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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
190 stories archived
A Probe Took Incredible Pictures of Mars on Its Way to a Far-Off Asteroid
NASA took advantage of the recent close approach of the Psyche probe to Mars to calibrate its observation instruments.
Spotify and Universal Music agree deal to let subscribers create AI remixes
Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first timeSpotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence.The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform. Continue reading...
The seven best video doorbells in the UK tried and tested – and Ring isn’t top
Whether you want to improve your home’s security or simply know who’s at the door, the latest generation of smart doorbells will help put your mind at ease• The best robot vacuums, testedDoorbells have evolved. Today, they watch us as we approach, let the people inside the home know we’re coming sooner than our finger can hit the button, and give them a good look at our faces before they open the door. They’re essentially security cameras with a chime function.If you haven’t already installed one of these handy tools, there’s a huge array available. Choosing the best video doorbell can be a bewildering task, with various factors to consider, including how much of your doorstep you want to see and whether you’re prepared to pay for a subscription. To help make the decision a little bit easier, I tested eight popular video doorbells to find the best.Best video doorbell overall: Google Nest Doorbell (battery)Best budget video doorbell: Blink smart video doorbell with Sync Module 2 Continue reading...
Galaxy S26 review: Samsung’s still-compact flagship Android
Small top-tier Android is great to use, being fast, AI-loaded and with reasonable battery life, but falls short of rivals on cameraSamsung’s compact flagship phone hasn’t changed much in a year, but the S26 is still one of the best smaller handsets available as rivals grow larger and larger.The S26 is the cheapest and smallest of this year’s top Samsungs, dwarfed by the top-of-the-line S26 Ultra in size and price. But like everything with a memory chip at the moment, the S26 has increased in price by £80 or the equivalent to £879 (€949/$899/A$1,349). At least it has double the starting storage. Continue reading...
iPhone 17e review: Apple upgrades its cheapest new smartphone
Mid-range handset gets chip, storage and MagSafe upgrades to offer more essential iOS features for less The cheapest new iPhone has been upgraded for this year with a faster chip, double the storage, automatic portraits and MagSafe, providing even more of the core Apple smartphone experience for less.The iPhone 17e is an upgraded version of the mid-range “e” line launched last year with the first iPhone 16e and is the latest member of the iPhone 17 family. It starts at £599 (€699/$599/A$999), undercutting the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 by £200 and £100 respectively to be the cheapest new iPhone sold by Apple.Screen: 6.1in Super Retina XDR (OLED) (460ppi)Processor: Apple A19 (4-core GPU)RAM: 8GBStorage: 256 or 512GBOperating system: iOS 26Camera: 48MP rear; 12MP front-facingConnectivity: 5G, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, Satellite and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 mins)Dimensions: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mmWeight: 170g Continue reading...
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: its huge screen blocks shoulder surfers from spying on you
Latest Android superphone packs great cameras, fast chips, long battery, a stylus and first-of-its-kind privacy displaySamsung’s latest Ultra superphone promises to keep shoulder surfers out of your business with a first-of-its-kind privacy display built into its huge 6.9in screen.The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s top-of-the-line phone costing £1,279 (€1,449/$1,299/A$2,199) and is one of the most feature-packed handsets you can get, with four cameras on the back, an integrated stylus and AI assistance in every corner. Continue reading...
MacBook Pro M5 review: serious power, still long battery life
Apple laptop sets new performance bar with more storage, new chips and plenty of options, but now has two-tier specs depending on processorApple’s Macs have been on a roll this year with the brand new budget MacBook Neo and a faster MacBook Air M5, but now it’s time for its workhorse MacBook Pro to be upgraded with the fastest, most powerful M-series chips.The latest MacBook Pro comes in two screen sizes and a large range of chip and configuration options. The 14in version starts with the M5 chip costing £1,699 (€1,899/$1,699/A$2,699) and then jumps to the more powerful M5 Pro from £2,199 (€2,499/$2,199/A$3,499) before climbing further for the 16in version or the top M5 Max chip. A pricey machine for professional workloads. Continue reading...
Sonos Play review: a great jack-of-all-trades portable speaker for home or away
Quality wifi bookshelf speaker can go mobile with Bluetooth, long battery life and water resistance, in return to formThe Play is a new portable wifi and Bluetooth home speaker that packs the best of Sonos into a jack of all trades that is intended to be a reset point in the company’s recovery from its app debacle that lost it faith, favour and a chief executive.It is the first truly new music speaker since Sonos launched its new app in May 2024, which junked fan-favourite features while causing stability and usage problems for new and old customers alike. The company has spent the best part of two years fixing mistakes, bringing back core features and ensuring the system actually works. Continue reading...
MacBook Air M5 review: Apple’s best consumer laptop speeds up
Chip upgrade brings pro-level power, long battery life and plenty of storage, but the Air now faces real competitionApple’s latest MacBook Air is its most powerful yet, comes with double the starting storage and is better than ever for getting work done and as the benchmark for a consumer laptop. But this year the new lower-cost MacBook Neo has muddied the waters.The M5 MacBook Air starts at £1,099 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,799) for the 13in version, which is £100 or equivalent more than last year’s excellent M4 version, but comes with at least 512GB of storage. It sits above the £599 MacBook Neo and below the £1,699 M5 MacBook Pro, making the Air Apple’s mid-range machine.Screen: 13.6in LCD (2560x1600; 224 ppi) True ToneProcessor: Apple M5 with eight or 10-core GPURAM: 16, 24 or 32GBStorage: 512GB, 1, 2 or 4TB SSDOperating system: macOS 26 TahoeCamera: 12MP centre stageConnectivity: wifi 7, Bluetooth 6, 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, headphonesDimensions: 215 x 304.1 x 11.3mmWeight: 1.23kg Continue reading...
How to Disable Google's Gemini in Chrome
Chrome users were caught off guard by a 4-GB Google AI model baked into Chrome, sparking privacy concerns. The good news: You can easily uninstall it. The bad? You might not want to.
Thousands of Vibe-Coded Apps Expose Corporate and Personal Data on the Open Web
Companies like Lovable, Base44, Replit, and Netlify use AI to let anyone build a web app in seconds—and in thousands of cases, spill highly sensitive data onto the public internet.
Asteroid 2026 JH2 Is About to Fly Right Past Earth—Relatively Speaking
On May 18, an asteroid about the size of Chicago’s Cloud Gate will fly four times closer to Earth than the moon.
Foxconn Ransomware Attack Shows Nothing Is Safe Forever
Famous for helping build Apple’s iPhones, Foxconn just suffered another cyberattack, highlighting the perils of warehousing some of the world’s most valuable data.
I’m a Normie. Can Normies Really Vibe Code?
Apparently anyone can vibe code anything these days. So Claude and I tried to make a database for tracking the petty grievances of the masses.
Build a Radio Wave Detector With Balls of Aluminum Foil!
Here’s how you can hack together a radio transmitter and receiver out of stuff you have at home—and explore the weirdness of wireless.
Iran Is Using Tiny ‘Mosquito’ Boats to Shut Down the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s traditional naval fleet has been almost completely destroyed by US-Israeli raids. But Iran’s military has put a fleet of small vessels on the water that is crippling every passageway.
Greg Brockman Officially Takes Control of OpenAI’s Products in Latest Shake-Up
OpenAI is once again reorganizing its executive ranks as part of its effort to unify ChatGPT and Codex into one core product experience.
Trump’s Federal Gas Tax Holiday Isn't Likely to Bring Down Prices
Reducing the fee will have only a marginal impact on prices while depriving the government of revenue to maintain roads.
Hackable Robot Lawn Mower Unlocks a New Nightmare
Plus: Meta officially kills encrypted Instagram DMs, the Trump administration targets “violent left wing extremists,” leaked documents reveal Russia's school for elite hackers, and more.
The Chinese App That Puts Instagram to Shame
In the ancient city of Dali, I saw firsthand how RedNote has evolved from a lifestyle platform into the tool that powers the country’s tourism industry.
Meet Rassvet, Russia’s Answer to Starlink
With the launch of the first 16 satellites, Russia begins construction of a network for satellite internet that aims to cover the entire country by 2030. But getting there won’t be easy.
Companies Keep Slashing Employees’ Benefits for the Worst Reasons
Workers are getting worse health care, parental leave, and retirement benefits, showing once and for all that your job doesn’t love you back.
The Canvas Hack Is a New Kind of Ransomware Debacle
Thousands of schools around the US were paralyzed on Thursday after education tech firm Instructure shut down access to its Canvas platform following a breach by hackers going by the name ShinyHunters.
The US Is Using AI to Hunt Down Insider Trading on Polymarket
CFTC chairman Michael Selig sat down with WIRED to discuss how the agency scours Polymarket and other prediction markets for illegal activity.