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The Sony Inzone M10S was one of the best gaming monitors of 2024, offering uncompromising performance and a suite of practical tournament-ready features that made it the perfect choice for both professional and aspiring esports players.
Now Sony is back with the Inzone M10S 2, a successor that delivers a number of small but nevertheless impactful upgrades while maintaining everything that made the original so good. It’s the same 2560 x 1440 resolution, but feels even snappier thanks to an increased 540Hz refresh rate and a lower 0.02ms response time. There’s even a dual mode, letting you bump the resolution down to 720p for a staggering 720Hz picture — invaluable for Counter-Strike 2 or Rocket League.
If that wasn’t enough, it’s now even brighter, coming in at up to 1,500 nits rather than 1,300, with the same rich colors and impressive contrast. There’s a new anti-glare coating on this model as well, which does a fantastic job of keeping glare at bay. You barely see any kind of reflections, even in a brightly lit room with ring lights and lamps pointed directly at the screen, preventing possible distractions in a tournament setting.
I did note that the matte texture makes it prone to smudging and quite hard to clean, though, which might be a little frustrating if you accidentally touch the panel while setting up.
(Image credit: Future)Like its predecessor, the Inzone M10S 2 is packed with handy esports features like a dedicated 24.5-inch display mode, the ability to set up on-screen timers and crosshairs, or an option to display a frame rate counter to check your performance.
They’re all accessible via the monitor’s options menu, or the easy-to-use Inzone Hub software. The software even lets you import and export your setup, meaning you can take your at-home profile to a competition and access the exact same settings every time.
As this is a Sony product, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it also has a dedicated PlayStation 5 mode, which is activated automatically when the system is plugged in and optimizes the picture for console play.
It’s all brought together by a market-leading stand. The base included with the original Sony Inzone M10S is one of the best I’ve ever used, with a low-profile disc-shaped base that fits underneath your keyboard, plenty of vertical adjustment, and a full 360 degrees of rotation. The version that comes with the Inzone M10S is even better, benefiting from an additional few degrees of tilt to ensure a comfortable viewing experience no matter how you’re seated.
(Image credit: Future)Sony Inzone M10S 2: Price and availability- Costs $1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300
- Same price that the original M10S launched at
- The older model is now cheaper, though
The Sony Inzone M10S 2 is far from cheap, but it’s not really competing with most other gaming monitors. You can easily find capable 4K screens for far less than this price, such as the Gigabyte M32UC, which is going to be a better fit for those seeking to play cinematic games like Horizon Forbidden West or The Last of Us Part 1 on PC or console.
The Inzone M10S 2 is instead positioned as an alternative to models offered by dedicated esports brands such as BenQ Zowie. The Zowie XL2586X+ is a good point of comparison, as it’s very similarly priced at roughly $1,000 / £1,150 / AU$1,799. That model features a 600Hz 1080p TN panel designed for the best possible motion clarity. While technically faster, you lose out on the higher-resolution picture, more vibrant OLED colors, and stylish design of the M10S 2.
If you’re looking at the Inzone M10S 2, then the original Sony Inzone M10S, which is still sold alongside this newer model, is also a viable alternative. The M10S is now easy to find around $900 / £990 / roughly AU$1,600, so it comes in a decent chunk cheaper — though you do lose the spec upgrades.
Sony Inzone M10S 2: SpecsSony Inzone M10S 2
Price
$1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300
Panel size
26.5in / 67.3cm
Panel type
OLED
Resolution
2560 x 1440
Brightness
1,500 nit
HDR
HDR10
Pixel response
0.02 ms gray-to-gray
Refresh rate
540Hz (or 720Hz HD)
Sony Inzone M10S 2: Design and features- Sleek and attractive
- Brilliant included stand
- Wealth of ports
The design of the Sony Inzone M10S 2 hasn’t changed that much from the original M10S — but that’s certainly not a bad thing. This is a sleek and attractive-looking monitor that comes bundled with a fantastic stand. Its base is a low-profile, 4 mm thin metal disk that fits comfortably underneath a keyboard and connects to a robust stand that keeps the monitor impressively stable.
You get the same full 360-degree rotation too, so you can freely show your screen to teammates in a match. The large power button and the thumbstick used to edit settings are still as intuitive and easy to use as before, and it retains smart design features like a power indicator LED that’s set off to the side so that it doesn’t shine in your eyes as you play.
The ports are identical to the original M10S as well: DisplayPort, two HDMI 2.1 ports, an upstream USB Type-C alongside two downstream USB Type-A ports for peripherals, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a single USB Type-A port reserved for software updates (accomplished with a USB stick). Its major software features are also unchanged, so you still get support for Nvidia G-Sync, HDR, and a suite of visual modes including an FPS Pro+ mode developed in collaboration with esports team Fnatic.
This isn’t the best looking aesthetically, but it makes it far easier to see key visual cues like the red dots that indicate rival players in a match of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 or even obscured enemies in Valorant.
In terms of what’s actually new, it’s a subtle distinction but the M10S 2 benefits from a wider -5 to 35 degree tilt range (its predecessor tilted at -5 to 25 degrees), which allows for even more flexibility in your seating position (the monitor also supports a 100 x 100 mm VESA mount, if you would prefer to use a third-party arm).
The Inzone M10S 2 is also coated with a new ‘Super Anti-glare Film’. It’s incredibly effective, and means you can play unimpeded with a literal torch pointed at the display. The matte texture does make it very prone to picking up smudges, though.
FutureFutureSony Inzone M10S 2: Performance- 540Hz refresh rate is incredibly smooth
- Beautiful, vibrant colors and strong brightness
- Perfect for competitive games
The Sony Inzone M10S 2 looks pretty dim and unimpressive out of the box. The culprit? The power-saving mode is on by default. Once you turn that off and crank the brightness up to about 80%, the vibrant OLED colors are absolutely lush and look gorgeous. The sRGB profile is a good choice if you want color accuracy, and is usually my preference when using monitors, but I found the slightly poppier appearance of the standard preset very appealing.
The enhanced brightness of this model is immediately noticeable compared to the original M10s and, along with the effective anti-glare coating, ensures that the picture remains visible in even harsh lighting conditions like direct sunlight or with the display positioned next to a desk lamp.
In games, the performance is simply perfect. The 540Hz refresh rate is beautifully smooth, and motion is impressively clear. It elevates titles like Counter-Strike 2, where the enhanced smoothness genuinely helps with target tracking. The 0.02ms GtG response time certainly helps everything feel snappy, and sits among the fastest on the market.
(Image credit: Future)Although my Nvidia RTX 4080 Ti-powered rig didn’t break a sweat achieving a stable 540fps frame rate at 1440p, you can comfortably lower the resolution to 1080p and maintain a decent level of picture quality — especially in the dedicated 23.5-inch display mode. Things feel even better if you take advantage of the dual-mode feature and crank it up even further to 720Hz at 720p, though this does come at a noticeable cost to picture quality.
Competitive first-person shooter titles are what this monitor was made for, but that doesn’t mean that it delivers poor performance in other genres. The grim world of Warhammer: 40,000 Space Marine 2 looked absolutely gorgeous with expressive colors and strong contrast, while Forza Horizon 6 benefitted hugely from the smoothness of VRR.
Even if I wouldn’t recommend buying the Inzone M10S 2 exclusively to play those kinds of games when cheaper 4K options are available, it’s good to know that you will still be able to enjoy a wide range of titles if you’re an aspiring esports player who picks one up for both practice sessions and home use.
Should you buy the Sony Inzone M10S 2?Buy it if...You need the best esports performance
The Sony Inzone M10S 2 is perfect for competitive play thanks to its smooth 540Hz refresh, excellent motion clarity, and suite of tournament-ready software features.
You want a versatile display as well
When you’re not practicing for your next tournament, the Sony Inzone M10S 2 is still a capable display with vibrant OLED colors that benefit a wide range of genres.
You’re after top-tier design
Although the design of the Sony Inzone M10S 2 is almost identical to its predecessor, that’s not a bad thing. Its stand is still one of the best on the market
You’re not serious about competitive play
When you’re spending this amount of money on a display, you need to be serious about competitive play. Otherwise, there are cheaper 4K options available that are better suited to general use.
Here’s how the Sony Inzone M10S 2 stacks up against the original model, plus a 4K alternative for those that want something for more general use.
Sony Inzone M10S 2
Sony Inzone M10S
Gigabyte M32UC
Price
$1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300
~$900 / £990 / around AU$1,900
$799 / £681 / around AU$1,500
Panel size
26.5in / 67.3cm
26.5in / 67.3cm
32in / 81.3cm
Panel type
OLED
OLED
LCD
Resolution
2560 x 1440
2560 x 1440
3840 x 2160
Brightness
1,500 nit
1300 nit
350 nits
HDR
HDR True Black 400
HDR True Black 400
HDR True Black 400
Pixel response
0.02 ms gray-to-gray
0.03ms gray-to-gray
1 ms
Refresh rate
540Hz (or 720Hz HD)
480Hz
144Hz
Sony Inzone M10S
The original Sony Inzone M10S is now available for a bit cheaper than the M10S 2. You lose a few key upgrades, but it’s worth considering if you want to spend a little less on an otherwise capable esports display.
Read our full Sony Inzone M10S review
Gigabyte M32UC
The Gigabyte M32UC is the monitor I point to when I recommend something for general use. It’s 4K at 144Hz and perfect for PS5 and PC. It’s not a good fit for esports, but it’s much cheaper than the Inzone M10S 2.
Read our full Gigabyte M32UC review
How I tested the Sony Inzone M10S 2- Tested for over two weeks
- Used as primary display
- Evaluated with a wide range of games
I tested the Sony Inzone M10S for more than two weeks, using it as my primary monitor for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Throughout my time with it, I tested a wide range of titles, ranging from esports favorites Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, Fortnite, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege to popular shooters such as Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
I also tried a selection of more traditional games, such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Stellar Blade, to elevate its more general performance. During my time with the monitor, I endeavored to test each of its available features using both the built-in settings options and the compatible Inzone Hub software.
First reviewed August 2026
- Season 4 renewed before season 3 even aired
- Filming is underway and began in May 2026
- Netflix is predicting a 2027 release date
- Core cast expected to return
Who else has been left reeling after that shocking cliffhanger in the My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 ending? Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) and Cole (Noah LaLonde) feel more off the cards than ever, with the drag racing accident putting a fatal spanner in the works.
On top of that, Alex (Ashby Gentry) has finally admitted that he has feelings for Kiley (Mya Lowe), but her boyfriend Dylan (Kolton Stewart) has driven a manipulative wedge between them. Still, at least George (Marc Blucas) is very much alive and healthy.
Netflix has some huge questions to answer in My Life With the Walter Boys season 4 — but what do we actually know about what's coming?
Luckily, the core cast and release window have already been teased (and I've got good theories about the rest).
My Life with the Walter Boys season 4 release window Our main couple. (Image credit: Netflix)Netflix has already confirmed that My Life with the Walter Boys is slated for a 2027 release.
While we don't have an exact date confirmed, the last two seasons have aired in August... and I've got a feeling that the streamer will stick with its tried-and-tested formula.
Filming has been taking place in Calgary since May 2026, which is another key indicator that progress is on track for an August 2027 release.
“I know I speak for the writers, the cast, and the crew when I say that it is beyond exciting to be returning to the world of Silver Falls for a fourth season,” showrunner and executive producer Melanie Halsall said in a press statement. “We are all incredibly grateful and are thrilled to dive in."
My Life with the Walter Boys season 4 trailer: is there one?Don't be silly. It took us until the middle of July 2026 to get one for season 3, so expect the first full trailer to arrive around four weeks before the fourth season does.
My Life with the Walter Boys season 4 cast(Image credit: Netflix)We're expecting the following main cast members to return for My Life with the Walter Boys season 4:
- Nikki Rodriguez as Jackie
- Noah LaLonde as Cole
- Ashby Gentry as Alex
- Sarah Rafferty as Katherine
- Marc Blucas as George
- Connor Stanhope as Danny
- Jaylan Evans as Skylar
- Corey Fogelmanis as Nathan
- Johnny Link as Will
- Isaac Arellanes as Isaac
- Myles Perez as Lee
- Alisha Newton as Erin
- Mya Lowe as Kiley
- Ellie O’Brien as Grace
- Kolton Stewart as Dylan
- Natalie Sharp as Blake
- Alex Quijano as Richard
- Ashley Tavares as Tara
- Dean Petriw as Jordan
- Alix West Lefler as Parker
- Lennix James as Benny
- Gabrielle Jacinto as Olivia
- Chad Rook as Mac
- Naveen Paddock as Eliot
- Erin Karpluk as Hannah
There are question marks around Fogelmanis and Link's return, as both Will and Nathan were set to leave the family home at the end of season 3.
We can also expect new faces to join the cast, so watch this space.
My Life with the Walter Boys season 4 plot predictionsThis is exactly where I want to be. (Image credit: Netflix)Spoilers for My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 ahead.
“Our story’s about love and romance and love triangles and all those teenage trials and tribulations around those things, and we’re not going to divert from those — so much, much more of that to come in Season 4," Halsall told Netflix.
But what does this actually mean?
Obviously, the first thing we need to find out in season 4 is whether Cole is hurt. His car is flipped enough times for there to be some serious damage, but it's difficult to tell what that is in the season 3 cliffhanger.
Then, of course, there's the question of whether Jackie actually follows through with her kiss with Eliot. I've got a sneaking suspicion that she'll pull away at the last second... but perhaps that's wishful thinking. It's certainly a moment that her future relationship with Cole could hinge on, if he pulls through.
Kiley will hopefully break up with Dylan and finally see that she should have been with Alex all along, but this isn't something that Dylan is likely to take quietly. Expect more overt tension between him and Alex, put it that way.
What is more difficult to tell is whether we'll see how Will and Nathan get on after they fly the nest, but the remaining Walter kids prepping for university is likely to feature heavily.
- China's State Council published a revised integrated-circuit layout-design regulation, deleting the words "semiconductor integrated circuit" from its definitions article, essentially rewriting what it considers an integrated circuit
- The regulation does retain mentions of "semiconductor material substrate", but chooses to expand on its definition in a separate clause
- It also expressly extends protection to photonic and quantum chip design layouts from October 2026
China's State Council has published the revised Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, the first systematic rewrite of a text that had sat untouched since April 2001.
The revision was adopted at the State Council's 91st executive meeting on July 10, 2026, promulgated as Decree No. 842 on July 23, and takes effect on October 15, 2026.
The change drawing the attention is also the smallest in the document which saw "semiconductor integrated circuit" struck from the front of the definitions article, so that Chinese law now effectively protects the layout of an integrated circuit rather than the layout of a semiconductor one.
A more liberal approach to chip design IP from China?Beijing's aim is to bring photonic and quantum chips within the same protection regime that semiconductor designs already enjoy, but the change is being read as a claim to future leadership in chip design.
The National Intellectual Property Administration published two expert interpretations alongside the regulation.
The one generating the most buzz is by Guo He of the Intellectual Property Academy at Renmin University of China. Guo notes that photonic integrated devices and quantum chip technology are advancing quickly and that optoelectronic chips are already in wide use in some fields, then concedes that the deletion looks inconsequential on its face, since monolithic integrated circuits everywhere still need semiconductor material as a substrate.
His case for its significance is about posture rather than capability: the point of formally striking the phrase, he argues, is to show that the Chinese are "no longer conservatives in the intellectual property system."
The claim is about legislative attitude rather than actual leadership, but it lands at a moment when the US and China are still wrestling over AI, with chip design a crucial factor: whoever has the fastest silicon to train their models holds a significant edge.
The US chip embargo, which has since softened, has produced an unintended beneficiary in Huawei, whose chairman thanked the US government for sanctions he credits with building China's domestic semiconductor chain.
The regulation indicates that China is seeking to secure its IP both at home and abroad as the state continues to invest heavily across that chain. Layout protection is a serious subject, and The Register's analysis notes why: a die layout is expensive and slow to produce, and copying one is a shortcut.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)Strengthening that protection is the revision's main purpose. The provisions doing the work, however, have nothing to do with definitions. They cover damages, tighten the requirements governing how designs are submitted, and allow third parties to request revocation of a registration, a power previously held only by the administration, with outside parties limited to submitting suggestions. A revoked right is now deemed never to have existed.
Alibaba, Huawei, Cambricon and Loongson have all shipped parts that credibly compete with American designs, and protecting them from copyists is a rational move for Beijing.
China's real ambition, however, may lie elsewhere, as the Jamestown Foundation's April 2026 assessment sets out: Chinese labs sit at or near the frontier on several photonic research benchmarks, while the United States and Taiwan still hold the segments of the supply chain that turn demonstrations into shippable products.
By revamping its regulations, China hopes to keep its photonics research and, in future, its quantum research, visible yet protected.
If photonic and quantum layouts do become commercially significant, the material-specific language embedded in American and European national instruments creates a gap someone eventually has to close. Beijing has moved first, at least on paper, even if it lacks the tools to build the chips just yet.
Apple and OpenAI are currently engaged in a legal battle. Apple alleges that OpenAI stole trade secrets and poached employees.
But the two companies have always had a complicated relationship. They partnered in 2024 to bring ChatGPT to Apple devices, but Apple chose Google's Gemini rather than OpenAI for Siri. Then OpenAI acquired io, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, and promised a future hardware device, powered by AI.
All of this has prompted speculation about what Apple is worried about if OpenAI makes hardware, too. We can't know the company's motivations and the specifics of the case are still unfolding. But it got me thinking, what if your phone stopped being a collection of apps and instead revolved around AI?
If AI became the main interface, which apps would disappear and which would survive? And would a phone controlled through ChatGPT actually be practical?
So I decided to find out based on the current tech we have. For a day, whenever I reached for an app, I'd try ChatGPT first instead. If it could do the job, great it passed the test. If it couldn't, it would fail.
There were some obvious things I missed out from the start. ChatGPT isn't connected to my email, it can't open WhatsApp for me and it doesn't have access to my wallet, so those wouldn’t be part of the test. But there were plenty of everyday tasks that felt like fair game.
1. Stopwatch(Image credit: Shutterstock / Lee Bryant Photography)I use the stopwatch in my iPhone's Clock app constantly throughout the day. When I'm working, cooking or exercising, it's one of the simplest ways I've found to keep me on track as a freelancer. When you can set your own schedule, it's way too easy to disappear down a research rabbit hole and lose an hour.
I asked ChatGPT to start a stopwatch. It said it couldn't measure elapsed time, although it could estimate the time based on message timestamps if I later asked it to stop. Instead, it suggested I use my phone's built-in Clock app.
Result: fail
2. Alarm(Image credit: Shutterstock / Terang Bulan Gallery)Strangely, I don't use alarms as much as stopwatches. But if I only have 25 minutes to spare, whether that’s for cleaning or working on a personal writing project, I'll sometimes set one to keep myself focused.
Would ChatGPT do any better here? Well, at first it looked promising. It created a scheduled task to notify me after 10 minutes. I checked that notifications were enabled, put my phone down and carried on working.
When I realized at least 15 minutes had passed, I checked the chat. Sure enough, ChatGPT had posted a message saying the time was up, but it hadn't actually alerted me. Later, I discovered it had also sent an email but it had landed in my spam folder. This one was a fail too in my book.
Result: fail
3. Word games(Image credit: Shutterstock / Iuliana Ionescu)I love the word games in the New York Times app, home to addictive puzzles like Wordle and Connections. One of my current favorites is Spelling Bee. You're given a handful of letters and then have to make as many words as possible. It's one of my favorite ways to warm up my brain before I start writing.
Could ChatGPT recreate it? Surprisingly, yes. It generated a set of letters, understood the rules and kept track of the words I found. In terms of pure functionality, it worked.
But what it couldn't recreate was the experience. The New York Times app is beautifully simple, with an interface designed around the game. Playing through a chat window felt really clunky and annoying by comparison. The whole point of this game is I'm focusing on the letters and words, I don't want a constant back and forth with ChatGPT about the words.
So I'm calling this a partial success. Yes, ChatGPT replaced the mechanics of the game, but not the experience. And after a few rounds, I knew which version I'd rather use every day.
Result: partial pass
4. Star gazing(Image credit: Shutterstock / Milosz_G)The Sky Guide app is one of my all-time favorites, especially its augmented reality mode. Turn on your phone's location and compass, point it at the night sky and it instantly tells you what you're looking at, whether that's constellations, planets, bits of debris, or the ISS. It's incredible.
Could ChatGPT replace it? Well, sort of. If you upload a photo of the night sky, ChatGPT can usually identify the constellations. But there are caveats. The image needs to be clear, the stars need to be visible and you're relying on a single snapshot. Whereas Sky Guide works continuously as you move your phone around the sky.
This was another reminder that knowledge doesn't necessarily bring you a good experience. Because yes, ChatGPT knows about constellations. But Sky Guide lets you explore them. You can point your phone in any direction, tap on a star or planet and instantly get more information about it without having to keep asking questions. It's a much more intuitive way to learn.
Result: partial pass
5. Weather(Image credit: Shutterstock / Kaspars Grinvalds)Telling me what to expect from the weather forecast for the day turned out to be one of ChatGPT's strongest categories.
The forecast was accurate and pulled from a reliable source, so I trusted the information it gave me. I did find myself asking follow-up questions for things like the hourly forecast and the chance of rain, which would have taken a single tap in a dedicated weather app.
It knew the answers and I trusted them, but getting to them was much slower. That's why I'm generously calling this one a pass.
Result: pass
6. Guided meditation(Image credit: Shutterstock)I have a few favorite apps I use for guided meditations and have some saved in Spotify too. So I wondered whether ChatGPT could take over that role.
For this test, I switched on voice mode and asked it to guide me through a short meditation. Now, technically it did that. But in practice it wasn't even remotely relaxing.
Thanks to a recent update, the voice had odd intonation, frequent vocal fry and distracting little "ums", "ahs" and "let me sees" throughout that constantly pulled me out of the experience. At one point it even told me to breathe in, then never got around to telling me to breathe out.
By the logic of how I graded the other tests, this one should have been a partial pass. It did what I asked, right? But because I had to stop using it out of irritation and came away from the mediation feeling actively more stressed, it's going down as a fail for me.
Result: fail
7. Calculator(Image credit: Shutterstock / Teerawit Chankowet)ChatGPT doesn't have a great track record of counting things, so I was wary about using it as a calculator. I asked it to do some massive sums for me and it got all of them right.
It did pause a few times with a "let me think" message, so I wasn't getting the instant response I'd expect from a calculator. But the delay was only a few seconds, and the answers were correct.
Once again, I found myself missing the simplicity of an app. Typing numbers into a calculator is faster than turning them into a conversation. But ChatGPT did work as a capable stand-in.
Result: pass
8. Movie recommendations(Image credit: Letterboxd)I love Letterboxd. I log every film I watch, browse other people's lists and regularly discover new films through recommendations.
Now, there was never a chance ChatGPT could replace the logging side of the app. It can't update my Letterboxd diary or plug me into that community. But recommendations are one of the main reasons I use it, so I wondered how well ChatGPT would do.
I asked it to recommend films similar to some of my favorites, then spent the next few evenings watching its suggestions to really test them. And, to my surprise, it did an excellent job.
Then again, that perhaps isn't all that surprising. We know LLMs are trained on huge amounts of publicly available text, especially discussions reviews and recommendations from where film fans gather online, like Reddit. But whatever the reason, the recommendations felt well matched to my taste.
What I missed wasn't the recommendations themselves, but the social side of Letterboxd. I do enjoy seeing what friends had watched, reading reviews and stumbling across unexpected lists. So, for me, ChatGPT can't replace Letterboxd, but for simply finding something to watch, it did well.
Result: pass
9. Maps(Image credit: Google)I rely on my Maps app both for planning journeys in advance and for live navigation. So I asked ChatGPT the best way to get from my home to the airport the following day.
At first, it handled the request well. It laid out the different travel options clearly under headings and the advice looked really sensible. It even cited sources from places like Rome2Rio and The Trainline.
Then things got unnecessarily complicated. At the end of those suggestions it asked what time my flight was so it could tailor the recommendations. But when I told it, it started creating a scheduled task instead. I didn't want a reminder, so I had to cancel that, explain what I actually meant and steer the conversation back to route planning.
Eventually, it gave me the information I wanted. But the Maps app would have got me there in a fraction of the time, without all the back and forth.
It also can't replace what I actually use Maps for the most, which is live, turn-by-turn navigation.
Result: partial pass
10. Food delivery(Image credit: Shutterstock / GBJSTOCK)ChatGPT obviously can't deliver food, but I wondered whether it could replace the part of the app I probably spend the longest on, which is deciding what to eat.
It got off to a surprisingly good start. It asked about my preferences, budget and location, then narrowed down the options and even presented them neatly on a map.
The recommendations themselves looked really good. They're all local places I already really liked to eat at. But there was just one problem. Every restaurant it suggested was closed. Even the map it generated had "closed" written beneath each one.
After a bit of back and forth, it said they weren't shut, eventually acknowledged that they were and suggested a different set of places instead.
Unfortunately, those weren't much use either. They were small independent cafés and restaurants that don't appear on food delivery apps. I wouldn't expect ChatGPT to know exactly which businesses partner with which delivery services, but it did highlight the gap between recommending somewhere to eat and actually helping me make a decision about where I could order from.
Result: fail
11. Language learning(Image credit: Duolingo)I still very reluctantly use Duolingo and have recently started trialling a few other language learning apps to polish my Spanish.
I asked ChatGPT to help me improve my Spanish for an upcoming trip and it suggested role-play ordering food in a café so I could practise.
We switched to voice mode and at first it felt genuinely fun. It held a natural back-and-forth conversation and felt much closer to speaking to a real person than working through a series of multiple-choice questions like in Duolingo.
But it was also noticeably glitchier than a dedicated language app thanks to that recent voice update. There were odd pauses in the conversation, and at one point it repeatedly kept marking one of my answers as incorrect when it wasn't. Shortly afterwards, the exercise just stopped working altogether after a bizarre "ummmmm" from ChatGPT.
When it was working, I actually enjoyed the experience more than using an app like Duolingo. But if I'm trying to learn a language properly, I also want something that's reliable.
Result: partial pass
12. Plant identification(Image credit: Future)I love identifying things I see in nature, like bird song with the Merlin app. But I most often rely on plant identifying apps when I'm walking to take a quick snap of a leaf or flower then find out more about it.
ChatGPT was really effective at doing this. I took pictures of leaves, trees, flowers and bushes. I was a little wary about the results at first because I know that ChatGPT tends to make guesses about things rather than admitting it doesn't know. But I did fact check all of the results and everything seemed accurate.
Again, I missed some of the simple, additional features in dedicated apps. But it was surprisingly effective.
Result: pass
Can AI really replace your apps?Before drawing too many conclusions, it's worth pointing out that a true AI-native phone wouldn't just be ChatGPT running as another app like it was in this experiment. It would probably be integrated into the operating system. Which would mean it could access things like your calendars, timers, navigation and settings. So many of the tasks ChatGPT failed at here might become a whole lot easier with an AI-first phone.
This experiment was based on whether AI could replace the apps on my phone. What I found was that it replaces a specific kind of app. Well, sort of.
If an app's main job is providing information, explaining something or answering questions, AI is already a fairly capable alternative. Plant identification, travel advice, calculations and general knowledge all felt natural.
But if an app exists to perform an action quickly, like starting a timer, setting an alarm, finding restaurants for getting food delivered, opening a map, AI still has a long way to go. Those tasks depend on deeper integration with the device and a different way of working, not just how smart it is.
There are some big trade-offs, too. Dedicated apps often rely on specialist databases and expertise, while AI can still present incorrect answers confidently or fail to make its uncertainty clear. For example, when I was trying to identify a plant I felt wary because I'd generally trust an app built with the input of botanists over a chatbot.
And, as you could probably tell from my mounting frustration, a huge sticking point for me was also realizing how much I missed the interface of many apps.
For me, a well-designed app is always a better way to explore information than a conversation. I don't think everything should, or even can, be done through chat, despite that being the direction many AI companies seem to be heading. In fact, it showed me that a conversational interface can be more work rather than less.
It's impossible to know exactly what Apple and OpenAI's long-term plans are. But I can imagine a future where knowledge apps increasingly merge into AI, while utility apps remain part of the operating system itself.
If that happens, we may stop thinking about which app to open and simply ask AI instead. But for that future to actually catch one, I'd want stronger guarantees around accuracy, better integration with trusted sources and the option to step outside the chat interface more often.
Air fryers aren't just for small cooking tasks or one-to-two person households. There's a new wave of air fryers that come kitted out with two drawers, enabling you to cook two components of a meal at once. They offer more space than your standard, one-drawer offering, and provide an easy way to keep different foods separate, but they also go further than than that.
You can pick a different temperature for each drawer, and most will have a sync function that means the appliance will automatically figure out your timings and sync up cooking so both drawers of food are finished at once. If you have a small kitchen, there are a number of models that have the two drawers stacked one on top of the other, to provide a generous cooking capacity without eating up all your counter space. It's enough to make you want to retire your proper oven for good.
We have a general guide to the best air fryers, but in this roundup I've narrowed things down to just my favorite two-drawer options. The main name to look out for is Ninja — this brand makes a wide variety of dual-zone options of different sizes and with different functions. I've included a number of options below, but I've also featured alternatives from rival brands, including some budget-friendly options.
Double trouble Ninja AF300UK Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer Ninja DoubleStack XL air fryer Pros- Small footprint, generous capacity
- Extra trays for even more cooking space
- Top-tier performance
- Expensive for a dual-basket model
- '8-portion' capacity feels ambitious
- Can't fit big foods whole
- Cooking windows and basket lights are a handy addition
- Space-saving design takes up less counter space
- Versatile cooking functions, strong cooking performance
- Supplied physical instructions are too basic
- The black and gold finish will split opinion
- 5L baskets means larger food won’t fit
- Ukrainian drone destroys Russian flag moments after dramatic aerial deployment attempt
- Competing battlefield videos continue fueling disputed territorial claims across eastern Ukraine
- Analysts continue examining disputed battlefield footage for signs of digital manipulation
Ukrainian forces released footage showing a Russian flag destroyed roughly 30 seconds after a drone placed it on a damaged building in the Sumy region.
According to Ukraine's 105th Territorial Defense Brigade, Russian operators dropped the flag from a drone before Ukrainian personnel responded with an FPV drone strike.
The video shows a Russian drone placing a flag associated with Russia's Airborne Forces onto the roof of a damaged residential building in Velyka Pysarivka.
Drone operation quickly ends symbolic battlefield displayFootage later captures a Ukrainian FPV drone approaching the location before striking the flag shortly after it landed, ending the display within approximately 30 seconds.
The 105th Territorial Defense Brigade said drone operators located the position before Russian forces could use the footage to reinforce claims of battlefield progress.
"Enemy rags do not remain on Ukrainian soil for long," the 105th Territorial Defense Brigade said about the operation.
Velyka Pysarivka lies close to the Ukrainian border with Russia and has experienced repeated attacks while remaining an active area of military operations.
Fighting around the settlement continues as Russian forces conduct cross-border activities while attempting to expand operations across parts of the Sumy region.
The released footage focuses on the sequence involving the flag placement and the subsequent strike instead of showing any broader military engagement nearby.
Symbolic footage continues shaping competing battlefield narrativesThroughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both sides have repeatedly made competing claims about capturing territory, often supported by battlefield footage.
The latest video follows another disputed incident involving territorial gains that was circulated through Russian military communication channels.
Russian sources previously circulated a video claiming forces had captured Bilyi Kolodyaz in Ukraine's Kharkiv region after raising a Russian flag inside the settlement.
Analysts later questioned that recording after identifying what they described as signs suggesting digital manipulation within several parts of the footage.
Among those observations were an unusually oversized soldier together with a flag that reportedly disappeared from the frame during the recording sequence.
Neither side's battlefield footage can always be independently verified immediately because active combat conditions often limit direct access to the reported locations.
Military analysts therefore continue examining released videos alongside satellite imagery, geolocation evidence, and additional sources before confirming claims involving territorial advances or battlefield events.
The flag incident in Velyka Pysarivka adds another example showing how symbolic actions increasingly accompany frontline operations.
As of now, independent verification of the footage remains unavailable, making its authenticity difficult to establish.
Via United24media
The news that Amazon’s smarter AI assistant, Alexa+, is finally making its way to Australia could well be exciting news for many Aussies. After all, we’ve had to wait a fair amount of time for the upgraded digital assistant, as it launched in the US way back in February 2025, and arrived on UK shores in March of this year.
If you’re already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, whether that be through ownership of Echo smart speakers and displays or Ring home security cameras, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alexa+ might never make it Down Under. If so, you may have never felt the need to upgrade your various Amazon devices to newer generations.
Now with the official rollout of Alexa+ in Australia, that could mean your devices aren’t compatible. In truth, the list of incompatible devices is relatively short (which I have to say is quite remarkable and deserves brownie points for Amazon), but regardless, the latest generation Alexa-enabled devices will offer the best Alexa+ experience.
So, if you want to add Alexa+ to your home to become an AI-powered digital assistant capable of performing all manner of tasks, from answering simple queries to placing Amazon orders on your behalf or even notifying you when packages are delivered to your home (and are captured on a Ring camera), then any of these nine Echo devices will be worthy additions to your home.
Also note that you'll need a subscription to Alexa+. It's free if you're already a Prime member, otherwise it costs AU$29.99p/m. Considering an Amazon Prime membership is just AU$9.99p/m, you'd be saving money.
Amazon Echo Studio (2025) Amazon Echo Studio Amazon Echo Dot Max Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) Amazon Echo Spot (2024) Amazon Echo Hub Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen) Amazon Echo Show 11 (2025) Amazon Echo Show 15- Amazon beats its last all-time low price of AU$1,098 during EOFY, dipping below AU$1,000 for the first time
- Also discounted at Samsung Australia's store for AU$999, with exclusive colours and monthly installment payment options
- Trade-in options available from both stores for further savings
It’s an exciting time to be a Samsung phone fan right now with the recent launch of its new foldable range, including a brand new form factor for the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Pre-orders are still ongoing, but with prices starting from AU$1,949, not everyone will be springing for these premium phones.
If you’re in the market for something much more affordable, then you’re in luck — the Samsung Galaxy S26 is currently at its all-time low price of AU$992 on Amazon, or a whopping 36% off.
Costing less than Apple’s budget phone — the AU$999 iPhone 17e — the base model Samsung Galaxy S26 is a true flagship device with three camera lenses, 12GB of RAM and the full Galaxy AI suite. This deal handily beats the previous all-time low of AU$1,098 we saw during EOFY and Prime Day. Amazon has the Black, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue and White colours available for this price, and you can also trade in your old phone for more savings.View Deal
Our Samsung Galaxy S26 review praised the bright AMOLED display, reliable 3-lens camera setup and surprisingly long battery life given its relatively small 4,300mAh capacity. It also has a 6.3-inch screen, perfect for those who like smaller-sized handsets.
Storage options now also start at 256GB, up from the predecessor’s 128GB. That change, plus the other improvements over the S25, meant the S26 came with a price increase from AU$1,399 to AU$1,549.
Aussies also miss out on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset found in the US model, having to settle for an Exynos 2600 processor. Our reviewer also noted the relatively slow 25W charging speed and the lack of full Qi2 wireless charging support, commenting that this phone is only worth buying when it’s on sale.
And that’s why this phone is an easy recommendation for less than AU$1,000, despite its shortcomings. It’s a solid entry-level flagship with the specs to back it up, which also comes in an increasingly rare 6.3-inch size.
Also discounted at the Samsung storeNot a fan of the default colours on sale at Amazon? The Samsung Australia store also has the handset discounted for AU$999, and that includes the store-exclusive Pink Gold and Silver Shadow colours. You can also purchase the handset through a monthly repayment plan and trade in an old device to save even more.View Deal
The Shards is guaranteed to have audiences talking, for better or for worse, as Bret Easton Ellis' controversial semi-autobiography comes to the small screen.
But, in my opinion, Ryan Murphy teaming up with Ellis has given him the chance to shine once again. Fans of Murphy's work were left disappointed and baffled in recent months after his abysmal Hulu series All's Fair aired, which has a seriously low Rotten Tomatoes score of just 6%.
Thankfully, The Shards feels closer to what Murphy was doing with the anthology series American Horror Story, and the result is an addictive, bloody and over the top series which shows that Murphy and Ellis are an excellent creative duo.
The Shards is certainly not for everyone, but I'm sure it will find a dedicated audience among Hulu subscribers. Those who can put up with intentionally insufferable protagonists are rewarded with a stylish, tasty peek into life as a privileged student in the 1980s, set in a sunny LA neighborhood.
The nine-part series follows a fictionalized version of Bret Easton Ellis, who is 17 and in his final year at the elite Buckley prep school. Igby Rigney, known for his work on Netflix's Midnight Mass, plays this version of the thriller author.
We open with Bret going to see The Shining, smoking a cigarette and driving a convertible, as he narrates all the luxury clothing he's wearing. Rigney's almost bored-sounding narration would feel out of place anywhere else, but here it fits perfectly as he talks about his life, one that many viewers will never have and might desperately covet. Despite having everything, there's no enthusiasm to his voice at all.
Opposite Rigney, Homer Gere stars as Robert Mallory, a new arrival at Buckley whose unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler. Gere is fantastic in The Shards, dominating every scene he's in, and making us feel very uncomfortable from the moment we see him.
The unsettling dynamic between Bret and Robert forms much of The Shards, supported by an equally good cast playing fellow students around them. Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), is a popular girl and cheerleader who soon develops a thing for Robert, much to the annoyance of her long-term boyfriend Thom (Graham Campbell).
Bret's girlfriend, Debbie (Hayes Warner), is a teen rebelling against her movie director father, adding to the already complex layers of this dysfunctional friend group.
The first two episodes were released together, but unfortunately it's a weekly release from then on. I have a feeling some people might be gutted they can't binge-watch it because it's easy to become invested in what's happening. The Shards is a dazzling experience where you feel like a fly on the wall watching these spoiled teens, wondering what's going to happen to them next, even if you probably should look away.
It's a visceral, no-holds-barred look into this 80s society which finds itself rapidly torn apart, sometimes literally. Indeed, those looking for Bret Easton Ellis' brand of gratuitous violence will find it here, making The Shards an interesting blend of teen drama and horror movie, with some grisly results.
Even if you haven't read The Shards, if you know you're a fan of Ellis' other works like American Psycho, I think this will be right up your alley. It ticks all the right boxes for what we'd expect from him, after all.
At the time of writing, The Shards season 2 has not been confirmed, which means the season finale's ending will prove frustrating if we don't get more. Though Ellis' book has a similar ending, I'm hopeful that The Shards will choose to take the story further as it feels like it's been written with a second season in mind.
As a standalone season though, it's entertaining and shocking in equal measure. The Shards is a welcome addition to Ryan Murphy's filmography, and I hope he does more like this because I have certainly missed him when he's at his bloody best.
- Xiaomi officially launches SkyNomad N70 and N90 SUVs
- Both pair a 1.5-liter gasoline engine with huge 76 kWh NMC battery packs
- Hybrid technology allows for more than 1,000 miles of driving
Fresh off the success of the SU7 and YU7 all-electric models, which offer the sort of performance and range to compete with Porsche’s Taycan, Chinese tech company Xiaomi is now moving into the world of hybrid SUVs.
Teased a few weeks ago, the company has now taken the wraps off the roughly $35,000 (in China, that is) SkyNomad N70 and N90, two hulking SUVs that are capable of seating either five or seven people in a variety of luxurious configurations.
Shirking the pure EV powertrain of Xiaomi's previous efforts, the SkyNomad sub-brand uses a Changan-derived 1.5-liter gasoline engine and a huge 76 kWh NMC battery pack to offer substantial range.
According to China’s generous CLTC testing cycle, the Xiaomi SkyNomad N90 Max offers a combined range of up to 1,705 km — or 1,060 miles.
(Image credit: Xiaomi/SkyNomad)Customers in China also have the option of a more affordable 52 kWh battery pack, but when the larger of the two is specified in the five-seat N70, pure electric range is almost 314 miles, according to the CLTC testing cycle.
If you crunch the numbers and remove some of the CLTC's generosity, it equates to around 250-miles on the UK and Europe's WLTP cycle. That's still enough to shame many pure EVs.
Alas, Xiaomi hasn’t announced plans to sell its SkyNomad models outside its domestic market yet, but it has previously stated that it hopes to introduce the SU7 and YU7 models to the UK and Europe by 2028.
Analysis: only a bargain in China(Image credit: Xiaomi/SkyNomad)As we have seen with BYD’s luxury brand, Denza, the price of high-performance or luxury Chinese EVs isn’t so appealing once you factor in local taxes and import duties.
It was revealed recently that the supercar-baiting Denza Z, for example, will start at a staggering £142,900 in the UK (around $200,600) and rises to £172,900 (around $233,000) for the top-spec Racing variant. It costs around $100,000 in China.
We can expect to see a similar pattern with models like the SkyNomad N70 and N90 should they arrive in Europe, especially since they come fitted with the sort of battery pack that many rival pure-electric vehicles use today.
Those hoping for something that drastically undercuts the likes of Audi’s Q7, the Volvo XC90 or even Kia’s slightly more affordable EV9 and Hyundai’s Ioniq 9 could be a tad disappointed when official European pricing is eventually announced.
Amazon has discounted the 256GB Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra to AU$1,597, dropping it by AU$502 from its AU$2,099 RRP.
That's the same price Amazon is charging for the smaller 256GB Galaxy Tab S11, and AU$2 less than the AU$1,599 it costs direct from Samsung.
This isn’t quite the lowest price we’ve seen for the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra on Amazon, with the 256GB model briefly dropping to AU$1,547 in June.
Still, today’s AU$1,597 price is only AU$50 more, plus the 512GB model is down to AU$1,799 from the AU$2,449 RRP and the 1TB version has dropped from AU$2,949 to AU$2,299.
Thanks to this discount, the 256GB Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra currently costs the same as Amazon’s smaller Galaxy Tab S11, making this the model I’d choose if you've been pining for the larger 14.6-inch display. Otherwise, the standard S11 may still suit you better if portability is the priority — the 128GB version is 21% off RRP, at AU$1,099.View Deal
Amazon is the simpler option if you just want an easy purchase and fast delivery, but other retailers such as JB Hi-Fi also have the S11 Ultra for just a few dollars more.
Another option worth checking out is Samsung’s current trade-in offer, which could work out cheaper if you have an eligible tablet. Samsung is selling the 256GB Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for AU$1,599 and, until 26 August, is adding a guaranteed AU$500 bonus credit on top of your device’s assessed trade-in value.
One catch – your old tablet must be eligible for Samsung’s trade-in program and retain an assessed value above AU$0.
But, I hear you ask, what makes the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra truly worth the rather large price tag?
In our Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review, we said we’d be “hard-pressed to find a bigger and better display on an Android tablet”. The 14.6-inch AMOLED screen earned a full 5/5 in our testing, with enough brightness for outdoor use, while the included S Pen and expansive display make it particularly well suited to watching movies, gaming and drawing.
Our reviewer also found Samsung’s One UI software made excellent use of the big screen for multitasking, with the tablet handling a video call, game and floating YouTube window at the same time without slowing down.
Battery life impressed too, lasting 11 hours while streaming 1080p video at full brightness, helping explain why the S11 Ultra remains our best premium Android tablet pick in our buying guide.
No tablet is perfect, and the main caveat for the S11 Ultra from our testing is the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset, which we found disappointing considering the RRP is over AU$2,000.
Yes, it's a clear improvement over the Tab S10 Ultra and handles games well, but it falls well short of competitors like the M5 iPad Pro for outright processing power.
That said, while the current AU$502 discount does not fix the performance shortfall, at AU$1,597 rather than AU$2,099, it makes our review criticisms considerably easier to swallow. Especially when the closest equivalent iPad Pro is AU$2,599.
So overall, I think that at the current discount, the S11 Ultra is an easy recommendation for those who want the biggest possible screen for movies, games, drawing and multitasking.