News
There's always something exciting going on over at Apple TV+, whether that's a new movie release like the upcoming crime-thriller Highest 2 Lowest directed by Spike Lee (it's in cinemas on August 22 and will land on Apple TV+ on September 5), or its lineup of fresh shows for August.
There are five new Apple TV+ titles to look forward to, including returning shows Platonic and Invasion. However, it's the new historical miniseries Chief of War starring Jason Momoa, the first two episodes of which will be released on August 1, that stands out among this month's new arrivals.
Apple TV+ is reliably one of the best streaming services – especially if you're a fan of original movies and shows – and below are our five picks of the next big titles arriving on the platform.
Chief of War (miniseries)Age rating: TV-MA
Creators: Thomas Paʻa Sibbett & Jason Momoa
Arriving on: August 1
As well as starring in Chief of War, Jason Mamoa is heavily involved off-screen, as he's one of the show's creators and executive producers.
Set at the turn of the 19th century, over the course of nine episodes Chief of War chronicles the true story of Hawaiian noble Ka'iana (Mamoa), who embarks on a bloody mission to unite four war-torn Hawaiian kingdom, and prevent his people and culture from being colonized.
Platonic season 2Age rating: TV-MA
Creators: Francesca Delbanco & Nicholas Stoller
Arriving on: August 6
Since premiering in 2023 Platonic has become one of the best-loved Apple TV+ shows and has received mostly positive reviews, scoring 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. from the critics. Two years on from its premiere, Platonic season 2, which looks even more unhinged than its first season, is scheduled to premiere this month.
Platonic is a comedy-drama about two former childhood best friends, single mother-of-three Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and recent divorcee Will (Seth Rogen). Years after a rift that led to their falling out, the two reconnect as adults as they both approach middle age, and help one another to navigate their various midlife crises.
Invasion season 3Age rating: TV-MA
Creators: Simon Kinberg & David Weil
Arriving on: August 22
The popular sci-fi thriller from X-Men and The Martian (2015) producer Simon Kinberg and David Weil, the creator of the Prime Video thriller series Hunter, returns for its third season on August 22.
Invasion follows the events of an alien invasion of Earth from the perspective of different characters from around the world. These include an American mother struggling to keep her family together in the aftermath of the attack, a Japanese aerospace engineer who’s desperate to find her astronaut girlfriend, and a British schoolboy who experiences strange visions connected to the extra-terrestrial invaders.
Rather than focusing on action-packed battle scenes between humans and aliens, Invasion explores the different ways in which people respond in the face of unimaginable chaos and tragedy.
Stillwater season 4Age rating: U
Developed by: Rob Hoegee
Arriving on: August 1
The animated Apple TV+ show has been running since 2020, bringing the pages of Jon. J Muth's Zen series of books to life for the screen. It's been almost two years since Stillwater's third season was released, and now the wait for its fourth installment is almost over.
Centered on three young siblings Karl, Addy, and Michael, Stillwater follows the trio as they navigate childhood challenges, from minor arguments to typical youthful frustrations. Living next door is Sillwater, a wise panda with a calming demeanour who offers the children new perspectives on the world, and themselves.
Stillwater makes use of stories and anecdotes that are often drawn from Zen Buddhist philosophy as a means of indirectly solving the children’s problems, while providing them with the tools to understand and process their emotions.
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical(Image credit: AppleTV+)Age rating: N/A
Director: Erik Wiese
Arriving on: August 15
The final new Apple TV+ title this August is the short TV movie Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, featuring all the best characters from the Peanuts comics including Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock.
Excited for another season at summer camp, Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, and their friends arrive ready for fun, adventures and music. When they arrive, however, they're saddened to learn that their beloved camp is set to close.
Snoopy and Woodstock come across a treasure map that leads them on a series of adventures, and when they find a treasure chest filled with musical instruments, it inspires Charlie and his gang to organize a benefit concert to save the camp.
You might also like- Ted Lasso’s main cast is reunited in Apple TV+ season 4 production teaser, but one missing series regular is set to be recast
- The Studio season 2: everything we know so far about the popular Apple TV+ show's return
- I wrote off Your Friends & Neighbors due to its 78% Rotten Tomatoes score, but this underrated Jon Hamm-led dark comedy is more proof Apple TV+ is in a league of its own
Agentic AI tools are being hired into businesses faster than we can fathom. They’re already helping shape workflows, influencing decisions, and generally assisting with the day-to-day running of a business. But without the right training, oversight, and integration, they risk becoming more of a liability to a business than a competitive advantage.
Unlike generative AI tools, agentic AI tools are designed to act independently, by identifying tasks, making decisions, and taking actions without direct instruction. They’re built to think and act, not just respond: becoming actors in the workplace, participating in workflows, integrating across functions, and shaping outcomes.
Built for a specific outcomeMost of the tools we see today are built for purpose or a specific outcome and are generally more like a bot that front-ends a workflow or business process. Today, we are largely at the task agentic worker level for automation, where we have repeatable tasks that are completed within very specific guardrails and there is very little gray area. Where this is gray area, there is a human in the loop that is making the ultimate decision or determination.
Traditionally, the role of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) is to manage and implement a company's information technology systems and strategies. As overseer of all IT operations, from hardware and software to data and IT infrastructure, the job is to ensure technology supports and drives business goals.
Managing agentic AI toolsToday, managing agentic AI tools, CIOs are beginning to find themselves in less familiar territory. To manage these new digital entities responsibly and effectively, CIOs must step into a role that looks increasingly like that of an HR director, using onboarding and training, setting expectations for roles and responsibilities, and continuously evaluating their performance, just like you would with a new employee.
This might sound surprising, but if CIOs don’t adopt this mindset shift soon, they risk introducing not just inefficiency, but reputational and security risks across their business.
Agentic AI Is Your New Co-WorkerWhen a human employee joins a company, they're given training, clear expectations of their role, access to the right systems, and, crucially, guardrails. We should not be treating our new agentic AI co-workers any differently.
Many organizations believe that they can implement these tools quickly, with minimal oversight or structure - indeed many of the agentic AI vendors are marketing their technology with exactly these promises.
But agentic AI tools are dynamic: they evolve over time, learn from the data they interact with, and can behave in ways developers can’t fully anticipate. CIOs must therefore take the lead in designing structured, thoughtful onboarding processes for these tools, as well as ongoing reviews and feedback loops.
This includes defining their scope of responsibility, controlling what data and systems they can access, and outlining what constitutes successful performance. Without them, agentic AI tools can quickly create confusion, make flawed decisions, or even introduce bias or compliance risks.
Think Metrics, Not MagicWhen a human employee joins a company, they're given training, clear expectations of their role, access to the right systems, and, crucially, guardrails. We should be treating our new agentic AI co-workers exactly the same.
Like any other employee, agentic AI tools need clear success criteria, so CIOs should ask themselves: Is the AI doing what I expect it to do? And is it doing it well?
It’s critical that CIOs establish the right metrics to measure the performance of agentic AI tools. Primarily, CIOs must understand how agentic AI is improving workforce functionality by setting KPIs for tangible metrics, for example, speed and accuracy of execution, cost saved, and alignment with business goals. But performance should also be viewed through the lens of efficacy of outcomes: what are we willing to pay to achieve a specific outcome and what margin of error is acceptable?
This should not be a one-time thing. Annual performance reviews are inadequate for these new colleagues. Metrics need to be tracked and evaluated continuously because agentic AI can drift. As these tools learn and adapt, their behavior may change in subtle ways. Without regular check-ins, CIOs could find themselves managing a tool that no longer does the job well, or worse, one that has learned to manipulate its objectives or produce skewed results.
Ultimately, CIOs must understand not just how well an agentic AI tool is performing, but also whether it remains within regulatory boundaries. Similarly, just like humans, can that tool be corrupted to produce biased results? In many sectors, from finance to healthcare, a human must still make the final call. Agentic AI can assist, but cannot replace that responsibility.
Apply the Same Growth Mindset You Would to EmployeesAs CIOs assess and evaluate the performance of agentic AI tools, they should also consider mapping how they will expand their use across the business. As new employees are not expected to immediately take over every function of the business, you should start with small deployments of agentic AI and expand over time. Just like you coach and develop co-workers to take on new responsibilities, there should be a considered and phased testing and roll out of the appropriate tools for different jobs.
It's about building pathways for responsible expansion. Consider how the AI tool could take on increasingly complex tasks, under increasing scrutiny, with increasing access to sensitive data and systems, but only when it’s earned that trust through performance.
Similarly to how you might bring in a separate employee with a different skill set, you should also consider bringing in different tools based on different models that might be better suited to your desired task. As you search hard to find the right person to fit the team, so too you should find the right AI to support that function.
That level of careful progression doesn’t slow down innovation. It makes it sustainable.
Be Cautious About PermissionsWith generative AI tools, concerns are largely centered around data leakage. But, with agentic AI, the more pressing issue is access. These tools rely on deep integration across systems in order to deliver value, but too much access creates unnecessary risk.
Just as they do for human employees, CIOs must apply a principle of least privilege to agentic AI, granting access only to the systems and data required for the task. Excessive user privileges contribute to more than half of security incidents for nearly a third (32%) of organizations.
Permissions are often given for a specific use case and never revoked, leading to unchecked access that can be exploited, or cause unintended consequences. Agentic AI adoption offers a clear opportunity for organizations to reevaluate legacy access structures and introduce zero trust access controls that are fit for purpose.
Agentic AI Governance Is Workforce ManagementUltimately, what we’re seeing is the evolution of CIO responsibilities. Where once the role was focused on infrastructure, systems, and uptime, it’s now becoming one of HR / IT hybridity, and managing intelligent, autonomous systems that function like staff.
One thing is clear: agentic AI is coming. And if anything, it will soon be as embedded in business operations as cloud services or productivity tools. Agentic AI tools offer extraordinary potential, but only if they’re managed with the same discipline, foresight, and empathy we apply to human teams.
Today, CIOs have a unique opportunity to shape how these tools are brought into the business, not just as technology, but as contributors to outcomes, and innovation.
We list the best HR outsourcing service.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
- The UK government says it has "no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act" despite growing concerns
- The laws are designed to make the internet a safer place, especially for children and vulnerable adults
- Mandatory age verification checks have been enforced since July 25, sparking concerns over web users' digital rights
The UK government says it has no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act, as opposition to it grows in the wake of the introduction of online age verification checks.
A petition calling on the government to scrap the Act has amassed over 450,000 signatures in just a few days. While the Act became law in 2023, the backlash has been sparked by the recent introduction of age verification checks for users of many websites.
From July 25, Britons need to go through robust mandatory age checks in order to access adult-only websites and any potentially harmful content online.
While the government says the laws are intended to protect both children and adults who use the internet, critics argue that they have serious implications for people's privacy, online security, free speech, and access to information.
The UK Government has responded to the petition with nearly 400,000 signatures to repeal the Online Safety Act.They have no plans to repeal the online safety act pic.twitter.com/m6UeVRfWg1July 28, 2025
The UK Parliament must consider a debate on any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures. However, responding to the petition, the UK's Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology said: "The Government has no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act, and is working closely with Ofcom to implement the Act as quickly and effectively as possible to enable UK users to benefit from its protections."
It added: "The Government will continue to work with Ofcom towards the full implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023, including monitoring proportionate implementation."
What's behind the age verification backlash?The Online Safety Act is aimed at making the internet a safer place, especially for children. But many online privacy advocates and security experts fear that the age verification measures in particular may end up doing more harm than good.
You now need to scan your face, a credit card, or an identity document if you want to access certain content on X, Reddit, or Bluesky in the UK, and the same applies if you want to play a new over-18 video game, find a new match on a dating app, or watch a video reserved for adults only. Those platforms have to partner with third-party age verification services to implement checks.
Leaks, abuse, and misuse of data are just some of the risks linked to the mass data collection that age verification checks involve. Some commentators also fear that age-blocking certain content that's deemed harmful could lead to limitations on free speech and access to information.
"While the intent to protect kids is understandable, the execution raises serious concerns around privacy, censorship, and, functionally, whether it even works," Yegor Sak, co-founder and CEO of Canada-based Windscribe VPN, told TechRadar.
(Image credit: Getty Images)Such concerns have led thousands of people to turn to a virtual private network (VPN) as a way to safeguard their sensitive information. Proton VPN, for example, recorded an hourly increase of over 1,400% starting at midnight on July 25.
If you have concerns over sharing your data online in order to comply with age verification checks, you can use a VPN to keep your data secure. You'll find some reliable options in our best free VPN guide.
However, free VPNs sometimes lack important security features, so for a more robust option, take a look at our best VPN guide. Our top recommendation is NordVPN, and right now, TechRadar's readers can grab an exclusive deal when they sign up for one of its two-year plans.
NordVPN: Get the best VPN for most people
NordVPN delivers a better mix of privacy, security, extra features, and value for money than any other VPN we’ve tested. It’s cheaper than close rival ExpressVPN, has a huge server network across the world, and is a great choice for streaming, with superb speeds and flawless unblocking.
Sign up to NordVPN to claim TechRadar's exclusive deal and get:
✅ Up to 76% OFF
✅ Up to $50 Amazon Gift card
✅ 4 months free protection (TechRadar exclusive)
There's a 30-day money back guarantee, so if it isn't right you can cancel your subscription and get a refund.View Deal
You might also likeAt Future Publishing we rely on advertising to keep bringing you the content you love to read.
The majority of the content on TechRadar is created solely by our editorial team, but on occasion, we also work with external partners to create content we hope our readers will find interesting and useful.
In some cases, advertisers support us in producing content. This content is labelled so you can see who has funded it and how it was created. We use the label on the page to clarify the advertiser’s involvement in the content.
“Sponsor Content Created With…”Articles that are labelled “Sponsor Content Created With…” are paid for and reviewed by a commercial partner.
They may be produced by the client or by staff employed by TechRadar. This is commercial content and so is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority regulations in the UK and Federal Trade Commission regulations in the US.
“Sponsored By…” and similar labelsArticles that are labelled as "Sponsored By…" or similar labels are independent editorial articles, created by writers employed by TechRadar that have been funded through the support of a commercial partner.
When planning this content, the editorial team may find alignment with a funding partner on the topic and the headline of the article but the article is not subject to any client review in advance of its publish date.
This content abides by the Editors’ Code of Practice from the Independent Press Standards Organisation in the UK and Federal Trade Commission regulations in the US.
If the commercial partner receives a sponsored section within a larger editorial article, that section will have a clear “Sponsored” label.
“Preferred Partner”Articles that are labelled as "Preferred Partner," mean a commercial partner is offering a preferential affiliate rate to Future in exchange for greater prominence on the page, such as by highlighting a particular deal for a product that our journalists recommend.
TechRadar will only write content featuring “Preferred Partners” when we feel the content or product is aligned with what our audience wants. It is not sent to the funding partner for approval.
This content abides by the Editors’ Code of Practice from the Independent Press Standards Organisation in the UK and Federal Trade Commission regulations in the US.
Cyber-attacks continue to dominate headlines, disrupting operations and putting sensitive data at risk. In the wake of the AI boom, threats are growing more complex. The endless game between attacker and defender is intensifying, and defenders know the stakes are high. Operational, financial, and reputational damage can be severe when an attack succeeds.
At the same time, security teams face a widening skills gap, growing threat complexity and tighter budgets. It’s a perfect storm for burnout. In fact, 79% of cybersecurity professionals reported that escalating threats are impacting their mental health, highlighting the need for an empathetic approach to these challenges.
Prevention as the shield, resilience as the backboneHistorically, organizations have measured cybersecurity success by how well they prevent attacks. But with 90% of IT and security leaders reporting cyber incidents in the past year alone, it’s clear that prevention alone is no longer enough.
It’s time to shift the focus towards recovery, transparency, and resilience. Resilience shouldn’t be seen as a fallback – it needs to become the frontline. This shift in mindset not only better prepares organizations for inevitable breaches but also reduces pressure on teams by redefining what success looks like.
When teams are judged on their ability to recover and minimize disruption (not just prevent attacks), they’re empowered to focus on what matters; early detection, rapid response, and recovery planning. This reduces burnout and builds stronger long-term security posture.
We must also accept a hard truth; breaches will happen. Rather than fueling a culture of blame, we need to equip teams to respond effectively and confidently.
Securing the security team with transparencyAs ever, collaboration in a crisis is critical. Security teams working closely with backup, resilience and recovery functions are better able to absorb shocks. When the business is confident in its ability to restore operations, security professionals face less pressure and uncertainty.
This is also true for communication, especially post-breach. Organizations need to be transparent about how they’re containing the incident and what’s being done to prevent recurrence. Trust drives everything and must be built into architecture, communication, and response, from user behavior to board confidence.
Shared risk, shared responsibilityAs seen with the recent retail cyber-attacks in the UK, the implications of a cyber breach can be business critical. Yet many CISOs still struggle to get alignment at board level. Over three-quarters (77%) of UK CISOs feel that their IT budget is not completely reflected by their board’s objectives for cybersecurity.
To make matters worse, this is heightened when it comes to regulatory pressures. New legislation like DORA and the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is turning up the heat, with over half (58%) of CISOs feeling the pressure as a direct result.
There is also an element of the blame game going on, with everyone keen to avoid responsibility for an inevitable cyber breach. It’s much easier to point fingers at the IT team than to look at the wider implications or causes of a cyber-attack. Even something as simple as a phishing email can cause widespread problems and is something that individual employees must be aware of. Security is everyone’s business - the attack surface isn’t just focused on IT, it’s every team, tool, and workflow.
This critical gap jeopardizes not only an organizations' security posture but also their ability to meet evolving regulatory demands. CISOs, boards, and other stakeholders must work together to ensure that cyber resilience priorities are clearly defined, adequately funded, and effectively implemented to meet the evolving regulatory landscape.
The weight of responsibility for cyber security shouldn’t just lie on the security team’s shoulders. Cyber resilience is business resilience and security leaders, boards and stakeholders all have a part to play.
Building teams that thriveTo build and retain a capable cybersecurity team amid the widening skills gap, CISOs must lead a shift in both mindset and strategy. By embedding resilience into the core of cyber strategy, CISOs can reduce the relentless pressure to be perfect and create a healthier, more sustainable working environment.
But resilience isn't built in isolation. To truly address burnout and retention, CISOs need C-suite support and cultural change. Cybersecurity must be treated as a shared business-critical priority, not just an IT function. This means aligning investment with board expectations, embedding security into daily operations and ensuring every employee understands their role.
With regulatory pressure rising and the threat landscape evolving, resilience isn’t just a technical necessity, it’s a strategic imperative. CISOs who champion collaboration, drive cultural change, and lead with empathy will be best positioned to build security teams that are not only effective but built to last.
We list the best employee recognition software.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
- CMA says UK cloud market is uncompetitive
- AWS and Microsoft account for 30-40% of the UK market each
- The two companies disagree with the CMA's findings
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has determined Britain's cloud market shows too many anticompetitive traits, with Microsoft and AWS each holding around 30-40% of the UK market in 2024 and hyperscaler concentration especially high in infrastructure-as-a-service.
At the same time, fewer than 1% of customers switch providers annually and multicloud usage is rare (particularly among SMEs with more limited budgets).
The CMA has blamed high egress fees, incompatible interfaces, latency and skills gaps for widespread vendor lock-in, which is ultimately weakening competition.
CMA worried about AWS and Microsoft cloud market dominanceBehind the two hyperscalers, Google accounts for just 5-10% of the market, with others like IBM and Oracle having even smaller shares. Although AI capabilities are yet to change market dynamics drastically, existing positions are likely to be amplified, thus the CMA has stepped in to ensure competition remains healthy.
In its Final Decision ruling, the CMA took the biggest hits at Microsoft over its unfair licensing practices, which make it costlier to run Microsoft software on rival cloud providers.
A Microsoft spokesperson told TechRadar Pro: "The CMA Panel’s most recent publication misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes. Its recommendations fail to cover Google, one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants."
"Microsoft looks forward to working with the Digital Markets Unit toward an outcome that more accurately reflects the current competition in cloud that benefits UK customers," they continued.
"The action proposed by the Inquiry Group is unwarranted and undermines the substantial investment and innovation that have already benefited hundreds of thousands of UK businesses," an AWS spokesperson added.
On the flip side, Google supported the CMA's findings: "The conclusive finding that restrictive licensing harms cloud customers and competition is a watershed moment for the UK."
Elsewhere in the industry, the CMA has been criticized for not acting fast enough and addressing persistent issues like cloud credits, lock-in and procurement bias.
"We urge the CMA to use the powers at its disposal now to address these harms, rather than embark upon a new investigation that may not give customers relief for years to come," Coalition for Fair Software Licensing Executive Director Ryan Triplette shared.
Looking ahead, the CMA's next step is to designate Microsoft and AWS with strategic market status (SMS) under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, allowing it to impose legally binding, targeted conduct requirements on the two giants.
"A significant driver of high cloud computing bills is the consolidation of the market into a handful of players. Until recently, these companies have been the only game in town, so they’ve been able to set the rules of the market, for example, including egress fees for switching, long lock-in periods, and more. In fact, Gartner has observed that most customers spend 10% to 15% of their cloud bill on egress charges," noted Akamai's John Bradshaw.
"UK businesses are under huge cost pressures. We need to make it easier for them to switch cloud computing providers and find pricing options that better fit their balance sheets."
You might also like- The average UK SMB now invests 36% of its annual revenue in new tech
- Finances and payments are common use cases
- Only 1% of companies remain non-tech-users
Britain's small and medium-sized businesses are investing more than a third (36%) of their annual revenue in new tools and technology, new Worldpay data has said, with most (90%) also agreeing tech investments have already significantly boosted efficiency.
Among the most popular areas for new tech investments across all type of UK SMBs are financial management (54%), marketing and sales (49%) and payment processing (47%), with employee management, inventory control and CRM also seeing a healthy boost.
On the flip side, only 1% of SMBs are now not using any technology, compared with one in five (20%) a decade ago, marking a huge departure from old ways.
UK SMBs are mostly tech-first"This digital transformation is not just a trend - it's a vital evolution that enhances productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction," Worldpay GM for SMB International Chris Wood explained.
A number of factors could have contributed to the rise in spend on digital platforms, but the post-pandemic behavioral shift could lead them. Customers now expect contactless and omnichannel services that are fast and instant.
Then, there are the regulatory hurdles, for example HMRC's Making Tax Digital mandate which requires bookkeeping to be completed using certain reporting software.
"Worldpay is on a mission provide SMBs with the right technology, empowering independent businesses to compete on a level playing field and thrive," Wood added.
You might also like- Small business leaders are struggling to cope with a plummeting UK employment rate
- We've listed the best productivity apps and best online collaboration tools
- Check out the best AI tools and a handy boost
- Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls just got its first gameplay deep dive
- This beginner's guide focuses on game mechanics and the tag system
- It seems wholly different to how tagging worked in the Marvel vs. Capcom series
PlayStation Studios and Arc System Works has released the official beginner's guide for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, an upcoming fighting game scheduled to release in 2026.
Uploaded via IGN's YouTube channel, the beginner's guide gives us our first comprehensive look at Fighting Souls' gameplay - including its overall style, button layout, and initially bizarre tag mechanics.
A 4v4 2D fighting game, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has you selecting a team of four heroes (or villains) from its character roster. You first is your 'leader' character, whom you'll assume control of in battle. The other three are your assists, and they'll perform different actions based on which slot they're in.
The beginner's guide makes it abundantly clear that you won't have access to your full team at the start of a match, however. You'll begin with just two, and you'll need to unlock your third and fourth through various actions. These include successfully throwing your opponent, performing a stage transition by knocking your opponent off the edge of the screen, or losing a round.
This certainly isn't what I was expecting, and is an incredibly novel take on the tag fighter formula. That said, Fighting Souls will still feel somewhat familiar to Arc System Works fans in other areas.
Like Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, each character has light, medium, and heavy buttons which can be strung together for a combo. With enough meter, these 'auto combos' can end in special or ultimate moves depending on the input string. Everyone also has a button dedicated to their unique skill, such as Iron Man's missiles or Doctor Doom's shield.
It's quite a lot to take in, but I think the real complexity will come into the placement of your assist characters. There are three types of assist - shooter, vertical, and assault - so picking the right character for the role will undoubtedly lead to hours upon hours of experimentation.
There's no release date for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls just yet, outside of its 2026 window. However, with Sony's large-scale EVO 2025 fighting game event happening over the weekend, I'm expecting even more news for the game. Perhaps some character trailers or a more concrete release date.
You might also like...- Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal: release date and open beta weekends confirmed, plus all the announcements as they happened
- Two Square Enix RPGs have been announced for Nintendo Switch 2, including the next entry in the Octopath Traveler series
- The next Monster Hunter game gets an official Nintendo Direct announcement and it's releasing next year for PC and consoles
When it comes to laptops, "good enough" isn't good enough: you need a system that's as smart as you are, with the stamina to handle the most demanding days and your passion projects too. And that means a PC with a Snapdragon X Series® processor.
Snapdragon X Series processors deliver an unrivalled balance of performance and battery life measured not in hours, but in days. It powers up all your favourite apps and takes care of even the most intensive tasks without breaking a sweat. And it does all of that on a single charge that lasts for days*.
The speed you need to ace everythingTo say Snapdragon X Series processors are fast is like saying space is quite big. Snapdragon X Series delivers the kind of performance that makes jaws drop and eyes pop.
All Snapdragon X Series deliver exceptional speed, and the star of the family is the incredible Snapdragon X Elite. It comes with the new Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU, which is the leader in performance per watt. In plain English that means blisteringly fast performance and exceptional battery life too: it's available at processor speeds of up to 4.2GHz with up to 64GB of memory. Your PC may look like a laptop, but inside it's a supercomputer.
(Image credit: Qualcomm)Battery life that's twice as niceSnapdragon X Elite isn't just speedy. It’s smart too. It intelligently distributes workloads across the entire system in order to deliver exceptional battery life: twice as long as typical laptops. With up to 22 hours of battery life* from a single charge, your PC powered by Snapdragon X Elite allows you to work or play for several days without needing to find a power outlet. That makes PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite particularly great for anyone who needs to work or study in multiple places that may, or may not have readily available outlets, and for anyone who loves going off grid or going on adventures.
AI like no otherAI's becoming an increasingly important tool for students, and PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite are the perfect partners for generative AI, large language models and other advanced technologies that lesser laptops just cannot cope with. The Snapdragon's incredible speed – it handles up to 45 trillion operations per second – meaning it outperforms rival laptops to bring you a turbo-charged AI experience. And because the Snapdragon X Elite is so efficient, it does it without draining the PC’s battery.
(Image credit: Qualcomm)Immersive entertainmentSnapdragon X Elite comes with Snapdragon Sound™ Technology Suite, the cutting-edge sonic system that elevates your audio to deliver high-quality streaming and sensational soundtracks in crystal-clear lossless audio. The premium integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU delivers stunning graphics and deliciously vibrant 5K video for immersive entertainment, delivering supercharged performance with ultra-low power consumption. And the Snapdragon X Elite [1] can make you look good too, with support for 4K HDR webcams that deliver super-sharp video calls and conferencing.
Comprehensive connectivityWhen you have a laptop powered by Snapdragon X Elite, you’ll want to take full advantage of its impressive capabilities with incredibly fast wireless connections for both work and entertainment. Snapdragon X Elite delivers just that. With high-performance Wi-Fi 7 and the latest Bluetooth® wireless technologies, you get lightning-fast and incredibly stable wireless connectivity. Additionally, optional support for fast 5G mobile data connections, combined with the long battery life characteristic of Snapdragon processors, makes PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite ideal for travel.
(Image credit: Qualcomm)The perfect partner for youOne of our favorite things about PCs with Snapdragon X Series processors is that there’s one to suit every kind of student, and to suit every budget too. From the ultra-portable Acer Swift Go AI and Microsoft Surface 13 to the massive and massively powerful Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge 16 there are Snapdragon PCs of all sizes and specs – and if you want something even more flexible, there are all kinds of innovative designs such as Lenovo's brilliant IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1, which instantly and effortlessly converts from a laptop to a tablet and has ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 to make it a perfect portable PC.
What we love most about PCs with Snapdragon X Series processors is that you don't have to compromise. You don't have to pick between high performance and long battery life, because Snapdragon X Series delivers both. And you don't have to settle for a PC that's less than perfect, because Snapdragon X Series powers amazing PCs of all shapes and sizes from all of your favorite names.
Click here to discover how your Snapdragon PC will help you rule the school.
* Battery life varies significantly based on device, settings, usage and other factors
- The Battlefield 6 system requirements have been revealed
- A beefy CPU and graphics card are recommended
- Players should also use SSD storage for the best experience
EA has revealed the system requirements for Battlefield 6 and, if you're anything like me, it might be a sign that you need to upgrade your gaming PC.
Available via the official Battlefield 6 website, the game will require an Nvidia RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB graphics card at a minimum. This is in addition to Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor and 16GB of RAM.
As those specs are just a minimum requirement, however, I can't imagine that the experience will be very smooth.
You're recommended to have at least an Nvidia RTX 3060Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6700-XT graphics card, in addition to a newer Intel Core i7-10700 or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU and the same 16GB or RAM.
Although the game will run on a conventional HDD, an SSD is also recommended and should help keep loading times to a minimum.
You can see a full list of the requirements minimum below:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor(AMD): AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Processor(Intel): Intel Core i5-8400
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics Card(AMD): AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB
- Graphics Card(Nvidia): Nvidia RTX 2060
- Direct X: DX12
- Online Connection Requirements: Yes
- Hard Drive Space: HDD - 55GiB
And the recommended requirements:
- OS: Windows 11
- Processor(AMD): AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- Processor(Intel): Intel Core i7-10700
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics Card(AMD): AMD Radeon RX 6700-XT
- Graphics Card(Nvidia): Nvidia RTX 3060Ti
- Direct X: DX12
- Online Connection Requirements: Yes
- Hard Drive Space: SSD - 80GiB
The reveal of these system requirements follows a comprehensive rundown of the game's explosive multiplayer mode.
We also learned that the game will launch on October 10 and be exclusive to current generation platforms including PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S. Pre-orders are available now.
You might also like...- 'He's probably pissed off' – Dying Light: The Beast director discusses setting a super-powered Kyle Crane loose and dialing the gore up to 11
- ‘No other studio has made this kind of game before’ – Where Winds Meet developers on building the ultimate free-to-play Chinese fantasy epic
- I learned tai chi from a bear, fought a man named Chubby Brother, then caught the bubonic plague in Where Winds Meet – and now I’m downloading this free PS5 game on day one
The 10 finalists for the 20205 Reply AI Film Festival have just been announced. The festival, which launched last year, is designed specifically for films "written, enhanced or animated using AI".
The ten finalists for 2025 were selected for their ability to explore the theme of this year’s awards, which was "generation of emotions", and for “demonstrating how artificial intelligence can generate authentic and emotionally engaging experiences through cinematic language.”
AI artists, filmmakers, writers, animators, VFX artists, and enthusiasts from around the world, including Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States and Brazil took part in the contest.
I’ve watched most of the short films, and the amount of creativity on show is breathtaking. The films contain a wide range of styles, from anime to photorealistic to film noir.
In April the Oscars gave a tentative green light to the use of AI in films, but the topic continues to ruffle feathers amongst artists, the public and production studios alike.
Even the lovable popstar Nick Cave got into a spot of bother recently, for changing his mind about the use of AI in a post on his Red Hand Files blog. Cave had been gifted a new AI-created soundtrack film for the classic Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song Tupelo, created by the filmmaker Andrew Dominik, who is known for creating Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James, One More Time With Feeling, and Blonde, among others.
“As I watched Andrew’s surreal little film, I felt my view of AI as an artistic device soften. To some extent, my mind was changed", said Cave.
You can view the AI-generated movie yourself here: .
Cave’s unexpected about-face on AI has caused something of a reaction in the artists community, with his musician friend Amanda Palmer equating some of the scenes of AI recreating the deceased Elvis Presley as akin to “grave-robbing”.
Reply 2025Like any tool, I believe it’s what you use AI for that matters. Rather than using AI to recreate the famous and dead, the finalists in the Reply AI Film Festival feature stunningly bold creative choices that might have been unfeasible without using AI.
For example, I was particularly struck by the short film Instinct by Marcello Costa Jr., a film-maker from Portugal – which features a neanderthal hunting a deer in the middle of a forest suddenly encountering a modern day skyscraper – and the mind-bending visual effects of the short film Meme, Myself and AI, by Private Island, a production studio from the UK.
Of course, the films in the Reply AI Film Festival are mostly less than five minutes long, but this is just the start of the AI movie revolution – I don’t think it’s going to be long now before the world gets its first full-length feature film, made entirely with AI.
The beauty of AI is that it can go as far as your imagination will allow.
“AI is not a replacement for human creativity, but a catalyst for innovation. It will enable filmmakers to explore new styles, genres, and narratives that were previously unimaginable.”, commented Gabriele Muccino, chair of the Reply jury.
Chosen from over 2,500 submissions across 67 countries, the Reply AI Film Festival winner will be awarded in a ceremony on Thursday, 4th September at the Mastercard Priceless Lounge, Hotel Excelsior, Venice.
You might also like...- Microsoft uncovers cyber espionage attacks targeting diplomats
- Embassies within Russia are being hit with malware
- The threat actors are using adversary-in-the-middle attacks
Foreign embassies in Moscow are being targeted by Russian state hackers, who are using custom malware tracked as ApolloShadow, disguised as Kaspersky antivirus software, new reports have claimed.
The attacks have the end goal of installing a TLS root certificate which allows the threat actor to ‘cryptographically impersonate’ trusted websites visited by the infected system inside the embassy, Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports.
“This campaign, which has been ongoing since at least 2024, poses a high risk to foreign embassies, diplomatic entities, and other sensitive organizations operating in Moscow, particularly to those entities who rely on local internet providers," the experts noted.
Secret BlizzardThis cyber espionage campaign targeting diplomats and embassies uses what's known as an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attack, which occurs when hackers intercept and alter communications between two parties without their knowledge.
These frequently leverage other attack vectors like social engineering emails or messages to create conditions in which an attacker can intercept and manipulate the communications between users and the legitimate services they use, then stealing credentials and authenticated access tokens.
The notorious threat actor, Secret Blizzard, has previously been observed hacking Ukrainian military tech by stealing points of entry from third-parties. The group is one of the most sophisticated and most prolific state-sponsored threat actors in the world.
Microsoft previously assessed with ‘low confidence’ that Secret Blizzard was conducting cyberespionage within Russian borders against its adversaries, but the company now confirms that they have the capability to carry these out on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level.
This means diplomats using local ISP or telecommunications within Russia are ‘highly likely’ targets of Secret Blizzard’s AiTM position within those services.
“In our previous blog, we reported the actor likely leverages Russia’s domestic intercept systems such as the System for Operative Investigative Activities (SORM), which we assess may be integral in facilitating the actor’s current AiTM activity, judging from the large-scale nature of these operations,” Microsoft confirmed.
You might also like- Take a look at our picks for the best firewall software around
- Check out our choice for best endpoint protection software to keep you safe
- US government wants to ban Chinese technology in submarine cables
- Pixel Watch 4 pricing for the US has leaked
- The main models will stay at the same price
- We could get a price drop on the LTE models
The Pixel Watch 4 is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday, August 20 at the next Made by Google event – alongside the Pixel 10 phones and the Pixel Buds 2a – and a new leak gives us some idea about how much the new wearable is going to cost.
According to information obtained by Android Headlines, the starting price of the Pixel Watch 4 in the US will be the same as it was for the Pixel Watch 3 last year: $349. Presumably the international pricing of £349 / AU$579 will stay the same too.
That's for the 41mm model without LTE, but Android Headlines says the price for the Wi-Fi-only 45mm wearable is going to be the same as last year as well: $399 (or £399 / AU$669). In other words, Google seems to have avoided adding any price hikes.
In fact, the LTE variants are said to be cheaper: $399 vs $449 for 41 mm LTE and $449 vs $499 for 45 mm LTE. Internationally, the Pixel Watch 3 prices for those models were £449 / AU$749 and £499 / AU$839 respectively, so we'll have to see if there's any change there.
Promo packagesYou might be able to get YouTube Premium with your Pixel Watch 4 (Image credit: Future)We also have a few details about the promotional offers that are going to be available if you decide to pick up a Pixel Watch 4. Apparently everyone who buys the device will get six months of Fitbit Premium and a month of YouTube Premium included.
That gives you access to features such as extra fitness insights, instructor-led workouts, and meditation routines (with Fitbit Premium), as well as an ad-free YouTube experience, offline downloads, and YouTube Music Premium (with YouTube Premium).
These offers are now fairly typical with Google Pixel products, and certainly add to the appeal of the devices: Fitbit Premium will cost you $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$15.49 a month, and YouTube Premium $13.99 / £12.99 / AU$16.99 a month, if you decide to keep them on.
One more tidbit from this particular leak is that the Pixel Watch 4 is set to offer 25% faster charging than its predecessor, getting from zero to 50% of a charge in 15 minutes. We've already seen a leak of the redesigned charger that comes with the wearable.
You might also like