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Apple TV+ have confirmed that their Gary Oldman-starring darkly comic spy thriller, Slow Horses will return for season 7.

It’s a bold move for the streamer considering that Slow Horses season 5 is yet to air, and the renewal will see the series continue until at least 2027. Although, considering the last outing of one of the best Apple TV+ shows became Rotten Tomatoes’ number one series of 2024, it’s hardly surprising. Add to that the fact that Slow Horses has picked up numerous Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA nominations across its run so far, and you can see why one of the best streaming services think this horse is still very much in the race.

As mentioned, the next adventure for the Slough House gang doesn’t arrive until later in the year, but to get a taste of what’s to come, you can check out the trailer below.

Based on the series of books by Mick Herron, Slow Horses follows the “losers, misfits and boozers” of Slough House, a dumping ground for MI5 operatives who’ve messed up, but not enough to be worth the red tape of sacking. Thrust into Slough House’s mildew ridden administrative hell, the expectation is that the misery, drudgery and abuse from irascible boss Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) will soon send the unlucky few on their way.

However, despite making thoughtless mistakes, suffering unsociable addictions and being victims of career sabotage, those that make up the residents of Slough House, or the 'slow horses’, are in fact very good at what they do, and seem to find themselves routinely, and quite accidentally, tasked with saving the country from various threats.

There’s definite Killing Eve vibes to the damp, unglamorous depiction of a British spy game still secretly fighting the Cold War, however once the plot of each season kicks into gear, the show feels closer to the relentless pace and shocking plotting of 24, just with a heavy dose of sardonic British humour.

The cast too, are excellent, with Oldman’s slobbish Lamb as unpleasant to watch as he is a joy to behold. Jack Lowden is the closest the show has to a hero, playing River Cartwright, a young agent with family ties to the old game, while Christopher Chung plays antisocial tech expert Roddy. Other notable ‘horses’ include reliable and level-headed Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) and Aimee-Ffion Edwards as pocket rocket Shirley.

What should we expect from Slow Horses season 7?

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

We won’t go in to too much detail about what to expect from season 7 of the show –after all, there’s still two seasons to come before that – but the fact that it’s set to be based on the eighth book, Bad Actors is intriguing, as thus far, it’s been a one to one book to season match. We do however have this tease from Apple TV+: “Lamb and his Slow Horses are on the hunt to find and neutralize a mole at the heart of British Government before they can bring down the state.”

Season 6 of the show looks to continue the usual tradition, being based on the equivalent book, Joe Country, however, the novel Slough House and two novellas take place between that and Bad Actors, so it’ll be interesting to see what fits where when the episodes hit screens.

At time of writing, there’s only one Slough House novel after Bad Actors, however, with a handful of same universe novels and novellas telling stories in and around MI5 yet to have much of a presence in the show, it’s possible we’ve got plenty more adventures with the ‘slow horses’ yet to come.

But we know for sure that we’ve definitely got at least three more seasons, the first of which – season 5, based on the novel London Rules – premieres on Apple TV+ on September 24.

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Marvel Rivals ranked mode lets you slowly progress against harder and harder teams, with rewards associated with reaching certain thresholds in Season 2.5. Getting into the upper ranks is no easy feat, as the rules change slightly as you climb, including one that lets you and your team choose a character to ban from play.

In terms of Competitive Mode, Marvel Rivals already offers a whole host of rewards for reaching the higher ranks, including an exclusive new skin for Ultron, one of the new Heroes set to be ranked in our Marvel Rivals tier list. Challenging yourself as you move up higher and higher in ranks is part of Marvel Rivals' appeal, making it a new contender for our best crossplay games list.

Here's all of the Marvel Rivals ranks in order, so that you can know just how close you are to the top. Also, we'll explain how things change as you reach Gold Rank, and walk you through some of the rewards you'll get once the season ends. With Season 3 just days away, we'll also cover what's changing.

Marvel Rivals Season 3 Competitive Mode changes

(Image credit: NetEase Games)

Marvel Rivals Season 3 will make the following Competitive Mode changes when it launches on July 11, 2025:

• New Domination Map - Klyntar: Celestial Husk
• Rank Reset: Based on your final Season 2.5 rank, ranks will be demoted by 7 divisions. For example, if you ended the season at Diamond I, your Season 3 journey begins at Gold II
• New Rank Settlement Rewards: Reach Gold for the incredible Phoenix - Emerald Flames costume, and earn fresh Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and the illustrious Top 500
• Nameplate Frame rewards for Diamond and Platinum ranks.

Marvel Rivals ranked: here's what's changed for Season 2.5

(Image credit: NetEase)

There's been a few key changes to Competitive Mode thanks to the arrival of Marvel Rivals Season 2. You'll find the highlights below:

• Map rotation will be in effect from Season 2 onwards (ranked), Hellfire: Gala (new map)
• New limited-time modes will be added over time
• Bans added to Gold III
• Minimum level requirement now 15
• One Above All and Eternity ranks only allow duo queuing
• Increasing the rate of individual performance vs match outcome.

These are just the main updates that arrived in Marvel Rivals alongside the new season. It's worth noting that Marvel Rivals makes updates to ranked play fairly frequently. stay up to date with our latest Marvel Rivals Patch Notes coverage.

Marvel Rivals ranks in order

(Image credit: NetEase)

Below, you'll find a list of the Marvel Rivals ranks in order:

• Bronze: Tier 3-1
• Silver: Tier 3-1
• Gold: Tier 3-1
• Platinum: Tier 3-1
• Diamond: Tier 3-1
• Grandmaster: Tier 3-1
• Celestial: Tier 3-1
• Eternity: Rack Up Points
• One Above All: Rack Up Points (limited to the top 500 players)

As you can see, all but the top two ranks have three tiers that you must move through. Once you get to Eternity, you'll simply need to rack up points to rank up. Be aware, however, that at Eternity and One Above All, you will gradually lose points if you're not active enough.

How to unlock Ranked in Marvel Rivals

(Image credit: NetEase)

To unlock Ranked Play in Marvel Rivals you will need to reach level 15 (as of Season 2). This is done by simply playing matches. We recommend jumping into Quick Play to get a feel for the characters, and the two main game modes. To make sure you're winning as many games as possible, and featuring as the MVP regularly, you may want to consider equipping custom Marvel Rivals Crosshairs.

If you're looking to team up with some friends, be aware that players in Gold and below can squad up without any restrictions. For those in Gold Tier 1 to Celestial tiers, teaming is limited to a maximum range of three divisions. Players in Eternity or One Above All can team with Celestial Tier 2 players within 200 points. However, if they exceed 200 points, the point difference must be less than 200. One Above All and Eternity ranks only allow duo queuing

Marvel Rivals Ranked rewards for Season 2.5

(Image credit: NetEase)

There are a few different rewards that you can pick up by playing Season 2.5 of Marvel Rivals' Competitive Mode. They are as follows:

• Golden Ultron skin: Reach at least Gold Tier 3 by the end of Season 2.5
• Silver Crest of Honor: Reach at least Grandmaster Tier 3 by the end of Season 2.5
• "One Above All" Crest of Honor: Reach One Above All by the end of Season 2.5

Note that rewards are given out corresponding to the highest rank achieved during a season in Marvel Rivals. This means that as long as you reached, for example, Gold Tier 3, you'll get the Ultron skin regardless of whether you go up or down in rank by the end of Season 2.5 (end date TBC).

Marvel Rivals Ranked FAQs

(Image credit: NetEase)How does the Marvel Rivals Chrono Shield work?

The Chrono Shield is a unique mechanic in Marvel Rivals that can save you from losing points after losing a ranked game. This Chrono Shield will charge up as you lose games, and once it's fully charged, it'll shatter in place of a rank demotion, giving you another chance to claw things back.

Can you ban Heroes in Marvel Rivals ranked mode?

Once you get into a match where all players are at least Gold Tier 3 rank, you'll get the option to ban 2 Heroes before the game starts. This can counter some pesky meta-plays, like those using Hela to revive Loki and Thor.

What are the rules in Marvel Rivals ranked mode?

Game modes work a little differently in Marvel Rivals ranked when compared to Quick Play. Each game can have multiple rounds, and the team that wins the most rounds wins the game. You'll gain a point for each objective captured while attacking and then must make sure the enemy team scores fewer points while you're on the defensive side. If there's a tie, the match is decided on distance pushed in terms of Convoy, or with another set of rounds in terms of Domination.

(Image credit: NetEase Games)How to get your Marvel Rivals ranked rewards

Once you've hit the requisite rank to receive a reward, you'll just need to wait until the end of Season 2.5 to receive it. This is set for July 11, 2025. Unfortunately, this is the earliest you'll be able to get new reward skins, so it's best to just focus on climbing even higher before the season ends.

How do I rank up in Marvel Rivals?

To rank up in Marvel Rivals, you need to be playing Competitive Mode. For each win, you'll be awarded points, and for a loss, your point value will decrease. Once you hit 100 points total, you'll go up to the next rank.

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

The recent announcement that Google is embedding a new AI mode into its search engine is yet another example of our daily exposure to AI. In theory, almost everything could be automated if we really wanted it to be, but getting the most out of AI tools within a workplace setting will always come down to thinking strategically.

What is the value it will create and how will it impact people? That’s not just employees or users, but partners and ultimately customers. If the value and purpose aren’t defined – and the roadmap to achieve success is unclear – then AI adoption is likely to fail.

From appetite to adoption

In a recent survey we carried out with over 4,000 UK workers, we found that the appetite to use AI within the workplace is there, with more than half of respondents (56%) feeling optimistic about the benefits. But when it comes to getting the most out of it, workers were less positive. 61% admitted to being overwhelmed by the rapid pace of AI advancements and that the sheer number of tools available make it difficult to know where to start (24%).

So how can the gap be bridged to ensure AI enhances workers’ lives and is used strategically? Although the pace of AI advancement is rapid, it doesn’t mean you need to throw best practice out of the window and adopt it without due diligence or thorough assessment. Knowing what to automate, and equally what not to automate, is about assessing the risk, setting objectives and putting measurable performance indicators in place. Only by having a clear goal for AI can businesses bring stakeholders along on the journey and achieve real value.

Reducing risk

Adopting AI brings different levels of risk – from operational to reputational. Without clear guidance for usage or contingency for failure, day-to-day business operations can be negatively impacted. Reputational risk and preservation of value must also be considered when looking to automate certain processes. For example, what experience do you want people to have when interacting with your business? What value do you want to create? What risks are you going to take, if something goes wrong, and how resilient is your business against these risks?

And what would you lose as a result of automation? It’s harder to define what shouldn’t be automated but it’s just as important as knowing what should. It requires reflection on what a business does and what it values. AI shouldn’t be about humans being replaced by machines but about how AI technology can be used effectively, to augment processes and support people to do their best work.

Tied in with assessing risk is ensuring responsible usage of AI. The OECD AI principles promote the use of AI that is innovative and trustworthy and respects human rights and democratic values, with an emphasis on human-centered values. By following these principles, organizations can not only adopt AI responsibly but have a basis on which to create clear guidelines for employee usage and expectations.

Transparency and trust

Setting a clear strategy and defining the right role for AI is not enough. The right culture needs to be created and any plans communicated effectively to those it will impact, to allay any anxiety around usage. AI comes with many connotations and preconceptions, so it’s important for organizations to remove fear of the unknown.

This can be done by creating a safe environment for people to explore what AI can do, with the support of clear guidelines on what tools are available to them. This will give users the confidence to use AI in their roles and remove any misalignment between perception and reality.

Dedicated AI training and guidance are crucial for the success of any initiatives. This is backed up by our survey in which a quarter (24%) of UK workers cited that a lack of training makes it hard to use AI effectively at work. Almost a half (49%) said their employer has no guidelines at all for using AI. When asked how inclined they would be to use or use AI more in the workplace if provided with training, the majority (60%) said they would be more inclined.

This suggests that many workplaces still lack positive facilitating conditions for AI usage, which could be leading workers to feel overwhelmed and under-supported when it comes to using AI tools within their role. Creating a culture of openness around AI usage will help build transparency and trust for users and ensure they can get value from it. Providing an environment for sharing experiences – positive and negative – will further support adoption. As not every organization has an ‘AI expert’, sharing these experiences will support best-practice creation and adoption across the organization.

Leading from the top down

Like with any new technology adoption, there will be short and long term value. ROI will not always be immediate. As such it’s important to effectively manage change and expectations. Any type of business transformation will create different ways of working and a period of adjustment, which can take time for users to adapt to.

It is therefore important that AI adoption initiatives are driven from the top, with senior managers providing clarity for users. Leaders need to make sure people understand the strategy behind the introduction of AI, the ultimate goal, and how AI supports it. This will help reduce uncertainties and fear of the unknown, and ensure both the business and users achieve value. Only through creating a culture of transparency, trust and continuous learning can AI augment workers’ lives rather than overwhelm.

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

Samsung now sells two Galaxy Z Flip phones. One that costs $1,100 and another that's $900. There's a lot to unpack.

Samsung's newest book-style phone is impressively slim, at just 4.2mm thick when open and 215 grams. But the $2,000 price tag is heavy on the wallet.

From first-of-their-kind health tools to the return of the rotating bezel, here's what's new and noteworthy on Samsung's latest smartwatches.

Google's AI assistant lands on Wear OS 6, starting with Samsung's Galaxy Watch 8. Here are our first impressions, and what this update is bringing to your wrist.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: One minute review

Every time I try a big-name smartwatch these days, I’m slightly disappointed. Not because they’re bad devices (they’re certainly not) but because all too often, they tend to be very similar to their predecessors with very incremental, minor changes, such as a new software feature or slightly brighter screen, which isn’t the most exciting thing to write about.

However, not so this year. Samsung has decided to buck the trend with a comprehensive redesign, extending from its hardware to its software. The watch itself is thinner with a brighter screen and bigger battery (although battery life is still allegedly the same), keeping the round display but adopting a Watch Ultra-style metal cushion in an attempt to give Samsung watches a distinctive brand identity

In the software stakes, there are several useful updates that change how you use the watch day-to-day. A Now Bar widget allows you to quickly access the task you’re currently running in the background (such as a timer or workout) from the watch face screen, while at-a-glance views are more useful thanks to a nifty redesign. On-device Gemini has also been added out of the box, allowing you to complete complex multi-step tasks with a simple audio request, such as “find the best gym nearby and ask Julie if she wants to join it”.

There's also a running coach, which analyses your form and performance during a 12-minute test run and assigns you one of 160 running performance plans, switching you from plan to plan if you repeatedly exceed its expectations (or don’t perform as expected). A new antioxidant index measures the level of carotenoids, a beneficial antioxidant, using your thumb as another metric to indicate general health. Sleep apnea detection has also landed, just like this year’s crop of the best Apple Watches.

This is all in addition to the other features present on other watches: heart rate, advanced sleep algorithms, body composition, third-party apps, social features, music control, 32GB storage and more. Samsung’s eighth iteration of its Galaxy Watch series is, based on my early hands-on time, the most comprehensive change I’ve seen from the company in years, sporting plenty of genuinely useful improvements. Stay tuned for a full review after a few weeks, and scroll down for more detailed first impressions of its design and features.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• 40mm Bluetooth model starts at $349.99 / £319 / AU$ TBC
• 44mm model starts at $399.99 / £349 / AU$ TBC
• Available to pre-order July 9

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series is available to pre-order now. Prices start at $349.99 in the US, £319 in the UK for the 40mm Bluetooth model, rising to £369 for the LTE-enabled version. The 44mm Bluetooth-only version starts at $399 in the US, £349 in the UK, rising to £399 for the LTE version. AU prices are TBC.

This is a slight price rise from the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, which started from $299.99 / £289 / AU$549 when it was released last year.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Slimmer new cushion shape
• 3000-nit brightness
• Software revamp

Let’s talk about some of the new changes. First and foremost, the display is still perfectly round, but the casing no longer hugs that shape to create a cylinder. Instead, it’s a squarish cushion designed to emulate the shape of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. Samsung representatives have mentioned that it’s an instantly recognizable brand identity, in the same way you see a ‘squircle’ watch with a digital crown and immediately understand it as an Apple Watch.

The most surprising thing about the redesign is that where the Ultra looks awkward and boxy at times, the Galaxy Watch 8 looks good. This is partially down to the watch being 11% thinner than its predecessor, and a whole lot thinner than the Ultra or the other new kid on the block, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, as you can see above. It’s a lovely minimalist design, and I like it a lot. The display is brighter now, capable of up to 3,000 nits, and the battery is 8% larger to accommodate.

There’s also less case movement on-wrist now, thanks to the Dynamic Lug system ported over from the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Getting the straps on and off using this system was a bit more fiddly than anticipated, especially if you have short nails like mine, but it’s hard to deny the watch was an incredibly snug and comfortable fit.

The UI has also received an upgrade. A Now Bar, similar to those on the best Samsung phones, pops up on the watch face when a task is running in the background such as Timer or Workout. It's a satisfyingly slender widget showcasing a piece of information, like the time remaining, which you can tap to balloon it to full-screen. At-a-glance app views and collections have also received a revamp, emphasizing usability. I loved all of these changes, especially the Now Bar; it’s such a simple concept, I wonder why it hasn’t been done before. It’ll soon be everywhere though.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Gemini on wrist
• Advanced new health features
• Running Coach with 160 plans

First and foremost, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is the first watch with Google Gemini on-wrist out of the box. It’s finally here, and as you might expect, it’s very handy when it comes to performing simple tasks. My demonstration involved simple requests, such as starting a 20-minute running workout, but also more complex examples – such as the aforementioned “find the best gym near me and text Julie” prompt. It has the potential to be transformative in the way we interact with smartwatches going forward, but I’m interested in testing its limitations. How does it interact with requests that require a Bluetooth connection to your phone in order to work, such as opening and playing Spotify on your phone from a Bluetooth-only watch? Does it only process these requests on LTE-enabled devices? This has yet to be determined.

Another new feature I can’t wait to get stuck into is the new Running Coach. After inputting your goals and completing a 12-minute test run, you’ll be assigned one of 160 different running plans, ranging from a first 5K to a complete marathon. If your performance looks like you’ll outperform your goal at any point, Samsung Health will switch you to another running plan that more closely matches your capabilities.

Other new health features include the Antioxidant Index, which detects the level of a single antioxidant, carotenoids, in your blood to give you an indication of whether you’ve eaten enough fruit and vegetables to support a healthy diet using your thumb. I got to try this: sadly, my carotenoid levels were not up to scratch, though I don’t have any way of verifying the reading either way at this stage.

Otherwise, the watch is still packing all its existing health and fitness credentials and plenty of robust hardware and software features. Hardware features such as the camera viewfinder and body composition sensor are all present and correct, as are Samsung’s app drawer and the litany of third-party apps the watch, which uses Samsung’s One UI Watch 6 skin of Wear OS, is capable of accommodating. Full-color maps and turn-by-turn directions are also here courtesy of Google Maps.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Early Verdict

Honestly? This is the best showing from Samsung’s mainline watch series I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a fairly dramatic departure in terms of design while slimming, streamlining and improving everything else. It’s the first watch with Google Gemini on-wrist out of the box, and comes with with a bevvy of other exciting-looking features. During my brief test, the watch was comfortable to wear and use, although the straps are a bit more fiddly to change than Samsung is letting on.

Overall, it's a very, very promising start to what should be a great generation for Samsung wearables.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: One-minute review

My mind reels. How is this flagship Android 16 phone unfolding into an 8-inch tablet? It’s like the parting of the Red Sea but with a smartphone. What appears to be one is cleaved in two, split neatly down the middle to reveal an expansive, touch- and multi-task-friendly display.

I am flabbergasted.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 doesn’t just move the size and weight needle; it sends it off the dial into uncharted foldable territory (at least for Samsung). Starting at 8.9mm thick when folded (just 7mm thicker than the 8.2mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra), the Z Fold 7 unfolds to reveal an impossibly svelte 4.2mm thin chassis. Crazier still, the Z Fold 7 weighs just 215 grams. Yes, you read that right: that’s three grams less than the 218-gram Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

In this and in other ways, Samsung has nudged its pricey premier foldable into 'Ultra' territory. It’s not an Ultra, mind you, in that Samsung hasn't conferred that label on the phone, but there are features that make it undeniably ultra-level.

Let’s leave aside the size and weight for a moment, and focus on the other marquee upgrade: a new camera. I’ve been griping for some time about a flagship-price phone that still has sub-flagship level cameras. Not anymore. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 finally has the 200MP sensor previously only found on the S25 Ultra (and now on the new Galaxy S25 Edge).

200MP means you can shoot pictures at maximum megapixel quality, and crop in to reveal detail that’s unprecedented at the Z Fold level. Granted, you'll likely still shoot at 12MP, but that pixel-binned photo now has more brightness and color information per dot for higher-quality photos,

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

If you’re wondering, though, why the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is not officially an Ultra, I have a few reasons for you: First, there’s no 5x optical zoom. The camera system tops out at 3x. This may be due to limitations imposed by the thinness of that frame – I bet you can’t fit a periscope lens in there.

Second, achieving that feat of thinning meant Samsung had to jettison the digitizing layer and lose the S Pen support. While Samsung pitches this as a big-screen, lightweight device that you don’t need to use a stylus with, I will miss being able to draw on that foldable display.

One area where this phone is truly 'ultra', though, is in the pricing. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1999.99 / £1,799 (we're awaiting Australia pricing). That’s $100 more than the Z Fold 6 in the US. The more portable design and extreme pricing create some tension between people who think the foldable they can carry without compromises has finally arrived and those who want a relatively affordable foldable experience.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: price and specs

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1,999.99 / £1,799, which is $100 more than the previous model in the US (we're awaiting Australia pricing). The base model comes with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. The Z Fold 7 is on preorder now, and ships from July 25. It's available in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, and Jetblack, plus a Samsung online-exclusive Mint.

Those prices make the Galaxy Z Fold 7 one of the most expensive foldables you can buy – it now costs $100 more than a similarly configured Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, for instance.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

OnePlus Open

Oppo Find N2 Flip specs

Dimensions (folded):

72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9mm

155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5mm

153.4 x 73.3 x 11.7mm

85.5 x 75.2 x 16.02mm

Dimensions (unfolded):

143.2 x 158.4 x 4.2mm

155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1mm

153.4 x 143.1 x 5.8mm

166.2 x 75.2 x 7.45mm

Weight:

215g

257g

239g (black); 245g (green)

191g

Main display:

8-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED

(2184 x 1968), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

8-inch Super Actua display

2076 x 2152 / 1080 x 2424 pixels

7.82 inches (2440 x 2268)

6.8-inch 21:9 (2520 x 1080) 120Hz LTPO E6 AMOLED, protected by UTG

Cover display::

6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED

2X Display(2520 x 1080, 21:9), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

6.3-inch Actua display

6.31 inches (2484 x 1116)

3.26-inch 17:9 (720 x 382) 60Hz AMOLED, protected by Gorilla Glass 5

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Mobile Platform for Galaxy

Google Tensor G4

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus

RAM:

12GB / 16GB (1TB only)

16GB

16GB LPDDR5X

8GB (LPDDR5)

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

256GB / 512GB

512GB UFS 4.0

256GB (UFS 3.1)

OS:

Android 16 / OneUI 8

Android 14

Android 14 with Oxygen OS 13.2

Android 13 w/ ColorOS 13

Primary camera:

200MP f1.7

48MP main

48MP (wide)

50MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 86° FoV (Sony IMX890)

Ultrawide camera:

12MP f2.2

10.5MP ultrawide

48MP (ultrawide 114°)

8MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112° FoV (Sony IMX355)

Telephoto

3x 10MP f2.4

10.8MP 5X zoom

64MP (3x telephoto)

Cover Camera:

10MP f2.2

10MP

20MP; 32MP

32MP, f/2.4, 21mm, 90° FoV (Sony IMX709)

Inner Camera

10MP f2.2

8MP f/2.0

Battery:

4,400mAh

4,650mAh

4,805mAh

4,300mAh

Charging:

30 mins with 25W adapter (wired)

30W (wired)

67W SUPERVOOC (proprietary)

44W (wired)

Colors:

Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jetblack [Samsung.com Exclusive] Mint

Porcelain, Obsidian

Emerald Dusk (green); Voyager Black

Astral Black, Moonlit Purple

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: design

• It's incredibly thin
• Lighter than the single-screen Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Excellent construction

If you ever get the chance, hold the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 next to the Z Fold 6 – the difference is astonishing, and the only wrinkle in the effect is the new phone's sizable camera bump. It’s more prominent than the bump on the Z Fold 6, and means the phone won’t lay even close to flat on that side.

This phone feels good and light in the hand, especially unfolded and, while not Ultra-level titanium, the materials are good and well-used here. The body and frame are Armor Aluminum. On the exterior back is Corning Gorilla Class Victus 2, and on the display side there's Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2.

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Samsung has upgraded the FlexHinge, so it’s less conspicuous than ever. When you fold and unfold the phone, it offers just the right level of firmness. Even the inside of the hinge is cleaner. Where last year’s hinge interior coverings had a little nub on it, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7’s are a pair of unblemished curves, like smooth little fenders over a wheel..

Samsung claims the flexible screen crease is less noticeable, but it was hard to tell if this was the case during my brief hands-on time, so I'll withhold judgment for now. IP48 protection means the phone can handle a dunk and some dust, but I’d still keep it clear of sand.

Folded, the phone is now just 8.9mm thick, which is only marginally thicker than the S25 Ultra and significantly thinner than the folded Z Fold 6 (12.1mm). Unfolded, it’s a remarkable 4.2mm. To put that in perspective, it appears that the USB-C charge/data port just barely fits in the space. At just 215 grams, it feels like a traditional phone when closed, and when you unfold it that weight is distributed across an 8-inch body, making the device feel featherlight.

Those latter dimensions also easily beat the Z Fold 6, which is 5.6mm unfolded and weighs 239 grams, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is 5.1mm thick unfolded and weighs 257 grams.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: display

• Larger main and cover displays
• Visible punch hole for the camera on main display
• Cover display has a more natural aspect ratio

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

More than ever, the exterior display of the Z Fold 7 makes it look like a traditional smartphone. It’s now a 6.5-inch display (up from 6.3 inches), helping to make the aspect ratio a more traditional 21:9. In my hands-on time, the screen was bright and responsive.

At eight inches, the interior AMOLED screen, aka the main screen, now matches the size of the iPad mini. It’s a lovely and expansive space for content consumption, photography, productivity, and gaming.

You might notice a new selfie camera cutout. That existed on the Z Fold 6, but when not in use it was covered by a cluster of pixels that could be made transparent when it was time to take a pic. Now, to accommodate a wider field of view (100-degree versus 85-degree) and enable greater image clarity, there are no pixels covering the lens.

Some might mind the small black hole breaking the immersion of their full-screen gaming experience, and distracting when using some apps, but I think I prefer having a wider angle, and what are noticeably clearer photos from the interior camera.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The bezels around the display do not appear thinner than those on the Z Fold 6, and the screen quality appears similar. Samsung has made almost every display component thinner to support the new design, with the exception of the Ultra Thin Glass, which is now thicker. All of this may help make the crease less noticeable, though I could still, in certain light and at certain angles, see it, and I could feel it; it’s not pronounced, though.

If there is any disappointment in the new Z Fold 7 it can be found here in the display, which no longer supports the S Pen. This, it seems, was a physics problem. Samsung simply couldn’t fit in the digitizing layer, which means it’s back to drawing with your fingertip, or with a soft and specially-designed 'dumb' stylus.

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(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: cameras

• Finally, a Z Fold phone gets the 200MP sensor
• The main display camera gets a big upgrade, too
• It's a solid camera array overall

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

When you pay $2,000 for a smartphone, you expect it to include the ultimate camera system, and that has never been the case with Samsung’s Fold line – but the Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes close to delivering the full package

Here’s the camera system:

• 200MP wide
• 12MP ultra-wide
• 10MP 3x telephoto
• 10MP cover-screen camera
• 10MP main-screen camera

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

There are a couple of significant upgrades within that lineup. One is the sharper, wider main-screen camera, which was 4MP and is now 10MP, and the other – and arguably more significant – is the 200MP wide lens. This is more or less the same sensor as the one in the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25 Edge, and it's one of the S25 Ultra’s defining features, bringing a level of detail to photos that you won’t get from, say a 50MP sensor.

Granted, you’ll usually be shooting in 12MP binned format, but the image information from all those extra pixels is combined to give you tremendous detail in every photo shot with the main lens.

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I am disappointed that we still didn’t get a 5x optical zoom, but I wonder if Samsung could have fit the necessary technology inside a 4.2mm-thick frame.

While I didn’t have a lot of time with the Z Fold 7, I did shoot with all the lenses, and the image quality looked good – it’s pretty wild to shoot with the 200MP option turned on, and see how far you can crop in on a standard photo. The 10MP main-screen camera is also a vast improvement over the 4MP camera on the Z Fold 6.

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(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Software and AI

• The phone will ship with Android 16
• There's deeper Google Gemini integration
• Gemini Live fills the main screen

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

There are a few things of note here. First, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will ship with Android 16. That’s big news, because I cannot remember a Galaxy phone of any stripe that did not ship with the current year’s Android, with Samsung waiting until Google upgraded its Pixel phones to the latest platform before flowing it into the new Galaxy handsets.

Second, Samsung is not holding back when it comes to integrating the latest Google Gemini AI goodness deep into the phone.

First, Gemini Live has a tablet-sized interface for the main screen. It’s not a huge deal, but it is nice to see that the system is hardware-aware. More importantly, though, you can use Gemini Live on one half of the Fold 7 screen and have it react to what's on the other side – the benefits of multitasking. The other update is in Google’s Circle to Search, which now works in games. Samsung claims it will work with any on-device game.

As Samsung demonstrated in a video, you can launch Circle to Search during gameplay, use your finger to circle something on screen, and it will bring back context-specific search results that you can instantly apply without leaving the game.

You might, for instance, circle an in-game character and ask, "What's the character's name? What are his powers, and how do I beat him?" and get the answers without leaving the game.

The video made it look easy; we’ll see how it works in the real world when I fully review this phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Performance and Battery

• Bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite processor
• Decent RAM for the base unit (though less than some competitors)
• Battery size unchanged, but battery life gets a boost

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is running Qualcomm’s Gen 8 Elite for Samsung processor. The last bit indicates the chip’s bespoke nature: it’s like all other Gen 8 Elite’s, but likely overclocked for Samsung.

The zippy and AI-friendly chip is backed by 12GB of RAM (16GB, if you get the 1TB model), and a base storage capacity of 256GB.

That combo should provide plenty of power, though a multitasking-friendly screen like the Z Fold 7’s 8-inch main display will likely encourage more heavy-duty usage and more gaming, so it’ll be interesting to see how the handset holds up under duress.

Even in my relatively limited hands-on time, though, I could feel some warmth on the back. I’m guessing that with such a thin chassis, Samsung may have no option but to allow some of the heat to dissipate directly through the phone’s body.

Despite the massive slim-down, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 somehow still has a 4,400mAh battery inside, but now it’s rated for 24 hours of video playback. We got a little over 10 hours of mixed-use battery life with the Z Fold 6. I’ll be thrilled if this more efficient system extends the life of the same-sized battery.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Early value verdict

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I saved this one for last because it’s such a gut punch. This is a remarkable device, and perhaps the Fold that will make foldables in general mainstream – but that may also be an elusive dream.

For the second time in two years, the Z Fold series has gone up in price by $100 in the US. This latest hike has the Z Fold 7 flirting with two grand, which is a lot of money for a smartphone – even a lovely foldable like this.

There will be trade-in and other deals to soften the blow, and there will be people who will break up the cost over many installments, and consider it worth the price of folding admission. But I think others will look to the new Galaxy Z Flip 7 or, better yet, the $799.99 Z Flip 7 FE.

The Z Fold 7 is available in three colors: Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jetblack. Mint is a Samsung online-exclusive color, and it's gorgeous.

It's a shame Samsung couldn’t hold the line on pricing. I know the design is premium-plus, and that refashioned 200MP sensor probably doesn’t come cheap, but for many, Samsung just pushed what is likely its best foldable ever out of reach.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: One-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is different from its predecessors. The Classic series crops up every two years like clockwork, and all feature that rotating bezel, which serves as a way to interact with the watch.

However, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and Watch 4 Classic bear a resemblance to their namesake mainline entries in the Galaxy Watch series, the Watch 8 Classic draws more from the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

This new influence means the body is a whole different shape to the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, which has slimmed down by 11% to become the thinnest Galaxy Watch yet. The Classic is still chunky, and features the Ultra’s programmable Quick Button in addition to the rotating bezel. The Quick Button can be programmed and used in many different ways, from starting your most-used workout to opening music controls. The rotating bezel also allows you to scroll through apps, lists, and messages without using the touchscreen.

These two features, combined with voice commands aided by the Google Gemini AI assistant, mean you have lots of different ways to interact with the watch, which is great. The bezel feels smooth in use, and it feels very natural to use the wheel to scroll through long passages of text and lists of apps alike.

Other new features include sleep apnea detection, a new Running Coach with 160 running plans to recommend and track, useful redesigned software (including new at-a-glance app collection displays and a minimalist widget called a Now Bar, which lives on your watch face when a task is running in the background) and of course, that previously mentioned AI assistant. It’s also got Samsung’s existing suite of features, such as a BioActive heart rate sensor, sleep coach recommendations, accurate body composition, and lots more.

I’ve only tested the watch for a very short time alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, but it certainly seems to be the full package, inside an attractive but thick and chunky casing.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Bluetooth-only model starts at $499 / £449 / AU$ TBC
• LTE model is $549 / £499 / AU$ TBC
• Pre-orders available July 9

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is available for pre-order now priced at $499.99 / £449 / AU$ TBC for the Bluetooth-only model. Considering the mainline Watch 8 is available for $150 / £100 cheaper, you’re paying for the upgraded stainless steel body, the rotating bezel, and the added Quick Button. LTE connectivity is available for an additional $50 / £50 in the US and UK.

This certainly isn’t a small price increase between editions, and it's a big jump from the previous-generation Classic as well: the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic started at $399 / £369 / AU$699, although that was a smaller-sized 43mm model, whereas, like the Ultra, the Classic 8 is a one-size-fits-all 46mm.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• The rotating bezel is back
• Added Quick Button
• Redesigned UI/software

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic only comes in a single size, 46mm, where 40mm and 44mm options are offered with the mainline Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. This is a watch for bigger wrists only, as it’s also thick and chunky due to the added height and heft from the bezel.

It looks and feels like a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, especially with the addition of the Quick Button – so if you liked that design, you’ll also like this one. The Watch 8 Classic's display is tied with the 8 for the brightest yet, at 3,000 nits. You also get double the internal storage of the standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 – 64GB, instead of the standard 8’s 32GB.

As mentioned above, the Quick Button can be programmed for different purposes, and the bezel is used like the digital crowns on the best Apple Watches in that you use it to cycle through options, but the real magic is in the redesigned UI, which I love.

At-a-glance views now offer more information on your limited display, while a new watch face widget called the Now Bar, an idea borrowed from the best Samsung phones, allows tasks running in the background – like Timers and Workouts – to have a small presence on your regular watch face. It works very well in practice, and I loved using it.

My main design con, other than the limited size options and thickness of the watch, is the Dynamic Lug system, which is borrowed from the Galaxy Watch Ultra. I mentioned in my Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review that I found it fiddly, especially as a man with short nails.

However, it does allegedly mean there’s less case movement during exercise, and the watches (in white and black) look snappy with the leather-effect strap provided. If you’re keen to use it for exercise, especially swimming, it may also behoove you to pick up a silicone one, further inflating the price of the watch as you’ll need to buy this separately.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Aside from the design differences, many of the new features on offer are the same as the ones described in my Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review, but I’ll repeat them here. Sleep apnea detection is added to Samsung’s extensive suite of sleep-tracking features, which also includes sleep coaching, snore detection, and Energy Score.

A new Running Coach helps calibrate your running and can recommend one of 160 different training plans, intelligently switching between plans on the fly based on your performance. The new Antioxidant Index detects the level of the beneficial antioxidant carotenoids in your body, found in leafy greens and orange vegetables: if this score is low, you likely need to eat more vegetables.

Gemini on the Samsung Galaxy Watch, the first of its kind, is a headline feature here, and based on my brief hands-on time with the watch, it seems to work well in practice. My unit was only connected to a test phone wielded by one of Samsung’s representatives, but I look forward to testing its capabilities when it’s connected to my own unit.

All of this is added to Samsung’s existing suite of health tracking, fitness, and lifestyle features, which are further enhanced by third-party apps from Wear OS. These include advanced fitness features like dual-frequency GPS to better calculate runs, hikes, and rides, TrackBack to stop you getting lost, and body composition analysis to determine your ratio of fat to muscle to bone. This is surprisingly accurate: we tested Samsung’s feature against a smart scale with favorable results.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: Early Verdict

I’m not as in love with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic’s design as I am with the minimalist Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, even though the design is this watch’s unique selling point. It’s too big and bulky for me, but I can see the appeal, and the rotating bezel’s added functionality is always a welcome addition.

However, there’s no denying Samsung has knocked its generational redesign out of the park, and I’m intrigued to see what comes of more thorough testing soon.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, July 9 (game #1262).

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

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

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

Quordle today (game #1263) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1263) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 4.

Quordle today (game #1263) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1263) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1263) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• W

• U

• P

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

Quordle today (game #1263) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1263, are…

• CROSS
• WHEEL
• UNDID
• PENCE

With E-N-C-E in position and just two possibilities for the first letter I picked the wrong one. In this situation I am sure most people would have chosen fence ahead of PENCE – but then again, that's probably only the case in the UK. 

These moments are what makes Quordle such fun – just when you think you’ve got all the answers it’ll kick you in the teeth.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1263) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1263, are…

• SNIPE
• ALPHA
• BATHE
• GROUP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1262, Wednesday, 9 July: SHIRE, SIXTH, SINGE, IMAGE
• Quordle #1261, Tuesday, 8 July: PLIED, PRANK, GAWKY, OXIDE
• Quordle #1260, Monday, 7 July: DROLL, TRUCE, TWIRL, SINCE
• Quordle #1259, Sunday, 6 July: AMPLY, SPAWN, EXTOL, RIDGE
• Quordle #1258, Saturday, 5 July: HAVEN, SNAKE, DREAM, TORUS
• Quordle #1257, Friday, 4 July: FAVOR, SKUNK, GAWKY, FLUFF
• Quordle #1256, Thursday, 3 July: DANCE, EYING, GLAZE, EGRET
• Quordle #1255, Wednesday, 2 July: INANE, SCOUR, ELITE, ULCER
• Quordle #1254, Tuesday, 1 July: REBAR, YEARN, FORTH, CROWD
• Quordle #1253, Monday, 30 June: INGOT, INFER, TAPIR, CLUED
• Quordle #1252, Sunday, 29 June: MIRTH, APTLY, SCRUB, SMACK
• Quordle #1251, Saturday, 28 June: AWOKE, SMOKY, DEVIL, SWING
• Quordle #1250, Friday, 27 June: SPEAK, EAGLE, AVERT, SUING
• Quordle #1249, Thursday, 26 June: SLUMP, REBUS, GUAVA, MONEY
• Quordle #1248, Wednesday, 25 June: SOGGY, CLASH, MODEM, SQUAD
• Quordle #1247, Tuesday, 24 June: QUALM, SQUIB, AXIAL, FLACK
• Quordle #1246, Monday, 23 June: PIXEL, FJORD, STEAL, EXIST
• Quordle #1245, Sunday, 22 June: WREST, CRAZE, PAPAL, SCION
• Quordle #1244, Saturday, 21 June: BUDDY, GROUT, BEGIN, MADAM

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, July 9 (game #759).

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

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

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

NYT Connections today (game #760) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• DRAB
• BLOW
• MISS
• SPOKE
• TIRE
• DUCT
• WASTE
• FATIGUE
• EXHAUST
• RIM
• KHAKI
• HOSE
• LOSE
• PIPE
• HUB
• CAMO

NYT Connections today (game #760) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Circular car component
• GREEN: Army garments
• BLUE: Let it flow
• PURPLE: A chance that slipped away

Need more clues?

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

NYT Connections today (game #760) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A WHEEL
• GREEN: MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS
• BLUE: USED IN VENTILATION
• PURPLE: FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AS AN OPPORTUNITY

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

NYT Connections today (game #760) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #760, are…

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A WHEEL HUB, RIM, SPOKE, TIRE
• GREEN: MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS CAMO, DRAB, FATIGUE, KHAKI
• BLUE: USED IN VENTILATION DUCT, EXHAUST, HOSE, PIPE
• PURPLE: FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AS AN OPPORTUNITY BLOW, LOSE, MISS, WASTE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

After a terrible streak it felt good to complete a round of Connections without making a mistake.

I can only conclude that today’s edition was an unusually easy one, even the purple would be yellow-level some weeks.

My only pause for thought was over MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS – CAMO, FATIQUE, and KHAKI all seemed common enough, while DRAB was a guess based on how dull army clothing is.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, July 9, game #759)

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A COLLEGE CAMPUS CAFETERIA, DORM, LIBRARY, QUAD
• GREEN: EXAGGERATED, AS A PERFORMANCE CAMP, DRAMATIC, HAMMY, OVERDONE
• BLUE: CLOSE IN ON CORNER, SURROUND, TRAP, TREE
• PURPLE: STARTS OF GREEK LETTERS BET, DELT, LAMB, THE

What is NYT Connections?

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

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

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

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

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, July 9 (game #493).

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

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

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

NYT Strands today (game #494) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Nap time!

NYT Strands today (game #494) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• DECK
• TIES
• SWOT
• WORK
• SPRAY
• GUIDE

NYT Strands today (game #494) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #494) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #494) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #494, are…

• DROWSY
• SPENT
• WEARY
• FATIGUED
• TIRED
• KNACKERED
• SPANGRAM: SLEEPYHEAD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Yesterday it was party time! And today it’s nap time! Strands was obviously anticipating quite the knees up.

To be honest I am much more familiar with napping than partying, which is possibly why I made such quick work of today’s word search.

I have been feeling nearly every word in today’s search over the past few days. It’s not due to a lack of sleep or exhaustion due to over exercise, it’s because I am attempting to give up caffeine and am experiencing some quite radical side effects including feeling constantly DROWSY, SPENT, WEARY, FATIGUED, TIRED and zzzzzzzz....

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, July 9, game #493)

• BALLOON
• BUNTING
• PENNANT
• CONFETTI
• STREAMER
• SPANGRAM: DECORATIONS

What is NYT Strands?

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

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

• Rockerbox kept an open database online for an unknown period
• The database contained ID card numbers and other vital information
• Following its discovery, it has now been locked down

A tax credit consulting agency inadvertently exposed sensitive data on thousands of its customers by allegedly keeping a database filled with personally identifiable information (PII) open on the public internet.

It was discovered by Jeremiah Fowler, a cybersecurity researcher and analyst known for hunting for unencrypted and non-password-protected databases, and in a new vpnMentor report, Fowler said he found an archive with a total size of 286.9 GB, containing 245,949 records.

“In a limited sampling of the exposed documents, I saw files that detailed PII such as names, physical addresses, email addresses, DOB, and SSN in plain text,” Fowler explained. “There were also driver’s licenses, identification cards, SSN cards, work opportunity tax credit documents that included employment and salary information, and determination letters with acceptance or denials of eligibility.”

Rockerbox leaks

Furthermore, he observed DD214 forms - Certificates of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued by the US Department of Defense to veterans and similar military personnel. There were also password-protected PDF files labeled as “forms”, with file names containing PII such as employer names, and applicant first and last names.

Fowler attributed the database to a Texas-based company called Rockerbox, a tax credit consulting organization helping businesses increase their cash flow by identifying and managing employer-focused tax incentives through programs like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), R&D credits, and Empowerment Zone credits.

After reaching out to Rockerbox, the company closed down the archive in a matter of days, but allegedly never replied back to the researcher.

Therefore, we don’t know if the company manages this database, or if that work was handled by a third party - or if any threat actors obtained it in the past, but at press time, there was no evidence about in-the-wild abuse.

You might also like

• More than 3 million records, 12TB of data exposed in major app builder breach
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
• We've rounded up the best password managers

OnePlus Buds 4: Two-minute review

It’s easy to dismiss earbuds made by smartphone companies as a cheap add-on made to sell alongside a handset, a job made easier by the fact that many are. But the OnePlus Buds 4 shows that this isn’t always the case.

Let me speak plain: these earbuds are really good for ANC. Some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds around, then? Absolutely, but that's not the end of the story – if it were, you'd be right to utter 'So, why the four-star review, not five?' and I'll get to that, I promise.

The OnePlus Buds 4 are the successors to last year’s OnePlus Buds 3, but with a little of the DNA of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3. And these new fourth-gen buds are independent from OnePlus phones to such a degree that they weren’t actually released alongside any flagship handset from the company (though their launch did coincide with some new cheaper Nord 5 phones from the brand).

I appreciate it when companies do what OnePlus has done here: create buds that focus on offering a few key superb selling points that beat the competition. It ensures it’s easy to compare them positively to other buds, and makes my job of writing an intro that much easier!

One such department on the OnePlus Buds 4 is the Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC. Once the most important arms-race of any headphone maker, though now slightly forgotten in the reverse arms-race of open earbuds, ANC is still an important feature for many buyers… and the Buds 4 have easily the best noise cancelling performance in any earbuds or headphones I’ve tested at this price. It absolutely eradicates background sound, no matter how noisy, and you’d have to buy buds for double the price to get something competitive.

The design of the buds also needs to be commended. You might not be able to tell from photos, but these earbuds themselves are perhaps the lightest I’ve ever tested at under 5g (I haven’t gone through every review I’ve written to check, but quite a few!) and they’re really comfortable as a result. The case is also really small, and equally lightweight (see above, about me having written too many reviews to check these against every one). Sometimes, fantastic design isn’t a funky look or weird features or LEDs, but the meat-and-potatoes of a light, comfortable wear.

You’re getting a (mostly) fantastic feature set from the OnePlus Buds 4 too, again one of the best selections of extras in any buds I’ve tested at this price. I won’t go through them all, as I’ve already exceeded my word count in the Features section talking about them, but goodies like a listening test, Spatial Audio and high-res listening are all working well.

But wait! I haven’t mentioned how the things sound yet! That isn’t because it’s bad, just that the features and design are so great I got distracted. Like the Buds 3, there's a strong focus on bassy booming sound, but it’s much better balanced this time around. Music is punchy and exciting, with plenty of customization options to take it further.

The main issue I had with the OnePlus Buds 4? It's a big one I'm afraid: the app had a ton of connectivity problems, which really affected my experience with the buds. I need to preface this statement by saying that I used the buds before their official release and it’s very possible that by the time they are in your ears, these software kinks will be ironed out, but it's also important for me to be honest in my write ups – and this was my experience. I have tested myriad sets of earbuds, and if it was challenging to me, it will surely be for any owner.

Some buyers will also find the price increase over the OnePlus Buds 3 hard to swallow, but the significant uptick in ANC efficacy justifies it.

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

• Unveiled in June 2025, officially launched July 8, 2025
• Costs $129.99 / £119 (roughly AU$200)
• Price hike over predecessor

The OnePlus Buds 4 became available on July 8 2025, alongside a Nord-y line-up of phones from the company’s affordable line of Androids.

TechRadar was provided with the buds’ UK price prior to launch: £119, and they've been released in the US for $129.99, which means in Australia they'll set you back around AU$200 or just above.

Many buyers will probably get these buds for free, though, as OnePlus likes to offer gadgets like this for free if you buy its mobiles.

It’s worth pointing out that this price is a noticeable hike from the $99 / £89 / AU$179 price point of the previous-gen buds, but is still far south of the $179 / £199 (roughly AU$400) price of the Buds 3 Pro.

At that price, I could hear arguments for these counting as cheap earbuds, and other points in favor of these being mid-rangers. Either way, there are lots of rivals at this price point, and you can find them described in the Competition section below.

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Specs

Drivers

11mm woofer + 6mm tweeter

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life (ANC off)

11 hours (buds) 45 hours (case)

Weight

4.73g (buds) 40g (case)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Waterproofing

IP55

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Amazing noise cancellation
• …but we need to talk about the app
• 6/24 hour battery life (ANC on)

When I first turned on the OnePlus Buds 4’s Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), I was in a busy gym – it’s a great test case due to all the noises going on (and the music they play at my local is absolutely awful). I was absolutely floored by how much background sound the buds removed, which I’ll aptly summarize simply as ‘basically all of it’.

This is on the buds’ High ANC mode, which uses an algorithm to automatically adapt for wherever you are. There’s also a moderate and low, and also an Auto which… also chooses between those three automatically. You’ve also also got a Transparency mode to block out ambient noise but allow loud nearby ones, and yet another adaptive mode which selects between Transparency and standard noise cancellation. If you’ve been keeping count, that’s three different auto modes.

Using the HeyMelody app was a pain. It never remembered the buds between listening sessions so I kept having to re-add them, which was hard when it could only detect them about 50% of the time. And when it could and I pressed ‘Connect’, I wouldn’t get taken through the the app pages where I could control the buds. Oh no.

Instead a pop-up would appear telling me that I can find more settings for the earbuds by going to my phone’s Bluetooth settings. Okay, good to know. But pressing ‘Cancel’ just hides the pop-up so I need to press ‘Connect’ again, and pressing ‘Go’ just takes me to my phone’s Bluetooth settings. It took me ages to figure out I’d need to go to this menu (not a page in HeyMelody, I should add), and then select the headphones, and then press ‘Earbud functions’ which would take me back to HeyMelody. It’s an absolutely infuriating and long-winded process and I can’t imagine that this is actually how it’s meant to function.

(Image credit: Future)

It’s a shame because you really do need to use the HeyMelody app as most of the Buds 4's features are within it – and because those features are some of these earbuds' biggest draws.

You’ve got OnePlus 3D Audio, the company’s version of Spatial Audio. You’ve got an equalizer, which offers a 6-band custom mode or three presets along with a separate bass booster called BassWave. You’ve got the ability to set up ways to control your phone camera with the buds, toggles for High-Res mode, a find-my-earbuds function and, most importantly Golden Sound.

Golden Sound combines two tests we infrequently see in earbuds: an ear canal scan and a listening test, which together create a custom sound profile to enhance your music. I was impressed to see results which back ups hat I’ve independent learnt about my ears (one being better than the other) and the created sound profile did mark an improvement on the buds’ sound (albeit a smaller improvement than on some other buds which also have this test).

Some other features of the Buds 4, like a live translation feature, are exclusive to owners of a OnePlus phone.

Throughout testing, the connection between my phone and the buds was flawless, with the Bluetooth never dropping once. That wasn’t the case with the app itself, as I’ve already said, and every time I plugged the buds in it defaulted to their Transparency ANC mode, so I’d have to open up the app and change it.

With all these features, and more to list in the Sound Quality section, there’s a knock-on effect. The OnePlus Buds 4 battery life is fine, but nothing to write home about, and it can suffer if you’re using all the features.

The buds have a battery life of 11 hours… with ANC switched off. Turn it on and that drops by nearly half to 6 hours, and using LHDC codec drops it even further by about an hour. The case itself has quite a bit of gas in the tank as it starts at 45 hours of listening time, dropping to 24 with ANC and 22 with LHDC.

Those are all OnePlus’ figures but my own testing backed them up. With ANC but without LHDC, I’d get just over 6 hours of listening time on one charge.

• Features score: 3.5/5

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Incredibly light case and buds
• Fiddly touch controls
• Black or green color options

Banish the thought of the square-cased OnePlus Buds 3; in the Buds 4, the company has borrowed the case design of the Buds Pro 3. That means it’s a pebble-shaped container that opens horizontally to reveal the top of the buds.

The case weighs 40g, so it’s very lightweight, and it’s certainly one of the smallest I’ve seen recently, clocking in at 65.4 x 52.4 x 25.3mm according to the very-specific figures OnePlus provided TechRadar.

I did find it a bit fiddly to get the buds back into the case at times, frequently putting the wrong one in the gaps. It’s probably only a concern to people who identify as klutzes, so I can’t list it as a ‘Con’, but it’s worth pointing out.

(Image credit: Future)

Like the buds themselves, the case comes in green or black. As someone who’s tested loads of OnePlus tech over the years, I’ve got to say the colors are very… ‘OnePlus-y’.

The buds weigh 4.73g so they’re incredibly lightweight. They use a stem design like previous buds from the company, so they consist of a body which stays wedged in your ear with a rubber tip, and a small stem that dangles down

Both buds have a stem that you can stroke up or down to change the volume. I found these really hard to use, as a light touch wouldn’t be triggered, and a hard one would invariably dislodge the buds in my ears. I quickly figured that it was better to stick to using my phone for volume controls. The actual double-tap controls worked a lot better though.

The buds are IP55 rated which means they’re protected against dust ingress, and can survive against low-pressure water jets. Yes, that includes sweat and rain, but I wouldn’t wear them during a water fight or while you swim.

• Design score: 4/5

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Sound quality

• 11mm+6mm drivers, dual DAC
• Emphasis on bassy sound
• Supports Hi-Res Audio, LHDC

(Image credit: Future)

OnePlus has absolutely stuffed the Buds 4 full of audio-specific features.

Take, for example the drivers: each has two, an 11mm woofer for bass and 6mm tweeter for the higher stuff. There’s also a dual DAC solution, offering a separate one for each driver, so let each specialise. Buds 3 Pro users might be getting some Deja vu right now.

If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, you will have noticed that I’ve referenced plenty of bass features. Like the previous-gen buds, these models offer absolutely loads of bass – they’re punchy and exciting, but crucially it’s not as lopsidedly-balanced as the last-gen buds.

Vocal lines, guitar rhythms, piano harmonies are all crystal clear and defined, with the buds’ new focus on dynamic balance ensuring other parts of music can cut through the bass surprisingly well.

Listeners who like finely-balanced audio may still find the Buds 4’s heavy bass off-putting (even though you can strip lots of the excess away using the app’s EQ), but if you don’t mind a bit of oomph, the buds are fantastic.

The buds also support streaming High-Res audio via the Hi-Res Audio Wireless standard, the LHDC 5.0 Bluetooth codec and offer a sampling rate of 192Hz.

• Sound quality: 4/5

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

• Good value at full price
• Great value on sale
• Incredible value as bundle gift

I mentioned before that you may be receiving these as a pre-order or buying bonus with a phone, and if that’s the case… yep, a 100% discount is pretty good value for money!

In a hypothetical situation in which you’re buying these at full price, they’re still really good value for money due to the stand-out features. You’d be hard-pressed to get buds for cheaper with ANC, a feature set or a design like this.

However, if you don’t mind compromising in a few areas, you can definitely get buds for under $100/£100/AU$200 which equal the Buds 4 in most departments – if not the ANC.

• Value: 4/5

Should I buy the OnePlus Buds 4?

(Image credit: Future)OnePlus Buds 4 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

A fantastic feature set and top-notch ANC are a little hard to use thanks to the app experience.

3.5/5

Design

Incredibly lightweight buds that you'll forget are in your ear.

4/5

Sound quality

Heavy bass that doesn't obscure the rest of your music and is energetic and punchy.

4/5

Value

They're not too expensive and the entire package could cost twice as much without it being a rip-off.

3.5/5

Buy them if…

You need top-of-the-line ANC
I can't stress just how impressive the OnePlus Buds 4 noise cancellation is. If you hate background sound, buy it.

You have a OnePlus phone
A few features of the Buds 4 are exclusive to OnePlus users, so if you have such a phone, you're getting a little extra out of the purchase.

You want lightweight buds
Some earbuds are a pretty noticeable presence in your ear, for better or worse. The OnePlus buds certainly aren't that.View Deal

Don’t buy them if…

You're not a bass fan
While not as overwhelming as on last year's model, the Buds 4 certainly offer lots of bass which isn't for everyone.

You want earbuds for long journeys
When you switch on all of its features, the OnePlus Buds 4 don't really last all that long.

OnePlus Buds 4 review: Also consider

OnePlus Buds 4

Nothing Ear

Earfun Free Pro 3

OnePlus Buds 3

Drivers

11mm + 6mm

11mm

7mm

10.4mm + 6mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery life

11 hours (buds) 45 hours (case)

5.2 hours (buds); 24 hours (case)

7.5 hours (buds) 25.5 hours total (with case)

10 hours (buds) 44 hours (case)

Weight

4.73g (buds) 40g (case)

4.62g (buds); 51.9g (case)

41.5g total

4.8g (buds) 40.8g (case)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.3

Waterproofing

IP55

IP54

IPX5

IP55

Nothing Ear
These similar-priced earbuds also offer loads of bass and a top-end feature set that's comparable. The battery life is even worse but a few unique features may clinch the deal.

See our full Nothing Ear review

Sony WF-C710N
You could save a little money and buy these Sony buds, which have a stem-less design. They too have great ANC and some useful features, including from Sony's impressive suite, and their battery life is also much better/

See our full Sony WF-C710N review

How I tested the OnePlus Buds 4

• Tested for 14 days
• Tested at home, in the office and on walks

The testing and writing period of the OnePlus Buds 4 took roughly two weeks, most of which were testing and a few of which were writing.

I used the buds alongside my Realme Android phone and the apps I used included Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, Netflix and various games. I tested at home, around my neighborhood, at the gym and on public transport.

For TechRadar I've tested plenty of other earbuds including the previous-gen OnePlus Buds 3, and have other reviewed other gadgets from the company including the buds' contemporary smartphones.

• First reviewed in July 2025

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee