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Want to catch up on the biggest tech news stories you might have missed from the past seven days?
You're in luck, as we've rounded up the biggest events from Tesla launching its robotaxis (in a way) in Austin to reports of PS5s failing as an old debunked issue resurfaces.
Once you're up to speed on all that, be sure to check out the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (June 27).
8. We hosted Smart Home week(Image credit: Getty Images / Kemal Yildirim)Ever wanted to get started with smart lighting, set up a home security system, or automate everyday chores? This week, we've brought you a heap of expert advice and tutorials to help you get started with smart home tech. Whether you're getting connected for the first time or want to get more out of the devices you already have, we're here to help.
Smart home tech is all about making your life easier, so we’ll show you the devices that will do the most for you and show you how to connect them all together in a seamless system. It’s a lot simpler and more affordable than you might expect, and you’ll be amazed at just how much it can do for you!
- Read more: Welcome to TechRadar's Smart Home Week
Microsoft is officially cutting the cord on Windows 10 on October 14, but this week it threw a buoy to anyone who needs a bit more time to switch to Windows 11.
The Extended Security Updates (ESU) program brings important security patches to Windows 10 for a year after official support ends. And there’s now a new wizard to help you get your PC enrolled – it’ll be available in the Windows Insider Program in July, before rolling out more widely in August.
The wizard can’t, unfortunately, wave its wand to make Windows 11 go away, but it will help you kick that can down the road for another year if you aren’t quite ready to make the leap.
6. Cambridge Audio made us even crazier about music(Image credit: Future)Until now, Cambridge Audio’s wireless earbuds have been ‘pretty good’, but in a market so chock full of plucky contenders, ‘pretty good’ is usually not good enough. And so the company is back with a very concerted effort, in the shape of the new Melomania A100.
Look, it’s not every week that such a gifted set of earbuds arrives. Here is a product priced to compete squarely in the mainstream, but with so few apparent compromises – yes, they sound great; yes, the ANC is very effective – it makes the price tag seem unfathomable.
In every respect (build quality, specification and, especially, performance) these earbuds outperform their asking price by a wide margin. Highly recommended.
5. Multiple users reported PS5 failures(Image credit: Sony)Panic stations, folks; reports of PS5 failures due to liquid metal leaking issues are resurfacing, despite previously being debunked. This comes from the founder of indie developer Alderon Games, who claims that developers and multiple players reported constant abrupt shutdowns while playing its Rise of Titans game.
It’s perhaps the worst possible time for issues to occur, as arguably the most anticipated game of all time, GTA 6, is almost upon us; therefore, it’s advised to place consoles horizontally to avoid any potential complications.
4. Bond found its next movie director(Image credit: MGM)The first James Bond movie of the Amazon MGM Studios era is starting to take shape with a new director set to take over the reins that you might have heard of: Denis Villeneuve.
Known for big blockbusters like Dune, Arrival, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, the filmmaker has been trusted with taking over established franchises before, and so understands that the Bond movies are “sacred territory”.
A self-proclaimed “die-hard Bond fan”, the announcement of Villeneuve’s appointment has been largely welcomed by fans, with many taking to social media to say how excited they are. Although some have raised concerns that Villeneuve’s other upcoming projects, like Dune ,3 might mean there’ll be a longer wait.
3. Tesla’s self-driving robotaxis hit the road(Image credit: Tesla)After quite the wait, the Tesla robotaxi service has ‘launched’ in Austin, Texas, so now you can be ferried around in a Tesla vehicle with no human driver behind the wheel.
However, it’s a very limited thing. Not only does it only cover a very specific part of Austin – a region that's been thoroughly mapped by Tesla's software – but you also have to receive an invite to even try the service.
You won’t be alone on your ride for now either, as each robo taxi comes with its own robo taxi employee who can shut the car down if it gets into trouble, which bodes well for how Tesla thinks this test will go.
2. Chromecast with Google TV finally got its update(Image credit: Google)The Android 14 update, which we first reported that Chromecasts would be getting back in March, is at last available for everyone.
Some people did initially manage to start installing the update, so this new rollout is for two versions – a smaller package for anyone who downloaded the initial Android 14 update before it was pulled, and a larger one for anyone who didn't and whose device is still running Android 12.
According to Google, the update should lead to "a snappier, more responsive TV experience".
1. Samsung set the date for Galaxy Unpacked(Image credit: Samsung)After numerous hints from Samsung and many rumors about the next Galaxy Z Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy Watches, you can now officially mark your calendars for July 9, 2025.
The Galaxy Unpacked festivities will kick off at 10am ET / 7am PT / 3pm BST on July 9, 2025, and the event will be live-streamed. TechRadar will be on the scene in Brooklyn, New York, reporting live, so we’ll be breaking down err... Unpacking everything that Samsung unveils.
The teaser says 'Ultra Unfolds' suggesting we might also see the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra.
- Read more: Is the Galaxy Z Fold ready to go Ultra?
- Security-focused Apple browser Psylo isolates tabs into silos with private proxies per tab
- Each silo blocks trackers and fingerprinting for deeper privacy
- No data or identity gets stored, only bandwidth tied to random ID
Browser fingerprinting tracks users by collecting device details to build a unique profile, allowing cross-site tracking without cookies or static IPs.
Apple users looking for privacy-first web browsing now have a new option for blocking this kind of tracking in Psylo, a browser developed by Canadian security researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk.
Available on Apple’s App Store it offers a fresh approach to online privacy via isolated browser tabs and built-in proxy protections.
True tab isolationPsylo is built around the idea of isolating every browser tab as its own “silo,” with separate storage, cookies, and even unique IP addresses.
This approach not only adds privacy but makes tracking users far more difficult. “Psylo stands out as it is the only WebKit-based iOS browser that truly isolates tabs,” Tommy Mysk told The Register.
Each silo connects through Psylo’s private proxy network, offering more than 40 high-speed servers in locations like Canada, Germany, and Brazil.
Unlike traditional VPNs, which mask only IP addresses, Psylo adjusts browser fingerprints per silo. It aligns timezone and system language to the chosen proxy location, a feature aimed at preventing fingerprinting techniques that can bypass VPNs.
The app is fully self-contained. It doesn't modify system VPN settings or require any setup.
Protections such as DNS-level tracker blocking and automatic HTTPS upgrades are built-in. There are no ads, no crypto incentives, and no AI agents running in the background.
Psylo also allows multiple account usage through web versions of social platforms like Instagram or X.
Tabs can run side by side without sharing data or tracking information between them. Users can choose between persistent silos for daily browsing or ephemeral ones that delete data after closing.
Mysk says that no browsing history, IP addresses, or personally identifiable information is stored. Bandwidth data is the only thing recorded, and it is tied only to a random identifier created at signup. Apple handles all payment data.
Psylo is available now on iOS and iPadOS. Users can try it free for seven days without creating an account. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available, starting at $9.99 per month.
You might also likeBoth Microsoft and Sony have confirmed they’re working on next-generation games consoles, with 2027 even tipped to be the potential launch date for a potential PlayStation 6 or new Xbox. But I’m here to squash that hype.
While 2027 makes sense for the usual new console cycle, which tends to be around every seven years - the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X (and S) both launched in November 2020, so that amount of time will have elapsed come 2027 - I think it’s way too early to start thinking about next-gen consoles (unless you’re looking at snagging a Nintendo Switch 2 restock).
I was lucky enough to put both current-gen PlayStation and Xbox flagship consoles through their paces when they launched. And both are excellent bits of hardware; the Series X is the ultimate expression of Xbox, while the PS5 offered a neat suite of innovations and the immersion-heightening DualSense controller.
But the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic not only made it hard to get either of the consoles close to launch, but also saw huge delays to games. This had the knock-on effect of more games being cross-generation than I’d have usually expected.
While that’s no bad thing, especially as I rather enjoyed playing games like God of War and The Last of Us Part 2 at 60 frames per second (fps), I felt it didn’t really give the proper next-generation console vibe I’d hoped for.
And now, five years into the generation and Microsoft has already started talking about next-generation hardware, with Xbox president Sarah Bond announcing the gaming division has formed a partnership with AMD for future hardware. And Sony confirmed it’s working on new next-generation PlayStation hardware, but stopped short of calling it the PS6.
Too soon? (Image credit: Shutterstock/Hopix Art)None of this is surprising, as of course there’ll be a new console generation; that’s unless Microsoft really does eschew hardware and go fully into Xbox Cloud Gaming, but that’s another topic of discussion. However, I think it's way too early for even the most hardcore of gamers to be thinking too much about what’s next for Xbox and PlayStation hardware.
The crux of this is, I reckon, we only really started to get proper ‘next-gen’ games in 2022, perhaps even 2023 - when the term ‘next-gen’ started to feel irrelevant. Perhaps ‘current-gen’ was more appropriate by then.
Now I get that even on the PS5 Pro, players may still need to make some form of choice between the fastest frame rates or the crispest graphics, rather than just having 4K 60 fps (I should add that the PS5 Pro does offer some excellent middle-ground options like a 40 fps high quality graphics mode in Horizon Forbidden West, and PSSR offer some smart upsampling for games).
So there’s potentially an argument for new hardware to finally deliver the ultra-high-definition and fast frame rate combo that has always felt like an undelivered promise.
A powerful PC like this Starforge System is arguably a step towards next-gen gaming right now. (Image credit: Starforge Systems)Of course, PC gamers with deep pockets can already get this with a high-end machine, or are making the most out of Nvidia’s DLSS tech to get fast frame rates at cleverly up-mixed resolutions.
As someone with a very powerful gaming PC, I do love the ease of being able to boot up basically any game, crank everything up, and enjoy fast frame rates on a monitor with a high refresh rate. But that’s a bit of a niche proposition, and I don’t think it’s yet a catalyst for new console hardware.
My overarching feeling is that the current Xbox and PlayStation generation is only really three-ish years old in a gaming sense. I'd like to see more pumped out of the current hardware before diving headfirst into the next, as I reckon developers have more to extract from these machines.
I’ve partially made this argument before in regards to the PS5 Pro, which I think is great but perhaps a tad underwhelming. What I find more impressive is seeing consoles work to deliver impressive performance or visuals as developers really learn to optimize for their silicon innards.
Take The Last of Us on the PS3 - that was a seriously impressive-looking game that got so much out of very mature hardware. I’d say the same was true of Halo 4 on the Xbox 360.
While those consoles had different chip architecture to their predecessors, I think that the technical know-how of getting the most out of aging hardware may have had a positive knock-on effect on developing games for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Given that last-generation and this generation’s consoles run on AMD chip architecture, and that’s sure to continue with the next-generation, I think learning to push current hardware as hard as possible will have a positive knock on effect for the next-gen consoles in terms of extracting more performance from the offset, but also potentially opening up new gaming experiences with an understanding of what can be done with extra performance headroom.
Beyond frame rates (Image credit: Sony/PlayStation)While we’ve had some very graphically impressive games, like Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 on PS5, and Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X, I don’t feel they were enormously different from their predecessors. So I’m still waiting on a game to truly wow me - Fable 4 and GTA 6 have both caught my eye, but they’re delayed until next year.
Going by the recent Witcher 4 tech demo, which looked amazing yet was running at 60 fps on PS5 hardware, there’s seemingly a lot of untapped promise in the current console hardware, especially with what Unreal Engine 5 has to offer.
Equally, I still think The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks fantastic, especially after its upgraded release on the current-gen consoles. And while I love fast frame rate gaming with all the bells and whistles on my PC, I do wonder if we’ve sort of hit 'peak graphics’. Sure, things can get crisper, sharper, and smoother, but will we ever see the big generational leap like I used to see in the early 2000s? Probably not.
So I worry that with a new console generation now arguably on the horizon, we’ll see even the best games consoles go the way of smartphones and become almost incremental generation-to-generation. I do not want that.
Rather, I want new consoles to offer proper step changes in gaming. Where once graphical fidelity represented that, how about seeing something new?
The world and its technological dog are harping on about AI, so how about we see games consoles that can truly support advanced character AI that offer unique player experiences with each new playthrough, or expand the scope of games.
(Image credit: Stock-Asso / Shutterstock)Or perhaps we see new control schemes that really make gaming accessible to all; as much as the Nintendo Switch 2 might be a cool piece of hardware, my colleague Rob Dwiar can’t use it, and that seems rather limiting in the year 2025.
As games have evolved, they open up more interesting experiences and interactions - if we break away from the established molds of Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and so on - and I feel hardware could and perhaps should follow suit.
So it’s my hope that we don’t let hype push a new console generation too soon, and instead, current hardware is pushed to the max while smarter people than me come up with new tech that takes gaming to a new level.
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