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Technogym has announced it is working with Samsung to bring a new fitness app to 2024 Samsung TVs. 

The app will be available on the Samsung Daily+ platform, which is one of several hubs found within the Tizen smart TV platform featured in the best Samsung TVs, and will offer users personalized fitness workouts – both bodyweight-only and with equipment. 

The Technogym app is also said to offer 130+ trainer-led workouts, covering yoga, HIIT training, bodyweight routines, Pilates and more. Users will also recieved tailored workouts based on their goals, be that strength building, endurance building and general health maintenance as well. 

There are curated playlist options as well, such as 'Most Performed Routines' and 'Most Loved Session Episodes', which are based on the most popular workouts among Technogym users.

It's worth saying that there's a paid subscription to the Technogym app, as well as the free one, with the paid version offering more in-depth workouts and training. If you have a Technogym account, you can track your progress and history through any device. 

The Technogym Samsung TV apps will be available on most Samsung 2024 TVs including OLED, Neo QLED 8K and 4K, QLED and LED (above the entry-level DU7000) and even the Frame. 

Samsung – the home hub TV

(Image credit: Samsung/TechnoGym)

Samsung has been adding more features, and further integration with other devices, into TVs in recent years, with a focus on gaming, everyday use and even smart home functionality. 

We've raved about Samsung's super useful Game hub in all of our reviews – from one of the best OLED TVs the Samsung S95D to the entry-level Neo QLED Samsung QN85D. The Game hub has proved to be a user friendly feature that collects all things gaming into one place – it's why Samsung continues to find itself among the best gaming TVs on the market. 

It's now taking this approach to its Daily+ platform, focusing on everyday tasks such as working from home based functions to health and wellbeing, including its own Samsung Health app. Adding the Technogym app to the equation gives users more options once again and sees Samsung attempt to eliminate the 'isolated' home hub and connect everything via its SmartThings app – which it announced as its intention at CES 2024. 

Across our reviews, we've lauded Tizen as a smart TV platform and although it's not perfect, its integration with aspects of your life aside from on-TV entertainment has always been a positive, so it's great to see it continue further down the health and fitness path, via Technogym. 

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Withings Scanwatch 2: One minute review

Want a smartwatch that doesn’t look like a smartwatch? You may want to check out the Withings ScanWatch 2, the best-looking hybrid watch we've reviewed yet.

It’s as close to looking like an analog watch as you’re likely to get, but with the smarts and tracking of a fitness tracker under the hood. In fact, if it wasn’t for the small display on the watch face, you’d never know.

That makes the ScanWatch 2 a truly gorgeous piece of kit, with a nice, shiny casing and no buttons outside of the crown. The duality of an analog watch design with a more modern set of ambitions does show itself, though: the display is too small for most fitness tracker basics like notifications, while there’s no option to install third-party apps a la watchOS or Wear OS. 

This makes the "smart" nature of Withings' best smartwatch a little redundant: it's a pure fitness tracker combined with an analog watch. Still, if that’s not a dealbreaker for you, there are few better-looking timepieces around.

Withings Scanwatch 2: Price and release date

• Priced at $349 in the US 
• £319 in the UK  
• ‎AU$599 in Australia

The ScanWatch 2 debuted in September of 2023, and you can find it at plenty of retailers. The price of entry is fairly high, however, at $349 / £319 / ‎AU$599.00. 

This price point makes it comparable in price to an Apple Watch Series 9, despite offering less in terms of functionality. You're paying for the premium look and feel, rather than advanced functions and smart capabilities. 

• Value score: 3.5/5

Withings Scanwatch 2: Specifications Withings Scanwatch 2: Design

(Image credit: Future / Lloyd Coombes)

• Beautiful analog design
• Small digital display
• Available in Black, Rose Gold, Blue or White

As I’ve alluded to, the reason you may want to pick up a ScanWatch 2, as opposed to something of a similar price, is that distinctive design, which comes in Black or White, as well as a Rose Gold option with a blue strap. It also comes in 38mm and 42mm sizes. All models are 5ATM water resistance rated.

Looking at it on the wrist, it’d be easy to assume it’s an analog watch, and in many ways it is. Hybrid smartwatches, analog watches with discreet smart elements, are gaining traction (alongside other discreet trackers like the best smart rings) because they often look much cooler than most other smartwatches.

However, look a smidge closer, though, and you’ll see a small display at the top of the watch face. This OLED panel is nice and easy to read in all conditions, but naturally comes a bit unstuck if one of the hands happens to be over it when you check. That said, there’s little chance of being sat there looking at it for hours when functionality is a little more stripped back. In fact, for the most part it’ll be showing you how many steps you’ve walked that day.

It also feels shallower than other smartwatches, perhaps because of its analog-like disguise, but it felt much flatter on the wrist than my Apple Watch Ultra.

Straps can be switched out with an elegant sliding pin, while it charges in a sort of mini-cradle that looks like the devices used to remove links from watch straps. It includes a USB-A to USB-C cable, but it’s pretty short. Overall? Looks fantastic, and wonderfully comfortable to wear. 

• Design score: 5/5

Withings Scanwatch 2: Performance

(Image credit: Future / Lloyd Coombes)

• Around one month of battery life
• No GPS
• Closer to a fitness tracker than a smartwatch

While it is a ‘smartwatch’ in terms of its size, the ScanWatch 2 is less of a smartwatch in terms of functionality and closer to a fitness tracker instead.

It can track your steps, activity, heart rate, and all of those standard fitness tracker features, but you shouldn’t expect to install additional apps or use your watch to pay for your shopping.

You can set timers and use it as a stopwatch, but anything beyond that you might want to go for a full-fat smartwatch.

Thankfully, as a health and fitness tracker it’s solid, although it lacks an internal GPS: you’ll need to connect to your phone. Sleep tracking is supported, and it also has a ECG (medical-grade!) for undertaking one of those wherever you are.

Workout modes are relatively basic but track fairly well so long as you’re connected to your phone’s GPS, but perhaps the ace up its sleeve is the temperature sensor.

This runs continuously, albeit at the cost of the 30-day battery life, but can showcase temperature variations that could be an indication of an oncoming illness. It’s primarily focused on just highlighting increases or decreases, though, so don’t expect to get an exact number for your temperature.

Of all the smartwatches I’ve tested, I feel like the ScanWatch 2 has the simplest pairing procedure. It’s not that it does anything different from its rivals, but it just worked almost instantly. It also offers a slick checklist of things you can tick off as it shows you, meaning you get a sort of tutorial when you first put it on.

Once that’s done, the app is split between Home, Measure, and Achieve. Home gives you some “missions” to check off, like setting a bedtime routine, or reading an article. It also tracks your daily activity to help you hit thirty minutes.

Measure shows your data, letting you drill down into activity and rhythms for any data you’ve collected, while Achieve lets you set Health Goals and work towards them. The app can write directly to Apple Health, and works alongside Strava and MyFitnessPal.

This is all backed up by a subscription service called Withings+ which offers a Health Improvement score that helps you improve your score week-on-week up to 100, while also giving you daily guidance and meal plans. It also unlocks additional data so you can interpret it more easily, but I didn’t see anything that felt super necessary.

• Performance score: 4/5

Scorecard Withings ScanWatch 2: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future / Lloyd Coombes) Buy it if...

You want a smartwatch that doesn’t look like one

The ScanWatch 2 is slick to look at, and will go with just about any outfit at any time.

You want to track plenty of metrics

The temperature sensor here is a big boon, especially given many rivals have been slow to adopt it.

You’re new to fitness tracking

Even without buying the watch, the app is fantastic in its ease of use and variety of options.

Don't buy it if...

You want more smart features

The Scanwatch 2 can tell you you have a notification, but you won’t be able to read it on your wrist.

You’re a Nike Run Club user

While it can tap into Strava, Nike Run Club users are left in the dust with no integration.

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Sexual and reproductive health care provider Planned Parenthood of Montana suffered a ransomware attack earlier this week in which it lost gigabytes of sensitive customer data.

The company’s CEO and president of the Planned Parenthood Montana office, Martha Fuller, confirmed the news to The Register, giving the usual in-advance prepared statement how the company activated its incident response protocol, notified law enforcement, and is taking the matter “very seriously”.

"We are grateful to our IT staff and cyber security partners, who are working around the clock to securely restore impacted systems as quickly as possible, and who are tirelessly investigating the cause and scope of the incident," she told the publication. "That investigation is ongoing."

RansomHub takes the blame

While Planned Parenthood of Montana is investigating the matter, the hackers behind the attack have already added the organization to its data leak site and are threatening to release gigabytes of data unless a ransom is paid. The group, according to the same source, is RansomHub, the infamous threat actor that spun out of the defunct ALPHV. In fact, just earlier this week, CISA and friends issued a new security advisory warning organizations in both the public and private sector of the dangers RansomHub poses to their operations.

On the data leak site, RansomHub claims to have stolen 93 GB of sensitive data and has given the organization seven days to come back with the money. So far, neither Planned Parenthood, nor RansomHub, discussed the nature of the data stolen, so we don’t know how much personally identifiable information (PII) is found in the archives.

It’s also worth mentioning that Planned Parenthood of Montana is a non-profit, and most of its money comes from government grants and different donations. Whether or not the organization has enough money to pay the ransom demand remains to be seen.

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The long-running space sim has landed some major new content this summer, including a Worlds Part 1 update in July.

The company also launches an Aura Edition series for its most Microsoft-Intel laptops.

We’ve all been there. Staring at a computer screen with a fresh PDF file sent to us via a message or email, and no way to interact with it. You might be able to open it with a built-in tool on your computer, but making any edits or saving changes is certainly going to be out of the question. There is no need for an exhaustive search for multiple editing and saving solutions to fulfill your PDF-related needs. Wondershare PDFelement 11 can help unlock your productivity and meet your professional and educational PDF file needs. PDFelement 11.0, the latest update, can even enhance your workflow with powerful and supportive AI features.

Powerful enough for businesses, lightweight enough for students, smart enough for everybody 

PDF software tends to err in two directions. Either the software is designed to be lightweight, to the point, and snappy so that it is easy and inexpensive enough for students to get the hang of, or it’s bogged down with convoluted features that make using it a logistical nightmare even for the most experienced professionals. PDFelement walks a fine line between providing smart and flexible features without bogging the software down. The user experience is intuitive, making it ideal for users across all PDF-handling skill levels, and it offers enhanced AI features for students and professionals alike that boost productivity and accessibility.

There is nothing worse than turning in a huge report that you’ve invested a lot of time and effort into, only to realize it’s riddled with glaring errors. PDFelement 11’s AI-powered Grammar Checker can prevent that scenario from playing out, significantly increasing the accuracy and readability of your PDFs. You can even crank up the effectiveness of your PDF with AI-powered knowledge cards, which make it possible to highlight key points, important tags, provide a brief overview, or otherwise highlight vital information in your document. PDFelement’s Chat with Multiple PDFs feature further builds on this, making it possible to generate a multi-document summarization of your work (complete with a Q&A!) with the power of AI. Providing a summary and Q&A can help boost the reading efficiency of your document, further improving your productivity.

Wondershare PDFelement has been enhanced with an AI-powered assistant and features for improved productivity. (Image credit: Wondershare)

Wondershare PDFelement 11 features enhanced functionality, including support for built-in plugins for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. PDFelement 11 also includes new, powerful PDF solutions like support for JavaScript, split-view, and cross-platform collaboration. It's even easier to share your PDFs with PDFelement thanks to new support for QR Code scanning, which allows you to easily transfer your PDF to mobile. QR Code scanning is further bolstered by PDFelement’s cloud-based platform. It’s never been easier to edit, share, and manage your PDF collection. PDFelement 11’s cloud-based system automatically stores your documents and easily syncs your files and signatures across multiple documents, allowing seamless cross-platform collaboration. 

The right software for the job, wherever it takes you 

Today's students and professionals often work in hybrid environments, splitting time between home, remote spaces, and occasional in-office or in-person settings. Our files need to be able to travel with us no matter where we work or study. The software that manages those files needs to be able to provide a suite of features that can get the job done without sending us on a search to find multiple software products where one will do. PDFelement 11 is that do-it-all software. It is designed to be smart and approachable without being cumbersome. 

PDFelement is not just an innovative, feature-rich PDF solution. It’s an affordable one, as well. PDFelement 11 is over 50% less costly than the market leaders, all while still providing productivity-boosting, AI-powered features that make getting your work done efficiently and professionally. Want to try PDFelement 11 for yourself? Download a free demo today, or check out the desktop software option available with a flexible yearly or perpetual license plan.

It's not a Copilot+ PC, but this Asus laptop delivers great performance even on AI tasks. It also has outstanding battery life.

How can manufacturers ensure a smooth integration?

Pressure from customers to produce highly complex and good quality products quickly is mounting on manufacturers. AI may seem the answer, but when nearly 80% of AI projects fail to reach targets or get completed – is it really the solution to manufacturing problems? For Nicholas Lea-Trengrouse, Head of Business Intelligence at Columbus, success is dependent on the operational approach taken. AI projects must deliver value at every level to be a success. So how can manufacturers achieve this result?

AI experiments are a thing of the past. AI and machine learning are on the rise with over 85% of UK manufacturers already invested and wanting to incorporate AI tools full-time into their operations. UK manufacturers are primarily using these technologies in four key areas: quality control (38%), cybersecurity (37%), logistics (34%), and customer service (32%).

The AI hype is here but on the factory floor, the success of working adoption frameworks and journeys are limited. This is causing new adopters to be skeptical, but with the right product development plan manufacturers can smoothly adopt AI into all levels of their operations. Here’s how.

1. Avoid stalling at the first phase

A recent Gartner AI survey revealed that only 54% of projects progress from the pilot phase to production. So, what’s behind this? Manufacturers often identify use cases for AI and conduct proof of concept or pilot projects, but these efforts frequently stall – a phenomenon known as pilot purgatory.

Gartner’s hype cycle for AI shows we are currently at the peak of inflated expectations. AI projects fail because they often overlook the anticipated value and the true implications of implementing the technology within the organization. So, how can manufacturers avoid falling into the AI void?

What’s the secret to AI success?

AI adoption success lies in a product development roadmap that helps organizations scale effectively. The key is to aim for early wins by identifying business areas already primed for AI success and where significant impact is possible.

Consider this scenario: a manufacturer aims to increase its profit margins by 10% next year. Achieving this goal depends on meeting three objectives: reducing machine downtime, minimizing wastage, and addressing supplier irregularities.

From this assessment, the manufacturer can pinpoint opportunities to use AI analytics to predict machine failures, detect product quality issues, and optimize supplier routes. The focus is on understanding which processes can be transformed to successfully adopt AI and create new value, which will benefit both the bottom line and the workforce.

2. Finding the right data and insight balance is crucial in avoiding analysis paralysis

One of the biggest challenges in AI adoption for manufacturers is data management. Organizations often collect data from multiple disparate sources, including Excel spreadsheets, manual entries, on-premise servers, and cloud-based systems. Manufacturers that attempt to integrate all this data to gain a comprehensive view of the business and train AI models are left with the significant hurdle of analysis paralysis.

To overcome this challenge, manufacturers need a robust data strategy that ensures seamless data integration and accessibility. This requires manufacturers to standardize data formats, implement centralized data storage solutions, and employ advanced data processing techniques. A unified data ecosystem allows organizations to improve data quality, streamline workflows, and enhance the accuracy of AI models.

Cut through the data clutter with robust data management

When it comes to AI use case scenarios, manufacturers have limited reference examples, so they must assess the data they have available and determine what additional data might be needed to train the AI tools. Organisations are inundated with data, but quality matters as much as quantity. To ensure data quality, manufacturers need to implement robust processes and policies for managing data correctly, ensuring its usability, consistency, and integrity.

This is where the outputs of machine learning models and associated decision-making data in end-to-end solutions can make a significant difference. These outputs can be integrated into dashboards tailored for everyday business use, seamlessly fitting into user workflows to provide actionable insights. Manufacturers can then use these insights to optimize operations, improve decision-making, and drive better business outcomes.

3. Employee pushback is to be expected – AI is there to empower not replace!

One of the initial hurdles manufacturers face with AI adoption is employee resistance. When businesses introduce changes, especially technological ones, the immediate concern for many employees is, “Will this take my job?” However, manufacturers aim to harness AI not to replace roles but to make staff more efficient, reduce repetitive tasks, and enhance overall productivity. So, what can be done to increase acceptance?

Strong leadership and communication can ensure a smooth adoption through the pilot stage and beyond

It’s time for leadership to step up and demonstrate how AI implementation will benefit everyone. The focus should be on how employees can use the technology to enhance job functions, improve working conditions, and create new opportunities for career growth rather than being replaced by it. Leadership teams need to align AI initiatives with business objectives, working backward from desired outcomes to identify applications that drive these goals. This product-based approach helps organizations understand what their people need from AI and how it will integrate into larger operational frameworks.

At this stage it is vital to involve employees in the AI implementation process to boost acceptance. Manufacturing companies can seek employee input and demonstrate how AI can address their concerns and make their tasks easier and more efficient to create a sense of ownership. Manufacturers can encourage cross-functional teams to work together and share insights in order to ensure a smoother AI integration process and alignment with organizational goals.

To ensure success beyond the initial pilot phase, leadership teams must evaluate AI products using more than just standard performance metrics. User adoption rates can provide valuable insights. By examining the proportion of the target audience actively using the product, the repeat usage rate, and how well AI helps employees resolve initial issues, manufacturers can assess whether both employees and the company are realizing the long-term value.

4. A growing data skills gap is holding AI implementation back – what’s the answer?

A third (33%) of UK manufacturers report that a lack of skills is the most significant barrier to implementing smart manufacturing technologies like AI. This highlights a substantial gap between the demand for these technologies and the ability to implement them effectively. So, how can manufacturers address this skill divide?

The skills are already at a manufacturer’s disposal they just need to realize it!

One approach is to invest in training programs to upskill current employees. IBM research found that reskilling and workforce development (39%) are among the top AI investments for organizations exploring or deploying AI. Many manufacturing organizations often don't realize they already have employees with the technical or transferable skills needed for AI roles. For instance, a logistics coordinator could pivot to being a data engineer or data analyst because they already understand the data, processes, ERP systems, and CRMs.

What’s often missing is a bit of targeted learning and support in areas such as data engineering, data lakehouses, data warehousing, or coding. With this additional training, manufacturers can transform their employees into data engineers and effectively use AI to augment and enhance their work.

Additionally, manufacturers can look to hire new talent with expertise in AI and smart manufacturing. A team built with a mix of experienced employees and new hires with fresh, specialized knowledge can create a dynamic workforce capable of driving technological innovation.

Organizations that are able to tap into the existing skills within their workforce and provide the necessary training to new hires, can more smoothly integrate AI technologies, improve operational efficiency, and ultimately enhance their competitiveness.

AI roadmaps are key to success

Manufactures that approach AI project with a two-pronged approach will see lasting success. First, they need to break down their adoption into manageable stages. Second, they will also need an AI roadmap which allows them to see where AI can add value, streamline operations, and improve production. Brought together, these two steps will help manufacturers gain success from implementation and avoid becoming another statistic of failed AI projects.

We've featured the best AI phone.

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

At its Always Incredible event as part of Berlin-based tech show IFA 2024, Asus has revealed a trio of new AI-enhanced laptops including the new ExpertBook P5 which promises a highly efficient and secure machine for modern professionals when it launches starting at $1,099.99 / £999.9 in November.

The driving force behind the P5’s capabilities are the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 200 processors. The best of which – the Ultra 9 chipset – boasts an NPU that can perform 48 trillion operations per second (TOPS), equating to a three times higher AI performance over the previous generation.

These new AI capabilities will help boost on-device AI processes in Microsoft's CoPilot+, Asus’ MuseTree idea generation tool, adaptive locking (which secures your PC automatically if you walk away while it’s unlocked), and AI noise cancellation which is handy for virtual meetings. 

Slim military grade design 

(Image credit: Future)

Speaking of, the ExpertBook P5 has a new free AI Expert Meet tool with several handy built-in AI tools. This includes a live transcription and a post-meeting summary so you can recap everything you discussed later, automatic watermarking to flag confidential discussions, and a live AI translation tool which can translate directly between eight languages (including English, Mandarin, Spanish, and French) – not merely into and out of English.

Asus’s ExpertBook P5 also delivers with a solid design.

While maintaining a fairly light and slim profile – at 1.29kg and 1.49cm thick – and boasting a 2.5K 144 Hz display, Asus’s new machine meets the US MIL-STD 810H military standard. Asus says this durability rating is there to provide some peace of mind that your vital work documents won’t be lost because you knocked your laptop off the table; the P5 can survive more than its fair share of bumps and even some extreme conditions.

If something does go wrong the P5 comes with a three-year international warranty so you can get assistance even when you’re traveling (for more precise details you can check out Asus’ official list of where this warranty applies [PDF])

What’s more, it's designed with customizability in mind. To open up the internals you simply remove six Philips screws and can get access to every part with relative ease.

This allows you or your IT department to tinker with the P5 as necessary. Perhaps swapping out the WiFi card with one that meets your bespoke security requirements, or upgrading the parts after a few years when they’re starting to show their age – which should be a lot cheaper and a much more sustainable route than replacing the whole machine with a new laptop.

Furthering its sustainability credentials, the ExpertBook P5’s modular design and incorporation of recycled materials has allowed it to achieve 50% circularity in its design (up from 10%) based on Circular Transition Indicators.

We haven’t yet had hands-on time with this new laptop to see Asus promises in action for ourselves, but as its November launch approaches it certainly looks like an enterprise laptop to keep your eyes on.  

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Hackers are using the MacroPack framework to generate weaponized Microsoft Office documents. These documents, in turn, deploy different malware to their targets, including Blue Ratel, PhantomCore, and Havoc.

This is according to a new report from cybersecurity researchers Cisco Talos. In a detailed analysis published earlier this week, the researchers said they spotted what appear to be multiple threat actor groups abusing MacroPack in their malicious campaigns.

The MacroPack framework is a legitimate tool used to create and manipulate Microsoft Office documents with embedded macros, often used in cybersecurity contexts for penetration testing and red teaming. It allows users to automate the generation of documents that can execute payloads or scripts, which can be exploited by attackers to deliver malicious code.

MacroPack Abuse

As explained in the report, the researchers took multiple files uploaded to the VirusTotal database, and came to the conclusion that at least four different groups are abusing MacroPack. One is from China, Taiwan, and Pakistan, and it was active between May and July this year, distributing Brute Ratel and Havoc. The C2 servers for this campaign were located in Henan, China. One is in Pakistan, impersonating the Pakistan Air Force, and distributing Brute Ratel. One is in Russia, dropping PhantomCore, and the last one is in the US, and was deploying a previously unknown malware labeled mshta.exe.

Brute Ratel is a sophisticated red-teaming and adversary simulation tool designed for offensive cybersecurity professionals. It helps simulate advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks by mimicking real-world tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by cyber adversaries. The tool is used to test and improve the defenses of organizations by evaluating their security posture against complex attacks. As such, it is seen as an alternative to Cobalt Strike, another legitimate tool which was abused to the point that antivirus programs started flagging it.

Via BleepingComputer

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The average family has witnessed groundbreaking technological advancements within their own homes over the last couple of decades. Technologies and services have developed drastically, from simply having access to the internet to interactive and immersive experiences such as Virtual Reality (VR) gaming being increasingly prevalent. Many of these technologies and services have been driven from broadband access innovation.

But each evolution within the broadband ecosystem has been met with differing demands. Issues surrounding speed and manual operation from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to get the end user’s home broadband working again are now of the distant past. These challenges would not have been possible to navigate without a solid foundation and collective understanding of the path that is to be taken, set out by open standards and open source software.

Now that we enter the “Application Age”, it is important that this collaboration and standardization efforts continue to align and adapt with the end-user’s growing needs and requirements.

Setting the standard

The introduction of fixed broadband revitalized home connectivity in the early 2000s by allowing the signal in one line to be split between the telephone and online services, meaning the end-user could make phone calls and be online at the same time. This new digitalized way of life spawned new challenges. Online businesses grew, entertainment sites boomed and the sharing of images, video and music took off. But for these to operate as desired, consistent connectivity was required.

As the internet was still relatively new and not yet ubiquitous, if your home broadband connection went down, you were shut off from the online world. And this blackout could last as long as it took for an engineer to visit your house, diagnose the problem, and get your home broadband up and running again. Not only was this often time consuming and a pain point for the end-user, but it was also costly for the ISP in terms of the engineer call out costs and customer churn due to displeasure in their broadband service.

Recently celebrating 20 years since its inception, TR-069, a technical specification for broadband device management, has become an integral part of ISP deployments. By providing an interface for the remote configuration and management of user devices, the standard had streamlined service provisioning and reduced operational expenditures for ISPs. As a result, broadband connectivity services have become more reliable and efficient, benefitting both ISPs and their customers.

A new age of broadband

With the challenge and high costs of attaining connectivity and speed no longer the inhibitor to more broadband services, you may wonder how ISPs make their brand unique? And how do they manage to turn in a profit if they are constantly undercutting their competitors to sell more services and faster speeds? Well, those ISPs that wish to drive more value from their offerings, beyond speed and connectivity, are certainly missing a trick.

In recent years, the connected home has become increasingly comprehensive with smart devices and services. It is now a hotspot for online working, schooling and entertainment, such as gaming and streaming. For end-users to enjoy the plethora of services and applications in the home, they require much more than fast speeds alone. They need low, consistent latency which is ubiquitous throughout the home, improved customer support and network automation.

Broadband networks need to become more dynamic with service-aware and application-appropriate intelligence and end-to-end low latency, as well as equipped to adapt and prioritize traffic if any congestion is experienced within the network. With consumer expectations growing and the responsibility and blame of poor online experience often falling on the ISP, this perfectly positions them to capitalize on the full potential of broadband beyond residential broadband services.

If ISPs are to strategically transition to intelligent networks and reap all the monetary benefits it has to offer, the industry must realize the importance that standards play in delivering greater interoperability and device management.

Honoring the past while creating the future

As ISP demands evolve for a “services-led” broadband experience for their subscribers, so too must the foundations for this innovation. The Broadband Forum recently announced that TR-369, also known as the User Services Platform (USP), has now become the cornerstone for future developments in device management as it responds to the rapidly growing needs of the connected world.

However, this is not entirely an “out with the old, in with the new”, scenario. The history of TR-069 will be ingrained on the future of broadband, quite literally. USP builds on TR-069 blueprint and the existing data model, adapting and expanding to meet the new challenges and possibilities in an ever-connected world. USP’s technology is also being used to realize the promise of “application-enabled services gateways”, allowing operators to quickly deploy new, value-added services in an interoperable way for the first time in history.

While TR-069 still exists for those that wish to solely ensure reliable connectivity services for their customers, making the step towards USP signifies a shift toward more agile, distributed, robust and secure network infrastructure that aligns with an expanding market of application providers and provides more opportunities for the consumer electronics industry.

Where interoperability meets innovation: Revitalizing ISP offerings

The interoperability – enabled by open standards – of multiple devices, services and applications, ranging from security to home automation and entertainment, is essential for securing value beyond speed and lower priced broadband packages. Standardizing the managed connected home offers a number of benefits to ISPs.

ISPs can increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and generate new revenue streams by offering value-added services on top of their broadband offerings. For example, by targeting the increasingly diverse connected home subscriber, operators can offer personalized broadband packages where the user, such as a gamer, may be more willing to spend funds on greater QoE and lower latency which they value much more than just the speed of their connection.

ISPs are transitioning from self-build networks to autonomous, sustainable and multi-service broadband networks that cater for the multiple users in the home. Open standards offer the key for ISPs to monetize their networks with relevant QoE per application and allow customers to pick and choose their own services. More differentiation alongside a prioritized user experience will lead to greater customer satisfaction in the connected home, today and in the years ahead.

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Technics has unveiled its first-ever wireless stereo speakers, the SC-CX700. They have a bunch of cool features and one very unusual element that I didn't realize until I saw them in person at the IFA 2024 trade show: a fabric, microfiber finish.

So, the audio bit first: these are active speakers with their own amplification. They even have a phono MM input so you can connect one of the best turntables without any additional pre-amp needed, as well as HDMI ARC for connecting to your TV as a soundbar alternative.

They're a two-way design, and the tweeter sits at the center of the woofer, in a design very similar to KEF's Uni-Q driver, as used in the fantastic KEF LS50 Mk II – which these bear a generally striking resemblance to in terms of features. A forward-firing bass port should aid low-end power.

(Image credit: Future)

In addition to the connections mentioned above, they also take 3.5mm jack input, USB-C input, and Ethernet, and there's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for streaming.

Technics has been light on details, but there appears to be a PDF of the instruction manual online, and assuming it's accurate, it reveals a lot more, including the hi-res audio chops involved. It looks like streaming FLAC and ALAC are supported at up to 24-bit/384kHz. Over USB-C, there's DSD and LPCM support.

Using the Technics Music Center app, you can stream Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, and Qobuz – plus there's AirPlay 2 and Google Cast support. However, there's no mention of any higher-quality Bluetooth versions being supported.

They come with a remote for switching input and controlling playback, too. And I should note that they're not totally wireless – they need to be connected to each other by an included cable.

All this tech doesn't come cheap: they're set to cost £2,399 (about $3,100 / AU$4,700) and will be available from October 2024.

(Image credit: Future)

Now, about the outside. They come in three finishes – Charcoal Black, Silky Grey, and Terracotta Brown – and unlike all those entries in our list of the best stereo speakers that have boring materials like 'wood' on the outside, these are covered in a "stylish microfibre material that feels like suede and is easy to integrate into any home aesthetic," according to Technics.

I totally missed this in the announcement, and when I went to see them at Panasonic's IFA booth (Technics is owned by Panasonic), I did a full double-take. They have a soft, fine texture all over the colored section of the body, which catches the light with a sheen that's unlike what you get from any kind of veneer.

It feels very ’70s, and I actually love it, especially in the Terracotta color. It's hard to notice from a distance, but you get close enough and your brain goes "hang on, that's not what a solid surface looks like." It's a fun little aesthetic twist, and I would very happily have a pair in my home – though strictly with the all-black circular speaker cover off, as it is in these pictures, because they look way better with the shiny, pointy tweeter visible.

I wasn't able to hear them in action, sadly – especially sad since they were sitting with Technics' new SL-1300G turntable, which is its new flagship spinner and dares to be a superior successor to the legendary Technics SL-1200 (which is still going, don't worry). I would've liked to have seen how that combo went – but we'll review them in good time.

Sadly, the ones you get at home will have a regular back, instead of this see-through one that shows the tech inside. (Image credit: Future) You might also like…

• Kanto Audio's Ren isn't skimpy when it comes to audio output
• It's Lenco a-go-go! A trio of cool turntables just landed from the vinyl virtuoso
• Soundcore's most premium wireless headphones ever are also its coolest-looking and most portable

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(Image credit: Loic Venance)