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When it comes to cleaning habits, opinions vary massively. I manage all the floorcare articles on TechRadar, and while I have some of the very best vacuum cleaners in my cupboard, and spend a lot more time thinking about vacuuming than the average person, that doesn't mean I'm actually doing it that regularly.
To find out if my cleaning habits are up to scratch, I decided to find out – from a cleaning expert – exactly how often we should all be vacuuming our floors. I spoke to Kiril Natov, a carpet and upholstery cleaning technician and CEO of cleaning company Premium Clean, with 18 years of experience in the industry. Here's what he had to say…
How often should you vacuum carpets?"Aim to vacuum carpets at least twice a week, even if they don't appear dirty," suggests Natov. If you have pets or children, he recommends upping that frequency.
Does it matter what kind of vacuum you use? "For cut pile carpets, use a vacuum with a beater bar or brush to enhance cleaning," Natov advises. A beater bar is just a rotating roller within the cleaner head, often with bristles, which helps agitate the carpet fibers. When the TechRadar team is recommending the best vacuums for carpet, we also look for models that have enough suction to pull up dust and debris that's wedged deeper into the carpet.
Natov also suggests you could use a robovac. My experience is that even today's best robot vacuums don't have enough suction to really deep clean carpet, but they are great for staying on top of regular, light cleans.
A beater bar will help agitate the carpet fibers (Image credit: Future)How often should you vacuum hard floor?"We recommend vacuuming hardwood floors once a week," says Natov. He suggests using your vacuum's hard floor setting if it has one.
What kind of vacuum should you use for hard floors? "Any vacuum can suck dust, hair, and crumbs off your hardwood, tile, or vinyl floors, but some models do it better than others," says Natov. "To avoid scattering debris or possibly damaging delicate flooring, look for a vacuum that either lets you switch off the spinning brush roll or has a special cleaner head with soft bristles."
My own top picks for the best vacuum cleaners for hardwood floor are models that include a dedicated fluffy floor head – as Natov says, these are perfect for cleaning dust and debris from the surface of even delicate hard floors. Examples include the Dyson V15 Detect and the Dreame R20.
For hard floors, look for a vacuum with a dedicated soft roller – Dyson's version comes with a laser to highlight dust (Image credit: Future)How often should you vacuum your sofa?"We recommend vacuuming the furniture and upholstery fabric once a month," says Natov, noting that pet owners might want to increase that to fortnightly. He suggests paying special attention to your sofa – it's one of the most high-traffic areas in your home, so it's bound to pick up dirt and dust.
When it comes to cleaning furniture and upholstery, it's all about the attachments. If you're buying a cordless vacuum, look for one with a mini motorized cleaner head – kind of like a shrunk-down version of the main floor head. This will help you cover larger, uneven surfaces like sofa cushions.
A mini motorized tool is ideal for cleaning sofas and other soft furnishings (Image credit: Future)Natov's final hot tip for ensuring a thorough clean is to stay on top of vacuum cleaner maintenance. Clean your filters regularly (and make sure they're completely dry before putting them back into the machine – or your vacuum will start to smell), replace filters in line with manufacturer guidelines, stay on top of emptying the dust cup, and don't forget to clean the attachments, too.
You might also like...- More layoffs are underway at Xbox
- Perfect Dark developer The Initiative has been shuttered, on top of other game cancelations and cuts
- Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said Xbox has "never looked stronger" in an email to staff
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer claimed that the Xbox "platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger" amid a studio closures, game cancelations, and widespread layoffs.
As reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft's gaming division has been hit by significant layoffs. This includes job cuts at mobile game maker King, ZeniMax, Rare, Halo Studios, and Turn 10 Studios.
The upcoming Rare game Everwild has seemingly been culled, as has an unannounced game from The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. The planned Perfect Dark reboot has been canned too, with the studio behind it, The Initiative, shut down.
In an email sent to staff, Spencer said that these decisions were intended "to position gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas" plus "increase agility and effectiveness" overall.
"I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously," he continued.
These "tough decisions" presumably include previous studio closures and layoffs, such as the shuttering Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, Roundhouse Games, and Tango Gameworks last year.
"We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come."
You might also like...- Apple has added more child protection features to FaceTime in iOS 26
- The latest one blurs videos when it detects nudity is present
- It currently affects adult accounts too, but that might be a bug
Apple has been adding parental control features that are designed to protect minors for years now, and it looks like a new one has just been found in the iOS 26 beta. Yet it’s turning out to be pretty controversial, as there are concerns that it could be something of an overreach on Apple’s part.
Specifically, the new feature has been added to the FaceTime video-calling app. When FaceTime detects that someone is undressing on the call, it pauses the call and instead displays a warning message that reads: “Audio and video are paused because you may be showing something sensitive. If you feel uncomfortable, you should end the call.” There are then buttons labeled “Resume Audio and Video,” and “End Call.”
At its WWDC 2025 in June, Apple published a press release covering new ways its systems will protect children and young people online. The release included a feature that lines up the new FaceTime behavior: “Communication Safety expands to intervene when nudity is detected in FaceTime video calls, and to blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Photos.”
The actual implementation was noted by iDeviceHelp on X. Below the post, @user_101524 added that the feature can be found in the Settings app in iOS 26 by going to Apps > FaceTime > Sensitive Content Warning.
By default, the feature is disabled, so it needs to be switched on by the user, but that hasn't stopped it from stirring up online debate...
Generating controversy(Image credit: iDeviceHelp / Future)While this new feature might seem sensible, it has actually generated a degree of controversy. That’s because right now, it seems to affect all users of iOS 26, not just those who are using a child account. This has ruffled some feathers among people who feel that Apple is potentially censoring the behavior of consenting adults.
As well as that, some users have questioned how Apple knows what is being displayed on-screen and whether the company has access to customer video calls. On this point, Apple has said the following:
“Communication Safety uses on-device machine learning to analyze photo and video attachments and determine if a photo or video appears to contain nudity. Because the photos and videos are analyzed on your child’s device, Apple doesn’t receive an indication that nudity was detected and doesn’t get access to the photos or videos as a result.”
Like many of Apple’s features, the on-device processing means that content is not sent to Apple’s servers and is not accessible by the company. Rather, it is using artificial intelligence (AI) to flag video content that likely contains nudity, then censoring it.
The fact that Apple’s Communication Safety features are aimed at protecting minors suggests that this latest FaceTime feature might not be intended to cover adults as well as children. Its inclusion on all accounts, therefore, might be an oversight or bug. While we don’t know for sure, we should find out by September when iOS 26 comes out of beta and releases in full to the public.
You might also like- HPE's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks has now completed
- EU and UK approval came quickly, US approval not so much
- The networking business could account for 50% of revenue
More than 18 months after HPE initially disclosed plans to acquire Juniper Networks, and several regulatory hurdles later, the merger has now been completed.
With Juniper's shares ceasing trading on the NYSE and HPE's networking business set to double, HPE hopes the $14 billion acquisition will allow it to focus on higher-margin, higher-growth areas, creating "long-term profitable revenue growth."
The news comes shortly after the US Department of Justice approved the merger, subject to two key conditions which require HPE to divest its Instant On business and auction a license for Juniper’s AI Ops for Mist source code.
HPE-Juniper merger is now complete"In addition to positioning HPE to offer our customers a modern network architecture alternative and an even more differentiated and complete portfolio across hybrid cloud, AI, and networking, this combination accelerates our profitable growth strategy as we deepen our customer relevance and expand our total addressable market into attractive adjacent areas," HPE CEO Antonio Neri commented.
Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim described the merger as an, "opportunity to disrupt the networking industry at the most important and relevant time."
HPE noted that the merger aligns with its vision for customers to access silicon, hardware, operating system, security, software and services all in one place.
Looking ahead, HPE envisions the combined networking business to contribute to more than half of the company's entire operating income, which stood at $7.6 billion, up 6%, in its most recent quarter.
Despite some conditions imposed by the DOJ, HPE was quick to gain approval from the European Commission, which found "no competition concerns in the European Economic Area" nearly a year ago. Just a couple of weeks later, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority also granted approval to the deal.
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- The Galaxy tri-fold could go on sale by the end of 2025
- A new report tips a 10-inch screen and a Snapdragon processor
- We can expect a high price and limited availability
We've been patiently waiting for the Samsung tri-fold phone to launch since it was briefly teased back in January, but a new report suggests the waiting isn't over yet – while also hinting at some of the key specs of the foldable.
This information comes from South Korean outlet The Bell (via well-known tipster @Jukanlosreve), and perhaps the most interesting detail here is that mass production of the device will begin in September. That means it should be available to buy sometime in the fourth quarter of 2025 (October, November, or December).
The report matches up with what we've previously heard about the tri-fold arriving later than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 – which have a single fold to split the main display into two panels. These foldables should be unveiled at the next Unpacked event on Wednesday, July 9, and go on sale shortly after.
From this latest report, it sounds as though Samsung may announce some details of the Galaxy tri-fold at the July 9 event, even if it won't be on sale for a while. Previous rumors have suggested it could be called the Samsung Galaxy G Fold.
It's going to cost youThe Huawei Mate XT is already in the wild (Image credit: Huawei)The article from The Bell goes on to say that Samsung is only manufacturing a relatively small number of these tri-fold phones – it's apparently more of a tech demonstration showcase than a handset that's expected to shift a significant number of units.
There's also a mention of a high price for the tri-fold, which is to be expected given the technical complexity here. That will affect sales too, and earlier rumors pointed to an asking price of $3,000-$3,500 (about £2,195-£2,560 or AU$4,560-AU$5,320), as well as suggesting that the Galaxy G Fold is only going on sale in South Korea and China.
We've previously seen the Huawei Mate XT tri-fold go on sale for around the price of four PS5 Pros, so it's no surprise that Samsung's equivalent is going to cost a significant amount of cash. The Huawei model is currently only available in a limited number of Asian countries, which is perhaps another indicator of what Samsung might do.
We should get a few more official details next Wednesday, and of course we'll be covering the launch live. The Bell says the Samsung tri-fold will feature a 10-inch screen and run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, matching up with previous leaks.
You might also like- Some Pixel 6a units will soon have much worse battery performance
- Affected users can claim a free battery replacement, or may be able to get cash
- Other Pixel models could be next in line
Usually, software updates bring desirable new features or bug fixes, but one upcoming Google Pixel 6a update could actually make your phone worse.
Google has announced that it will be rolling out a mandatory update to some Pixel 6a models, which “will reduce battery capacity and charging performance” after the phone reaches 400 charging cycles. So if your phone isn’t yet at 400 charging cycles then these changes won’t kick in yet, even once you download the update.
There are good reasons for these changes though, with Google stating that this will “reduce the risk of potential battery overheating which could pose a risk to users” – and we know how that can play out, as there have been multiple reports of Pixel 6a units catching fire.
Still, a battery that charges slower and needs charging more often than before isn’t exactly going to be desirable to users.
The Google Pixel 6a (Image credit: Future)This update will start rolling out on July 8 as part of Android 16 – so at least you’ll get some Android 16 goodies to go with your battery downgrade.
Interestingly though, only some Pixel 6a units will get these new battery management ‘features’. It’s unclear why that is – perhaps Google used different batteries in some versions of the phone, but to see whether yours is affected, you can head to this support page.
If it is, then you will have some options other than just putting up with a battery downgrade.
For one thing, if you’re in the UK, US, or select other locations then Google will let you get a battery replacement at no charge. Alternatively, you may be able to claim either a discount off a new Pixel or a cash payment – though the exact amount of cash/discount and availability of these options hasn’t yet been disclosed.
Not the first and maybe not the lastWorryingly, the Google Pixel 6a might not be the last device to get this battery weakening update. It wasn’t the first, with Google applying a similar update to some Pixel 4a models back in January, so that’s reason enough to think that more models might endure this in future.
But that’s not the only reason to think this could apply to other models too, as Android Authority has also found evidence in a teardown of Google’s Settings Services app that devices with poor battery health will be forced to use the company's Battery Health Assistance feature, which reduces capacity and charging speeds as the battery ages.
This feature is so far optional, other than in the case of the Google Pixel 9a, which has it permanently enabled.
The only silver lining to all this – other than these changes minimizing the risk of your phone catching fire – is that at least in the case of the Pixel 6a and Pixel 4a, these mandatory battery updates have only applied to select units.
So it’s possible your phone has a less troublesome battery that won’t ever need these changes, but this does rather make it sound like Google might want to change some of its battery suppliers.
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