'Dessa (UK and Australia)

March 21

• 9-1-1 season 8 episode 9 (UK and Australia)
• Doctor Odyssey episode 11 (UK and Australia)
• Grey's Anatomy season 21 episode 10 (UK and Australia)

March 22

• Animals, They’re Just Like Us! season 1 episodes 1 to 6 (US only)

March 24

• David Blaine: Do Not Attempt episodes 1 and 2

March 25

• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episodes 5 and 6 (US only)

March 26

• Bref season 2 (UK and Australia)
• Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episodes 5 and 6 (UK and Australia)
• Gannibal episode 3 (UK and Australia)
• Hyper Knife episode 3 (UK and Australia)
• Morphle and the Magic Pets: Shorts season 1 episodes 43 to 52 (US only)
• Tracker season 2 episode 11 (UK and Australia)
• Will Trent season 3 episode 12 (UK and Australia)

March 27

• High Potential season 1 episode 11 (UK and Australia)
• The Kardashians season 5 episode 18 (UK and Australia)

March 28

• 9-1-1 season 8 episode 9 (UK and Australia)
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip
• Doctor Odyssey episode 12 (UK and Australia)
• Grey's Anatomy season 21 episode 11 (UK and Australia)

March 31

• David Blaine: Do Not Attempt episodes 3 and 4

For more Disney-based coverage, read our guides on the best Disney+ shows, best Disney+ movies, how to watch the Marvel movies in order, and Marvel Phase 5.

CNET's experts have rounded up all the internet options in Tampa -- from blazing-fast fiber to affordable broadband.

The bodies of four Israeli hostages are to be returned late Wednesday and more than 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees freed during the last week of the current Gaza ceasefire deal.

(Image credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld)

Salinas residents can count on AT&T Fiber for fast, affordable internet -- but there are other options, too.

One in four UK businesses lack a documented strategy to address generative AI (GenAI) threats, according to research from Ivanti. Let that sink in for a moment. Would we accept the same casual approach to, say, workplace health and safety? Likely not. Yet here we are, watching a technological revolution unfold while many organizations take a dangerously passive stance toward securing it.

The speed of GenAI's evolution has caught many security teams flat-footed. While 47% of security professionals in the UK view GenAI as a net positive for cybersecurity — and they're right to see its potential — this optimism sometimes masks a troubling lack of preparation.

Consider this eyebrow-raising reality check: Nearly half of UK IT and security professionals (49%) believe phishing will become a greater threat due to GenAI. And I’d argue they’re right to be concerned. The problem is that their concern isn’t translating into action. A quarter of organizations haven't documented any strategy to address these risks. We're seeing unprecedented technological advancement coupled with unprecedented organizational inertia. It's not great.

The data silo trap

The challenge goes deeper than just keeping pace with GenAI's evolution. A remarkable 72% of organizations report that their IT and security data are siloed across systems. These fragments of critical security information might as well be locked in separate vaults. And 63% say these silos actively slow their security response times.

Think about that. In an era where AI-powered threats can evolve and spread at machine speed, many security teams are still piecing together threat data from disparate systems like a jigsaw puzzle. That's not just inefficient — it's downright dangerous.

The training paradox

Most security teams recognize that human error is still a prime vulnerability. That's why 57% have turned to anti-phishing training as their first line of defense against sophisticated social-engineering attacks. It's currently the most popular protective measure against AI-driven threats.

I’m the first to assert that anti-phishing training is critical, particularly given how often well-meaning employees unintentionally create pathways for exploitation by falling for increasingly sophisticated phishing schemes.

But strong employee training is far from sufficient. It means using yesterday’s tools to fight today’s threats. Emphasizing best practices to combat AI threats is sort of like using a personal floatation device to keep safe while lounging in shark-infested waters. Should you wear the personal flotation device? Certainly. But it won’t save you from the real threat.

The good news is that cybersecurity professionals are aware of the gaps left by traditional anti-phishing defenses. Only 32% believe this training is "very effective" against AI-powered social engineering attacks. However, and I risk sounding like a broken record here, the concern and awareness aren’t translating into action.

Beyond traditional defenses

As GenAI capabilities expand, they create new attack surfaces faster than traditional security measures can adapt. As I’ve argued, the old playbook of reactive security measures and siloed defenses simply won't cut it anymore. What will cut it? In short, a holistic approach to exposure management that addresses both immediate threats and systemic vulnerabilities.

What does this mean in practice? Security teams need to rethink their approach altogether, and that means addressing key elements such as the following:

Continuous monitoring and assessment

Traditional periodic security assessments can't keep pace with AI-driven threats. Organizations need real-time visibility across their entire attack surface, from traditional assets to new AI tools. This means moving beyond scheduled vulnerability scans to implement continuous monitoring that can detect and respond to threats as they emerge.

Breaking down data silos

Those fragmented security and IT data stores? They're not just an inconvenience—they're a liability. With 63% of organizations reporting slower security responses due to siloed data, the need for unified visibility isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a critical security requirement when facing sophisticated AI-powered threats that can exploit gaps between systems.

Evolving beyond basic training

Remember — security awareness training is important, but it can't be your only defense. We need to augment human awareness with sophisticated detection and response capabilities. Fight fire with fire.

Data-driven security responses

When facing AI-powered threats, gut instinct and experience aren't enough. Security teams need comprehensive data visibility to spot patterns and anomalies that signal emerging threats. This means breaking down those data silos that 72% of organizations currently struggle with and implementing systems that can provide unified threat visibility.

What are you waiting for?

GenAI isn't just another technology trend to monitor — it's actively reshaping the threat landscape. While 47% of security professionals view GenAI positively, this optimism must be matched with concrete action.

Organizations can't afford to take a wait-and-see approach to GenAI security. The technology's rapid evolution, combined with existing challenges like data silos and training limitations, necessitates an intentional, comprehensive, layered and proactive stance.

Those who delay implementing comprehensive security strategies are already falling behind, and since GenAI continues to shapeshift and grow in sophistication by the day, falling even a little bit behind makes it prohibitively difficult to catch up.

The time for documented strategies, unified security visibility and enhanced threat detection isn't coming — it's here. It’s time to stop wondering whether your organization will need to adapt to AI-driven security challenges, and start focusing on how quickly and effectively you can do it.

A final plea: don’t wait until after you face a serious breach. In this case, “wait and see” translates to “wait and pay the price.”

We've compiled a list of the best firewall software.

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

• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Version 2.00 if available now
• It introduces Sandalphon as a new playable character for the game
• The update also brings plenty of new features and balance adjustments

Version 2.00 has arrived for the popular fighting game Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and it might just be the largest content update the game has seen since its late 2023 launch.

Headlining the Version 2.00 update is the addition of a new playable character in Sandalphon. Easily one of the Granblue Fantasy mobile game's most popular characters, it's great to see him finally arrive in Rising.

Sandalphon is the first of five characters to be added as part of Character Season Pass 2 which players can purchase now. He's set to be followed by Galleon (Spring 2025), Wilnas (Summer 2025), Meg (Fall 2025), and Ilsa (Early 2026).

Battle Pass Round 7 has also been added, offering a huge amount of free and premium rewards including new character colors, titles, music, and an all-new 'Arbitrator of the Shore' skin for playable character Zooey. Zooey's also my main in the game, so this is a pass I'll definitely be grabbing (as well as hoping for some much-needed buffs for the character).

Crucially, Version 2.00 has brought plenty of new content to Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. There's a new Survival mode, which tasks players to progress through as much of a 100-fight gauntlet as possible, earning rewards along the way. Hopefully, it's going to be a chunky offline timesink, especially as buffs unique to Survival mode should offer it some nifty roguelite elements.

A new online training mode feature has also been added, letting you hop online to practice combos or fundamentals with a friend or coaching buddy. This is a feature that's quickly becoming standard in many of the best fighting games, so I'm happy to see it finally arrive in Rising.

Of course, it wouldn't be a major new version without significant system and character balance adjustments, and developers Cygames and Arc System Works have managed just that. Full balance changes are available to view now over at the game's official website. Key takeaways here include the rebalancing of powerful universal skills such as Brave Counters as well as invincible and counter skills.

Lastly, both the Standard and Deluxe versions of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising have received their biggest discount yet at 61% off for a limited time. It's a fantastic time to start playing the game yourself, or as a means of picking up Character Pass Season 1 at a significantly reduced price. Not a bad way to save cash on the game if you've recently splashed out on one of the best fight sticks.

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Internet and mobile phone services blinkered offline. People complained of water shortages as pumps stopped working. Emergency generators helped hospitals and government offices continue operating.

(Image credit: Matias Basualdo)

• New 'Make It Fair' campaign wants to tackle 'content theft'
• British creatives band together to urge for stronger copyright law
• AI uses content without permission or compensation

Artificial intelligence and Large Language Models are trained on hoards of online information, including songs, articles, comments, books, drawings, pictures, and more - so if you’ve ever commented on an Instagram post, posted a photo to Twitter, or uploaded a video to YouTube - the likelihood is, your work has been used to train a model at some point or another.

These models don’t ask for permission, either, nor does it notify the creator - and these models make millions from the content. OpenAI reportedly used over a million hours of YouTube video data to train GPT-4, and Meta uses public posts from Instagram and Facebook to train its AI model - but British creatives are coming together to fight back.

Artists, singers, authors, journalists, and scriptwriters (and more) - who collectively generate over £120 billion per year for the nation's economy, have come together to urge the UK government to apply British copyright law to AI companies, and to ensure ‘content theft’ is not legitimised by leaving this issue unchecked.

Make It Fair

The ‘Make it Fair’ campaign comes at the end of the British government’s AI and copyright consultation period, in which it is reviewing ways to boost trust and transparency between sectors, and “ensuring AI developers have access to high-quality material to train leading AI models in the UK and support innovation across the UK AI sector”.

Owen Meredith, the CEO of News Media Association, which launched the campaign, added the UK's “gold-standard” copyright laws have underpinned growth and job creation in the British economy, and without the content they produce, AI innovation would not exist.

“And for a healthy democratic society, copyright is fundamental to publishers’ ability to invest in trusted quality journalism,” Meredith said.

“The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI, and transparency requirements should be introduced to allow creators to understand when their content is being used. Instead, the government proposes to weaken the law and essentially make it legal to steal content.

AI is at the forefront of productivity discussions in the UK right now, as the PM released plans to ‘turbocharge AI’ into the public sector, including the idea to ‘unlock’ public data by handing it over to ‘researchers and innovators’ to train AI models.

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• Take a look at our pick of the best AI tools
• Check out our recommendations for the best AI video editors around
• UK government wants to launch AI Growth Zones for jobs and innovation boost

Comino made the headlines with the launch of Grando, its water-cooled AMD-based workstation with eight Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs. During the extensive email exchange I had with its CTO/co-founder and commercial director, I found out Grando is far more versatile than I’d come to expect.

Dig in its configurator and one will notice that you can configure the system with up to eight RX 7900 XTX GPUs because, why not?

“Yes, we can pack 8x 7900XTX, with an increased lead time though. In fact, we can pack any 8 GPUs + EPYC in a single system”, Alexey Chistov, the CTO of Comino, told me when I queried further.

Indeed, while it doesn’t currently offer Intel’s promising Arc GPU, it will if the market demands such solutions.

“We can design a waterblock for any GPU, it takes around a month” Chistov highlighted, “But we don't go for all possible GPUs, we choose specific models and brands. We only go for high-end GPUs to justify the extra price for liquid-cooling, because if it could properly work air-cooled - why bother? We try to stick with 1 or 2 different models per generation not to have multiple SKUs (stock keeping units) of waterblocks. You can have an RTX 4090, H200, L40S or any other GPU that we have a waterblock for in a single system if your workflow will benefit from such a combination.”

An RTX 5090 on its retail packaging on a desk (Image credit: Future) The Rimac of HPC

So how can Comino achieve such flexibility? The company pitches itself as an engineering company with its slogan proudly saying "Engineered, not just assembled". Think of Comino as the Rimac of HPC: obscenely powerful, nimble, agile and expensive. Like Rimac, it focuses on the apex of its line of business and absolute performance.

Its flagship product, Grando, is liquid-cooled and was designed to accommodate up to eight GPUs from the onset, which means that it will very likely be futureproof for multiple Nvidia generations; more on that in a bit.

One of their main targets, Chistov, told me, “is to always fit a single PCI slot, that's how we can populate all the PCIe slots on the motherboard and fit eight GPUs in a GRANDO Server. The chassis is also designed by the Comino team so everything works as "one”. That’s how a triple-slot GPU like the RTX 5090 can be modified to fit into a single slot.

With that in mind, it is preparing a “solution capable of operating on the coolant temperature of 50C without throttling, so if you drop the coolant temperature to 20C and set the coolant flow to 3-4 l/m the waterblock can remove around 1800W of the heat from the 5090 chip with the chip temperature around 80-90C”

That’s right, one single Comino GPU waterblock could remove 1800W of heat from a single "hypothetical 5090" that could generate that amount of heat IF the coolant temperature on the inlet is around 20 degrees Celsius AND if the coolant flow is not less than 3-4 liters per minute.

Packing eight of such "hypothetical GPUs" and some other components could lead to a total system power draw of 15 kW and indeed if such a system at full load would have a constant coolant temperature of 20C AND coolant flow per waterblock not less than 3-4 liters per minute, such system would operate "normally".

Who will need that sort of performance?

So what sort of user splashes out on multi-GPU systems. Chistov, again. “There is no benefit to adding an additional 5090 if you are a gamer, this won't affect performance, because games can't utilize multiple GPUs like they used to using SLI or even DirectX at some point of time. There are several applications we are focused on for multi-GPU systems:

• AI Inference: this is the most demanded workload. In such a scenario each GPU works "alone" and the reason to pack more GPUs per node is to decrease "cost per GPU" while scaling: save rack space, spend less money for non-GPU hardware, etc. Each GPU in a system is used to process AI requests, mostly generative AI, for example, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, DALL-E
• GPU Rendering: popular workload, but does not always scale well adding more GPUs, for example Octane and V-Ray (~15% less performance per GPU @ 8-GPUs) scale pretty well, but RedShift does not (~35-40% less performance per GPU @ 8-GPUs)
• Life-Science: different types of scientific calculations, foк example CryoSPARK or Relion.
• Any GPU-bound workload in a virtualized environment. Using Hyper-V or other software you can create multiple Virtual Machines to run any task, for example, remote workstation. Like StorageReview did with the Grando and six RTX 4090 GPUs it had on a review.

Specifically for the RTX 5090, the most important improvement for AI workloads is the 50% improvement in memory capacity (up to 32GB) which means that Nvidia’s new flagship is better suited for inference as you can put a far bigger AI model in memory. Then there’s the far higher memory bandwidth which helps as well.

In his review of the RTX 5090, TechRadar’s John Loeffler calls it the supercar of graphics cards, and asks whether it was simply too powerful, suggesting that it is an absolute glutton for wattage.

“It's overkill”, he quips, “especially if you only want it for gaming, since monitors that can truly handle the frames this GPU can put out are likely years away.”

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• AMD-powered, liquid cooled Comino Grando AI sever gets reviewed but I still can't see any octo Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs configuration