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UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station review

The UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station is a wireless charging stand comprising a Qi base and upper Qi2 module that conveniently folds down into a compact charging cuboid. It offers the convenience and versatility, plus the bonus of a 5W USB-C output on the right-hand side of the base, meaning it could be upgraded to a 3-in-1 charger easily with the addition of an Apple Watch charging puck.

With a list price of $49.99 / £39.99, the UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station is available to purchase from the UGreen website or Amazon. This isn’t a bad price for a space-saving 2-in-1 wireless charger – especially one with the benefit of an additional output. But I’d still hold out paying full price, as offers can often be found from both retailers, with the price dropping to $43 / £19.99 at the time of writing.

As there’s no adapter included, and the USB-C to USB-C cable provided is a little on the short side at just 3.3ft / 1 meter long, the UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station proved a bit of a disappointment in the accessory department. It isn’t unusual not to get an adapter these days, even with some of the best wireless chargers, but when it comes to multi-device chargers, the chance of already having one to hand that’s powerful enough is a bit slimmer. In this charger’s case, UGreen recommends a wall adapter of at least 30W to ensure efficiency.

(Image credit: Future)

At a size of 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches / 61 x 61 x 38mm when folded, and weighing 7.5oz / 213g, the Foldable Fast Charging Station was pleasingly compact and lightweight. I found the foldable design really satisfying, particularly how easy it was to fold the charger back into a little cuboid one-handed, which proved convenient whenever I needed to top up my ear buds, or when I wanted to tidy it out of the way.

The Foldable Fast Charging Station is only available in one colorway, a combination of black and graphite, but it has some nice touches like the metallic finish of the graphite-colored outer casing and the mirror finish on the hinged arm that connects the two charging modules. Able to angle the phone by up to 70 degrees, this hinged arm made this a useful phone stand, and its sturdy mechanisms did a great job of maintaining the angles I adjusted it to. The only slight downside to this is that it’s tricky to change the position when a phone is in situ, but that’s only a minor inconvenience.

UGreen promises 360-degree rotation when the phone is magnetically attached to the Qi2 charging pad, and I can confirm this to be the case. But while this made changing my phone’s orientation effortless, it also meant that the slightest nudge would leave my phone askew.

(Image credit: Future)

I didn’t encounter any problems with the overall stability of the 2-in-1 Charging Station when it was unfolded to a stand, but it did have a small case of the wobbles whenever the phone screen was touched. Fortunately, this shakiness stemmed from where the charging pad meets the hinged arm, not from an unstable base, but it’s something to be aware of if that’s likely to prove irritating.

Despite its compact size, I wouldn’t recommend using it as a travel charger. I found there was a bit of movement in one of the side panels as I was checking the build quality, and the Qi2 charging pad flexed a little upon pressing my finger on it, so I’d be wary of packing it in my luggage unless I could guarantee nothing could press against it.

The iPhone charging performance was good for the price, taking 125 minutes to charge our iPhone 13 Pro, which has a battery capacity of 2,600mAh. When it came to charging out Xiaomi 14, which has a battery capacity of 4,610mAh, it took 280 minutes.

(Image credit: Future)

When it came to assessing the cosmetics at the end of testing, I was pleased to see the metallic plastic outer still seemed to look like new, even after weeks of being handled. It was a different story for the surface of the Qi2 charging pad, however, which was prone to showing fingerprints and ended up with several little scuff marks. The fingerprints could be cleaned off, at least, though they proved very stubborn to remove, leading me to resort to alcohol wipes.

If you can look past the jiggling issue and the easily marked Qi2 charging pad, you’ll find this is a great little charger that offers convenience and versatility in a satisfyingly small package. If you’re looking for something that’ll look fresher for longer, or want a charger with more or fewer charging modules, then I suggest taking a look at my selection of the best wireless chargers.

UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station review: Price & specs

Price

$49.99 / £39.99

Model

W702

Max power output

15W

Devices charged

2 wirelessly, 3 with USB-C

Connection

USB-C to USB-C

Charging tech

Qi2

Recommended input

30W

Weight

7.5oz / 213g

Dimensions

2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches / 61 x 61 x 38mm

Should I buy the UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station?Buy it if…

You want a charger that’s easy to pack away
As it’s so easy to fold this charger down into a compact cuboid, it would be a good option for anyone who doesn’t like things cluttering up their desktop.

You want the option to charge 3 devices at once
Thanks to the helpful 5W USB-C output in the base, the charger can be expanded to power three devices, while still maintaining a small footprint.

Don't buy it if…

You want a charger to take on the road
While it may be small enough to pack, it isn’t the most robust charger out there. If you want something to travel with, I’d opt for something designed for portability, like the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Foldable Pad.

You want a finish that’ll stay fresh long-term
While the majority of the outer materials stayed blemish-free, the Qi2 charging pad’s surface started showing little signs of wear after just a few weeks.

UGreen 2-in-1 Qi2 Magnetic Foldable Fast Charging Station review: Also consider

UGreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station
If you’re looking for a cheaper option and aren’t planning on tidying your charger away, then this UGreen stand might be worth considering. It’s not the fastest charger out there, but the adjustable charging module and compact circular base with built-in earbud charging make it a useful little charger for the price. If you’d like to find out more, take a look at my full UGreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station review.

• Microsoft has new rules to ensure more consistency with USB-C ports
• This means every USB-C port will offer data, power, and display support
• Previously, you weren’t guaranteed to get all of those basic elements if laptop makers cut corners with their connectors

Going forward, the USB-C ports on Windows 11 laptops will be held to more consistent standards that mean users can expect a minimum amount of functionality with any given connector.

Tom’s Hardware noticed Microsoft’s blog post explaining a fresh update to the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) that’s designed to end confusion around USB-C ports. The broad idea is to ensure every single one of these connectors deliver certain key features in terms of data transfer, power delivery (charging), and running an external monitor.

Currently, while the USB-C specification encompasses all those separate elements – and a lot of versatility for the port therein – parts can be missing with connectors on some laptops, as it’s not mandatory to include everything.

Microsoft has changed this with its new way of working, observing that: “While the USB specifications give PC manufacturers the ability to choose which optional features the port supports, we set out to establish a minimum bar for USB-C port capabilities on PCs.”

That baseline bar means that with Windows 11 laptops (and tablets), all USB-C ports must provide display support (to connect a monitor), PC charging support (power), and of course data transfer (which all USB connectors do, of course) at a certain speed.

Furthermore, Microsoft notes that any port which supports USB 40Gbps will work fine with both USB4 and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals.

These updated WHCP requirements have come into play with Windows 11 24H2, and notebooks running 24H2 will already support them.

Analysis: Consistency with connectors

(Image credit: Microsoft)

With the old way of working, the practicality of USB-C ports is that you might buy a laptop which comes with a few of these connectors, and be quite happy chugging along using them for USB sticks or charging. Then, one day, when you plug in a monitor, you’ll suddenly find out that your ports don’t support a display, because the laptop maker produced these USB-C connectors without that particular capability (to save a bit of money).

The problem is there’s no clear labelling on a USB-C port, and you may not find out about any missing pieces of the functionality puzzle until you come across them in this way – and it’s too late at that point.

With the new minimum standard in place, all USB-C ports on WHCP-certified Windows 11 laptops will definitely support all those three basic pillars: power, display, and data transfer.

Now, note that there are still variations in the specs of USB-C ports, in terms of how many displays they may support, or how much power the USB cable will deliver, and the speed of data transfers (all of which should be made clear in the notebook’s spec).

See the screenshot above for the details, but the central point is that from now on, you know that all three of the fundamental bases are covered with at least some level of functionality when you’re buying a new Windows 11 laptop – with every single USB-C port on-board the device – which has to be a good thing.

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Mount Etna produced a spectacularly explosive eruption Monday, sending a ripple of reddish clouds down from the southeast summit of Europe's highest active volcano.

(Image credit: Giuseppe Distefano)

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• Report claims one in three firms don't trust US Big Tech to handle their data correctly
• Civo finds three in five are focused on improving data sovereignty
• Tariff-induced cost fluctuations are also concerning UK IT leaders

More than three in five UK IT leaders say the country's government should stop using US cloud services due to security and economic risks, with many citing ongoing trade war-induced tariffs as a core concern.

A new report from Civo claims a similar amount (61%) of British IT leaders also cite data sovereignty as a strategic priority going forward, with a broader trend of data privacy emerging not just among cloud adoption but also relating to the use of artificial intelligence.

Today, nearly half (45%) are actively considering repatriating from the cloud as they turn back to environments that they have more control over.

Cloud security and cost worries

With EU and UK data protection regulations offering improved compliance and transparency, two-fifths of IT leaders say they're more likely to move away from US providers.

During a time when three of the world's leading hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft and Google) account for around two-thirds of the cloud market, Civo's report claims only one-third (36.6%) trust Big Tech AI providers to handle their data, with data sovereignty ranking second to price as an influencing factor for the decision to move away from Big Tech.

"People are more alert than ever to just how valuable their data is, and it’s been astonishing how quickly cloud repatriation and sovereignty have become leading strategic considerations for IT leaders," said Civo CEO Mark Boost.

"US providers are failing to meet [the] demand" for greater visibility over data storage and usage, Boost added, noting Europe leads the way in terms of sovereignty initiatives, urging the "UK to match the energy" of its continental counterparts.

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The next version of Apple’s desktop operating system for its Macs, to take the baton from macOS 15 Sequioa next year, will apparently be macOS Tahoe.

According to Mark Gurman’s newsletter for Bloomberg – a leaker who’s already flagged an apparent change in numbering, predicting this will be macOS 26, not 16 – Lake Tahoe is seemingly the next place that Apple will name its product after.

Cue a bunch of jokes drawing similarities between the next macOS and the hulking Chevrolet Tahoe, and tongue-in-cheek comments about how the operating system is bound to be bloated and slow.

As ever, this is still a rumor, so we shouldn’t get carried away with the idea – though Gurman is one of the more prolific and reliable Apple leakers, for sure.

At any rate, whatever the next incarnation of macOS is actually called, when is it out, and what can you expect from it?

Let’s dive into those details and touch on a few of the rumored key features to watch out for in macOS 16, or indeed macOS 26 – Tahoe – ahead of Apple’s big revelations about the operating system at WWDC 25 soon.

macOS 16: release date

(Image credit: Apple)

macOS Tahoe hasn’t been officially revealed or talked about yet, but we're expecting to see it announced at WWDC 2025, which kicks off on June 9.

A potential release date also hasn't been aired. However, Apple typically deploys its new version of macOS in September or October, so we can likely expect the refreshed desktop OS to roll out to Macs around that time.

macOS 16: Rumored new features

(Image credit: Shutterstock)1. An all-new look

If you’ve been getting a bit bored with the look of macOS, which hasn’t changed much as this decade has rolled onwards, here’s some potentially good news – one of the major changes rumored for Tahoe is a revamped look.

While not much in the way of detail has been provided, the rumor that the interface is due for a big overhaul again comes from Mark Gurman. In theory, this is part of a plan to align the design language and appearance of Apple’s software across iOS, macOS, and iPadOS (as well as other platforms).

So, it’ll be of even greater benefit to those with multiple Apple devices to have similar-looking icons or menus (and more besides, no doubt).

(Image credit: Apple)2. Accessibility features in spades

Apple recently announced a raft of new accessibility functionality across its various devices including Macs, and some of these will surely debut in macOS Tahoe.

That includes Personal Voice, which can capture the voice of someone who is losing their ability to talk, and Magnifier for Mac. The latter leverages your iPhone (or a USB camera) to be able to zoom in to, say, a distant whiteboard, and present the writing on the board to the user on their Mac’s screen – seriously nifty stuff for those who are vision-impaired.

In a similar vein, Accessibility Reader can take images of book pages and show them on the Mac display, allowing for zooming, or changing fonts or colors to make things clearer.

(Image credit: Future)3. Wi-Fi timesaver

This is a feature that’s coming with iOS 19, according to Gurman, but logically it must also apply to macOS Tahoe (and other Apple platforms besides), because it’s all about unifying public Wi-Fi logins across multiple Apple devices for convenience.

As it stands, when you’re in a hotel, gym, or other place with public Wi-Fi, you may have to fill out a form before you can connect to the network and go online. Doing this on multiple devices is even more of a pain, but with this new feature, you’ll only have to complete said form once, and all your other Apple devices will automatically use those details.

So, for example, tackle the form on your MacBook, and you’ll also be good to go on your iPhone and iPad – neat.

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Whoever is elected, the new president will have little time for celebration.

(Image credit: Daniel Ceng)

• Ricoh GR IV prototype now on display to the public in the company's GR Space showroom in Tokyo
• Ricoh has already confirmed GR IV is on course for an 'autumn 2025' launch
• A variation with highlight diffusion filter will follow in 'winter 2025'

I’ve been keenly waiting for a first look at the upcoming Ricoh GR IV – but now that it’s happened, I can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed. Disappointed, even.

The long awaited replacement for the excellent Ricoh GR III (which will be discontinued), the GR IV is set to be the next flagship model in Ricoh’s iconic range of premium digital point-and-shoots.

The GR series has gained something of a cult classic status among photographers, prized for their pocketable size, unassuming design and use of large sensors. They're ideal for street photography and holiday snapshots alike, so the release of a new model is always something of an event for photo enthusiasts.

And now a prototype of the Ricoh GR IV is on display at GR Space, the company’s Tokyo camera and photography showroom, allowing curious members of the public to come and take a look (but not have a hands-on experience – this is just an exterior prototype, so not functional).

A tilting LCD and integrated flash would vastly improve the GR series – but it doesn't look like either are coming to the GR IV. (Image credit: Future)

It should be an exciting time for a Ricoh fan like me, but I’m finding the lack of changes over the GR III a bit concerning. The design, for instance, is nigh-on identical to the GR III. I would have loved to have a seen a built-in flash and a tilting LCD screen, but the prototype doesn’t have either.

I also want improvements to autofocus, and to the ruggedness of the camera – and these things are looking doubtful too. Although I will caution that, with this being a prototype, things could change between now and the autumn 2025 release date.

GRIV pic.twitter.com/YF0HsV8HW0May 31, 2025

Reasons to be cheerful?

On the plus side, it will come with a higher resolution sensor, new lens, better image stabilization, some control tweaks and refinements such as a plus / minus switch and a D-pad in place of a control wheel, 53GB of built-in memory (as well as a microSD card slot - not SD) and improvements to the way in which images are shared, all of which are nice – if not as transformational as I was hoping for.

Instead, it appears that the GR IV is going to be a small upgrade. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, and users upgrading from older GR models or buying their first ever GR camera are probably going to be in for a treat. People who own a GR III or GR IIIx, on the other hand, might find few compelling reasons to make the upgrade.

All that being said, I can’t wait to give the camera a real-world test to find out the most important thing: how it performs in the field. Rest assured TechRadar will be getting hold of a review sample as soon as Ricoh is able to loan one to us.

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Apple apparently intends to position itself as a major player in video games. Again.

• The Philips Hue AI assistant is now rolling out for iOS users in Benelux
• If you live somewhere else, you can use VPN to try it early
• The assistant lets you make custom lighting scenes with voice commands

The new Philips Hue AI assistant is starting to roll out now, letting you create custom lighting scenes to set a mood using natural language.

Signify (the company behind Philips Hue) revealed that it was working on an AI tool for its smart lights at CES 2025 in January, and promised that the new assistant would make it easy to create "personalized lighting scenes based on mood, occasion, or style".

The company has now got the ball rolling with an initial launch in the Benelux countries, but if you live elsewhere, then you can get around the geographic restriction by using one of the best VPNs to relocate yourself virtually in Belgium, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands.

Signify teased the Philips Hue AI assistant at CES 2025 in January (Image credit: Signify)Make it personal

Fabian over at Hueblog.com, who is based in Germany, managed to get the assistant working by using a VPN to switch his IP address to one of the supported countries and changing his language setting to English.

With that done, he was able to use simple voice commands to look for existing lighting scenes or create whole new ones. That'll be music to the ears of anyone who's struggled to track down seasonal lighting schemes for their best smart lights at Christmas or Halloween, or doesn't want to spend time flicking through the presets to find something suitable for the moment.

The only drawback is that, for the time being, the AI assistant appears to be exclusive to iOS. Despite attempting the same for all three Benelux countries, I was unable to access the tool on Android, and a Hueblog reader based in Belgium reported the same problem.

The Hue AI assistant has only just started to launch, though, and I expect Android owners won't be left in the dark for long. I'll bring you more news about its availability over the coming weeks.

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• Security researchers find two flaws in vBulletin
• Both are critical in severity, and can be chained for RCE
• One of the flaws is being actively exploited

A critical security vulnerability found in the popular forum software vBulletin is being abused in the wild, experts have claimed.

Cybersecurity researcher Ryan Dewhurst, who claims to have seen exploitation attempts in the wild, says the vulnerability can in theory be used to grant the attackers remote code execution (RCE) capabilities.

Dewhurst says the bug, tracked as CVE-2025-48827, is described as an API method invocation flaw, with a severity score of 10/10 (critical). It affects vBulletin versions 5.0.0 through 5.7.5 and 6.0.0 through 6.0.3, running on PHP 8.1 and later.

Doxxing Stern

Dewhurst said that he first saw exploitation attempts in his honeypot on May 26. The attacks originated in Poland, he added, stressing that PoCs were available for a few days at this point.

It is also worth mentioning that the bug was first spotted by security researcher Egidio Romano (EgiX), who also observed a “Template Conditionals in the template engine” vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-48828.

This one has a severity score of 9.0/10 (critical), and grants the attackers remote code execution (RCE) capabilities. These two can allegedly be chained together, but so far, the researchers haven’t seen the chain in the wild.

According to BleepingComputer, the bug was probably patched quietly, when Patch Level 1 (for all versions of the 6) and Patch Level 3 (for version 5.7.5) were released. The publication claims that many sites remain at risk since not all admins are diligent when it comes to patching.

vBulletin, BleepingComputer further stresses, is one of the most widely used commercial PHP/MySQL-based forum platforms, powering thousands of online communities globally.

It owes its popularity, among other things, to its modular design, which makes it both flexible and complex. It also makes it somewhat more exposed to threats.

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Despite Honda teasing a number of all-electric motorcycle concepts at several shows, including last year’s EICMA event in Italy, it has yet to fully commit to electrification and put something meaty into production.

That is all about to change, as its collaboration with Chinese bike-maker Wuyang has resulted in the Wuyang-Honda WH8000D, or the first production electric motorcycle from the famous Japanese two-wheel specialist.

Granted, Honda-badged electric scooters have come before this, but the WH8000D, which will likely be called the E-VO in its domestic Chinese market, is the first to resemble a 'proper' motorcycle.

Taking inspiration from the gorgeous RC-E concept bike that appeared at the 2011 Tokyo motor show, the E-VO boasts retro-futuristic cafe racer styling, with a neat round headlight, sporty fairing, rear-set footpegs and slightly dropped handlebars.

It’s a little awkward to look at and not quite as handsome as the 1960s GP bike-influences of the aforementioned concept, but it is arguably more impressive than the step-through electric scooters that have so far rolled out of Honda production facilities.

Despite adopting the air of a larger capacity machine, the E-VO is designed to compete with 125cc combustion engine motorcycles, as the motor it uses boasts a peak power of 15.3 kW – or around 20bhp, according to Electrek.

This means that the top speed will be limited to around 68mph to 75mph in the lightest models, although Wuyang-Honda suggests it can accelerate from rest to around 30 mph (city traffic speeds) in just 2.8 seconds .

The second sticky issue is the battery capacities and charging speeds, as it will be offered in China in either 4.1 or 6.2 kWh guises. The former offers around 74 miles of range but weighs a portly 143kg.

There is also a heavier triple battery pack option that sees the range climb to 105 miles, but charging takes around 2.5 hours on a standard domestic outlet or about 90 minutes on a low-power Level 2 EV charger. There’s no option to fast charge the motorcycle.

However, battery swap technology is becoming increasingly popular in China (and further afield), with Cycle World suggesting that the E-VO could well take advantage of something like Honda’s existing Mobile Power Pack e swappable tech.

This would allow users to either remove the batteries and charge them away from the bike, but also swap them for fully charged units at dedicated stations.

But if that sort of convenience doesn't exist, the Wuyang-Honda becomes a vehicle that is really only good for short commutes – something that can easily be tackled by a more affordable and more convenient ICE scooter.

Bang for the yuan

(Image credit: Wuyang-Honda)

Despite looking slightly odd, not packing particularly punchy performance, offering relatively meager range and slow charging speeds, the Honda-Wuyang E-VO comes fitted with some impressive technology for the money.

According to Electrek, prices start at 29,999 yuan, or about $4,500 / £3,100 / AU$6,465 for the 4.1 kWh version, and 36,999 yuan (about $5,100 / £3,811 / AU$7,970) for the 6.2 kWh triple-pack version.

However, the bikes come complete with two 7-inch TFT displays that take care of instrumentation, as well as some infotainment duties. There are also built-in front and rear dash cams for added safety.

Throw in the 'big bike' inverted front forks, disc brakes and adjustable levers and it starts to look like an impressive package for the money, but it will likely be a lot more expensive should it be primed for global sales.

This is where smaller-capacity EVs like this don’t really make much financial sense, as their combustion engine counterparts are more convenient, offer similar performance and generally cost less. Take the Maeving RM-1, Super Soco’s TC Max and Kawasaki’s Ninja Z e-1 as good examples of this.

But a wider range of electric motorcycles are on the horizon, with Royal Enfield hoping to be among the first major manufacturers to offer low-cost electrified two-wheel transport when its Flying Flea model eventually goes on sale in early 2026.

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• Barclays has reportedly agreed to purchase over 100k Copilot licenses
• Microsoft has signed multiple similar deals with other companies like Siemens
• The firm is set to invest $80 billion into AI this year alone

Microsoft recently announced in a town hall meeting that it has signed an agreement with Barclays bank, in which it will provide 100,000 Copilot AI assistance licenses.

Microsoft’s Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff recently revealed to company town hall attendants, “multiple dozen” customers have over 100,000 Copilot users, including Volkswagen, Siemens, and Toyota - deals which could each bring in tens of millions per year for Microsoft.

The official price of a single license is $30 per month, but large deals such as the rumored Barclays agreement are likely to come with a discount.

Spending billions, making millions

Microsoft has invested heavily into AI, and is forecast to spend $80 billion on the technology in 2025, and the tens of millions made in these deals are unlikely to make a dent into the firm’s spending.

The company refused to comment on the Barclays deal when TechRadar Pro reached out.

The two companies have a history of working together, with The Register noting they agreed a multi-year deal for Microsoft Teams usage back in August 2022.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has emphasized a focus on user engagement over pure sales statistics, and despite remaining profitable, Microsoft has announced largescale layoffs, with between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs worldwide expected to be cut - equating to almost 3% of the firm’s workforce - just two years after 10,000 personnel were made redundant (5% of the workforce).

"We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace," a company spokesperson confirmed.

“This was not about people failing. It was about repositioning for what comes next,” Nadella said at the time, who went on to stress that where Copilot is concerned, “adoption is key” - arguing that organisations need to fully integrate the assistant technology into their daily workflows in order to unlock its full potential.

Via Bloomberg

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• watchOS 12 will be announced on June 9
• It may have a new name, however, in line with reports Apple is changing the numbers on its OS releases
• Below are three features I think we'll see this year

Apple's WWDC 2025 event is coming in a matter of days, and while this conference is usually focused on developers, I'm expecting big things from iOS, MacOS, iPadOS and, yes, watchOS – the operating system used to power Apple Watches.

While we'll have to wait for September for new models to add to our best Apple Watches list – Apple almost never debuts this sort of hardware at WWDC – we're likely to see a host of new software features.

While watchOS is hardly ever Apple’s main focus for its developer-focused events, it still gets a chunk of time dedicated to it every year. Below are three features I expect to see announced for the future Apple Watch platform.

Before we start:

It’s worth noting while most people are expecting this year’s release to be called watchOS 12, there’s every chance Apple mixes things up somewhat.

In recent weeks, Bloomberg has suggested our devices will be running iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and so forth, with future releases adhering to this new naming convention.

Will we be using watchOS 26 from September, when it's released to the public? We’ll soon find out.

1. Apple Intelligence on Apple Watch

(Image credit: Anna Hoychuk / Shutterstock)

Response to last year’s Apple Intelligence big reveal was somewhat tepid, and some reports have painted a picture of a company struggling to gain a foothold in the AI age.

That makes June 9’s showing very important to show that Apple can run with the seriously AI-focused tech giants such as Google and OpenAI. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested it’s possible –at least in branding – for Apple Intelligence to arrive on watchOS in a limited capacity.

The Bloomberg report linked above suggested Apple “is branding a new set [of] features as 'powered by Apple Intelligence’ (even though the device isn’t actually running the AI models directly).”

That latter point is key because it could mean your current Apple Watch is able to run some of these “Apple Intelligence” features without needing to splurge on a future model.

There is reportedly a trifecta of features planned; Genmoji creation on a user’s wrist, notification summaries planned for widgets on your Apple Watch, while Siri could see an Apple Intelligence-style refresh. However, this reworking of Siri won't be to the extent Apple promised for the iPhone last year.

2. A redesigned, Solarium inspired UI

(Image credit: Apple/Future)

It wasn’t all that long ago that Apple shook up watchOS with its watchOS 10 update, offering widget stacks reminiscent of the best Garmin watches' UI. Now, rumor has it we could get a broader visual overhaul that encompasses just about every platform, including watchOS, iOS and even MacOS.

Multiple reports have suggested that Apple will use a new design language that’s internally referred to as ‘Solarium’, with a much brighter design, possibly with increased window transparency.

It’s been tipped for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. We’re curious to see how the latter works, though, especially since watchOS has always been set against a black backdrop. Color us intrigued.

3. An exercise highlight

(Image credit: Getty Images / Javier Zayas Photography)

Apple loves to showcase one exercise in the upcoming OS where it can, releasing a bunch of new features to excite fans. We’ve seen a big focus on running in watchOS 9 and cycling for watchOS 10 in the past, but where could Apple go next?

We’d love to see a way to track strength workouts within Apple’s own ecosystem: gymgoers are crying out for more ways to make the most of their Apple Watches. However, our money is on something set outdoors.

Rumors have suggested an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is incoming this year, so we’d be very surprised if Apple doesn’t push the rugged durability, GPS capabilities and longer-lasting battery of the Apple Watch Ultra series in some regard.

A marathon? A triathlon? What about rucking – the trendy exercise consisting of walking with a weighted backpack? We’ll find out on June 9.

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