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Polar Street X: One minute review

Polar has released its latest sports smartwatch, the Street X. With a brief to create an ‘urban sports watch for those who live, work, and train in the city’, Polar has produced a chunky G-Shock-style watch that is tough, lightweight, and ‘always ready’ to go.

The rather basic design and poorly implemented user interface stand in contrast to gorgeous and sleek alternatives such as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. The Street X might offer a 50m water rating and military-grade durability (perhaps a little redundant for city dwellers), but this comes at the expense of a design that is properly thought through and finessed.

Thankfully, there are no issues with the bright 1.28-inch AMOLED display that's covered by tough Gorilla Glass or, indeed, GPS accuracy that keeps up with more expensive smartwatches, including the Garmin Tactix 8.

Solid performance continues with mapping tools that allow for route navigation and mixed-terrain training, although GPS tracking often takes upwards of a minute to lock in. In a day and age when we expect instant results, this is frustrating.

Based on our experience with the Street X, we don’t expect it to feature in our best smartwatches guide. Accuracy aside, its running features can’t keep up with Garmin’s dedicated offerings.

Polar Street X: Specifications

Component

Polar Street X

Price

$249.99 USD / £219 UK / $429.99 AUS

Dimensions

45mm wide, 13.8mm thick

Weight

48g with strap. 28g without strap

Case/bezel

Bio-based plastic

Display

1.28-inch AMOLED Gorilla Glass

GPS

GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS

Battery life

Performance training mode: 43 hours. Smartwatch mode: 10 days

Connection

Bluetooth® LE

Water resistance

WR50

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Polar Street X: Price and availability

• $249.99 USD / £219 UK / $429.99 AUS
• Pricier than expected, given the materials and specs
• Cheaper alternatives exist from more established brands

The Polar Street X sits alongside the Finnish brand’s cheaper Pacer range, rather than the more expensive Vantage and Grit series’. . At $249.99 USD / £219 UK / $429.99 AUS, it is significantly cheaper than the Pacer Pro and only a little more expensive than the Pacer. The watch ships in three different colors: Night Black, Snow White, Forest Green.

One of the best alternatives, also boasting an AMOLED display and onboard GPS, is the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. Priced at $169.99 / £169.90, we were so impressed that we awarded it an incredible five-stars.

If you’re a Garmin fan, then the slightly pricier Forerunner 170 at $299 / £259.99 / AU$479 is worth a look. We found it to be “extremely accurate” during treadmill tests “despite packing Garmin's older heart rate sensing technology.”

• Value score 4/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Polar Street X: Design

• Chunky shockproof design with a budget feel
• Fiddly strap but a comfortable fit
• Very poorly designed user interface

The Polar Street X boasts a classic shockproof design with a five-button configuration similar to the best Garmin watches. They are chunky and clunky, and accessing the top left side button to go backwards through menus is incredibly awkward for a right-hander wearing the watch on the left wrist. I also wasn’t a fan of the long button presses that were required to avoid accidental presses. In practice, these were a second or two longer than they needed to be.

Both the case and bezel are made of ‘bio-based plastic’, which means renewable biomass sources were used rather than petrochemical alternatives. It’s also robust enough to protect the internal components from damage even when dropped. Durability credentials include a 50 meter water resistance rating and MIL-STD-810H testing that demonstrates the Street X’s ability to withstand high and low temperatures, rain, sand, dust, and vibration.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

The AMOLED display isn’t huge; in fact, the 1.28-inch diameter felt a little restrictive, especially considering the poorly designed user interface, which fails to take advantage of the full screen. Menu items are also curved at the bottom of the interface, but they don’t follow the circle shape of the case, which is rather jarring.

The 416px resolution delivers a clear image and is protected by Gorilla Glass, which is ideal for users who are prone to dropping their smartwatches. The screen is touch-enabled, features ‘always on’ functionality, and features an ambient light sensor.

I often think one of the most overlooked elements of a smartwatch design is the strap, and Polar has fallen foul of that too. The strap includes an awkward catch design, which I found incredibly fiddly. That said, once the watch is securely positioned on the wrist, it is comfortable to wear, even for long periods of time.

• Design Score: 3/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Polar Street X: Features

• Extensive training and health tracking
• Navigation features including route guidance
• Smart features and utilities for a broader smartwatch experience

At the heart of the Polar Street X is a set of tracking tools for training, including Training Load Pro for making sure your body doesn’t become overstrained. For runners there is a Running Program feature where you can select one of four running events: 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon, and get a personalized, adaptive training plan that fits you and your goals. This is a simple but well-implemented solution for keeping you on track.

The Street X offers all the health tracking that you would expect, including continuous heart rate, step count, and calorie burn. Beyond this, Polar has packed the watch with a skin temperature sensor for early indication of fever, inflammation, or impending illness. Polar also says that “women can use these skin temperature insights to better understand which phase of their menstrual cycle they are in." Skin temperature sensors are common in wearables now, as devices like the Apple Watch and Oura Ring use them to calculate cycle tracking and help predict illness.

The features that set the Street X apart from super-budget alternatives relate to mapping and navigation. With built-in GPS, users get the benefit of route guidance, breadcrumb trails, and elevation profiles. The ability to return back to your start point either by the same route or beeline means you can pick whichever option suits you when you get to your end point. There’s also a built-in LED flashlight, altimeter, and compass.

• Features Score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Polar Street X: Performance

• Accurate GPS, but signal lock-on takes far too long
• Extensive metrics help athletes improve
• Training features are nice to have, but serious runners will want more

My experience of the Street X smartwatch was a bit of a mixed bag, with some elements performing brilliantly but others struggling. There’s no denying that it offers a solid set of features that go beyond some budget alternatives, but the implementation of these is far from perfect.

Take the onboard GPS as an example. Given the price, I wasn’t expecting incredible things, but having to regularly wait over a minute for a GPS lock left me underwhelmed. That said, once the GPS signal was found, it was as accurate as one of our trusty benchmarks, the Garmin Tactix 8.

The watch offers over 170 sports and activities as well as the ability to manage training loads, strain and tolerance. I primarily used running, cycling, and walking modes, and even though all the required data and functionality were present, I found it difficult to navigate around, even after a number of times using the watch.

The Street X features basic maps with a range of navigation tools. I was impressed by the inclusion of ‘Back to Start’ navigation with the ability to choose either ‘Via Beeline’ or ‘Via Same Route’. The maps clearly display the necessary turn-by-turn directions, so getting lost is next to impossible.

After exercising, an extensive set of metrics, including energy used, pace, cadence, and speed zones, can be viewed on the watch, although they are far easier to digest in the Polar Flow app. It’s also possible to choose from a drop-down list of options to record how the exercise felt, but you can only add more detailed notes using the app.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

The Street X offers optical heart rate measurements as well as heart rate zones and heart rate variability. Heart rate readings matched my dedicated heart rate tracker.

In terms of smart features, the Street X packs everything you’d expect from a mid-range smartwatch, including notifications, weather, Find My Phone, and music controls, although for the last, it is only controlling your phone’s music, not anything loaded on or streaming from the watch itself. The only smart feature I was left craving was the ability to reply to texts.

The watch has a built-in LED flashlight, which I used to navigate around my poorly lit neighbourhood, although it wasn’t really bright enough to light my way. And in reality it was no stronger than the torch on my iPhone, so the watch’s flashlight was surplus to my requirements.

The battery performance sits at 10 days for general use and 43 hours for constant GPS. This is reasonable for a sub-$250/£250 smartwatch. Recharging from empty to full took me 70 minutes, although 0-50% took only 30 minutes.

• Performance score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Polar Street X: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

A little overpriced compared to the competition but still relatively good value.

4/5

Design

A G-Shock-esque design with robust credentials. Unfortunately, it lacks finesse.

3/5

Features

A solid set of features including dedicated running tools and onboard GPS

4/5

Performance

GPS accuracy is a standout, but signal lock-on takes longer than it should.

4/5

Polar Street X: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You’re looking for an affordable and accurate GPS tracker

For the price, I was impressed by the results.

You like shockproof design and don’t mind that plastic feel

Despite feeling cheap, it’s both solid and robust.

Don't buy it if...

You care about well-implemented design

The Polar Street X interface lacks finesse.

You like sleek smartwatches that look great on the wrist

With cheap materials and a basic design, far more attractive alternatives exist.

Also consider

Amazfit Active 3 Premium

A cheaper alternative but still with fantastic specs, including a bright AMOLED display and GPS tracking.

Read more about the Amazfit Active 3 PremiumView Deal

Garmin Forerunner 170

Offering accurate measurements, the Forerunner 165 is a highly rated, budget-friendly solution for runners who love Garmin smartwatches.

Garmin Forerunner 170 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Polar Street X

I wore the Polar Street X smartwatch almost continuously for a month. During this time I went on a number of runs, cycles, and walks while comparing the unit to the Garmin Tactix 8 and Huawei Watch Ultimate 2. I also compared the heart rate measurements with a dedicated heart rate tracker.

First reviewed: September 2026

The sudden change was precipitated because of Chinese displeasure over one document that the U.S. had planned to show.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

This is everything announced at Tuesday’s OpenAI DevDay. And you don’t have to be a developer to use these new tools.

Origin Genomics aims to prove that the potential benefits of its technology for editing disease-causing genes in human embryos outweigh the risks.

(Image credit: Mackenzie Calle for NPR)

The update patches an issue that might lead to a “sophisticated attack,” according to Apple.

• OpenAI has been forced to pause its GPT-6.1 rollout amid safety concerns
• Safety head reveals it failed on two separate fronts
• AI developers are calling for more government involvement

OpenAI has reportedly cancelled its planned public release of the upcoming GPT-6.1 Astra model after internal testing revealed potential safety issues.

TheWall Street Journal claims the model was due to be released within Codex and ChatGPT as soon as October 2026, but the company's safety head, Saachi Jain, explained that 6.1 "didn't quite meet the bar in terms of staying within scope and authorization, and how it communicates back to the user about the type of work it's done."

A modified version of GPT-6.1, or at least a development on GPT-6, will likely still release pretty soon, but the temporary pause highlights ongoing issues that all AI developers seem to be facing with increasingly sophisticated models.

OpenAI halts GPT-6.1 Astra rollout

The WSJ reporting reveals that the model actually failed on two separate instances – firstly, it continued working on a task beyond what a user had initially requested, sometimes taking actions without user permission.

Secondly, 6.1 Astra also failed on the transparency front, apparently showing more deceptive behavior than GPT-6 by obscuring from the user what it had actually done and implying that it had or had not completed certain tasks.

"We want to make sure our model development is safe no matter whether that's in the company, or when we ship it to users," Jain added, citing the company's "extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment."

The news comes just days after ChatGPT maker OpenAI said in an X post that it would be "conducting a much broader review of actions taken by [its] models during training and evaluation," following a Hugging Face incident.

CEO Sam Altman also asserted that the company is conducting an "extensive and ongoing review."

More broadly, OpenAI and fellow AI developers have also been calling on governments to have more oversight over model releases in order to ensure maximum safety. For now, global ongoings are leading companies to battle it out in a bid to release best-in-class models, but with greater oversight and limitations, they would be freer to slow down and focus more on safety.

"For anything regarding safety and alignment, there’s a trade off. You really do need to find what’s the right line between staying within scope, but also avoiding laziness in terms of how the model actually pursues tasks even when it hits friction," Jain added.

The MacArthur Foundation has just announced its latest batch of 20 fellows. Among the recipients of the $800,000 "no-strings-attached" fellowships are researchers who were recognized for their work at the intersection of science and justice.

(Image credit: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

A historian who studies wage gaps between races and a saxophonist whose live performances include a chef are among the latest recipients of the philanthropic group's annual, no-strings-attached $800,000 grants.

Harry Potter Lego might be the ultimate autumn activity. And if you're looking for an excuse to expand your collection, you got it: there are tons of discounts on a whole range of kits at Amazon right now. It's Amazon Prime Day next week (6-7 October), but these are early deals, and you don't need to be a Prime subscriber to take advantage of them.

If you want to push the boat out, there are discounts on big, pricey sets that'll occupy you for a weekend (depending on your speed-building skills), and simpler, cheap sets that'd make great stocking stuffers (sorry, I know it's too soon). My favorite is the Quality Quidditch Supplies & Ice Cream Parlour Set, with 44% off. It features two charming shops from Diagon Alley — the fact that it's split into two makes it ideal for a sociable Lego session with a friend. I'm also a big fan of the full Diagon Alley set, a relatively new kit that has 24% off right now. It shrinks down the entire street to micro-scale and comes with 12 microfigures to populate it.

Not taken with those? There's something for every Potter-head — scroll down for all of my top picks.

Accio Lego deals!

Lego Harry Potter Quality Quidditch Supplies & Ice Cream Parlour 76452

Lego Harry Potter Enchanted Flying Ford Anglia 76470

Lego Harry Potter Luna Lovegood's House 76467

Lego Harry Potter Hagrid & Harry's Privet Drive Escape 76459

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle and Grounds 76419

Lego Harry Potter Philosopher's Stone – Collectors' Edition 76466

Lego Harry Potter Cauldron: Secret Potions Classroom 76464

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: Hospital Wing 76463

Lego Harry Potter Cornish Pixie 76461

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: Sorting Hat Ceremony 76460

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts House Crest 76462

Lego Harry Potter Dobby the Free Elf 76469

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: East Wing 76473

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Herbology Plants 76474

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: the Main Tower 76454

Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge's Visit 76451

Lego Harry Potter Book Nook: Hogwarts Express 76450

Lego Harry Potter Chomping Monster Book of Monsters 76449

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: Herbology Class 76445

Lego Harry Potter Knockturn Alley Wizarding Shops 76471

Lego Harry Potter Knight Bus Adventure 76446

Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: Charms Class 76442

Lego Harry Potter Diagon Alley Wizarding Shops 76444

Lego Harry Potter Hagrid & Harry's Motorcycle Ride 76443

Lego Harry Potter Flying Ford Anglia 76424

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2: Two-minute review

I’ve never seen my teenage son more animated about a camera than he was about the Instax Pal 2 — and he’s seen his fair share over the course of my years reviewing gear.

It’s tactile and sensory, with its exaggerated sound effects, clicky winding lever, joystick, dampened dial, and pop-out USB-C connector. For my son, it was like a fidget toy. And I have to confess it was for me too.

The emphasis here is on toy, mind you — he could happily fiddle with the controls for hours without taking a single photo.

Even with my Serious Camera Reviewer hat on, I’m enamored with the Pal 2; it's cute, it's dinky, and there’s enough here to keep my attention.

There's the winding lever that scrolls through the Instax mini, square and wide film formats (or no border at all); the dampened dial for the various picture effects; the joystick that you use to navigate a sub-menu with options for self-timer, flash and display modes, and which you can also press to open the main menu.

Then there’s the cut-out optical viewfinder, and a top-down, 1.3-inch screen for waist-level photography, a red playback button and clear ‘back’ button. Every control is unique, and characterful.

Fujifilm’s design department clearly knows its market — the Pal 2 is latest in a long line of quirky, retro fun models that include the original Pal, the X half and the Instax Mini Evo Cinema.

The camera comes with a selfie prop that angles the camera up when it's rested on a surface, and it's secured by pushing it around the lens. (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

In a way it’s easy to forget that this palm-sized bundle of retro fun is a camera at all; but that's what it is, and it’s one with very basic tech inside: a tiny 1/3.06-inch sensor with 10MP JPEG photos, shot through a 28mm equivalent f/2.2 lens, with an LED flash for close-up low-light shots. There's no video here, just a 10-shot Animation mode.

It’s also Wi-Fi / Bluetooth-equipped, meaning users can wirelessly connect to a smart device and use the Instax Pal app for image uploads and sharing (the Pal app wasn't updated for the Pal 2 at the time of my review), or to one of Fujifilm’s Instax link printers for uploads or direct printing onto Instax film. There’s that pop-out USB-C for charging, too.

But — and it's a big but — it’s very expensive. The Pal 2 is not priced like the toy camera it is.

You can get four Kodak Charmeras for the price of one Instax Pal 2 and have some change left over. Yes, the Pal 2 is more camera than the Charmera in every way, but they are in the same novelty camera category, and the Charmera knows its place better.

Yes, my son loves the Pal 2, but it’s not in pocket-money saving territory, and it would be a stretch as a birthday gift.

It's easy to be won over by the Pal 2 — this is a retro, pocket digital camera with wireless image uploads and Instax printing. But when the Instax Mini Evo costs the same, and that camera has a larger body and screen, and can print images selected from the gallery directly, the Pal 2 feels like a stretch. If its price comes down, like the X half's did (by about 40%), then it might be a different picture.

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 review: Price and release date

The top LCD can display the picture style as if you have a film loaded, or liveview. (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

• Announced in September 2026
• Priced at $169.95 / £149.99 / AU$249
• Available in two colorways; black with silver trim, or white with silver trim

The Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 costs $169.95 / £149.99 / AU$249 and is available in two colorways: black with silver trim, or white with silver trim. It comes with a small rubber selfie stand, which fixes in place by slotting around the lens, and a wrist strap.

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 review: specsFujifilm Instax Pal 2

Type:

Digital compact camera

Lens

28mm f/2.2

Sensor

1/3.06-inch CMOS

Photo resolution:

10MP

Video resolution:

N/A

Storage:

Internal memory up to 100 shots, microSD card slot

Screen:

1.3-inch LCD, 170k dots

Connectivity:

USB-C

Dimensions:

37 x 42 x 92.3mm (excluding projecting parts)

Weight:

3oz / 87g

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 review: DesignTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

• Weighs just 3oz / 87g, fits in a pocket
• Cool retro look and multi-sensory controls
• Twin displays: LCD and cutout optical viewfinder

It might share the name as the original Pal, but the two cameras bear little resemblance to each other. The original Pal’s golf ball-like exterior is cast aside in favor of retro-style, mini Fujifilm camera-like body.

Fujifilm has packed a lot of controls and features into the tiny, palm-sized body, including a cut-out viewfinder, 1.3-inch top LCD, winding lever, on/off dial, a joystick set within another dial, playback and back buttons, a pop-out USB-C, and a tiny selfie mirror, tripod mount, microSD card slot, and LED flash.

Each control has its own distinct character, and it took me no time at all to memorize each one, meaning I could instinctively locate them.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

For the most part, I only found myself scrolling through the Instax film types (glorified aspect ratios) using the winding lever, and using the six picture styles, and the flash settings, self-timer and display mode options in the sub-menu. There’s little else to experiment with, besides perhaps exposure compensation, which is buried in the menu.

You can choose whether to display the selected picture style on the LCD display (kind of like a film roll), or the live view, when composing images. I'd hardly say composition is critical though, because the lens is a wide-angle 28mm optic, meaning you can blindly point the Pal 2 in the direction of your subject and it will be in the shot.

There’s plenty to like about the design of the Instax Pal 2. It’s a highly enjoyable camera to play around with, and it earned plenty of admiring comments from other tech journalists when I was attending another event.

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 review: Performance

The Animation mode takes up to 10 photos consecutive and compile them into an animation (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

• Wide-angle 28mm f/2.2 lens
• 10MP JPEGs, plus a 10-shot animation mode
• Bluetooth / Wi-Fi equipped for wireless image uploads and printing

The charming, tactile and dinky design is the major appeal of the Instax Pal 2 — you’re not buying it for its technically impressive images and high-speed performance.

Take the JPEG-only photos (up to 10MP, depending on the aspect ratio) from the tiny 1/3.06-inch sensor and 28mm f/2.2 lens. There's no getting away from the fact they're lo-fi images; they're Better than the Charmera’s, but no match for your phone’s.

Don’t expect much detail in highlights, either — they blow out with the camera’s exposure metering left to its own devices, although ±2EV exposure compensation is buried in the camera’s main menu, so it is possibly to go for dark, moody photos too.

The six color profiles are all towards the vintage end of the scale, with options for Soft, Muted, Cool, Flare, Mono and Pure (see below). If you want a punchy, vivid setting, you’re out of luck. The picture style and aspect ratio used at the time of shooting, whether that’s mini, square, wide or no border, are locked in.

Technically this is a photo-only camera, but if you turn the winding lever clockwise (instead of counter clockwise for the Instax film borders), you can enter a burst-shooting 'animation' mode that takes up to 10 photos in a sequence and then pieces them into a single stop motion-like clip (see above).

'Flare' picture styleTim Coleman'Mono' picture styleTim Coleman'Pure' picture styleTim Coleman'Cool' picture styleTim Coleman'Muted' picture styleTim Coleman'Soft' picture styleTim Coleman

There’s a built-in battery that's recharged through USB-C — and you’ll need to do that regularly, because battery life is poor. A combination of me playing around with the camera settings and taking around 50-75 images saw battery life depleted by three quarters, so you’ll struggle to get through a full day of shooting.

Shutter lag — the time between pressing the shutter button and the camera actually taking the photo — can get really frustrating, and it’s made worse with the LED flash active. You'll need to hold the camera steady after pressing the shutter, and hope that your subject stays still, otherwise you'll miss the shot

I had the flash mostly set to auto, and it mostly only fired in low light — this isn’t a flash-on for every photo setup, as is the case with some Instax mini cameras.

As with any wide-angle camera, but especially so with the Pal 2's small picture size, it pays to have your subject close and filling the frame to maximize the impact of the photo — this isn’t a camera for taking landscape images, in which detail will be lost.

A curiosity is that the camera limits users to 100 shots between connections to the Pal app, whether that's shooting onto the internal memory or the microSD card. This isn't an issue when shooting onto the internal memory, since there's only space for 100 shots, but I found it a frustrating and unnecessary restriction when shooting to the card.

The original Instax Pal app is also designed for the Pal 2, but at the time of writing there wasn't an update for the app, so I haven't been able to try it out with the latest camera yet. I'll update this review once I've tried wireless uploads and printing.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanFlare picture styleTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanWith bright daylight, the camera will 'overexpose' without manual interventionTim ColemanSo I dialled in -2EV exposure compensation, which is buried in the camera's menu, for a moody effectTim ColemanTim ColemanShould I buy the Fujifilm Instax Pal 2?Buy it if...

You love fun, tactile, cute cameras
The Pal 2 got lots of admiring looks during my test period, and the multi-sensory controls are super-fun.View Deal

You want an Instax-like experience, but control over what you print
As a digital-only camera, you choose which photos you'd like to print through the app, or via direct wireless connection with a mini Link Instax printer. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You just want a cheap toy camera
At over four times the price of the Kodak Charmera, the Pal 2 is one expensive toy. View Deal

You need a responsive camera
For me, shutter lag was the major drawback of the Pal 2 — there were many occasions when I missed a moment, or the camera shot a photo after I'd moved the camera. View Deal

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 review: also consider

Kodak Charmera

If you simply want a tiny lo-fi camera, and really don’t care about picture quality or app connectivity, the Charmera is a much more affordable alternative.

Read our Kodak Charmera reviewView Deal

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo

Also retro-styled, the Mini Evo is a digital camera with instant printer built in, and is all-round larger, including its screen. It's a similar price to the Instax Pal 2, and so it feels like better value, but it’s not pocketable in the same way.

See our Instax Mini Evo reviewView Deal

How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Pal 2

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

• Fujifilm loaned me the black and silver version of the Instax Pal 2 for three weeks
• I kept the camera with me at all times, and took it to China for a work trip
• I've shot around 150 photos using the various picture styles and aspect ratios (Instax borders)

Instax loaned me the black-with-silver-trim version of the Pal 2 for a few weeks, during which time I’ve kept it on me as an everyday camera, and taken it to China on a work trip.

I’ve used the various picture effects, aspect ratios (Instax film types), the self-timer and the LED flash, and tried the 10-frame animation mode.

At the time of my review, the Instax Pal app wasn't updated for use with the Pal 2 (on Android, at least). I'll update this review once I've paired the camera with the app and used it properly.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

HP OmniBook X 14: Two-minute review

HP’s new OmniBook X 14 sets out to be an ultraportable device that doesn’t skimp on performance, thanks to its slender dimensions and powerful spec.

Its steely gray colorway conveys a simple, minimalist aesthetic that hardly pushes the boat out. This is matched by the lack of accoutrements and branding.

In terms of build quality, though, the OmniBook X shines. It’s an admirable blend of solidity and portability, with its impressively thin dimensions and light weight making it easy to slip into a bag. Its overall construction easily matches up to those of the best laptops.

One disappointing aspect is the port selection. Not only are there not very many, but they have a few design and placement issues that hamper their practicality.

With the Snapdragon X Elite chip installed, my OmniBook X review unit performed well during the tasks I conducted, from working and browsing to 4K streaming and even light gaming. It stays incredibly quiet even when such high demands are made of it, too, and although certain areas heat up, temperatures are far from worrying.

(Image credit: Future)

The 2240 x 1400 display is, as expected, sharp and vibrant, making for a fantastic viewing experience. It can be a little reflective at times, but the brightness levels are usually sufficient to combat the worst of it. The touchscreen is impressively capable too, being responsive and surprisingly smooth to the touch compared to many other laptop examples.

The keys are very light and snappy, as well as forgivingly spaced, which makes the OmniBook X a joy to type on. However, some may bemoan the lack of dedicated navigation keys and a number pad, while the touchpad could’ve been bigger to better facilitate navigation.

Battery life is yet another area where the OmniBook X excels. It managed to last over 28 hours in our test, which is an astonishing performance and puts it top of the league, along with other esteemed endurers, such as the Asus Zenbook A14.

All this excellence comes at a cost, as you may imagine, but compared to others in its class, it represents good value, especially the base model. Naturally, the base model is a weaker machine than the one I tested, but most of the other specs remain the same, making the OmniBook X a good value pick for those after a compact do-it-all laptop.

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starts from £764 (about $1,000 / AU$1,400)
• Available now with various configurations
• Good price for the spec

The OmniBook X starts from £764 and is available now. A variety of AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm processors can be optioned, as well as various RAM and storage sizes, ranging from 16GB to 32GB for the former and 512GB to 1TB for the latter.

This is a good price considering the HP OmniBook X 14’s impressive spec. Another OmniBook, the Aero 7, costs about the same, and is similarly capable in many regards, although its display isn’t quite as sharp and lacks touchscreen functionality.

Another stern rival to the HP OmniBook X 14 is the Asus Zenbook A14, which is similarly priced yet weighs even less. However, it too has a lower resolution and lacks touch input.

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Specs

Base configuration

Review configuration

Price

£764 (about $1,000 / AU$1,400)

TBC

CPU

Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-42-100) (3.4GHz, 8 cores)

Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78-100) (3.4GHz, 12 cores)

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno (integrated)

Qualcomm Adreno (integrated)

RAM

16GB LPDDR5x

16GB LPDDR5x

Storage

512GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD

1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD

Display

14-inch 2.2K (2240 x 1400) LED Touchscreen, IPS, 16:10, 60Hz

14-inch 2.2K (2240 x 1400) LED Touchscreen, IPS, 16:10, 60Hz

Ports and Connectivity

2x USB-C (Power Delivery/ DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x 10Gbps, 1x 40Gbps) 1x USB-A (10Gbps), 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

2x USB-C (Power Delivery/ DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x 10Gbps, 1x 40Gbps) 1x USB-A (10Gbps), 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Battery

59Wh

59Wh

Dimensions

12.32 x 8.8 x 0.56in / 313 x 224 x 14mm

12.32 x 8.8 x 0.56in / 313 x 224 x 14mm

Weight

2.97lbs / 1.35kg

2.97lbs / 1.35kg

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Very thin and light
• Solid build
• Limited ports with some impractical placement

Like many in the sector, the OmniBook X has a smart but rather unremarkable appearance. The dark and dour gray finish certainly doesn’t help matters, and some edges and contours aren’t quite as smooth and sophisticated as they could be, if judged alongside the best MacBooks — the paragon of laptop forms. The rounded corners do at least help to soften this monolithic slab, though.

As with many HP laptops, the OmniBook X is built tremendously well. The materials may not feel state-of-the-art, and the base does have some flex around the keyboard area, but overall it strikes the ideal balance between sturdiness and convenience.

This is largely thanks to its ultra-thin lid and base; I don’t think I’ve seen a laptop body more slender than this. It’s also impressively light, helping the OmniBook X to rival some truly remarkable portable heroes, such as the Asus Zenbook 14.

(Image credit: Future)

However, physical connectivity pays the price for this leanness. There aren’t many ports on the OmniBook X: you get two USB-C ports on the left — both of which support power input external display output — and a USB-A port and a headset jack on the right.

It’s a shame that the USB-C ports aren’t split across both sides, something I usually prefer since it increases versatility for your setup and working environment. Equally impractical is the USB-A port, which utilizes a flip-down flap to fully open, as you more commonly see on laptop Ethernet ports.

I’ve rarely seen this mechanism on a USB port, though, and it merely introduces an element of needless inconvenience; other laptops as thin as the OmniBook X — such as the aforementioned Zenbook — manage to avoid such a mechanism. Also, the headset jack is quite far back, which could be a problem if your cable is on the short side.

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Versatile performance
• Excellent but slightly reflective display
• Light and snappy keyboard

HP OmniBook X 14 benchmarks

3DMark: Night Raid: 21,973; Fire Strike: 4,750; Steel Nomad: 484; Solar Bay: 10,981; Solar Bay Unlimited: 11,186; Solar Bay Extreme: 1,122; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 1,124
Geekbench 6.5: Multicore: 14,204; Single-core: 2,427
Cinebench R23: Multi Core: 5,595; Cinebench R24: Single Core: 65; Multi Core: 374
Crossmark: Overall: 1,352; Productivity: 1,225; Creativity: 1,495; Responsiveness: 1,345
Passmark Overall: 4,104; CPU: 15,482.1; 2D Graphics: 393.3; 3D Graphics: 3,012; Memory: 2,552.6; Disk: 26,058.3
BlackMagicDisk: Read: 2,670MB/s; Write: 2,416MB/s
HandBrake 4K to 1080p: 29.86fps
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 28 hours and 28 minutes

The OmniBook X is an excellent performer on many fronts, making it suitable for both work and play. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip had no problem conducting basic productivity tasks or multi-tab browsing. It also streamed video just fine, including 4K content; I didn’t encounter arduous loading times or stuttery playback.

The OmniBook X can even handle gaming, to an extent. It even managed to run Cyberpunk 2077, albeit in a far from spectacular manner: I had to use low graphics presets without Ray Tracing, which resulted in rough visuals and some stuttering here and there, but it was playable enough for a quick fix.

(Image credit: Future)

Under such stress, the OmniBook X is remarkably quiet. Fan noise is noticeable but very suppressed, and while the back half of the unit — including parts of the keyboard — rises in temperature, it remains entirely within comfortable bounds.

The OmniBook X features an LED display with a somewhat unusual 2240 x 1400 resolution. This means it’s sharp and vibrant, although its lack of OLED technology means it can’t match the striking contrast levels of the best monitors and laptop displays. It can also be a little too reflective at times, although the maximum brightness is usually sufficient to counter the worst offenders.

The touchscreen is competent, with the surprising smoothness of its surface making it ideal for finger swipes and gestures, which isn’t something I can say of every laptop touchscreens I’ve used. On this front, it even rivals the best tablets. It’s a shame, though, that the display can’t fold back on itself (like those on OmniBook Flip models), so you can’t turn it upside down and prop it on a desk for tablet-style use.

(Image credit: Future)

However, when it comes to that other crucial input, typing, the OmniBook X is far more useful. The keys are very light with little travel, making them feel effortless and snappy. At the same time, they also provide good feedback and satisfying clickiness. They’re generously spaced, too, which certainly helped me to avoid making typos. However, with this large spacing comes a compromise to layout.

Although it still has navigation keys, many of these are integrated on the arrow keys as Fn shortcuts, which is a feasible solution, although I still would’ve preferred them to be on dedicated keys, as some other laptops manage to achieve. There’s also no dedicated number pad, although not many 14-inch laptops manage to squeeze one in, but a few do.

What’s more, despite the large amount of space below the keyboard, the touchpad disappointingly fails to make full use of it. It’s smaller than those on some other 14-inch laptops, which hampers navigation. However, I had no issues with its responsiveness, and its smooth surface, while not as silky as some others, is still sufficient for performing gestures and swipes easily. Taps and clicks are also light and responsive, yet tactile at the same time.

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Battery life

(Image credit: Future)

• Best in class
• Real all day battery life
• Only a few rivals can match it

The OmniBook X is among the most enduring laptops in its class. When I ran a movie on a continuous loop on battery power, it managed to last over 28 hours, which is a staggering achievement.

The only other laptop I’ve tested that matches this is the Asus Zenbook A14, which logged the same time, give or take several minutes. What’s more, the OmniBook X is also quick to charge, taking about two hours to fully replenish.

Should I buy the HP OmniBook X 14?Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Considering what it’s equipped with, as well as its superb portability, the OmniBook X is good value.

4 / 5

Design

Fantastically thin and quite sturdy, but some inconvenient ports hurt practicality.

4.5 / 5

Performance

The Snapdragon Elite chip in my review unit worked wonders, handling the kind of tasks I’d expect from a workaday device — and more.

4.5 / 5

Battery Life

Easily among the best in class. I’ve only tested one other laptop that can match its longevity.

5 / 5

Final Score

Only a few niggles besmirch this otherwise extremely capable all-round laptop.

4.5 / 5

Buy the HP OmniBook X 14 if…

You value a portable design
Not only is the OmniBook X incredibly thin and light, it’s also built quite solidly.

You want great all-round performance
Whether you’re working, streaming content, or even indulging in some light gaming, the OmniBook X can do it all.

Don't buy it if…

You want the best interface for productivity
Although there are navigation keys, they share space with the arrow keys, and the touchpad fails to maximize its allotted space.

You want to use the touchscreen often
Although the touchscreen is very effective, the display itself doesn’t rotate far enough to allow for upside-down tenting, so you can’t use it like a tablet.

HP OmniBook X 14 review: Also consider

HP OmniBook 7 Aero
For a laptop equally as portable, consider another OmniBook, the 7 Aero. Like the X, we were impressed with its capable performance and slender dimensions. Also like the X, though, certain ports could be better placed, and its battery life pales in comparison.

Read our full HP OmniBook 7 Aero review

Asus Zenbook A14
Even lighter than the OmniBook X and pretty much just as thin, the Zenbook A14 is a strong alternative. It too has great performance and a satisfying keyboard, but I don’t think its display is quite as good, nor is its price as competitive.

Read our full Asus Zenbook A14 review

How I tested the HP OmniBook X 14

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested for several days
• Used for a variety of tasks
• Conducted comprehensive series of benchmarks

I tested the OmniBook X for several days, during which time I used it for working, general browsing, streaming 4K content, and gaming.

I also ran our series of benchmark tests for laptops, designed to assess every facet of performance. To test its battery life, I played a movie on a continuous loop while the laptop was unplugged until it shut down.

I’ve been using laptops for a long time, and have reviewed countless models, from small budget offerings to large gaming machines, and everything in between.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: 30-second review

Launched at the Berlin IFA this year, the RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro fuses two well-known products into something genuinely new.

In this case, those elements are the rugged Android smartphone and the small action camera. In this design, the two can be separated, giving you a rugged phone that can spawn an action camera, the Xsnap Go, whenever you need one.

But ignoring that aspect for a moment, what does the Xsnap 7 Pro offer for those who just need a rugged Android phone? As rugged designs go, this one doesn’t have a massive battery, but it does have a decent processor in the Dimensity 9400, and with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the specifications are at the higher end of this scale.

Also, even if you don’t use the detachable camera, the built-in cameras are decent and capable of good results. But the party trick is the tiny square camera that can be removed from its slot in the back of the phone, which doubles as a charger, and then remotely controlled to capture images and video.

It connects via the platform's WiFi hotspot, and all captures are stored in the 64GB of internal camera storage before later transfer to the phone. The maximum video resolution is 2.7 K, but it supports anti-shake and the option to flatten the barrel distortion the fisheye lens creates.

This camera isn’t a direct competitor to any camera GoPro recently made, the DJI Osmo Nano, or Insta360 Go Ultra. However, it’s included in the price, and it could be useful for anyone who needs to be in a location where using the camera built into the phone isn’t convenient.

This design probably isn’t the best rugged phone, since the action camera slightly compromises it, but if you need a solid, powerful phone with a detachable camera, this is it.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $999
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Launched on Kickstarter on the 7th of September 2026

I don’t follow why so many Chinese device makers do this, but RugOne initially launched this phone on Kickstarter. The supposed purpose of that platform is to get funding for a concept to turn it into a finished product, but since I had the review hardware almost before the Kickstarter launched, it appears to be entirely a marketing exercise.

When the Kickstarter opened for pledges on 7 September 2026 with an early bird price of $899 (€799), Wider retail availability is planned for October 2026, at $999 in the United States and €1,099.99 across Europe.

As with any Kickstarter campaign, backers are funding a pledge rather than making a conventional purchase. Delivery estimates, warranty terms and final specifications can all shift between a campaign page and a shipped product, and this is worth stating plainly in the published review rather than leaving it as an implication.

That said, the phone and camera do exist, but I can’t give you more definitive timescales or pricing, which isn’t helpful.

If the phone alone was $999 at launch, I’d be inclined to think it was overpriced. But with the camera included, that’s a whole different calculation based on what you think the camera is worth.

A DJI Osmo Nano Standard Combo (64GB) is roughly $390 with 64GB onboard, but that’s a camera that’s capable of 4K at 60fps and a 200-minute battery life.

If I optimistically value the Xsnap Go camera at half that value, then $800 still seems a little steep for the phone. But there is some convenience in having the camera housed in the phone and charged from it.

Sadly, I don’t recall seeing any other products with this arrangement, so the choice is either this, a phone, or a phone-and-action-camera combo.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Value score: 3.5/5

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Specs

Item

Spec

CPU:

MediaTek Dimensity 8400 (MT6899Z/ZA), octa-core up to 3.25GHz

GPU:

ARM Mali-G720 MC7

NPU:

MediaTek NPU 880

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

512GB UFS 4.0

Screen:

6.67-inch AMOLED

Resolution:

1220 x 2712 (1.5K), 120Hz, 445ppi, 1700 nits peak

Screen Protection:

Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

SIM:

2x Nano SIM + eSIM (two of three can be used)

Weight:

477g

Dimensions:

172.5 x 83.4 x 28mm

Rugged Spec:

IP68 IP69K dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 minutes), MIL-STD-810H Certification

Rear cameras:

50MP Main Camera + 64 MP Night Vision Camera

Front camera:

32MP

Detachable camera:

2.7K@30fps, 1440p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 64GB storage

Networking:

5G. WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4

Audio:

3.5mm audio jack for headphones

OS:

Android 16 (updates promised)

Battery:

9,200mAh (Max 45W wired, 50W wireless, 10W reverse)

Colours:

Sand Dune, Black

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Design

• Curious structure
• Detachable Xsnap Go camera
• Lots of accessories

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

There is something about the Xsnap 7 Pro that smacks of the kind of exercises students do when they're aiming to become industrial designers. In that, taking two disparate devices and fusing them into one can be an interesting challenge.

The problem the people behind this phone didn’t solve was how to house a camera that’s 25mm deep without making it implausibly thick at one end.

We’re all used to the camera cluster being raised to provide extra depth for the optics and sensors, but this design takes that a whole extra level.

Curiously, RugOne quotes the thickness as 19.1mm, but I measured it, and 28mm seems more accurate. The upshot is that it goes in a pocket more easily upside down, but getting past the camera bulge might be difficult unless you have huge pockets.

Removing the camera doesn’t make it any thinner.

The mechanism for detaching the Xsnap Go camera is straightforward yet quite annoying. To release the camera, press the button below it and then, gripping the edge of the lens cover, pull it out. I’m making this sound simpler than it is, because the camera is held in place not only by the latch the button operates but also by magnets. If you loosen your grip at all when removing it, the camera will shoot back into its home in an instant.

The magnets are there because the rear of the camera has contact pads that connect it to the phone for charging, and for them to work, they need to be flush with the opposing pins on the bottom of the recess.

Putting it back in is much easier, as once the magnets grab, it automatically locates.

The space the removable camera occupies forces the rear integrated camera sensors to the left, where they are vertically stacked.

Away from that area, the back is entirely flat and has a backlit RugOne logo running across it that is called the Aura Pulse, which can be set to animate for an incoming call or a notification. Unfortunately, the LEDs behind it are too dim to be useful, as I had a hard time telling whether it was working even in a dimly lit room.

Potentially more useful, the flat part of the underside does support wireless charging. However, because a significant amount of weight is in the raised area, I couldn’t balance it on my Ugreen charger without it toppling over.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Most of the rest of this design uses the standard playbook for rugged phones, with the power and volume rockers on the right, along with one custom button and another customisable button on the left intended for Walkie-talkie use. The SIM card slot is next to the USB-C port, and the phone is IP68 rated for water resistance even if that port doesn’t have a rubber plug.

The only notable feature at the top end is an IR blaster, which lets the Xsnap 7 Pro act as a remote control if you need it.

The 6.67in AMOLED panel runs at 1220 x 2712, which RugOne markets as 1.5K, with a 120Hz refresh rate and a claimed 1700 nits of peak brightness. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus sits on top, a sensible choice for a phone that will spend time in pockets, tool bags and glove boxes.

On paper, this puts the Xsnap 7 Pro's screen ahead of many rugged phones, which often settle for lower resolution or dimmer panels to save cost. Brightness claims from any manufacturer are difficult to counter, but this one is one of the brighter ones I’ve tested when measured directly under daylight conditions against other devices.

One thing I liked about this exceptionally bright and colourful display is that it has an under-screen fingerprint sensor, which makes it much easier to use for left-handers.

Overall, from the outside, this looks like a dozen ruggedised designs Ulefone (RugOne) has made, except for the swelling needed to accommodate the removable camera. I’d be more critical of those design choices if I could imagine a way of including it without it creating the ergonomic compromises it plainly created. But I can’t think of how this might have been better, so it is what it is.

Design score: 3.5/5

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Hardware

• MediaTek Dimensity 8400
• UFS 4.0 storage
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 port
• 9300mAh battery

The underlying platform used here is the MediaTek Dimensity 8400, an octa-core chip built on Arm Cortex-A725 cores and paired with an Arm Mali-G720 MC7 GPU. It is a genuinely modern mid-to-upper-tier platform, backed here by 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, with the option to borrow further RAM from storage through Android's virtual memory feature.

If you see claims of 24GB of RAM, that’s marketing people getting overly excited about that feature and trying to claim virtual memory is real RAM.

For me, the important takeaway is the UFS 4.0 storage. One of the things I noticed almost immediately about this device is how quickly it downloads and installs applications. Read and write speeds are a major factor in that speed, along with the processing power of the Dimensity 8400.

Another unexpected feature RugOne included is that the USB-C port isn’t the same as what most phone makers include. While it has the physical housing of a modern USB-C port, most phones only have it wired to the USB 2.0 standard, capping the file transfer speed at around 40Mb/s.

On this device, the port is actually wired as USB 3.2 Gen 1, which enables much faster file delivery. This is only possible because the UFS 4.0 storage can keep pace, something that a phone with UFS 2.2 or 3.0 storage wouldn’t be able to offer.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

A 9,300mAh cell is a reasonable capacity for any phone, rugged or otherwise, and RugOne claims up to seven days of typical use. That’s probably a significant oversell, since my testing suggests that a couple of days can eat through that capacity if the battery use isn’t managed.

Charging is handled over 45W wired PD or 50W wireless, with 10W reverse wireless charging thrown in for topping up earbuds or accessories. However, one additional draw on the battery power is the action camera. If you use the camera, once returned to the phone, it immediately starts to charge from the battery until its internal battery is fully charged.

Therefore, if you run low on power, I’d recommend not re-docking the camera.

Docked back onto the phone, RugOne claims up to 20 full recharges of the module from the phone's battery, extending total shooting time to a claimed 800 minutes across a full charge cycle of the handset.

The kit includes an independent charger for the camera, so you can keep it fully charged with a power pack.

• Hardware score: 4/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Cameras

• 50MP and 64MP on the rear
• 32MP on the front
• Detachable Xsnap Go action cam
• Four cameras in total

The RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro has four cameras:

Rear cameras: 50MP Samsung GN9, 64MP OmniVision OV64B Night vision
Front camera: 32MP GalaxyCore GC32E1
Detachable camera: OmniVision 5MP OV-OS05A10

The primary camera on the Xsnap 7 Pro is the classic Samsung GN9 sensor, a 50MP OIS design with an f/1.88 aperture and 84° FOV optics. If this were the only sensor on this phone, it would be reasonable, since it’s a solid design that can take great pictures, especially in good lighting conditions.

In my examples, I accidentally left HDR mode on, so the colours are excessively punchy, but it will take better, more colour-balanced images if you leave it off. The GN9’s weakness is that it has no zoom optics, so you're limited to basic digital zoom.

The other weakness of most Samsung primary sensors is that they tend to get grainy when the light level drops. Thankfully, if you want sharp images in complete darkness, then the 64MP OmniVision OV64B is a great option. And, as long as the subject is within the IR illumination, it will be captured precisely.

The 32MP Samsung GC32E1, f/2.45 sensor is probably overkill for a FaceTime camera, but it's in so many phones these days that it's almost becoming a de facto standard.

But none of these cameras is why you would consider this phone, so let’s get to the detachable Xsnap Go action module, which uses the OV-OS05A10 sensor, a 133° FOV, f/2.4, 14mm equivalent.

Before we get into the details of this device, I want to talk about some of the mechanics of using this device, and how it doesn’t always work the way you might want it to.

For starters, you don’t use this camera through the camera app; instead, it uses its own dedicated Xsnap Go app, which will only talk to the detachable camera if certain phone settings are configured.

One requirement is a WiFi hotspot, so you can’t use it while the camera is active and also be logged into a local WiFi access point. You also need to remember to disable this when you are done, as the app won’t disable it when it exits.

With all settings configured, a link to the camera is established, whether the module is mounted on the phone or detached from it.

Which begs the question: how far can the phone and camera still talk? Not very far. I estimated the limit at about 30 ft if any structure is involved, and maybe 50 ft outdoors. One issue I ran into is that if the phone and camera disconnect while recording, the app can't easily re-establish the connection, and at least once I had to reboot the phone to get them to talk again.

You can use the camera's single button to take photos or record video without the app, but you won't know if it's run out of internal storage without the phone connected.

Via the app, you can select basic video recording, slow motion, time-lapse, interval photo and single still image capture. The 5MP sensor's best resolution is 2.7K, while the Samsung sensor on the phone offers 4K. The camera has 64GB of storage that isn't expandable, and you must instruct the device via the app to copy the captures to the phone's storage.

It offers various motion and distortion compensation options, and you can manually tweak exposure settings or use HDR. It’s clearly not up to the primary sensor's capabilities, but you can detach it and place it away from the phone for another perspective.

That could be incredibly useful for someone working, for example, on a vehicle engine who needs to be behind the steering wheel but still see what’s happening in the engine bay.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

In my testing, I did some motion-compensated video and time-lapse, and the results were decent. The only issue I noticed, and some dedicated action cameras suffer with this too, is that if the exposure changes during a time-lapse, the camera can’t adjust for the new lighting conditions.

The run time of my time-lapse was 40 minutes and 30 seconds, half a minute more than RugOne claims for the battery life on the detachable camera. This runtime might have been longer if RugOne made better-considered accessories. The phone includes a small charging dock and a tripod mount accessory for the detachable camera.

Had these been one item, and not two, a power bank might have been able to keep the camera running for longer recordings. Unfortunately, they are separate and not designed to work together, as the camera can only be attached to one of them.

That said, the detachable camera is something unique about this design, and even with some notable limitations, it can be extremely useful.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Mark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark Pickavance

• Camera score: 4/5

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Performance

Phone

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro

Oukitel WP500 Ultra

SoC

MediaTek Dimensity 8400

MediaTek Dimensity 8300

GPU

ARM Mali-G720 MC7

ARM Mali-G615 MC6

NPU

MediaTek NPU 880

MediaTek NPU 580

Memory

12GB/512GB

12GB/1TB

Weight

477g

414.3g

Battery

9200

10000

Geekbench

Single

1396

1239

Multi

4789

3525

OpenCL

7678

7196

Vulkan

8513

8171

PCMark

3.0 Score

16075

15219

Battery

23h 33m (17%)

22h 37m (19%)

Charge 30

%

28

42

Passmark

Score

14225

18554

CPU

11068

8748

3DMark

Slingshot OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

Slingshot Ex. OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

Slingshot Ex. Vulkan

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

Wildlife

Maxed Out

7958

Nomad Lite

1305

953

The Xsnap 7 Pro has a few good things, and one that isn’t so encouraging.

For comparison, I’ve used the Oukitel WP500 Ultra, a premium design that uses the slightly less impressive Dimensity 9300, and not the 9400 that the Xsnap 7 Pro sports.

Overall, in most tests, the Dimensity 9400 provides about another 10% of performance, and the ARM Mali-G720 MC7 is also a significant uplift.

It’s annoying that 3DMark is mostly overpowered by both these platforms, but the Nomad Lite test shows how the ARM Mali-G720 MC7 delivers when combined with the UFS 4.0 storage.

And that would be the whole story, if it wasn’t for the battery test.

Is the downside of the UFS 4.0 storage that it consumes more power? It certainly doesn’t seem that way, because with slightly less battery, the Xsnap 7 Pro lasted even longer than the WP500 Ultra.

I believe a contributing factor is the OLED display on this phone. My methodology for the battery benchmark is to reduce screen brightness to about 120 nits. And the OLED is so much brighter than a typical VA panel that its brightness setting is around 20%, not 40% or more.

What’s harder to tell is whether having the detachable camera connected and charging from the phone also has a significant impact. It’s nice that you can recharge the camera without needing the charging base, but does that come with a catch? Maybe, but you can always remove the camera from the phone and charge it separately.

• Performance score: 4/5

RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

I have mixed feelings about this design for a few reasons. But before we get to the caveats, I need to call out the lovely build quality that RugOne-branded hardware is rocking, which is generally excellent. This phone feels exceptionally well made and able to take more than a few light knocks. That makes it suitable for anyone who works outdoors or in harsh environments.

The base platform is also elegantly powerful, making the experience responsive and useful in a wide range of situations. If you occasionally game or use VR, this phone has enough power to do it smoothly.

The standard camera installation is workmanlike and can deliver good results. However, the detachable Xsnap Go camera isn’t quite at the same level, and you need to configure it optimally to get the best results. If 2.7K resolution video and a 40-minute battery life are enough for your needs, this could be the phone for you, but it doesn’t embarrass any dedicated action cameras currently on the market.

If you work alone but need to be in two places at once to observe events, this solution might work for you, as long as you can work with the limited camera runtime.

The camera's caveat is that it makes the phone harder to pocket, and it could drain the internal battery when you don’t want it moving to the camera.

But minor points aside, this is still a unique offering that some professions might find invaluable.

Should I buy a RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro?RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Kickstarter launch, but the specifications weren’t going to make this a cheap phone

3.5/5

Design

Including the camera has made this phone an odd shape

3.5/5

Hardware

Powerful SoC and UFS 4.4 storage combine well

4/5

Cameras

Good primary camera sensor and night vision, but only 2.7K on the Xsnap Go

4/5

Performance

Lots of SoC power and plenty of storage, but battery performance could be better

4/5

Overall

A unique offering, but it might cost more than a phone and an older GoPro

4/5

Buy it if...

You need remote viewing
Being able to detach the camera and view that in a different location could be incredibly useful in numerous occupations. The range is limited, but being able to capture video and still images while live viewing could be a game changer.

You need a powerful phone
The Dimensity 9400 in the Xsnap 7 Pro is a powerful modern SoC with enough performance for most applications. Using 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage and a proper USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, this device is perfect for those who push their equipment hard.

Don't buy it if...

You already have an action camera
The Xsnap Go is a modest action camera with only 2.7K resolution that doesn’t offer the same feature set as a GoPro or Insta360. If you have one of these, you can do roughly the same things, but typically at 4K resolution or better.

Battery life is critical
The weakness of this design is battery life, as the performance of the phone reduces run time and recharging the Xsnap Go camera also takes its toll. If you want a phone that will still be operational after a week in the wilderness, then this isn’t it.

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

Flourish says it’s ready to ship the first 50 units starting in December.

You can add meteors, a full moon, and some cool planet appearances to your apple cider and bonfires.

• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered's patch notes have been released
• The update will offer all-new animations and an improved skill system
• A new accessibility preset called Bard's Ballad also offers a more tailored gameplay experience

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is officially here, and CD Projekt Red has released the long list of improvements that promise an entirely new experience for the decade-old role-playing game (RPG).

The patch notes detail a ton of upgrades, from better visuals, transmogrification, an expanded photo mode, updated textures, PS5 Pro support, and more. Some pretty impressive animation improvements that are sure to make my new playthrough feel even more immersive have also been added. Geralt's animations during combat, idling, and riding Roach have all been refined; new finishers have also been added, and ladder climbing, jumping, and vaulting are now "more responsive" and "fluid."

The skill system has also been completely rebalanced, and " Skills are now organized into a skill tree, and each skill has three ranks," while others have been renamed to better reflect their effects, and I can't wait to try out new builds.

One of the most notable additions to the remaster, included in the accessibility features, is the Bard's Ballad preset, which can be enabled when starting a new game on "Just the Story" difficulty or mid-game.

"It is designed to reduce cognitive load for players who experience mental fatigue or have difficulty concentrating," CDPR explained. "It streamlines gameplay by simplifying certain mechanics and disabling select features for a smoother, more focused adventure."

On top of that, players can customize the preset by enabling or disabling some options that I've always wanted and would normally need mods for. Those options include Vitality Regeneration Boost, Infinite Breath, Unlimited Item Durability, Unlimited Boat Durability, Faster Boats, Toggle Witcher Sense, and probably my favorite out of the bunch, Ignore Item Weight.

I typically play on normal or higher difficulties in The Witcher 3, but for my latest playthrough I'm quite eager to try out the Bard's Ballad preset for the added customization that comes with it.

There are plenty more quality-of-life, modding, UI/UX, gameplay, and visual improvements to discover in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered, which is now available and is free for current owners of the game. Players who also own only the base game can claim the two included expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, at no extra cost.

• AI-powered deepfakes convinced executives to authorize massive overseas fund transfers
• Fraudsters impersonated senior figures through messaging apps and cloned voices
• Incident highlights evolving business email compromise tactics in the AI era

Cybercriminals have tricked a major Italian bank into wiring more than $100 million abroad by targeting executives with AI-powered deepfakes. Some of the money has since been recovered, but a significant portion remains unaccounted for.

The target was Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, a very large Italian private-banking and wealth-management group owned by Intesa Sanpaolo. It cannot be considered a “normal” retail bank - its core business is managing investments and wealth for affluent and high-net-worth clients.

According to the latest figures, the bank has around $513.25 billion in assets under management (AUM), more than 7,100 private bankers, and more than $9.85 billion in net profit.

Deepfakes and phone calls

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the attack took place in February 2026, while the chairman was ​Paolo Molesini.

Molesini reportedly received a WhatsApp message that seems to have come from Carlo Messina, Intesa Sanpaolo Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who asked him to help with an urgent overseas transaction, to which the victim agreed. He was later contacted by someone claiming to be senior partner at a prominent law firm, to confirm the instruction. This person used AI tools to create a deepfake of the lawyer’s voice, tricking Molesini into thinking the request was authentic.

The chairman then reached out to the bank’s finance department, arranging a series of transactions to foreign account, the majority of which were in mainland China and Hong Kong.

The scam was spotted soon afterwards, and Fideuram moved to block the transaction. With the help of law enforcement in China, Portugal, and Italy, around $60.14 million was recovered. Around $40.8 million remains missing, apparently converted into cryptocurrencies.

Ruining a person's career

​Paolo Molesini announced he was stepping down from roles of president for both Fideuram itself and Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking a month later, in March 2026, citing “personal reasons”.

According to Reuters, neither Molesini, or any other Fideuram executives are under investigation, but local authorities are apparently investigating a “foreign national living outside Europe” for potential fraud.

In the pre-AI era, this type of fraud was known as Business Email Compromise (BEC). Crooks would break in (or otherwise spoof) the email address of a company’s CEO (or other executive), map out employees working in the finance department, and reach out with instructions for wire transfers. These instructions would explain that the transfer needs to be completed in secrecy, to avoid unnecessary publicity or competitors.

Nowadays, with the advent of artificial intelligence and the ease with which crooks can create deepfake images, voice clones, and even videos, BEC attacks have spread out to instant messaging platforms, voice calls, and even video calls.

Last year, scammers used artificial intelligence to create a deepfake of the voice of an Italian minister, tricking local businessman Massimo Moratti to transfer around $1.13 million to an overseas account. The money was later successfully recovered, it was said.

It’s preview season for League of Legends TCG Riftbound’s upcoming Radiance set, and we’ve got a brand new card to showcase for you today: Satchel Charge, as well as another look at the Bomb token it creates — a game piece I expect to make a bang in the set when it releases.

Satchel Charge costs three and recycles a Chaos rune to let you move a friendly unit as an Action, and then Deploy a Bomb to a battlefield.

Bombs deal 2 damage when they die (and set off all other Bombs you control at the same battlefield), which pairs very nicely with Deploy — a new keyword which lets you play a Gear card with Deploy directly to any battlefield (whether you control it or not), but the Gear dies when your opponent holds the location.

If you have multiple Bombs ready and waiting, you could seriously punish an opponent for claiming a battlefield by blasting their amassed units to smithereens.

(Image credit: Riot)Explosive plays

While an obvious use for Satchel Charge will be to save a unit by returning it to your base or moving it to a different battlefield, and leaving an unpleasant surprise behind for your opponent, it doesn’t have to be used this way.

It could instead be used to bring a unit and a Bomb to the same battlefield, or send your unit to one and a Bomb to the other. The versatility makes me think this could be a solid limited pickup to include in any Chaos-imbued Pre-Rift deck, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it saw some constructed play — especially if there’s a new Legend who plays nicely with Deploy and/or Bombs.

Though the big downside of Bombs is that they require an opponent to hold a location before they detonate, meaning you basically have to let them score another point before they face any consequences, which is certainly not ideal.

Plus, unless you have a few explosives ready, it’s possible your Bombs won’t be all that impressive when they do go off in terms of making a dent in your rival’s army.

(Image credit: Riot)

Ziggs's Legend lets you make Bombs by exhausting it, while one of his revealed Champions makes Bombs (and other damage-dealing Gear cards) deal one more damage, so this card looks like an easy include in his deck.

Though we'll have to wait and see if these cards can do enough to make Bombs hit hard enough for them to be a new meta pick once Radiance launches on October 23.

What if you could "spend the day making a shot that AI could make in a minute?" That's the somewhat facetious pitch for Polaroid's new all-analog Polaroid Mod Instant camera, and, in my experience, it's a challenge I accepted and thoroughly enjoyed.

No, it doesn't take all day to make some pretty wild instant Polaroid photos with the Mod, but it's also not as easy or unsatisfying as entering a prompt and waiting for a far-flung generative model to do the work.

@techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar

Sitting somewhere between the Polaroid I-2 and the Polaroid Flip (in functionality if not price), the Polaroid Mod, which Polaroid unveiled today (September 29) and gave me some time with earlier this month, takes virtually every setting that might've been digital on a previous 21st-century Polaroid and made it analog, or more precisely, a series of dials.

With its metallic finish and familiar curves and angles — right down to the flip-open front film pack loader —it's instantly recognizable as a member of the Polaroid family. The gray body features a two-lens system: a 103mm main lens and a 95mm portrait lens. It uses an infrared autofocus system (it has just two focus zones, to keep things simple). There's a small dial on the front for exposure control with just three settings: auto, one step lower, or one step higher.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

There's a large embedded flash and a red shutter button. On the back is a touch control for the flash, an LED light readout for the number of photos left, and a self-timer. There's a USB-C port to juice up the 750mAh battery, which should last through shooting over a dozen film packs.

The most important feature, though, and one that leads to an almost endless array of creative possibilities, is the mode dial around the main lens. In addition to the auto setting, it offers a Double-Exposure setting, Split Shot, Motion Freeze, and Light Painting. Each is represented by a tiny but clear cryptogram. The camera even ships with a special half-lens cover to assist in the Split Shot.

Like most of Polaroid's other full-size instant cameras, the Mod is designed to work with 600 film and Polaroid's I-Type instant film packs.

Let's shoot

Polaroid walked us through some of the basics of shooting with this relatively retro camera, and I was so struck by the simplicity of each operation that I felt empowered to try a few of them.

At 520g, the camera feels lightweight but substantial in the hand. It's also pretty rugged: I accidentally dropped the camera from a height of almost four feet. The film pack door popped open, but the Polaroid Mod was otherwise unharmed and worked for all my future shots.

I held the camera at eye level, looked through the large viewfinder, and snapped a photo of photographer and current Director of Polaroid's 20x24 Studio John Reuter. A second after I pressed the well-placed shutter button, I heard that iconic motor whir to life as the Mod spit out my first, still blue, undeveloped image. Polaroid film still takes 10 to 15 minutes to fully develop. When I finally had the finished image, I was impressed with the quality despite the suboptimal lighting.

Polaroid's John Reuter (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I was anxious, though, to try out the wilder flights of photographic fancy, and with a colleague, I set about making my first Split Image.

First, I selected the mode by twisting the dial until I could see that icon. I asked my friend to stand with a drink and imagine she was toasting herself. On the camera, I placed the half-lens cover, which, as the name implies, leaves only half the film exposed.

In this mode, the camera will show a 1 on the tiny readout when you take the first photo.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I then repositioned my friend so she was shifted to the right and facing the opposite direction. Meanwhile, I took off the lens cover and switched it so the other half of the film would be exposed. On the readout, it shows a "2" to let you know the camera is ready for the second image.

I took the second image, and then the photo spit out of the Mod. The finished image was pretty cool, though I realize more care in the camera position and my subject would be needed for the maximum effect.

The Double Exposure setting is somewhat similar, but instead of using the lens cover, you shoot the first image with the lower exposure setting and then find your second subject and shoot the next image (again, the digital readout shows a "2") for the next part of your double image. The example we saw was an oversized live cat next to his tiny owner.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

There's a motion freeze that opens a long exposure in which you can move the camera and then blast a flash at the end to capture a sharper image.

I was intrigued, though, by the Light Painting settings. After watching Polaroid try it with a variety of light sources, I asked Tom's Guide's Kate Kozuch to work with me on making my own Polaroid Mod light painting photos with an iPhone flashlight as a light source.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

This Polaroid Mod mode gives you a full seven seconds of exposure to create some pretty wild images. Polaroid recommends a tripod, but I'm pretty good at holding still. For our shots, which we did in an almost fully darkened event space, I had Kate wave around the iPhone flashlight in a couple of different patterns. The results, which I saw 15 minutes later, were honestly far better than I expected.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I should be clear about something, though: most of these images, even in the best lighting, are arthouse quality. They can be grainy, moody, with sharp contrast between light and dark. I tend to love them, but if you're used to the clarity of an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, you might be surprised, and not in a good way.

These images tend to tell a story with every bit of unpolished grain, so how you shoot it is as much a part of the tale as what you shot. With enough fiddling with the few available settings and true daylight, you might get some images approaching basic iPhone 13 quality but, again, that's not why you buy one of these cameras.

The camera, which goes on sale today, lists in the US for now (globally early next year) for $169.99 (a little cheaper than the Flip and roughly half the price of the more complex I-2), a comparatively affordable price, but keep in mind that Polaroid 600 and I-Type film can run you $20 for 8 pictures. At least you can get twice the imagery with the double exposure and split modes.

Well, it looks like Prime Day's come early this year. Scheduled for October 6-7 next week, already I'm seeing cheap Kindles, Fire Sticks, and - most excitingly for a networking geek like me - the eero line of Wi-Fi mesh routers, including the latest eero Pro 7 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router.

• Best for: Families and remote workers who want an ultra-simple setup for extensive coverage, Wi-Fi 7 speeds, and support for hundreds of connected devices.

• The deal: the Amazon eero Pro 7 two-pack is now $400 (was $600) at Amazon. In the UK, the two-pack is now £385 (was £550). All multi-packs are discounted.

• Why it matters: This is the lowest price I've seen for the two-pack eero Pro 7 (and not far off for the three-pack either). The eero mesh routers boost your internet speeds and coverage, and best of all, they're impressively easy to setup, even if you've never done so before. This model boasts tri-band with two 5GbE ports, which is ideal for homes and home office working.

Today's best Amazon eero Pro 7 deal

eero Pro 7 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router: was $549.99 now $399.99
This tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system features two routers, 4,000-square-foot coverage, 3.9Gbps wireless speeds, two 5GbE ports per unit, 320MHz channels, Multi-Link Operation, WPA3 security and support for 600-plus devices.

In the UK: now £385 (was £550)View Deal

Why we recommend it

The eero Pro 7 is the sort of mesh router system you get when you don't want to think about your mesh router system. From what I'm seeing, all models and multi-packs are discounted right now.

It operates across the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands, features two 5GbE ports, with Wi-Fi 7 features including Multi-Link Operation (MLO) and channel widths up to 320MHz. A single unit provides coverage of up to 2,000 square feet and can support more than 200 connected devices.

Amazon rates wireless speeds at up to 3.9Gbps with support for internet plans up to 5Gbps. As ever, real-world speeds will depend on your devices, connection, network conditions, and placement. You can easily add additional eero models to the mesh network, too - older and newer models are compatible.

Price context & historical value

For a two-unit Wi-Fi 7 mesh system with 6GHz connectivity and 5GbE Ethernet, you're getting a considerable amount of networking hardware for the money. The eero three-pack has retailed for as low as $425 in the past, so this is its lowest ever price that we've seen.

The closest Wi-Fi 7 contenders on the market, outside the eero range, would be the cheaper MSI Roamii Be Pro and more expensive Asus BT8. Both offer more control over your networking, which is pretty much the exact opposite of why the eero Pro 7 is so popular.

For more shopping options, take a look at our roundup of the best mesh Wi-Fi routers, and the best Wi-Fi extenders.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Eero Pro 7 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 Router if...

You don't want to have to think about your internet again. It's a set-and-forget mesh router that you can easily install and then leave running without intervention. It's also worth considering if you're upgrading from an older Eero system as the Pro 7 is backward compatible with previous Eero generations.

❌ Skip the Eero Pro 7 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 Router if...

You like granular control over your wireless connectivity - eero's app is incredibly streamlined, making it easy to use but not especially practical for networking enthusiasts. For example, you can't split bands for different devices. It also locks some features, like parental controls, behind an eero Plus subscription.

More eero mesh router deals: Also consider

As with the eero Pro 7 deals, both these router models are discounted for single and multi-packs. I've used the three-pack for reference.

eero Pro 6e Mesh Router: was $499.99 now $374.99
Arguably the better choice over the eero Pro 7 if you don't use Wi-Fi 7 devices and don't need features like MLO. It's cheaper, but you still get the 6GHz band. It comfortably supports internet speeds up to 2 Gbps

In the UK: now £337 (was £450)View Deal

eero Max 7 Mesh Router: was $1699.99 now $1189.99
If the Pro 7 isn't enough for you, the eero Max 7 is the next step up. It's the better pick for those running NAS drives, media backup, and constant streaming thanks to the 4x4 radio system and 10GbE ports (the eero Pro 7 caps out at 5GbE).

In the UK: now £1190 (was £1700)View Deal

• Shop all mesh router systems at Amazon

Thinking of buying a Kindle in the upcoming Prime Day? It's a good plan — Amazon reliably offers hefty discounts on its own devices during these sales events. The official Prime Day will take place on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October, but if you're in the UK you don't need to wait until then.

The UK Kindle discounts are already live, and I've rounded them all up below. As expected, there are significant price-drops across almost the entire range. I'm not expecting prices to get any cheaper on Prime Day proper, and the good news is you don't need to be a Prime subscriber to take advantage of these deals.

In the US, Kindles are still full price at the moment. You can see your options below — I'll update this article as soon as the deals do arrive.

Want more info? Further down the page I'll run through some buying tips to help you choose the right model for you, plus a guide to what counts as a good discount for a Kindle.

UK: Kindle models

Amazon Kindle

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (without ads)

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (with ads)

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition — without ads

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft

Read our full review

Pros

• Finally, color on a Kindle
• Speedy refresh and zooming

Cons

• Doesn’t feel premium enough for the price
• No way to access Marvel Unlimited or DC Infinite subscriptions

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Amazon Kindle Scribe (32GB)

Read our full review

Pros

• Still the best big ereader, with better writing tools
• Subtle improvements add up in a big way
• AI tools that are [gasp] useful?!

Cons

• It’s more expensive without new hardware
• It’s got AI, like everything – you can’t escape

Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

Read our full review

Pros

• Gets the basics right
• Color and Scribe features are well-packaged
• Large and sharp display

Cons

• Pricey
• Some features could use updating

US: Kindle models

Amazon Kindle

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition

Read our full review

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft (no ads)

Read our full review

Pros

• Finally, color on a Kindle
• Speedy refresh and zooming

Cons

• Doesn’t feel premium enough for the price
• No way to access Marvel Unlimited or DC Infinite subscriptions

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Amazon Kindle Scribe

Read our full review

Pros

• Still the best big ereader, with better writing tools
• Subtle improvements add up in a big way
• AI tools that are [gasp] useful?!

Cons

• It’s more expensive without new hardware
• It’s got AI, like everything – you can’t escape

Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

Read our full review

Pros

• Gets the basics right
• Color and Scribe features are well-packaged
• Large and sharp display

Cons

• Pricey
• Some features could use updating

Are the deals any good?

In the UK, these are strong deals — around the level I'd expect for Prime Day. I'm not expecting the discounts to increase over Prime Day itself, although it's not impossible.

However, there has been a bit of sneakiness on Amazon's part. A number of these models have had their list price inflated, thus making the discount look more significant. It might have been that these price rises were on their way anyway, but the timing still feels deliberate. Some of the US models have had a price rise, too.

For reference, here was the pricing (and discounts) on the full Kindle range during the most recent Amazon Prime Day, in June 2026.

In the UK:

• Kindle: £79.99 (was £94.99) — 16% off
• Kindle Paperwhite (no ads): £134.99 (was £169.99) — 21% off
• Kindle Paperwhite (with ads): £119.99 (was £159.99) — 25% off
• Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: £114.99 (was £189.99) — 24% off
• Kindle Colorsoft: £154.99 (was £239.99) — 35% off
• Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition: £174.99 (was £269.99) — 35% off
• Kindle Scribe: £379.99 — no discount
• Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: £504.99 (was £629.99) — 20% off

In the US:

• Kindle: $84.99 (was $109.99) — 23% off
• Kindle Paperwhite: $124.99 (was $159.99) — 22% off
• Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: $144.99 (was $199.99) — 28% off
• Kindle Colorsoft (no ads): $159.99 (was $249.99) — 36% off
• Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition: $219.99 (was $279.99) — 21% off
• Kindle Scribe: $379.99 (was $499.99) — 24% off
• Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: $519.99 (was $679.99) — 24% off

How to choose the right Kindle for you

Amazon Kindles are some of the best e-readers around, and there aren't really any bad options here. When choosing a model, I'd start by deciding between black-and-white (Paperwhite) and color (Colorsoft). If you're a fan of graphic novels, Color is a no-brainer, and it's also useful if you're studying and want to be able to color-code your highlights. However, if you're predominantly just reading text-heavy novels, a black-and-white Kindle might be perfectly fine.

After you've decided that, you'll want to figure out if you also want to be able to use your Kindle for note-taking. All the 'Scribe' options work with a stylus, so you can write as well as read. They have bigger screens than the reading-only options. You'll find more advice in my article exploring how to choose the right Kindle.

Model:

Kindle

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition

Kindle Colorsoft

Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Kindle Scribe

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

Display:

6-inch glare-free

7-inch glare-free

7-inch glare-free

7-inch glare-free w/ color display

7-inch glare-free w/ color display

11-inch glare-free

11-inch glare-free with color display

Resolution:

300ppi

300ppi

300ppi

300ppi (black and white) / 150ppi (color)

300ppi (black and white) / 150ppi (color)

300ppi

300ppi (black and white) / 150ppi (color)

Storage:

16GB

16GB

32GB

16GB

32GB

16, 32 or 64GB

32 or 64GB

Max battery:

6 weeks

12 weeks

12 weeks

8 weeks

8 weeks

12 weeks reading / 3 weeks writing

8 weeks reading / 2 weeks writing

Waterproof (IPX8):

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Writing capability:

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Read our review:

Amazon Kindle (2024) review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024) review

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft review