News
It's Amazon Prime Day (well, week), and it's great news for physical media fans: there are tons of great deals on 4K Blu-rays, regular Blu-rays and DVDs. It includes big box sets and individual movies — there's way more there than I could hope to summarize here.
• Amazon US: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
• Amazon UK: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
So on this page, I've specifically picked out movies that I know to be excellent home theater showcases, either through spectacular visuals, super-immersive soundtracks, or both.
And I've limited the price to options under $15 in the US, and £17 in the UK, since that seems to be the sweet spot right now, though there are some excellent movies cheaper than that. You'll find the US options just below, or click here to jump to the UK options.
Options include modern showpieces such as Sinners, beautifully restored classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, and not reference-quality discs including Blade Runner 2049.
If you want more Prime Day options beyond movies, you can look at our on-going Prime Day live blogs, constantly updated with new deals and price changes — here's our US Prime Day live round-up, and here's our UK Prime Day UK live round-up.
• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale
Amazon's 4K Blu-ray sale — see all options- Amazon US: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
- Amazon UK: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
- Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
- Fans: from £20
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
The Leica SL3-P is not a camera for everyone, and it knows it. There's no red dot logo on the front — that easy-to-spot symbol of prestige has been deliberately omitted in favor of a clean, all-black anonymity. Only the word 'LEICA' in white block capitals above the lens mount gives the game away. This is a camera built for photographers who'd rather be invisible than show off, and that philosophy runs all the way through it, with minimal controls, a stripped-back UI, and a design language that says a lot through everything it leaves out.
The SL3-P is built around the same full-frame sensor as the Panasonic Lumix S1R II. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Getting to grips with it takes some patience if you're arriving from a more conventional mirrorless system. With only four labelled buttons on the body, a lot of control is handed off to the touchscreen, which is polished and logically organized once you learn its rhythms. The rear LCD tilts but doesn't swivel, which is an unusual limitation for a camera at this price — and with a serious L-mount lens fitted, the combined weight is considerable. But pick it up, hold it to your eye, and look through that large, crisp EVF, and something clicks. This is a camera that feels like it was made to be used, not admired.
Image quality is exceptional — unsurprising given the 44.7MP BSI sensor, which is of the same type used by the superb Panasonic Lumix S1R II — and battery life is impressive. The autofocus is competent and handles moving subjects well enough, though it won't trouble Sony or Canon on raw speed. At around £5,150 (US pricing TBC), it's an expensive proposition. But as a pure expression of what a modern Leica should be, the SL3-P makes a very strong case for itself.
Leica SL3-P: Price and availability- Priced at $6,690 / £5,150 body-only
- Also available in three zoom lens kits
It's unlikely to come as a shock to you that the Leica SL3-P is a very expensive camera. Its launch price, for the body only, is $6,690 / £5,150 (Australia pricing is still TBC at the time of writing).
Leica is also releasing the camera in three kit bundles, each of which includes at least one Vario zoom lens. The SL3-P with a Leica 28-70mm lens is $7,790 / £6,100; with a Leica 24-70mm it's $8,390 / £6,480; and with both the 24-70mm and a 70-200mm it's $10,995 / £8,560.
Leica SL3-P: specsLeica SL3-P specsType:
Mirrorless camera
Mount:
L Mount
Sensor:
44.9MP (effective) BSI full-frame CMOS
Autofocus:
Hybrid AF: 315 contrast / 819 phase detection points; Human and Animal subject detection
Continuous shooting:
Up to 40fps (electronic shutter)
Video:
Up to 8K Open Gate; ProRes to 5.8K; 4K at 120fps; L-Log, 12-bit RAW, 4:2:2 10-bit
Viewfinder:
5.76M-dot LCD EVF, 0.76x magnification
Screen:
3.2-inch tilt-only touchscreen, 2,332,800 dots
Storage:
SD/SDHC/SDXC + CFexpress Type B
Connectivity:
USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2), HDMI 2.1 Type A, 3.5mm mic/headphone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
Weather sealing:
IP54
Dimensions:
151.45 x 80.32 x 38.09mm
Weight:
Approx. 768g (body only, without battery)
Leica SL3-P: design- All-black, badge-free design with minimalist controls
- Premium full-metal construction with IP54 weather sealing
- Large, comfortable EVF with twist-barrel diopter adjustment
The absence of Leica's red dot is the first thing you notice, and it sets the tone for everything that follows. The SL3-P is clad entirely in black, with only 'LEICA' in white block capitals on the EVF housing to identify it. Four buttons across the whole body are labelled (one of which is the power button). It's a stealthy, understated thing — clearly designed for people who want to use a Leica but aren't fussed about being seen with one.
The German-made full-metal body felt exactly as solid and premium as I'd expect from the brand, and comes with IP54 weather sealing for extra outdoors reassurance. There's a large grip covered with a textured material that provides a secure hold even when conditions aren't ideal, and the supplied neck strap is thick and well-padded, which I appreciated given how much weight a serious L-mount lens adds to the equation.
Future | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenWith so few physical controls, much of the camera's operation is routed through the touchscreen. The UI is stylish and well organized, with photo and video modes color coded distinctly in red and yellow respectively. And while the layout takes some adjusting too if you're used to a more button-heavy system, the logic is coherent, and settings are never difficult to locate. Touch-to-focus on the screen works exactly as expected, and custom button assignments help flatten the learning curve further.
The EVF is large, crisp and comfortable thanks to its 5.76-million dot resolution and 0.76x magnification, and as a glasses wearer I really liked the satisfying diopter mechanism that simply requires twisting the EVF barrel rather than hunting for a small dial.
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)The top-plate display is a genuinely useful feature, giving you a quick rundown of current settings without you having to lift the camera to your eye. The rear LCD, however, only tilts: up to 90 degrees upward and around 45 downward. That covers most tripod and arm's-length scenarios, but there's no forward-facing position for self-shooting, and no side-to-side articulation, which feels like an unusual limitation at this price.
On a practical note, I will say that the SL3-P is not a lightweight system, especially when teamed with some high-quality glass. The Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 lens I used with it added over a kilogram to the body, and while the grip is secure and comfortable, a long day of handheld shooting (covering a child's birthday party, in my case) does become fatiguing. That's less a criticism — after all, there are plenty of heavy cameras around — and more of a warning about how and when it can be used.
Leica SL3-P: Performance- Exceptional image quality from a 44.7MP BSI full-frame sensor
- Competent hybrid autofocus with broad subject detection, including birds
- Impressive battery life and extensive video options including 8K and ProRes
The SL3-P shares its 44.7MP BSI full-frame CMOS sensor with the Panasonic Lumix S1R II — a camera I've tested and rate very highly — and the image quality is, predictably, exceptional.
Raw files processed in Lightroom offer tremendous latitude, with smooth tonal gradation, wide dynamic range and excellent high-ISO performance. JPEGs are very good straight from camera too, and five film-look presets — three color, two monochrome — add some welcome creative options. The high-contrast black-and-white preset is particularly striking, and feels authentically Leica in character.
Video capabilities are more extensive than the camera's photographer-first positioning might suggest: 8K Open Gate, ProRes to 5.8K, 4K at 120fps, L-Log, 12-bit RAW and 4:2:2 10-bit are all available. It's a serious toolkit, even if the handling feels more naturally attuned to stills.
Future | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenFuture | Sam KieldsenThe hybrid autofocus combines 315 contrast AF points with 819 phase detection points, with human, animal (including birds) and car detection. Tracking held up well in practice; testing on an active cat, the camera maintained focus through erratic movement without significant trouble.
Outright acquisition speed with the Summilux 50mm f/1.4 in AF-C is where it falls short of class leaders; it's capable rather than decisive, and anyone shooting fast action should look elsewhere. For portrait, street or documentary work, though, it certainly gets the job done.
Five-axis IBIS rated at up to five stops works quietly and effectively, and battery life is a genuine highlight. After a full charge I shot well over 100 frames across a lengthy session, and the indicator remained full. That seems in line with Leica's claimed 383 shots per CIPA standard cycle.
Should you buy the Leica SL3-P?Buy it if...You value craft and image quality above speed
The build, finish and sensor are among the best in class. For considered, unhurried shooting, this is a very rewarding camera to use.
You want a discreet full-frame system
The badge-free design and understated profile make the SL3-P ideal for work where a conspicuous camera would be a liability.
You need fast and precise autofocus
Sony, Canon and Nikon all offer more decisive AF systems at comparable or lower prices. The SL3-P's AF is capable rather than class-leading .
Solo video is central to your work
The tilt-only screen and stills-focused handling mean this isn't the best choice for self-shooting video creators.
- Leica loaned me a sample for over a week, along with a 50mm prime lens
- I used it indoors and outdoors for several days, shooting photos and video
- All sample photos were shot in raw and processed in Adobe Lightroom
Leica loaned me a review sample of the SL3-P camera to test out in real-world use, a few weeks ahead of the official release.
I reviewed the Leica SL3-P over the course of a week, using it exclusively with the Leica Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. prime lens. My shooting covered a wide range of scenarios: street photography and candids outdoors, landscape work, and indoor shooting in both natural daytime light and normal interior lighting at night — the latter without flash or studio lighting assistance of any kind.
All sample images were captured in raw format and processed in Adobe Lightroom.
First reviewed June 2026
- Amazon is hiring 11,000 new workers, mostly new graduates and interns
- Garman says they're more impressionable and willing to adopt AI
- Willingness to learn could be more important than existing skills
Amazon CEO Matt Garman has confirmed the company's plans to hire 11,000 interns and new grads this year despite an ongoing internal push for AI tools.
The news comes around six months after the company warned that 16,000 workers would be losing their jobs, with Garman's cloud business hit hard.
With the latest news, the company looks to be refocusing human resources instead of getting rid of human workers altogether as business priorities change and new opportunities open up.
Amazon to hire 11,000 workers in the same year it laid off 16,000Speaking with Casey Newton of Platformer in a YouTube interview, Garman explained that white-collar jobs are changing as a result of AI, but they're not being eliminated. He compared AI to Excel spreadsheets, which dramatically increased productivity for accounting and finance work.
"If you look at what your job was two years ago, and what your job is going to be in two years, it's going to be vastly different," he said.
Garman also noted a shift in where humans bring the most value – writing code itself is becoming less valuable, but engineers are still important reviewing AI-generated code, understanding business requirements and designing systems with the AI-generated code.
As for why the company is hiring junior workers specifically, Garman acknowledged that they're among the cheapest labor to hire, but they also learn company culture faster and can embrace AI more positively than older generations.
The CEO previously said that replacing junior employees with AI was "one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."
Without hiring graduates today, companies risk creating a long-term skills gap in the future because they have nobody to train into senior and experienced engineers, he added.
He implied that recruitment is becoming more about a willingness to learn, not the skills that have already been mastered, but the interview ultimately confirmed the continued value of human workers.
- Nothing has shown off the design of the Phone (4b)
- This includes a dual-lens camera, an LED light bar, and big bezels
- Fans aren't sold on it, but would buy the concept phone that Nothing also recently showed off
Following a recent tease, Nothing has now shown off the full design of the Phone (4b), even though the handset won’t be fully detailed until July 7.
From this, we know that the Nothing Phone (4b) has a dual-lens camera with vertically arranged lenses, in a large camera block with a textured finish. It also has an LED light bar similar to the Nothing Phone (4a)’s, while around the front there’s a punch-hole camera and a flat screen with large bezels.
It’s a design that seems fine if a little less unusual or inspired than many Nothing handsets, but it’s one that fans largely aren’t impressed by.
Phone (4b).7 July, 11:00 BST. pic.twitter.com/ksHy9hTM1xJune 25, 2026
Responses to the teaser on X include “most average Nothing design,” and “very disappointing,” while over on Reddit, comments include “looks bad” and a simple “eww.”
So unless the specs or price make up for the design it seems this might not be a big hit for Nothing, and if — as we’ve previously speculated — this was originally intended as a CMF phone, it’s unlikely it will have too much going for it in the specs department, while the Nothing branding will likely mean a higher price than it would have had as a CMF device.
The phone fans wantBut Nothing also recently showed off a handset that fans actually are excited about — sadly though this was just a concept device, which is unlikely to ever see the light of day.
The phone in question appeared in a YouTube video, where Nothing designed a handset with the dream features put forward by the brand’s community. These include a small (sub-6-inch) screen, a pop-up selfie camera, a dual-lens rear camera, a headphone port, and a microSD card slot.
The company did note that to make this a reality it would need to be quite thick, and even then probably couldn’t fit in more than a 3,800mAh silicon-carbon battery, so that’s perhaps part of why the team doesn’t seem interested in making this a real device.
But perhaps it should, as reactions to the video included “I would 100% buy this,” “beautiful,” and “forget Nothing Phone 4. Just make this.”
So it seems that — at least among Nothing’s most vocal fans — there’s real demand for this handset, and little interest in the Phone (4b).
- Nvidia’s closed-loop liquid cooling system virtually eliminates water waste
- Direct-to-chip cooling transfers heat more effectively than air
- It enables higher performance-per-watt and higher rack densities
Data centers aren’t without their fair share of criticism – energy-intensive compute raises temperatures and giant campuses consume considerable amounts of air and/or water to keep them running optimally.
Land scarcity and financial incentives have also been pushing new developments closer to high-risk areas, including drought-prone regions, ultimately leading to even higher cooling requirements.
But Nvidia knows this, and it knows traditional air cooling has pretty much reached its limits as AI hardware becomes denser and denser.
Closed-loop cooling virtually eliminates water wasteWith cooling now a core part of AI infrastructure design, Nvidia’s latest liquid-cooled AI systems promise higher thresholds to reduce the burden, driving down water and energy consumption as a result.
By running coolant at higher temperatures – 45°C or 113°F, to be specific – it enabled simpler cooling systems and lowers electricity consumption. Nvidia’s concept uses 75% water, 25% glycol as a coolant, noting that it can run about 5-7°C higher than hot tubs.
Compared with traditional evaporative cooling towers, Nvidia’s latest proposition involves a closed-loop system where coolant continuously circulates through servers to remove excess heat from chips. The warm coolant then cycles through external dry coolers leaving virtually no water evaporation.
The company boasted that cooling-related water consumption can be reduced by as much as 100% in suitable climates subject to the occasional extreme day, with cooling towers totally eliminated.
“The Nvidia DSX reference design for AI factories has zero water consumption – we have eliminated massive amounts of power usage and pretty much all water usage,” Data Center Cooling and Infrastructure Director Ali Heydari said.
The system’s efficiency primarily comes from direct-to-chip liquid cooling, where liquid flows directly through cold plates attached to CPUs and GPUs. This captures and expels the heat from exactly where it’s produced.
Not only is this more effective than cooling entire rooms, but liquid also promises to transfer heat thousands of times more effectively than air.
Major improvements across water consumption, energy efficiency and Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) all help on the sustainability front, but there’s another layer to the benefits.
Nvidia says it can increase rack density and performanceNvidia acknowledged that chip power consumption and rack densities continue to rise, so by implementing liquid cooling data center companies can add more GPUs per rack, use higher rack power and ultimately pack in larger AI clusters within the same building footprint.
The company explained that its Rubin systems now fit inside two racks, instead of six, marking a major space saving.
Simultaneously, air cooling has become ineffective. “Once the watts per chip crossed a certain level, liquid cooling became mandatory,” Motivair’s CEO Richard Whitmore said.
Independent testing totally separate from Nvidia’s latest announcement shows that its H100 systems delivered around 17% higher performance when water cooled, compared with air cooling. Under sustained AI workloads, GPU temperatures fluctuated between 41-50°C when water cooled, and 54-72°C when air cooled.
Besides improving immediate and sustained performance, greater thermal efficiency could also boost longevity.
The new, higher-temperature closed-loop water cooling model is set to be used in upcoming Rubin deployments this year.
Given that I review audio gadgets for a living, I tend to hoard headphones the way most people collect loose change. But there's only one pair I rely on literally every day: the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, which is why I was pleased to see they've gotten an awesome discount this Prime Day.
You can currently buy the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 for £255 (was £399) at Amazon UK. Not only does it make them much more affordable, but it actually brings them down to their lowest price ever. And don't feel left out if you're based in the US — you can still get a decent discount on them where you are, for $409.99 (was $479.99) at Amazon.
As reviews editor at TechRadar, I've used a ludicrous number of headphones over the years, from the absurdly premium Focal Clear MG to budget bangers like the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100. But there's only one pair that I come back to again and again, that have earned their place as my trusty workhorse when other headphones can't quite fit the bill: the Px7 S3.
So if you're looking to get superb audio without having to pay a premium for it, I definitely think you should check out this deal.
The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are a drop-dead gorgeous pair of ANC headphones that sound better than just about every rival in their price class. With impeccable design, a fleshed-out feature set, and aptX Adaptive higher-res Bluetooth streaming, they're a wonderful premium pick.View Deal
Part of what makes the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 such a fantastic-sounding pair of headphones is their staggering precision. Not only does their soundstage feel crisp and detailed, but their instrument separation particularly makes them stand out, especially at this price.View Deal
Honestly, this discount makes these headphones a valid contender for some of the best headphones out there. There's a reason we gave them 5 stars in our Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review after all.
The main reason I love the Px7 S3 for everyday use is that I can count on them to punch way above their weight in terms of sonic quality. Thanks to their aptX Lossless connectivity, they're able to stream music at what is essentially CD quality, while the soundstage they offer up feels precise yet spacious. Without spending a significant chunk more, you won't get more deft sound than this.
I also love how faithful their sound is. While I'll admit they don't offer the same driving bass as headphones like the much spendier AirPods Max 2, they also don't neglect some frequencies just to emphasize others, a shortcut many mid-range and budget cans take advantage of. They're faithful enough that I happily trust them for everyday music production, which is not something I can say about a lot of Bluetooth headphones.
And with this massive discount, I'd honestly say you can't lose with the Px7 S3.
More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
- Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
- Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
- Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
- Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
Apple can be its own worst enemy sometimes. After shaking up the industry with both the MacBook Air M5 (slim, light and great value for money) and the MacBook Neo (which redefined what we should expect from an affordable laptop), it spurred its laptop-making rivals, such as Dell and Acer, to up their game and compete.
The result is a reinvigorated laptop market with huge amounts of choice, with Apple continuing to lead the pack due to price and quality.
However, Apple has just announced some pretty major price hikes for a variety of its products, including the MacBook Neo ($699 / £699 / AU$1,049, up from $599 / £599 / AU$899), MacBook Air M5 ($1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,099, up from $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799) and the 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 ($1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199, up from $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$2,699).
Those increases, especially for the MacBook Air, are brutal, and make it a lot harder to justify. The MacBook Neo also becomes less of a no-brainer.
The problem for Apple is that these price hikes come at a time when its Windows 11 competitors are steadily bringing out brilliant alternatives - and it means they are now better value propositions in many cases, especially during Amazon Prime Day.
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale
The reason behind Apple's price rises is the global memory shortage, but that means many Windows 11 laptops could see price rises as well (and some have risen in price already).
However, because of the huge variety of Windows laptops that are made by a range of manufacturers, there's a lot more choice for consumers to shop around for — and now Apple no longer has a lead when it comes to price, performance or design, those Windows laptops suddenly become a whole lot more tempting, as the current Prime Day sales prove.
Below, I've picked out some great US and UK deals for MacBook Neo, Air, and Pro alternatives. Fair warning: they do run Windows 11, so you'll need to put up with that, but to be fair, Microsoft's operating system is getting a steady stream of fixes and new features these days.
If you want to stick with Apple, then check out our collection of Apple Prime Day deals that can help you avoid the price rise.
Today's best MacBook Neo alternative deals in the USProcessor: Intel Core i3-1315U
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 256GB
This is a great price for a relatively modern laptop with a well-performing, efficient Core i3 CPU. On top of that, you get 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a solid battery life of up to 12 hours, which represents good value for money overall. I like it as a capable, all-around, everyday machine. View Deal
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7730U
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a lightweight and surprisingly powerful laptop for the price, which is now less than the MacBook Neo, and offers more storage space and RAM. We reviewed it last year and scored it an impressive four stars out of five. Although it's not a high-end laptop by any stretch, it is very usable, lightweight, and features plenty of ports. This particular configuration features a Ryzen 7 chipset, meaning it's powerful enough to take on most applications.View Deal
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 5
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
This Dell 16 Plus laptop deal is a perfect example of why Apple is in trouble with these price rises. Thanks to an absolutely huge $800 price cut from Dell (can you ever imagine Apple offering a similar discount?) This 16-inch laptop is now less than the MacBook Neo, but it offers a bigger screen, a more powerful CPU, plus more RAM and SSD storage as well. This is a deal you don't want to miss, even if you're an Apple fan.View Deal
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 5 340
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
The Dell 14 Plus is one of our favorite mid-range Windows laptops thanks to its excellent design and competitive specs. If I were looking for a decent everyday laptop for everything from work to demanding productivity applications, then I'd be very tempted by this deal.View Deal
Today's best MacBook Air alternative deals in the USProcessor: AMD Ryzen AI 7
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
This powerful and versatile Lenovo Yoga 7 offers impressive performance for the price, with high-end components such as a modern AMD Ryzen AI 7 processor, a healthy 16GB of RAM to boost performance, and a large 1TB SSD for storage. You can comfortably handle everyday tasks, demanding work, video calls, media streaming and more with this laptop, all with the option to flip it around to a 16-inch touchscreen tablet when the need arises, too.View Deal
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
The Dell 14 Plus is one of our favorite models from Dell in the past few years. It really surprised us when we reviewed it because it offers great performance and a well-thought-out design at an excellent price. Today's best deal is on this Ryzen 7-equipped configuration, which offers plenty of power in this machine's portable 14-inch form factor. View Deal
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
This HP Omnibook 7 hits the sweet spot between performance and price, thanks to a hefty discount at the official store today. Not only do you get a powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 chipset, but 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD mean you're not skimping on any other specs here, either. As a 2-in-1 laptop, this machine is also foldable, if you want to use it like a tablet - something that no MacBook offers.View Deal
Processor: Snapdragon X Elite
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 512GB
One of the best deals on the entire Dell site is undoubtedly this discount on the latest Snapdragon-equipped Dell XPS 13. This stylish and lightweight machine is perfect for those who want battery life and performance in a premium package. This particular configuration also includes 32GB of RAM, which is a very rare thing indeed these days at this price. Note, this is a Snapdragon chipset model, however, so make sure all your obscure apps are supported.View Deal
Today's best MacBook Pro alternative deals in the USProcessor: Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 256V
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Storage: 1TB SSD
As I said in my Galaxy Book6 Ultra review, Samsung has come the closest to Apple's slick ecosystem. One of the best things about MacBooks is how they can easily integrate with iPads, iPhones and AirPods, and Samsung, which makes tablets, smartphones, headphones and more, has come up with a similar (if not quite as slick) system, which makes the (slightly older) Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 a brilliant MacBook Pro alternative, especially if you already have other Samsung devices. The specs also compare favorably to the MacBook Pro, especially with this discount.View Deal
Graphics card: RTX 5070
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX
RAM: 32GB DDR5
Storage: 2TB SSD
With an RTX 5070 graphics card, Ultra 9 chipset, and a whopping 32GB of RAM, this one is all set for excellent performance right out of the box, while featuring a relatively discrete and slick design for a gaming laptop, and a price that undercuts the MacBook Pro.View Deal
Graphics card: GeForce RTX 5080
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
Need a monster of a laptop? Forget Amazon, Best Buy has you covered: the MSI Vector 16 HX AI packs a mighty RTX 5080 GPU along with a cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra HX chip with built-in NPU for handling AI workloads as well as multitasking when gaming. This is a great MacBook Pro alternative for creative professionals, even if you don't play games.View Deal
Today's best MacBook Neo alternative deals in the UKProcessor: Intel Core i5
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
This is a great price for a relatively modern laptop that comes with a well-performing Intel Core i5 CPU. On top of that, you get 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD for storage, and incredible battery life, which represents good value for money overall. It's slightly larger with the 16-inch display, which could hamper portability, but it's a solid everyday machine for the price, and it's now much cheaper than the MacBook Neo.View Deal
Processor: Snapdragon X
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
This is a great price with a well-performing and efficient Snapdragon X CPU. On top of that, you get 16GB of RAM, a surprisingly large 1TB SSD for storage, and incredible battery life, which represents good value for money overall. I like it as a light, portable and capable all-around everyday machine.View Deal
Today's best MacBook Air alternative deals in the UKProcessor: Intel Core Ultra 7
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
This is a fantastic price for one of the latest Samsung laptops with a modern Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and several other top-spec components. At £350 off, this is a great price for a laptop that's tailor-made for powerful performance and offers fantastic battery life of up to 18 hours. This is a particularly strong option if you want to combine power, performance, and style in one package.View Deal
Processor: Snapdragon X Plus
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
The latest Microsoft Surface Laptop is one of our favourite Windows devices and received a glowing five-stars in our Microsoft Surface Laptop review, so I'm obviously going to call out this solid saving at Amazon. This particular specification includes a powerful Snapdragon X Plus processor, a healthy 16GB of RAM and a reasonable 512GB SSD. That storage feels a little light for the price, but the levels of performance and battery life from the CPU are top-tier to go alongside the swish-looking display and keyboard.View Deal
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is one of the best laptops students can buy, as it uses AMD's Ryzen AI 7 350 processor. It's capable of storming through intense CPU tasks, utilizing AI like Copilot+, and gaming thanks to its Radeon 860M integrated GPU.View Deal
Today's best MacBook Pro alternative deals in the UKProcessor: Intel Core Ultra 5 325
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB
Thanks to a huge £300 saving, the Galaxy Book6 Pro is now a formidable MacBook Pro competitor, especially when you consider the performance, design and ecosystem integration this laptop offers. If you have a Samsung tablet, for example, you can quickly use it as a second screen, much like you can do with an iPad and MacBook. The rest of the Galaxy Book6 Pro's build quality is extremely high, and what we've come to expect from Samsung's high-end laptops.View Deal
Graphics card: GeForce RTX 5060
Processor: Intel Core 7
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
Alienware gaming laptops never come cheap, but I actually rate this deal on the newest Aurora 16 model at the official Dell Store. With a stonking £550 off, you're paying a fair price here considering you're getting an RTX 5060 graphics card and 16GB of RAM. Couple that with a really nice design, and you've got an extremely solid 16-inch gaming laptop here, and it's a solid MacBook Pro alternative, as you can challenge the GPU with creative workloads. View Deal
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB
This thin and light powerhouse of a laptop from MSI is a fantastic alternative to the base MacBook Pro model thanks to its stunning 2.8K OLED screen, 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD, which gives you the kind of performance you'd expect from the more expensive MacBook Pro. With a 14% price cut for Prime Day, it's an even more tempting alternative, and the overall design of this laptop is excellent.View Deal
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 2TB
Another great thing about Windows 11 laptops is that because of the range of manufacturers, there are some really interesting spins on the usual form factor. So, while Apple won't even consider putting a touchscreen on a MacBook, over on the other side we have weird and wonderful beauties like this, which features two touchscreens. It works well and can be a real boon for creative tasks, and it's also fitted with some of the most powerful mobile components on the market as well.View Deal
More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
- Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
- Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
- Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
- Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
Amazon's Prime Day has featured some of the best PC hardware deals for top-quality products. This ranges from SSD deals to Nvidia RTX-powered gaming laptops, and yet again, there's another one of the latter to join the party.
The Alienware 16 Aurora is now available on Amazon for £899 (was £1,319), with a generous 32% discount, dropping its price effectively as low as Valve's new Steam Machine.
Powered by Nvidia's RTX 5060 laptop GPU, Intel's Core 7 240H processor, and 16GB of RAM, there's plenty to love about the 16 Aurora. While the GPU's VRAM is only 8GB, it can handle a large variety of triple-A games, even the most demanding when using DLSS 4.5 upscaling.
On sale, it's currently within the exact ballpark of the Steam Machine's price, and is ultimately a more powerful system, particularly for games, with better capabilities to handle ray tracing, and superior upscaling quality.
(Image credit: Dell / Alienware)The Alienware 16 Aurora is a fantastic choice for any gamer looking to dive into the PC ecosystem. With the RTX 5060, expect solid performance at 1080p and even 1440p using DLSS 4.5.View Deal
The only major advantage the Steam Machine currently has over the 16 Aurora is that AMD hardware works much better on SteamOS. Nvidia GPUs are yet to be fully optimized, so major aspects such as game mode in SteamOS may not function well, and game performance may not be up to par.
However, Valve has already made significant efforts to improve the Linux operating system for a wider range of hardware — and SteamOS update 3.8 has opened the doors for any PC to install the OS without hassle.
We can only expect that this will eventually be the case for Nvidia GPUs, so if that's an obstacle when considering the 16 Aurora, it shouldn't be a permanent one.
The RTX 5060 in the 16 Aurora isn't a high-end GPU, but for consumers who are just joining the PC space, it's perfectly fine for 1080p or 1440p gaming.
More Prime Day deals in the UK- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
Been on the lookout over Prime Day for some 4K Blu-ray deals? I've been searching through them and have picked offers on discs I've tested as part of our Blu-ray Bounty feature, so I know these discs are worth your time.
• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale
Amazon Prime Day can be a great time for 4K Blu-ray sales and this time is no different. Some highlight discs I've found include Sinners, which is both a picture and audio showcase, especially for Dolby Atmos. There's also Se7en, a fantastic-looking movie with plenty of richly detailed scenes that show off 4K's clarity, which look great on the best OLED TVs.
Sunset Boulevard looks excellent on 4K and shows what new life it can bring to older movies. My final highlight here is F1. If you're looking for a disc to show off your sound system, be that one of the best soundbars or a full surround setup, this is an awesome disc.
Prime Day deals for 6 4K Blu-rays I've tested - US WARNER BROS Sinners 4K Blu-ray WARNER BROS Seven 4K Blu-ray Paramount Sunset Boulevard 4K Blu-ray WARNER BROS F1: The Movie 4K Blu-ray Paramount Minority Report 4K Blu-ray UNIVERSAL Wicked 4K Blu-ray Prime Day deals for 6 4K Blu-rays I've tested - UK Warner Bros Sinners 4K Blu-ray Warner Bros Seven 4K Blu-ray (Steelbook) Paramount Home Entertainment Sunset Boulevard 4K Blu-ray Warner Bros F1: The Movie 4K Blu-ray 20th Century Pictures Minority Report 4K Blu-ray Walt Disney Tombstone 4K Blu-ray More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
- Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
- Fans: from £20
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
- ExtraHop’s Global Threat Landscape Report shows 49% of ransomware victims only detected attacks after data theft, up from 31% last year
- Average dwell time before detection is 2.5 weeks; attackers exploit encrypted channels, valid accounts, and alert fatigue to evade defenses
- Ransom payments fell from $3.6M to $2.8M, but payment frequency rose sharply, with 83% of surveyed victims paying in 2026 vs. 70% in 2025
Criminals are getting better at hiding within their victims’ infrastructure, lurking and stealing files without triggering any alarms whatsoever.
Earlier today, network detection and response experts ExtraHop released the “Global Threat Landscape Report”, based on a survey of more than 1,800 IT and security leaders worldwide. In it, it is said that roughly half (49%) of organizations that were struck by ransomware did not detect the threat until after the data was stolen.
This is up from 31% a year ago, ExtraHop stressed, showing the improvement criminals made within just 12 months.
Several factorsOn average, cybercriminals have 2.5 weeks of quiet time before being spotted in ransomware incidents, the report stated. Furthermore, 14% of victims were unaware of an attack until receiving a ransom demand, which is also up from 6% a year ago.
“Prolonged dwell times often parallel a highly complex threat environment where critical alerts are obscured,” ExtraHop said in a press release shared with TechRadar Pro. The researchers uncovered several factors that led to delays in investigating critical alerts, including attackers using encrypted channels (41%), attacker activity mirroring legitimate workflows and processes (38%), using valid, high-privilege account permissions (34%), and alert fatigue (30%). Undermined baseline behavior also enabled anomalous actions to fly under the radar (27%).
The good news is that the average ransom payment dropped year-on-year, from $3.6 million down to $2.8 million. However, the bad news is that the payment frequency spiked. While in 2025 70% of respondents paid a ransom, this year 83% have done the same, at least among ExtraHop’s respondents.
When Chainalysis ran a similar survey recently, it said that in 2025 the number of successful ransomware attacks grew, while the number of payments remained relatively flat, meaning that in absolute numbers - there were fewer companies paying ransomware attackers.
We now know with more certainty than before that your next iPhone, especially if it's a more affordable model, will probably be more expensive come September.
Allow me to walk you back through my reasoning.
At approximately 8:30AM ET (that's 10:30PM AEST) the RAM crisis reached Apple shores in the form of price hikes across multiple product categories, including MacBooks, Macs, iPads, and HomePods.
It was inevitable and, as Apple told us, the culprit is clear: "The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage."
It's the component crunch we've seen repeated over and over again. Everything from the latest gaming rigs to storage and memory is getting more expensive.
And it's only going to get worse.
"We are not at the bottom and will take more time to climb out," wrote Creative Strategies Founder and longtime analyst Tim Bajarin when I asked him via email if this marked a tipping point for our RAM crisis travails. It did feel like Apple held off as long as possible, and I think Bajarin concurs, "Apple had no choice," he wrote to me.
No RAM crisis end in sightNot only does Bajarin see the issue continuing, but he thinks it could drag on for years. As he wrote in his recent Forbes column, with just a few major memory factories already "maxed out" and those under construction years away from coming online, "I see this memory squeeze at the least lasting another two years," he told me via email.
This aligns, by the way, with reports we've seen elsewhere from those who run these memory plants.
"We expect tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments coupled with structural supply constraints," said Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra in a recent earnings report.
We've all been wondering if and when the RAM crisis would affect iPhone prices, and while the fresh price hikes miss out iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, Apple's comment on why it raised the prices now, makes it clear that they're probablly not done: "We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac."
Did you pick up the key phrase? "need to begin raising prices". Apple didn't say, "we've raised the prices," and instead opened the door to further hikes.
Those price increases might come to the full lineups in affected product categories, but I believe that this issue will affect the anticipated iPhone 18 launch in September.
But wait. It gets worse.
An affordability crisisBajarin says the price/performance trajectory we've seen for decades (more and faster/better tech for lower prices) is, with this component crisis reversing itself, making it harder to build affordable devices, or rather devices at affordable prices, because one of the key components is exponentially more expensive than ever. We already have some evidence of this with Nothing cancelling its affordable model in response to RAM crisis.
This means that those who usually buy the iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max, and iPhone Air might easily absorb higher prices because they can probably already afford them.
It's with base models like the anticipated iPhone 18 where a dramatic increase could push the phone out of reach. This will, by the way, affect Android phones too (see Nothing, above), especially, Bajarin notes, those affordable handsets sold around the world.
You see, they all source their memory from the same handful of suppliers. It's all in shorter supply and more expensive.
In the end, if any of us thought Apple could hold out indefinitely and show the industry a way around this AI-led RAM crisis (the AI boom isn't slowing down, and its demands on energy, water, and memory will probably only increase), they were mistaken. Apple isn't magic, RAM doesn't grow on trees, and we're in for a very rough couple of years.
A look at all the Apple price hikesiPad price changes — USDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
iPad
$349
$449
$100 (29%)
iPad Air 11
$599
$749
$150 (25%)
iPad Air 13
$749
$949
$200 (27%)
iPad Pro 11
$999
$1,199
$200 (20%)
iPad Pro 13
$1,299
$1,499
$200 (15%)
iPad mini
$499
$599
$100 (20%)
iPad price changes — UKDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
iPad
£329
£429
£100 (30%)
iPad Air 11
£599
£749
£150 (25%)
iPad Air 13
£799
£949
£150 (19%)
iPad Pro 11
£999
£1,199
£200 (20%)
iPad Pro 13
£1,299
£1,499
£200 (15%)
iPad mini
£499
£599
£100 (20%)
iPad price changes — AUDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
iPad
AU$599
AU$749
AU$150 (25%)
iPad Air 11
AU$999
AU$1,249
AU$250 (25%)
iPad Air 13
AU$1,299
AU$1,599
AU$300 (23%)
iPad Pro 11
AU$1,699
AU$1,999
AU$300 (18%)
iPad Pro 13
AU$2,199
AU$2,599
AU$400 (18%)
iPad mini
AU$799
AU$949
AU$249 (36%)
Mac price changes — USDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
MacBook Neo
$599
$699
$100 (17%)
MacBook Air 13
$1,099
$1,299
$200 (18%)
MacBook Air 15
$1,299
$1,499
$200 (15%)
MacBook Pro M5
$1,699
$1,999
$300 (18%)
MacBook Pro M5 Pro
$2,199
$2,499
$300 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5 Max
$3,599
$4,099
$500 (14%)
Mac mini*
$599
$799
$200 (33%)
iMac
$1,299
$1,499
$200 (15%)
Mac Studio (M4 Max)
$1,999
$2,499
$500 (25%)
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)
$3,999
$5,299
$1,300 (33%)
Mac price changes — UKDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
MacBook Neo
£599
£699
£100 (17%)
MacBook Air 13
£1,099
£1,299
£200 (18%)
MacBook Air 15
£1,299
£1,499
£200 (15%)
MacBook Pro M5
£1,699
£1,999
£300 (18%)
MacBook Pro M5 Pro
£2,199
£2,499
£300 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5 Max
£3,599
£4,099
£500 (14%)
Mac mini*
£699
£799
£100 (14%)
iMac
£1,299
£1,499
£200 (15%)
Mac Studio (M4 Max)
£1,999
£2,499
£500 (25%)
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)
£3,999
£5,299
£1,300 (33%)
Mac price changes — AUDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
MacBook Neo
AU$899
AU$1,049
AU$150 (17%)
MacBook Air 13
AU$1,799
AU$2,099
AU$300 (17%)
MacBook Air 15
AU$2,199
AU$2,499
AU$300 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5
AU$2,699
AU$3,199
AU$500 (19%)
MacBook Pro M5 Pro
AU$3,499
AU$3,999
AU$500 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5 Max
AU$5,799
AU$6,399
AU$600 (11%)
Mac mini*
AU$999
AU$1,299
AU$300 (30%)
iMac
AU$1,999
AU$2,399
AU$400 (20%)
Mac Studio (M4 Max)
AU$3,499
AU$4,299
AU$800 (23%)
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)
AU$6,999
AU$9,099
AU$2,100 (30%)
Other price changes — USDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
HomePod mini
$99
$129
$30 (30%)
HomePod
$299
$349
$50 (17%)
Apple TV 4K
$129
$199
$70 (54%)
Vision Pro
$3,499
$3,699
$200 (6%)
Other price changes — UKDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
HomePod mini
£99
£129
£30 (30%)
HomePod
£299
£349
£50 (17%)
Apple TV 4K
£149
£199
£50 (34%)
Vision Pro
£3,199
£3,499
£300 (9%)
Other price changes — AUDevice
Old price
New price
Increase
HomePod mini
AU$149
AU$199
AU$50 (34%)
HomePod
AU$479
AU$549
AU$70 (15%)
Apple TV 4K
AU$219
AU$299
AU$80 (37%)
Vision Pro
AU$5,999
AU$6,299
AU$300 (5%)
AMD has seen its Instinct GPUs continue to get traction in an increasingly competitive marketplace, as it continues to take data center market share from new and existing players and ekes out wins with gaming-centric CPUs in the consumer market.
Its most recent acquisition of MEXT, an AI-centric startup that currently deploys software that allows users to treat NAND flash as DRAM at an operating system level.
AMD says Santa Clara-based MEXT a "pioneer in AI-driven memory optimization technology".
SSD storage to DRAM for data centers?The idea that MEXT builds on is hardly a new one, but one that it seems to have refined considerably, making it an important acquisition at a time when hyperscalers continue to struggle with limited DRAM availability, even as an even worse SSD crisis looks to be on the horizon.
MEXT's Predictive Memory is essentially a tiering engine that monitors which memory pages applications tend to access, treating regularly accessed sections as "hot" working sets kept in DRAM while offloading "cold" or less frequently accessed sections to SSDs.
This allows for a far lower performance offset than using all of one's flash memory as DRAM, with the latter being an order of magnitude faster for access, even as speed becomes a driving factor for newer chips that are increasingly memory-bound.
There is also an important economic factor at play here: DRAM is nearly 50 times more expensive than the corresponding NAND flash, making cost and scalability key considerations for most data centers looking to avoid an already expensive DRAM market that is slated to only get worse over time.
The move itself is not AMD's first foray into the storage segment, with its consumer-focused StoreMi offering essentially allowing a faster SSD to work as a cache, making up for slower drives on one's system by essentially creating a copy of files that regularly need to be loaded or accessed on the fastest possible storage solution.
Its lesser-known (and since abandoned) Radeon RAMdisk offering allows users to do the exact opposite of what MEXT is offering: creating a very fast virtual disk on existing system memory. even as enthusiasts have replicated the idea on AMD's ultra-fast 3D V-Cache tech.
AMD's purchase makes sense given how deeply embedded its hardware is expected to be in datacenters over the next decade, and one could argue that MEXT's team, which offers expertise in AI infrastructure and memory systems, could be a much more prized acquisition than the underlying technology it offers.
AI and chip talent have become increasingly difficult to lock in, with companies splurging to attract some of the biggest names in both segments, and MEXT's acquisition could help both AMD's short-term and long-term goals in the data center segment.
I think it's safe to say that a large majority of the British public have been struggling to get through their daily lives in this extreme summer weather, but if you're a freak for the heat, well, props to you.
Since it's Amazon Prime Day, everyone has been racing to try and get their hands on the best fans before the online retailer is completely ransacked, but we've just spotted this fan and air conditioner hybrid (it's more of an air cooler) for less than £100, and it's quite a steal if you ask me.
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day
One of the few remaining air coolers on Amazon is the Midea 5L 3-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner, an evaporative air cooler that's now at £89.99 from £93.49. While we haven't had the chance to test it out yet, there's no denying that this is an affordable price point for most people who are searching for the key to cooling their home. But in spite of its undoubtedly handy features, there's something you should know before you add it to your basket.
Today's best Midea 5L Air Cooler dealThis is more than a standard oscillating fan, it uses water to project a cold breeze into a humid room which, given this heat, sounds like a dream on paper. And it's not too expensive either compared to the likes of the premium range of Dyson fans, which are well into the triple figures. View Deal
Price aside, the Midea 3-in-1 fan does come with some functional perks, the main ones being its fan, humidifier, and cooling settings, giving you a variety of options depending on your need.
Its large 5-litre tank is a plentiful, and when it's filled to the top, you can make the most of its air-cooling properties for up to 12 hours each day before refilling, so that way, you're not constantly patrolling back and forth to fill it up. You can also choose from three speeds and two operation modes, normal and natural, to adjust the air flow to your comfort.
Sounds great for its price point right? And it is, but the only caveat is that it adds moisture to your air which, when it gets quite humid in the summer months, can make the air feel even hotter. Therefore, the more moisture added to the air in your home, the more moisture in the air the heat has to work with.
In short, evaporative air coolers like this one will solve your issues in dry heat, but as for humid heat (which it currently is in the UK), the results may not be the same. If this has swayed you in the opposite direction, here's an alternative dehumidifier we've selected below.
We haven't had the chance to test this one out yet, but we've had plenty of hands-on experience with Honeywell's range of other home tech and we've been pleased each time. This model comes with a 3.4-litre water tank and custom humidity controls levels, as well as a smart mode that can automatically adjust dehumidification. And it's not going to make an absolute racket while in use either, it produces sounds up to 44db. View Deal
More Prime Day deals in the UK- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura
Catan is a board game icon for a reason. It takes everything you love about childhood classics and serves them with gameplay that's much more satisfying, properly blending luck and skill. But which version should you play?
With Amazon Prime Day US deals serving up so many different versions of Catan it can feel impossible to choose one, thankfully for you I’ve played them all and I know the answer.
The base game is at a phenomenally good asking price of $29.99 — saving you 45% at Amazon if you’re a Prime member — but there are plenty of alternatives and expansions to consider sticking in your basket too.
• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale
(Image credit: Future/Matt Thrower)Of course, the classic base game is the best starting point, especially with the Prime Day deal Amazon has going on right now. The only issue is that the game can have an awkward number of players at exactly three or four, which is why the five-to-six player expansion is an excellent pickup if, like me, you find your game nights are rarely small enough for the base limit.
Alternatively my partner I have loved the two-player Rivals game as it provides a lot of the same strategic rivalry without needing a group over to get a game in.
If you’ve opted for the classic original, you also have the option to enhance it with one of three expansions (which can be expanded further with components for five or six-player games). My favorite is Cities & Knights as it takes core elements in the base game and makes them a little more complex — such as expanding the role of cities, and giving your army of knights an enemy to oppose — without altering the game so much that it feels inaccessible. Explorers & Pirates alters the game board to include islands to be explored (and harvested), as well as pirates to contend with; much like Cities & Knights, it expands the core elements of the base game without making it feel unfamiliar.
Traders & Barbarians includes several smaller changes in one larger package. There are new two-player rules, you can replace dice rolls with event cards, there are new trading mechanics, and the addition of fishing — a mechanic all games need in my opinion.
Lastly, I’ve included three entirely different standalone versions of Catan. New Energies will feel very familiar except there’s now an energy mechanic, with consequences to contend with as you pollute the world (and benefits to be gained by investing in renewables). Dawn of Humankind introduces a much larger map (essentially the whole globe) and encourages true exploration and travel supported by the game’s familiar resource gathering. Meanwhile, On the Road turns the classic into a portable card game with streamlined rules that make it excellent for playing while traveling.
Dawn of Humankind is pricier than we’ve seen in the past, unfortunately, but I love these Catan alternatives so much that I can’t include them.
Prime Day board game sale — top picksThe best Catan games and expansions CATAN Board Game (6th Edition) CATAN Catan 5-6 Player Board Game Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Rivals 2-player Card Game (Deluxe) CATAN Explorers & Pirates Board Game Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Traders & Barbarians Board Game Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Cities & Knights Board Game Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Explorers & Pirates 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Traders & Barbarians 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN Cities & Knights 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) CATAN New Energies Board Game CATAN On The Road Card Game CATAN Dawn of Humankind Board Game More Prime Day deals in the US- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
- Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
Dell has knocked a massive $680 off its Dell 16 Plus Laptop now $750 (was $1430) as part of its laptop sale. But you'll need to be quick - this limited time deal ends in a few hours (seriously, Dell even has a countdown clock running).
• See all laptop deals at Dell
The 16 Plus is a true mid-range machine aimed at business and creative professionals who need real performance. It's thin, lightweight, and even boasts a full-sized keyboard for effortlessly ploughing through work.
The US configuration ships with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB LPDDR5X memory, and a 1TB SSD. The 16-inch 2.5K IPS display with ComfortView Plus is a highlight — it's a noticeably more capable screen than you'd typically get at this price. For UK readers, the closest configuration powered by the same chip is the Dell 16 Plus with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for £599 (was £1199).
Today's top laptop dealThe Dell 16 Plus is a mid-range professional-grade laptop powered by a Core Ultra 7 chip, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. If you want smooth workflows, this is the Dell machine I'd recommend for business.
In the UK: now £599 (was £1199)View Deal
In our Dell 16 Plus review, we said: "The Dell 16 Plus offers a solid mid-tier laptop experience throughout. Between great general computing performance for any college student or executive and long-lasting battery life, the base $799 options make a ton of sense. Add a thin and lightweight design, and there’s much to appreciate here."
However, it's worth noting that the webcam and speakers were disappointing, and I'd definitely recommend upgrading them with external options. We've added a few picks to our guide on Prime Day home office deals, like the Obsbot Meet and Anker Powerconf.
Overall, though, this Dell laptop proved to be a a quality Windows machine that's thin, lightweight, and seriously portable. We badged this one with a TechRadar Recommends award.
Also consider: More Dell laptop dealsIntel Core Ultra 7 256V | 16GB LPDDR5X | 1TB SSD
The Dell 14 Plus is a slim, lightweight 14-inch machines with a 2.5K resolution. Several configurations are discounted right now, but if you want a back to school or office laptop, the cheaper of the two is well-specced and well-priced for that.View Deal
Intel Core i7-1355U | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD
For general work and study tasks, the Dell 15 Laptop is a rock-solid workhorse. If you're just looking for a reliable laptop, this is my go-to recommendation. View Deal
- The Vesuvius Challenge is decoding scrolls hit by the 79 AD eruption
- Another scroll has just been partially read by AI
- This is despite the scroll being rolled up and severely burned
Look at the ancient PHerc 1667 scroll, recovered from the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum that was smothered by the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD, and you'd think there wasn't much chance of finding out what was written on it. It's rolled up, burned and blackened, and impossible to open up without destroying most of it.
However, using the latest AI techniques, researchers from the Vesuvius Challenge project (via The Guardian) have now been able to read 20 columns of sealed-off text, describing the stoic philosophy that was much discussed at the time — and how it relates to ethics, art, and human behavior.
Here's how it works: without needing to open up this scroll and others like it, a combination of X-rays and AI algorithms can be used to recognize subtle differences between papyrus fibers locked away in the charred manuscript. That tells researchers where the ink is.
Further AI processing can identify and fill out fragments of lettering, and suggest possibilities for what might be missing. It's then left to human researchers to read through and interpret what the writing actually means — an approach that has seen multiple successes since the Vesuvius Challenge launched in 2023.
Digging into the textsAI and human researches combine forces to decode the texts (Image credit: Vesuvius Challenge)Experts think that PHerc 1667 may actually date from two or three centuries before Mount Vesuvius erupted, making it an intriguing look into the ancient past. The same cloud of fire and ash that enveloped Herculaneum also (and more famously) covered Pompeii, though the two towns were preserved in quite different ways.
Researchers working on the project say the scroll is one of many thought to be housed inside a library, and part of a luxury Roman villa. Before now, the scroll has already been broken in half — it now measures just 8 cm (3.15 inches) in length — and part of it has disintegrated from previous attempts to tease it open.
Each new discovery reveals more about the scroll collection as a whole, including how these texts relate to each other and who authored them. An initial analysis suggests this particular scroll may have been written by the Greek philosopher Chrysippus, a prominent member of the stoic school.
"People now know that this can be done and now we're exploring what [the texts] actually mean," one of the research team, computer scientist Professor Brent Seales from the University of Kentucky, told The Guardian. "For me that's the World Cup. I just won the World Cup: that's my victory."
The RAM crisis is gradually ruining PC and console gaming, with higher prices, notably with Microsoft increasing prices for its Xbox consoles. Gamers only have AI to blame, as data centers and their demand worsen memory availability.
Fortunately, OLED monitors are not in the category of hardware seeing price hikes as a result of the RAM crisis, and unsurprisingly so, since they don't require RAM.
Affordability is key, and Prime Day has opened the door to cheaper OLED monitors. A prime example is the Alienware AW3425DW OLED ultrawide available on Amazon for £589.33 (was £693.70), providing an immersive visual experience for any PC gamer, especially one upgrading from a 16:9 display.
The Alienware AW3425DW OLED ultrawide gaming monitor is an easy choice for any PC gamer looking to level up their visual experience. With an OLED panel and a 240Hz refresh rate, you'll be able to enjoy fantastic image quality with deep black levels and fast, smooth gameplay in motion.View Deal
This model is very similar to my former Alienware AW3424DWF ultrawide, but this AW3425DW model features a faster 240Hz refresh rate instead of 165Hz, and HDMI 2.1 compatibility.
There's so much to enjoy when upgrading from a regular LED display to an OLED, as it completely revitalizes the visual experience when gaming. Scenery that is supposed to be dark will indeed be entirely dark, making games like Resident Evil Requiem even more immersive with its horror.
I've still got my eye on Alienware's 5K2K display, but if you're out for something more affordable, the AW3425DW is the one to opt for.
More Prime Day deals in the UK- Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from £5
- Fans: from £20
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
- Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
- Laptops: from £149
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
- Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura