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Prepare to get away from city lights if you want to see the colorful sky show.

The FBI is investigating at least 250 people who may be tied to online networks that target children.

These networks encourage kids to hurt themselves, other minors or even animals. In some countries, they have been tied to mass casualty and terrorism plots.

NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef has spoken with a family that experienced this firsthand.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

No release date, no buildup, just a straight-up launch on the Switch.

You can watch the ISS astronauts return home on Friday.

A photo of an emaciated child in Gaza has gone viral, with many in Israel claiming it depicts false information. Our producer in Gaza meets the child and his family, we hear about how he is doing now and about the food insecurity many in Gaza are facing.

(Image credit: Anas Baba)

President Trump plans to nominate Stephen Miran to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Reserve's board of governors, but only for the next six months.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)

The AI system has detected and reported 1,200 cases to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children this year.

• AMD Threadripper Pro 9995WX outpaces Intel Xeon W9-3495X significantly in Premiere Pro benchmarks
• Video editing PC workloads benefit from AMD’s higher core density and sustained throughput
• Measured gains in DaVinci Resolve and After Effects highlight Threadripper’s content creation strength

AMD’s Threadripper PRO 9000WX series has delivered a blow that Intel’s Xeon workstation CPUs may not recover from.

Benchmarks from Puget Systems covering real-world content creation applications found the new Threadripper chips outperformed Intel’s Xeon W-3500 series across nearly every category, often by wide margins which left little room for excuses or rebuttal.

At the top of AMD’s stack is the 96-core 9995WX, priced at $11,700, delivering a Cinebench 2024 multi-core score of 7,508, 27% ahead of the previous-gen 7995WX and a staggering 125% faster than Intel’s most powerful Xeon tested.

Threadripper pulls ahead?

Even AMD’s mid-range 9975WX with 32 cores ($4,100) routinely beat Intel’s 60-core w9-3595X in workloads like Blender, DaVinci Resolve, and Unreal Engine compiling.

Intel’s best simply couldn’t keep up, either in raw throughput or clock speed, and often looked inefficient by comparison.

In Photoshop, where high single-core speed matters, AMD's 16-core 9955WX came out on top with an overall score of 11,384 - whereas Intel's Xeon w5-3535X managed only 6,801, barely 60% of AMD’s best showing.

Even the weakest Threadripper 9000 chip tested outperformed every Intel CPU across the board in Adobe’s suite of creative tools, including Premiere Pro and After Effects.

In After Effects 3D workloads, the 9955WX again dominated with a 9% lead over the 9995WX and a 40% advantage over Intel’s top performer.

DaVinci Resolve further emphasized Intel’s problem: the 9975WX scored 180 in Intraframe processing, a 10% improvement over AMD’s previous generation, while Xeons lagged by more than 20%.

AI-related benchmarks using LLaMA.cpp showed consistent scaling on AMD, with the 9995WX processing 16% more tokens per second than its predecessor.

Intel’s Xeon parts trailed even lower-tier Threadripper models here, further underlining their inefficiency in modern workloads.

Workstation tasks like compiling in Visual Studio or shader building in Unreal Engine showed predictable trends.

The 9995WX and 9985WX completed these tasks dramatically faster, with the former finishing Unreal Engine compilation in 68% of the time required by the previous generation.

Intel’s Xeons simply couldn’t compete; even their 60-core chip was outpaced by AMD’s 32-core offering.

While AMD's new processors come with a 10–20% price increase over the 7000WX line, the performance uplift and DDR5-6400 support help justify it.

In nearly every test, AMD’s dominance was clear and systematic, leaving Intel’s Xeon series looking outdated and overpriced.

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• Access to ChatGPT-5 is being given to all ChatGPT users
• You get new features like ChatGPT Voice and better writing
• ChatGPT-5 access is rolling out right now

At today’s ChatGPT-5 launch event, we got to see exactly why OpenAI is so excited about the new version of ChatGPT. It’s faster, more intuitive, less likely to hallucinate, and can integrate with your Gmail in even more useful ways to know more about you.

In fact, at one point, the OpenAI presenters actually got ChatGPT-5 to write a eulogy to the previous ChatGPT-4o model as a demonstration about how much better its writing capabilities had become.

The eulogy was warranted because OpenAI isn’t restricting access to ChatGPT-5 to Plus and Pro subscribers – it is giving it out to free tier users too, so everybody now gets access to a better ChatGPT. That effectively means the end for ChatGPT-4o.

The vast majority of today’s presentation was about how much better ChatGPT-5 was at writing code than previous versions, and also how much better it was at enterprise applications, like law, health care, education, and finance.

Of course, most of us simply use ChatGPT to help us get things done in our daily lives, but there were plenty of improvements that are worth noting for everyday users, too, and they’re mostly available in the free tiers.

Let’s take a look at what you get access to without paying.

1. Writing improvements

As with GPT‑4o, the difference between free and paid access to GPT‑5 is usage volume. At some point on the free tier, your access to GPT-5 will reach the usage limit, and then you’ll be kicked back to GPT-5 mini.

Plus subscribers will get significantly higher usage volume before that happens. That means you’ll get access to the improved writing ability in GPT-5. You’ll find that its prose has a lot more rhythm and beat to it than the prose in GPT-4o did.

2. ChatGPT Voice

(Image credit: Future)

With the free tier, you still only get limited access to ChatGPT-5’s voice mode (along with file uploads, image creation, and data analysis), but you should get more access per day now than you did before.

What used to be called 'Advanced voice mode' is now called 'ChatGPT voice'. OpenAI says that “Standard Voice Mode retires on September 9, 2025, unifying all users on ChatGPT Voice”.

ChatGPT Voice is better than before, with more natural-sounding conversations. Hit the voice button on the mobile app for ChatGPT to give it a go right now.

3. New highlight colors

You’ve always been able to change the theme of ChatGPT from light to dark to System, but now you can add accent colors to your chats in the Settings. These apply to elements in ChatGPT-5 like conversation bubbles and highlighted text.

This is the first time color has been used in the ChatGPT interface, and it takes some getting used to, but I think this is a feature you’ll come to enjoy.

What you don’t get

ChatGPT-5 has better memory, reduces hallucinations, and as a free user, you’ll get all that too. So what don’t you get?

Well, as before, access to the Sora AI video generator is restricted to Plus and Pro users, as is ChatGPT Agent. And in terms of new models, the super-powerful ChatGPT-5 Pro is only available to Pro users.

But I’m still suck on GPT-4o?

If you’re frantically hitting the refresh button on your ChatGPT page waiting for access to GPT-5 then you’re not alone right now, but it is on the way.

A message on the OpenAI website says: “We are gradually rolling out GPT-5 to ensure stability during launch. Some users may not yet see GPT-5 in their account as we increase availability in stages.”

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Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 8 No. 523.

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 8, #789.

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 8, No. 319.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for Aug. 8, No. 1,511

At the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, Black artistry is on display. NPR critic Eric Deggans says it's cultivating a community.

(Image credit: Arturo Holmes)

• Another rumour suggests the MacBook Pro OLED is arriving in late 2026
• We've again been told that Samsung Display will manufacture the screen
• This is one of the more consistent MacBook rumors, with doubt having crept into other theories

Yet another rumor indicates that Apple is set to release a MacBook Pro with an OLED display later in 2026.

MacRumors spotted the report from Dealsite.co.kr (a Korean website), which claims that Samsung Display is going to be the only supplier of these OLED screens for an Apple MacBook that'll debut late in 2026.

We're told that Samsung's Gen 8.6 OLED assembly lines are easily able to meet the demand Apple will require for OLED panels in its MacBook Pros. And that Samsung's investment in this production capability allows for a suitably attractive manufacturing cost when it comes to that all-important bill-of-materials for the MacBook.

Obviously, we need to be careful around any rumor, but this isn't the first time we've heard Samsung's name mentioned as the maker of the MacBook's OLED screen.

In March 2025, well-known Apple leaker Mark Gurman predicted that the big change for the MacBook Pro won't be coming until late in 2026 - with a major redesign centering on a Samsung 'tandem' OLED (two panels squished together, as it were, to allow for better brightness and power efficiency), as well as making the laptop thinner.

Furthermore, Apple may trade out the 'notch' in the screen for a 'hole cut' webcam.

Analysis: Shifting timeframes, perhaps - but there's one constant

(Image credit: Future)

This year's MacBook Pro will supposedly be a minor upgrade - if indeed the notebook refresh even arrives in 2025, as another (very recent) piece of speculation from Gurman suggests it has been delayed to early 2026. This will be the MacBook Pro M5, and the OLED model will, in theory, come late in 2026 with the M6 chip onboard.

Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt, as that would be rather unusual in terms of launch timing for Apple - but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

In short, the rumor mill has got somewhat confused about exactly what Apple's MacBook plans are in terms of launch dates - perhaps because the company is tinkering with those plans and moving timeframes internally.

Whatever the case, one rumor has remained fairly constant, which is that the MacBook Pro is going to get OLED first, and this will happen late in 2026 - with Samsung now consistently being mentioned as the manufacturer of the screen.

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ChatGPT's GPT-5 brain trainslpant marks a turning point in the steady march toward General Artificial Intelligence. With GPT-5 models, ChatGPT, from free to Pro, gets more personal, reliable, accurate, capable, proactive, and productive. It's even more ready than ever to engage with you on health issues.

For those who've been following along for the three years since OpenAI launched ChatGPT, these updates might not suprise you but even those most familair with ChatGPT might feel a little bit like the AI train is getting away from us, speeding to an unknown destination, and in a way, those who will be most affected by the coming AI wave are the youngest among us, specifically, your children.

Maybe you don't have kids, but I bet you know someone who does, or maybe you're a teacher dealing with children every day. Children's lives are already surrounded by AI, and it's likely some are using it at school, at home, for fun, and even as a surrogate friend.

It's time, though, you had The Talk. That's right, talk with your kids about AI and its place in the world and, especially, their lives.

I suggest you frame it this way:

AI is not alive

GPT-5 seriously levels up ChatGPT's conversational capabilities in both text and live conversations. It can seem alive and human. The algorithm and models are more complex than ever, but they do not yet match the complexity of the human brain (even if GPT-5 is a big step on the road to Artificial General Intelligence), though they can sometimes outthink you.

Children, in particular, will probably love chatting with GPT-5's more customizable voices. That's why it's so crucial they understand what they're really talking to – a cloud-based system hosted on servers possibly thousands of miles away. There's no one on the other side chatting with them.

AI is just a tool

Since the dawn of the digital age, new technologies have often seemed like magic. We could do things we never did before, like create art on a screen, manage vast amounts of data in spreadsheets, and build programs that could create rich, open worlds in video games.

AI is on that path, but far more powerful. However, its capabilities should not be viewed as the end product, but rather as the tools and skills that help your children achieve their goals, whether it's hearing a funny story or completing a class project.

It's also a tool in that it only works as well as you understand how to use it. ChatGPT's success, even running GPT-5, depends largely on the quality of your prompt.

You'll want to show your kids how to create the best prompts and then follow-ups that ensure GPT-5 delivers the right response.

AI is powerful but not perfect

Even though GPT-5 promises to cut down on hallucinations, that does not mean it's error-free. Explain to your children how they cannot take ChatGPT's "facts" as pure truth without double-checking them.

That might be a tough lesson for your kids (and maybe you) who will think the work is done and want to return to playtime. You need to walk them through the process of fact-checking ChatGPT (and other AIs).

AI should be treated as a work partner, not a servant

GPT-5 can now, based on a prompt, code and build entire apps and websites. That's attractive to adults and children who might be looking to level up their coding skills but don't want to spend the time learning how to code.

It's worth reminding your kids that ChatGPT with GPT-5 is best used as a programming, development, and design partner. You provide the idea and then work with the AI to shape the final outcome.

Explain the concept of collaboration with your kids and why that's valuable. Otherwise, they might supply one prompt, get an OK result, and assume they now know how to code and that the result is the best they and ChatGPT can do.

The less your kids engage with the AI coding output, the less they'll understand about application development.

AI isn't your doctor

There is a strong focus in GPT-5 on health, helping you figure out what a symptom might mean or even the right questions to ask your doctors. Kids will surely try asking ChatGPT some health-related questions about bumps, bruises, aches, pains, and even odd symptoms. However, they need to understand that the best place to start addressing these concerns is with their parents, who will likely take them to the doctor.

Look, I'm sure ChatGPT, especially with the GPT-5 upgrade, can help parents understand medical test results, but as OpenAI wrote in its release on the update: "Important note: ChatGPT does not replace a medical professional. "

The message to your kids is that human professionals are no so easily replaced.

AI isn't your friend

This is one of the greatest concerns when it comes to AI, and I'm glad that GPT-5 is adding more guardrails to ensure that conversations do not go to dangerous places, and the recent upgrades added to impose pauses in challenging (perhaps overly emotional) conversations.

Even so, your kids are probably already talking to and sharing with ChatGPT and other AIs. There is an epidemic of loneliness, and some kids may see ChatGPT's live voice mode as a friend. It's your job to remind them it's not, and to insert yourself between them and AIs.

AI together

This leads me to my final tip, which is to do AI with your children.

Think of AI like any emerging technology, from PCs to CD-ROMs to the Internet to social media. None of these tasks should ever have been undertaken by kids alone. Parents shouldn't act as if AI is not of interest to them and, therefore, not part of their job as a parent.

If your kids are using AI, you should be sitting next to them, exploring and learning together. Be as comfortable and conversant as they will become with AI.

Follow these steps, and you and your whole family will be ready for ChatGPT, even with the introduction of the powerful GPT-5 model.

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• Corsair workstation 300 puts 128GB RAM into a chassis smaller than a shoebox
• Integrated graphics may hold it back from real-time rendering or GPU-accelerated production work
• 50 TOPS NPU hints at serious AI muscle inside a deceptively small package

Corsair has introduced the AI Workstation 300, a mini PC built around AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, positioning it as a high-performance workstation PC for professionals and AI developers.

At under $2000, it sits in a competitive space where expectations are high for both raw performance and long-term reliability.

This unit marks the 13th system to feature the Ryzen AI Max+ 365 series chip, following other systems like HP Z2 Mini G1a and GMKTEC EVO-X2, suggesting growing interest in AMD's latest integrated AI silicon.

Small form factor delivers big on memory, storage, and AI hardware

This system comes in a 4.4L form factor, which is considered portable relative to other Strix Halo devices in the market.

It's small size packs 128GB of LPDDR5X memory, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and the Radeon 8060S integrated graphics with support for up to 96GB of dynamic VRAM.

While these specs appear promising on paper, the use of integrated graphics for a workstation PC raises questions about its capability for GPU-heavy tasks such as real-time 3D rendering or high-resolution video editing.

Developers and engineers focused on AI inference or code-based workflows may find it adequate, but creative professionals relying on discrete GPU acceleration might be more cautious.

Corsair claims the device is ready for local LLMs, AI-assisted development, and creative work, backed by a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of up to 50 TOPS of acceleration.

The included Corsair AI Software Suite improves its AI capacity, but proprietary toolkits often face adoption and compatibility hurdles outside tightly controlled workflows.

Thermal management is handled by a dual-fan cooling system, which could help maintain stable performance in a tightly packed chassis.

The 350W power supply also seems sufficient for its components, though it leaves little headroom for future expansion.

The I/O selection is more extensive than one might expect from a system of this size, including USB 4.0, an SD card reader, and 2.5G Ethernet.

This device, which comes with a two-year warranty and lifetime tech support, is currently on pre-order and will commence shipping in September 2025.

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• Peacock has dropped a first trailer for The Paper
• This is our first look at Oscar Nuñez's comeback
• The anticipated The Office spin-off will be streaming from September 4

The Paper finally has a trailer and this is a huge moment for fans of The Office. We've all been nervously waiting for our first proper look at the Peacock series and honestly, it looks good.

Even though I already knew about Oscar Nuñez's comeback as his accountant character, also named Oscar, it was still exciting seeing him alongside the brand new cast, with a very funny first appearance.

We've seen some bad The Office reboots lately, like The Office Australia, but right now I'm cautiously optimistic about what The Paper will bring to the table.

Take a look for yourself below, the wait is over!

When is The Paper coming to Peacock?

(Image credit: Peacock)

We don't have long to wait as the first four episodes of The Paper are dropping on September 4, which is great news for fans wanting to jump right in and binge-watch.

The series will then have a weekly release schedule with two episodes arriving until the season finale on September 25.

There's a new cast here made up of Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, with the only returning member being Oscar Nuñez.

Right now, we don't know about The Paper's future, but we do know this is an all-new story set in the same universe as The Office, its iconic predecessor.

This time, the documentary crew has chosen to focus on the Toledo Truth Teller newspaper, which is on the decline. A plot has teased that we should expect "all the dysfunction, awkwardness, and heart" that we saw in The Office.

Only time will tell, but this first trailer is a very good start.

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• OpenAI chose Narvik for its low-cost hydropower, skipping traditional European data hubs entirely
• Stargate Norway project will use 100,000 Nvidia GPUs in a massive, renewable-powered setup
• $1 billion data center promises 520MW capacity and state-of-the-art direct-to-chip cooling systems

OpenAI’s European ambitions have taken a surprising turn with the launch of its Project Stargate in Northern Norway.

Instead of traditional tech hubs like Germany, France, or the UK, OpenAI has chosen Narvik, a remote but energy-rich location, to host what could become one of Europe’s largest AI infrastructure facilities.

The site, part of OpenAI’s “OpenAI for Countries” initiative, aims to deliver massive compute resources powered by 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs by the end of 2026.

A billion-dollar joint venture with deep industrial roots

Stargate Norway is a joint venture between AI infrastructure firm Nscale and Norwegian industrial heavyweight Aker, both of whom have committed substantial funding to its development.

"Announcing Stargate Norway and delivering one of the first European AI Gigafactory to market is a strategic milestone for the region and boosts its role in the global AI landscape," said Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale.

The initial 20MW phase alone is backed by roughly $1 billion investment, with long-term plans to scale capacity to 520MW.

The site will rely entirely on renewable energy and feature advanced cooling systems, including closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, with excess heat reportedly reused to support local low-carbon projects.

The rationale for choosing Narvik over more central locations appears rooted in cost and resource availability.

The region offers low electricity prices, abundant hydropower, and a naturally cool climate.

"Norway has a proud history of turning clean, renewable energy into industrial value, powering global industries like aluminium and fertilizer… Northern Norway, with its surplus of clean energy, available capacity, and industrial readiness, is the ideal launchpad for this transformation," said Øyvind Eriksen, President & CEO of Aker.

Narvik’s relatively underutilized transmission capacity also makes it viable for heavy compute loads, something many traditional European data hubs struggle to accommodate.

OpenAI is positioning itself as the initial consumer of the compute power, but surplus capacity is expected to be distributed across the UK, Nordic countries, and Northern Europe.

From a hardware perspective, the planned installation of 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs positions Stargate Norway as a serious contender in high-performance computing.

That kind of scale will require robust CPU support and a data center optimized not only for GPU-intensive workloads but also for fast CPU handling and storage throughput.

"Europe needs more compute to realize the full potential of AI for all Europeans — from developers and researchers to startups and scientists — and we want to help make that happen," said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

As data centers evolve into strategic assets, the decision to place one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities in Narvik marks a bold shift, one that could reshape the geographic balance of AI development in Europe.

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Papier photo book review: specs

Layouts

22

Cover options

Softback Die Cut | Hardback | Foiled Hardback | Fabric

Paper options

Gloss

Sizes

Landscape (2 options) | Square (3 options) | Portrait (1 option)

App

No

Sustainable practice

FSC-certified

Standard delivery

2 business days

(Image credit: Future)Papier photo book: review

Papier's photo books are an affordable way to bring together your favorite snaps, whether you’re looking for an affordable gift or want to log your latest holiday.

They’re available in a wide array of sizes, from a nifty 6.5 x 6.5 inches (16.5 x 16.5cm) to a whopping 12 x 9.4 inches (30.6 x 23.9cm). Papier also offers a good array of cover options, including those with gold foil or die-cut windows showing a photo inside. So what’s it like to use the service to design a photo book?

Well, when using Papier to try to recreate TechRadar’s predefined photo book template, I quickly ran into the platform’s limitations. First of all, Papier doesn’t let you make any alterations to its layouts: there’s no way to add new image or text frames, so I wasn't able to add all the images I wanted to a page.

You get just the basics here. For example, if you're looking for the customizable shapes that some platforms offer, you'll be disappointed – and, unlike many of the best photo book services, Papier doesn’t even offer drag-and-drop clip art to add flourishes such as script or illustrations to your photo book.

Customizability in any form is pretty limited, with all the elements on the page pretty much nailed down. There were times I wanted to shift an image frame from the right of a page to the left, or alter the alignment of text, only to discover this wasn't possible.

You can at least change the size of type, but this is limited to larger text fields only; conversely, captions are restricted to just font or style changes. All in all, as someone who likes to insert some originality into the things I create, I found this limiting.

(Image credit: Future)

Surely, for those who have neither the time, nor the desire, to make an endless series of tweaks to layouts, Papier's à la carte selection of templates is just the ticket? Well, I’m not sure it’s getting any Michelin stars there, either.

Yes, Papier offers a range of drag-and-drop templates; but there are only 22 options to choose from, compared to Printerpix's 163 layouts and Mixbook's super generous 891 templates. Want a photo covering half the page with text beneath? Tough. Looking for three images laid out horizontally? Hard luck. There are some creative options available – for example, the one that makes your snap look like it was taken with a Polaroid – but they’re few and far between.

The inclusion of different backgrounds is a nice touch – but, again, there are so few options available that you’re unlikely to get much mileage out of them. Your choices are white, a creamy linen color, almond and a dusty powder blue, or two thicknesses of vertical stripe. I rarely found they complemented individual photos or each other enough to make them worth using.

Image 1 of 4

A selection of the cover templates available. (Image credit: Future / Papier)Image 2 of 4

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)Image 3 of 4

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)Image 4 of 4

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)

By contrast, the cover options Papier offers have recently been extended. There are now 90 different cover templates, which is actually pretty impressive, and there are some really eye-catching designs – including fancy cover treatments such as golden foils and cut-out shapes. With fully editable text, they’re also easy to adapt to your theme, providing plenty of really good cover options.

Once you’ve selected your preferred layouts, you may still encounter some detours and dead-ends along your design journey, with Papier offering some odd and irritating quirks.

The most baffling is its insistence on changing layouts to match your image – even when I’d selected my preferred layout, adding an image would revert it back to the default, meaning you need to always select images first. Further aggravation was caused as a result of Papier's drag-and-drop function for adding photos, while layouts have to be clicked on instead. As a result, the design process proved one of frustration, and time-consuming, too: every time I mixed up which gesture I was supposed to use, I’d lose the rhythm entirely.

No, this isn't an optical illusion. The guinea pig on the left really is bigger than the one of the right. Not sure why. (Image credit: Future / Papier Photo Book)

And that isn't the only wrinkle I found when trying to replicate our sample photo book. For example, Papier doesn’t offer any way to run an image across a double-page spread. While you can usually tackle such a limitation by splitting a photo between two separate frames, Papier has turned this into a frustrating process of trial and error.

Bafflingly, its interface enlarges the off-hand page, making it a larger size to the one you’re currently working on. This makes it almost impossible to ensure the contents of two separate photo frames align. I can't see that there's any benefit to this, so you have to wonder why it was designed that way.

However, while some of Papier’s design choices might have left me baffled, it may not be a concern if the quality of the printed book is high. And here the news is broadly positive. All of our photos came out looking crisp and detailed, with relatively accurate color. There was the occasional suggestion of noise or posterization, with slight color banding perceptible. But this has been apparent with even our highest-rated photo books, so I’m not going to criticize Papier too harshly on this front.

Comparing our Papier photo book side by side with some of our previous samples, it mostly holds its own. Even sat next to the 4.5-star Blurb photo book, Papier's example doesn’t look worlds apart – personally, the slightly better contrast and deeper blacks of the Blurb win out in my eyes, but I don’t feel anyone would be disappointed by the image quality delivered by Papier.

This also extends to the tactile feel of Papier’s photo books. Comparing the quality of its paper stock and covers to its nearest rivals, there didn't seem to be much between them – pages in Papier's photo book feel smooth and substantial. While Papier doesn’t exceed what other services offer, neither does it fall short – which is especially important if you’re considering this for a gift.

Ultimately, if you’re happy to design a photo book within Papier's super-limited format, then you can at least rest assured that you'll get a super-polished product in return. However, if you're someone who likes a bit more creative flexibility, you'll find Papier's service limiting. And, fundamentally, there are other options out there among the best photo book services that offer similarly straightforward, stellar design while providing radically more off-the-rack solutions.

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Papier photo book?Scorecard

Attributes

Rating

Notes

Ease of use

Okay, it’s not riddled with bugs – but Papier’s platform displays some quirks, such as shifting page sizes and similar actions behaving in different ways.

3.5 / 5

Editing tools

Papier’s editing tools are limited. You can't add elements, nor make significant edits, plus the number of layouts offered is dwarfed by most other services.

2.5 / 5

Print quality

Images look crisp and high quality. There’s some color banding present, and a few other services manage better contrast. But overall, it manages vibrant, detailed photos.

4 / 5

Value

At £36.36 (around $48) for 30 pages, our test photo book was a bargain. It has since increased back to its £50 (around $67) list price, but this shows you can get some great deals on Papier’s books.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want an attractively printed photo book without spending much moolah
Papier’s printed products offer decent color reproduction, few errors and, while some rivals manage marginally better contrast, it’s good quality for the price.

You want straightforward, by-the-numbers design
If you want an effective, finished photo book without having to reinvent the wheel, Papier will absolutely get you there.

Don't buy it if...

You want to stamp your own mark on your photo book
Papier’s platform offers almost zero customization and its layouts are limited. So if you hate the idea of your photo book looking much the same as everyone else’s, maybe give it a miss.

You find software quirks frustrating
While Papier’s platform is simple to use, it’s not completely fault-free – odd design choices here and there can occasionally introduce frictions.

Front to back: Blurb vs Papier (Image credit: Future)Papier photo book review: also consider

Blurb
In my opinion, Blurb is the undisputed photo book champ. It offers staggering flexibility, allowing you to use professional design tools or its dedicated app – the latter of which offers you surgical control over every element of your book. And if you’re not confident starting from scratch, it also offers a decent 188 templates that you can use as they are, or tweak to your heart's content. Add to this very reasonable prices and its hard package to argue with. Read our full Blurb photo book review.

Mixbook
Like Papier, Mixbook offers super easy-to-use design tools that don’t require any specialist design expertise, and seriously cheap prices. Unlike Papier, it offers a truly absurd range of templates and layouts, totalling 891. It’s well worth checking out, especially if you don’t mind the fact its colors occasionally look slightly artificially boosted. Read our full Mixbook photo book review.

Front to back: Papier vs Blurb (Image credit: Future)How I tested the Papier photo book service

• Tried to accurately reproduce the TechRadar photo book template
• Explored all of its layout and cover options
• Utilized over 10 years working in print and design

TechRadar’s process for testing photo book services requires us to try to reproduce a standardized template, so my first step was trying to recreate it as accurately as possible. This involved reproducing photo frames and text as closely as the photo book service’s templates allowed. I also spent several hours playing with Papier’s templates to explore the various options available.

Once I received our Papier photo book, I first checked it for damage and marks from the printing process. I then compared it side-by-side with some of the other photo books we’ve reviewed, to assess how Papier’s printed products fare in terms of resolution and color accuracy, as well as the quality of its paper stock and construction.

Not only did I establish the testing process for photo books on TechRadar, but I spent many years working as a print editor. As a result, I have gained a lot of direct experience working with images for print and carrying out quality control on printed products to ensure they accurately reflected the source imagery and designs on screen.

• First tested: August 2025
• Read more about how we test