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As someone who's been knee-deep in the Apple ecosystem for the better part of four years, I’m now making up for lost time by discovering all that I’ve missed in the world of Android.
Since becoming a freelance writer, I’ve dived headfirst into the Android phone market to test the latest and greatest handsets. My recent review of the Honor 400, for instance, made me see just how much value you can get from the best Android phones nowadays, particularly when shopping in the mid-range aisle.
With the iPhone 16e, Apple does still have a mid-range option for those who prefer the power of iOS, but the one thing the company doesn’t have is a device to compete with the best foldable phones.
So, until the long-awaited foldable iPhone actually comes to pass, I figured that it would make sense to see what Android phone makers have done with the foldable concept. And after using the OnePlus Open for a few weeks, it’s completely changed not just how I use Google’s platform, but how I use smartphones in general.
Foldables are the king of productivityMulti-tasking on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)I’ve always tried my best to avoid using my phone for work, outside of taking down a few notes or reading a quick document on my way to a meeting.
The experience just feels too cramped for my liking, and I already know that I spend far too much time mindlessly scrolling through social media or watching YouTube videos, so I certainly don’t need to add any extra screen time to that process. Using a foldable phone, however, has completely changed my tune.
Recently, I’ve had to head into London a few times for various product launches, and even though I’ve had the OnePlus Pad 3 on my person, I’ve found it much easier to just dive into the interior display of the OnePlus Open and start typing. Part of the reason for this is because of OnePlus’ stellar Open Canvas software, which is designed with productivity and multitasking in mind.
The OnePlus Open (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)Because of this well-refined bit of software, I’ve been able to have Google Docs open on one side, and a press release open on the other, so that I can research and write at the same time, without needing to quickly open up the app tray and move between them. There’s a similar degree of freedom on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, and it now has me convinced that the next time I have to go abroad for a work trip, I’ll be packing a foldable phone to try and maximize my output on the go.
Typing long-form is so much easier(Image credit: Future)As I mentioned before, any attempt at productivity on a traditional smartphone feels immediately hampered by the compact display, which is why typing anything longer than an email feels like a real headache. I know that there are ways around this, including the Clicks accessory, which is more than a nod to the BlackBerry keyboards of old. But for my money, the only true remedy is a foldable phone.
While you can configure the keyboard in any number of ways on the OnePlus Open, by default, it’s split down the middle and given more width so that each thumb can comfortably reach the keys. Those keys have also been made larger, and so I’ve found myself incurring fewer instances of typos, which, as you can imagine, has led to far less time being spent on corrections after the fact.
When I have needed to tweak something in the copy, however, that too has been a breeze thanks to the greater amount of space afforded to the document itself.
Unlike when using the exterior screen, pulling up the keyboard doesn’t inadvertently block my view of the most recent paragraph, and so if I take a pause to collect my thoughts and think about how to proceed, I can easily see where I left off.
Reading isn’t just better, it’s enjoyable(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)If, like me, you’re an avid reader, then chances are that you prefer to pick up one of the best ereaders or a paperback before ever loading up the Kindle app on your smartphone.
Sure, I can’t deny just how easy it is to access your Kindle books on the device that you’re guaranteed to always have on your person, but I find it far too tempting to have a quick check of social media if I have my phone out, which is why I try and avoid it.
If you want a phone that gives you the tools to be more productive and steers you towards more fulfilling ways to pass the time, you should seriously consider a foldable.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when I gradually started to notice that I didn’t actively hate reading on the OnePlus Open’s 7.82-inch interior display. The obvious boon is that, in having more screen space, you can fit more words on the page so the experience does start to feel more like that of an ereader. But there’s something else at play here, too.
When you have to use the phone two-handed, it’s not quite as easy to jump from one app to another, so I’ve found myself less interested in checking out social media when the interior display is open.
All of this is to say that, if you want a phone that not only gives you the tools to be more productive with better multitasking and improved typing, but also steers you towards more fulfilling ways to pass the time, such as reading, then you should seriously consider a foldable phone as your next upgrade.
Unless I absolutely have to, I can't see myself going back.
You might also likeHisense's superb mini-LED TVs are available with some great prices for both US and UK buyers right now.
In the US, Amazon is offering the Hisense U7N 75-inch mini-LED TV for just $799.99. That's the lowest we've ever seen, and far below the $1,499.99 launch price back in October 2024.
Meanwhile in the UK, Amazon is also offering low prices on Hisense. The 55-inch Hisense U7N is £599 on Amazon UK. Once again that's far below the original launch price, which was £1,299 last summer. It's been this low for a few weeks now, and it's a lot of TV for not a lot of money.
Today's best Hisense U7N dealsThis is a very impressive specification for an equally impressive price. The U7 Series is a mini-LED TV with up to 1,500 nits of brightness, quantum dot colors, 4K 144Hz game mode, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker Mode. It also has AI-powered upsampling and detail enhancement. It has a good mini-LED backlight for impressive and even contrast, which means the picture quality will hold up at 75 inches – not true of all affordable TVs.View Deal
This great TV is now £700 less than when it launched last year, and it's no less impressive a year on. It has quantum dot technology for vivid colour reproduction, IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos, and of course it comes with all the key streaming apps. This price is for the 55-inch model but there are good prices on other sizes too, so for example the 85-inch model is down from £1,599 to £1,400 and the 65-incher is down from £849 to £799. Click through to the deal to see those options on the Amazon page.View Deal
Why this Hisense makes sense at these pricesPretty much all TVs are at their most expensive when they launch and then plummet quite dramatically within a fairly short space of time, and that's exactly what's happened with these sets: they launched in 2024, and both are now available for a fraction of what they cost then.
And the tech inside them hasn't really dated: you're looking at mini-LED quantum dot displays with fast refresh rates for gaming, and all the key audio and video features such as Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Vision IQ and so on.
Both TVs here have 40W sound systems with built-in subwoofers, smart audio decoding and Hisense's Hi-View Engine Pro, which uses the power of AI and deep learning to constantly optimize the picture to deliver the best color, clarity and detail. And both have 144Hz Game Mode Pro.
The 75-inch US deal is particularly good because we've never seen this TV at this size at this price: it's nearly half off, and that means you're getting a massive TV with a very impressive spec for a very low price.
That mini-LED screen is very bright, delivering over 1,500 nits of brightess, and as a mini-LED TV owner myself I can attest that such screens are excellent for gaming, TV, movies and sports in all lighting conditions.
The risk with large cheap TVs is that the LED lighting isn't premium enough to maintain a good-looking picture at that size, but that's not the case here – it's a great-value big TV.
The UK 55-inch deal isn't to be sniffed at either: once again it's half the price you'd have paid last year. £600 is a relatively tiny sum for a 144Hz mini-LED with Filmmaker Mode, IMAX Enhanced, a built-in subwoofer and gamer-friendly features such as ALLM and VRR. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports for your next-gen consoles or PC, all the key streaming apps, and hands-free control too.
- AMD ships Pollara 400 AI NIC for open high-speed AI networking
- Supports Ultra Ethernet standard with RDMA and RCCL for efficient communication
- Future Vulcano 800G AI NIC targets PCIe Gen6 and rack-scale GPU clusters
AMD has begun shipping the Pensando Pollara 400 AI network card, part of the company's push for open, high-speed data center networking.
Designed for PCIe Gen5 systems, the card supports the Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC) standard, which aims to transform Ethernet for AI and HPC at scale.
The card offers RDMA support and is optimized for scale-out collective communication using RCCL, AMD’s alternative to NCCL.
Vulcano 800G AI NIC targeting a 2026 launchAMD says Pollara delivers around 10% better RDMA performance than Nvidia’s ConnectX-7 and about 20% better than Broadcom’s Thor2. In GPU-heavy clusters, these gains help reduce idle time and improve workload efficiency.
The NIC uses a custom processor with support for flexible transport protocols, load balancing, and failover routing. It can reroute traffic during congestion and maintain GPU connectivity during failures.
The card features a half-height, half-length design and supports PCIe Gen5 x16, offering multiple port configurations including 1x400G, 2x200G, and 4x100G. It supports up to 400Gbps of bandwidth and integrates monitoring tools to improve cluster-level observability and reliability.
AMD claims performance boosts of up to 6x in large-scale deployments, especially when scaled to hundreds of thousands of processors.
For individual workloads, the company reports up to 15% faster AI job performance and up to 10% improved network reliability through features like fast failover, selective retransmission, and congestion management.
With UEC Specification 1.0 now finalized, the company is targeting hyperscalers. Oracle Cloud will be among the first to adopt the technology.
Looking to 2026, AMD says it intends to launch the Pensando Vulcano 800G AI NIC for PCIe Gen6 systems (Pollara and Vulcano are the names of two volcanoes in Italy).
That NIC will support both Ultra Ethernet and UALink to enable scale-out and scale-up networking for large AI workloads. Vulcano is part of AMD’s Helios rack-scale architecture, set for 2026.
AMD is positioning Vulcano as an open, multi-vendor alternative to Nvidia’s ConnectX-8. Its success may depend on how quickly the broader ecosystem can adapt to and support the new networking standards.
Writing about the two networking cards, Patrick Kennedy at ServeTheHome observes, ”At the end of the day, if you want to play in 2026 AI clusters, you need not just AI chips, but also the ability to scale up and scale out. AMD having a NIC may sound a lot like Nvidia’s playbook because that is needed. On the other hand supporting open standards is very different from what Nvidia is doing by leaning into multi-vendor and open standards.”
You may also like- Check Point Research finds hundreds of malicious GitHub repositories
- These impersonate different mods or cheats for Minecraft
- The infostealers grab Minecraft data, as well as browser and crypto wallet information
Minecraft players are being actively targeted by a group of cybercriminals interested in their login credentials, authentication tokens, and crypto wallet information, experts have warned.
Cybersecurity researchers Check Point Research recently discovered the large-scale operation, run by a group called the Stargazers Ghost Network, a distribution-as-a-service (DaaS) operation active for a year now, distributing malware and infostealers on behalf of other cybercriminals.
In this campaign, the crooks abused the fact that Minecraft is one of the largest games in the world, with an active, thriving community of players and modders. Minecraft mods are player-built additions to the game and as per the researchers, there are more than a million modders out there.
Hundreds of reposThe attackers created malicious GitHub repositories, spoofing legitimate mods, and pretending to be cheats: Skyblock Extras, Polar Client, FunnyMap, Oringo, and Taunahi, are just some of the names making rounds.
CheckPoint says these have had thousands of views on Pastebin, suggesting that the campaign is rather successful.
To make matters worse, since these are custom-built to target Minecraft users, and since both the downloader and the malware are written in Java, they are currently going undetected by all antivirus engines.
"We have identified approximately 500 GitHub repositories, including those that are forked or copied, which were part of this operation aimed at Minecraft players," one of the researchers told BleepingComputer.
"We've also seen 700 stars produced by approximately 70 accounts." Stars are used to boost the legitimacy of the repositories, thus improving the chances of infection.
The attack is split into two phases. The first phase targets Minecraft account tokens, and user data from both the Minecraft launcher, and some third-party launchers. It also steals Discord and Telegram information.
The second stage deploys a more “traditional” infostealer called “44 Caliber”, which steals browser data, VPN information, crypto wallet data, and more.
You might also like- Experts warn GTA and Minecraft being used to lure in cyberattack victims - here's how to stay safe
- Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
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- Facebook will soon roll out passkeys for Facebook on mobile devices
- Passkeys offer greater security and easier login than passwords
- Passkeys for Messenger will also soon be available
Meta has introduced passkey support for Facebook on mobile devices which will significantly decrease the chance of someone hacking into your account.
Rather than using a clumsy and easily guessed password to log in, you can now use a fingerprint, face or PIN to verify that you are logging in to your account.
Better still, passkeys are often faster to use than passwords, meaning your whole Facebook experience should be even easier.
Facebook gets passkeysPasskeys for Facebook on iOS and Android mobile devices “will soon be available”, Meta said, with passkeys for Messenger also due to be released in the “coming months.”
Passkeys are a much more resilient alternative to passwords and one-time-codes as they cannot be stolen and are much less susceptible to malicious sites looking to steal your login details, such as typo-squatting domains. They can also be a good alternative to using a password manager that requires constant back-and-forth between apps in order to enter your password.
Your passkey is stored locally on your device, meaning Meta doesn’t have access to it. One unfortunate downside of passkeys is that if you lose your mobile device that stores your passkey, it can be a bit of a hassle getting back into your account and setting up a new passkey.
Meta also announced passkeys will also be used to verify payments through Meta Pay, and will soon also be used to protect your encrypted message backups once Passkeys for Messenger arrive.
(Image credit: Facebook)To set up a passkey, head to the Settings menu on the Facebook app, and then click on Accounts Center → Password and security → Passkey. If passkeys are available, Facebook may even prompt you to set one up the next time you log in.
You might also likeThe Nintendo Switch 2 has periodically taken the handheld gaming spotlight, with its early June launch leading to high sales – to be specific, it's already sold over 3.5 million units worldwide. However, if it wasn't clear enough already from my previous articles, I don't recommend the device for many reasons.
The $80 price tag for first-party games, the lack of freedom and ownership issues, alongside its price against other handheld gaming PCs and consoles, all play a significant factor in my decision not to buy one.
Amazon's Prime Day is also on the horizon – but if you had any hopes of major Switch 2 price drops, there likely won't be any worth noting, because it's still far too early post-launch. This means looking at alternatives – you could still purchase the original Nintendo Switch, but that would leave you behind a generation in terms of performance.
That opens the gateway to handheld gaming PCs, and since I've used a handful of them, there's a few that I would recommend if you're out for a Switch 2 alternative.
1. Asus ROG Ally(Image credit: Future)Having used both the Asus ROG Ally and the Lenovo Legion Go for a long time (mostly the former), I can tell you that they're the best handhelds you can get in the same price region as the Switch 2.
Both use AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, which utilizes 8 cores and 16 threads, along with 12 RDNA 3 GPU cores – and that's ideal for a 1080p game resolution.
It has the benefit of VRR (variable refresh rate) to ensure the screen's refresh rate syncs with your game's frame rate, eliminating screen tearing in the process – a game-changing tool the Switch 2 doesn't have, while docked.
I've gone as far as installing Bazzite on the Asus ROG Ally, and it's made the handheld gaming experience much easier and more streamlined. It's no secret that Windows 11 has a significant impact on gaming performance, as we've seen that SteamOS performance shines in several games in comparison.
Most importantly, though, the ROG Ally has a faster processor, more RAM at 16GB vs the Switch 2's 12GB, with access to a greater library of games (since it's a PC, after all). Its price at launch was $699 / £699 / AU$1,299, but that's dropped down to $649 / £522 on Amazon. Already on Amazon in the UK, it's available at £449 on sale, in the same price region as the Switch 2's Mario Kart World bundle – and since Prime Day is on the horizon, expect it to drop even lower.
2. Lenovo Legion Go(Image credit: Future)The same applies to the Lenovo Legion Go; you're getting great performance across a variety of games with the Z1 Extreme chip, and a 144Hz refresh rate. If anything, this is a direct competitor to the Switch 2, with its detachable controllers allowing you to replicate the Joy-Con experience.
While I'd still recommend the Asus ROG Ally for most gamers, the Lenovo Legion Go slightly widens the gap with a much bigger 8.8-inch 2560x1440 screen. However, it's important to note that this can be a detriment in a decent number of games – and that's because the Z1 Extreme is pushing above its weight with gaming at 1440p.
You may be able to get away with it in titles like Hades that don't require a lot of power to run well, but you'll definitely be tuning down the resolution in games like Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 4, or Hitman World of Assassination.
Don't let that deter you from purchasing, though, as you'll still be getting the same or better gaming performance as you would with the Switch 2 with a screen of higher quality (just note, that it doesn't have VRR).
As for its price, you can find it at $699 at Amazon in the US and Best Buy, but if you're in the UK, you can find it as low as £499. With Prime Day almost here, prices should drop significantly.
There's also a Lenovo Legion Go S, using a weaker Ryzen Z2 Go processor, but there's another variant using the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme; it knocks the resolution down to a more reasonable 1920x1200 on an 8-inch display with VRR.
3. MSI Claw 8 AI+(Image credit: Future)While the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the most expensive option compared to the Switch 2, Lenovo Legion Go, and Asus ROG Ally (and by a significant margin) at $900 / £899 / AU$1,799, it's easily the best handheld gaming PC under $1,000.
Using Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V processor, gaming at low TDPs (power consumption) is the biggest highlight as it provides extensive battery life without a heavy compromise on frame rates.
It's the one handheld I recommend for anyone willing to spend more than they would for affordable handhelds, as you'll get the bang for your buck. I haven't had the opportunity to get hands-on yet, but based on performance results and Intel's driver improving performance, it's enough for me to say it's a better choice than the Switch 2.
The only potential downside is that I don't see any major discounts coming in for this one on Prime Day – and that could be a dealbreaker for anyone wincing at the price tag. It's still a fairly new handheld, and there is a lack of availability right now. So in reality, you'll likely find yourself choosing between the Legion Go and ROG Ally.
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I'm not someone who cries when I watch a highly emotive movie or TV series. Sure, I get teary-eyed but, in the vast majority of cases, I never find myself reaching for a box of tissues to stem the flow of tears cascading down my face after a particularly devastating scene or sequence.
So far in 2025, though, three different shows have somehow cracked my steely resolve and turned me into a blubbering wreck. Is it because I'm getting older and therefore more susceptible to emotionally-loaded productions? Are their stories so well designed that they tug harder at the ol' heartstrings? Or is it simply a big coincidence that three of the most soul-destroying projects have all launched on the world's best streaming services this year? Who's to say.
Regardless, I don't want to be the only softie around here, so here are the trio of TV Originals that have revived my cold, dead heart in the first six months of the year.
Adolescence (Netflix)Adolescence dominated the news cycle for weeks after its Netflix launch in March (Image credit: Netflix)Release date: March 13
Episode count: 4
Main cast: Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, Erin Doherty, Amelie Pease, and Owen Cooper
Director: Phil Barantini
Rotten Tomatoes (RT) critics score: 99%
Netflix's biggest TV hit of 2025 so far and, at the time of publication, the second most-watched English language TV Original in the streamer's history (take that, Stranger Things season 4!) is an unmissable miniseries.
A story whose individual chapters are all shot as one continuous, long take – a highly-technical process known as a 'oner' – Adolescence tells the tale 13 -year-old Jamie (Cooper) who's arrested on suspicion of murdering a female student at his school. Each episode focuses on different characters during and after the police investigation, too, with the immediate and long-reaching impact of the alleged crime felt keenly by all of those involved.
Hailed by fans and critics alike for its writing, directing, cinematography, tone, and individual and collective cast performances, Adolescence is an emotional powerhouse that deserves a permanent spot on our best Netflix shows list. Its impact has been so great, in fact, that it's sparked multiple nationwide discussions in the UK about youth knife crime, the alarming rise of misogynistic views among male teens, and systemic failures and local and national government levels. A heart-breaking program that'll leave a lasting impression on you long after its final credits sequence has rolled.
Andor season 2 (Disney+)Andor season 2 episode 8 is one of the most heart-wrenching things I've watched on TV this year (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)Release date: April 22
Episode count: 12
Main cast: Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O'Reilly Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Forest Whitaker, Faye Marsay, and Alan Tudyk
Directors: Ariel Kleinman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios
RT critics score: 97%
Star Wars is a family-friendly franchise. Sure, it's occasionally pushed the boundaries of what's appropriate for younger members of its worldwide fanbase but, by and large, it hasn't gone out of its way to alienate parts of its global community.
Andor is the one project that dared to be different. A live-action, adult-oriented Disney+ series, it threw out the traditional Star Wars playbook in favor of telling a political and spy thriller-oriented story that not only stars a whole host of morally gray characters, but also tackles difficult topics of conversation around fascism, sexual assault, the human cost of conflict, and the moral complications that arise from revolution.
I really enjoyed Andor season 1 but, whether it's down to its hard-hitting narratives, the show's much more confident second and final season, or a combination of both, season 2 is a whole other beast. You can read more about why it's such a paradoxically entertaining yet heavy watch in my Andor season 2 review, or go and stream one of the best Disney+ shows in its entirety right now. It'll be worth it once you reach Andor season 2 episode 8, i.e. the gut-punch of a chapter that made me sob my heart out.
The Last of Us season 2 (Max)The Last of Us season 2 episode 2 hit viewers like a freight train (Image credit: HBO)Release date: April 13
Episode count: 7
Main cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, and Kaitlyn Dever
Directors: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Kate Herron, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, and Nina Lopez-Corrado
RT critics score: 92%
The Last of Us season 2 was a slight step down in quality compared to its more lauded forebear, but the popular HBO and Max TV Original still had the capacity to emotionally wreck viewers on multiple occasions.
I don't think anyone's gotten over last season's harrowing second or sixth episodes yet, either. I include myself among that contingent, too – and that's as someone who's played The Last of Us Part II, aka the second game in Naughty Dog's video game namesake that The Last of Us TV show's sophomore outing is based on.
With The Last of Us season 3 in early development, there'll be many more distressing moments to come in one of the best Max shows. It might be best to stockpile tissues now, then, before The Last of Us' third installment makes its TV bow and potentially rips out our heart like its predecessors did.
What TV episodes and/or full shows have had you wiping away tears from your eyes? Let me know in the comments!
You might also like- Zimperium spots new version of Godfather among Turkish Android users
- New version creates virtualized versions of legitimate banking apps in a sandbox
- It can exfiltrate login credentials, PIN codes, and unlock patterns
The notorious Godfather malware for Android phones is back with a vengeance, experts have warned, targeting victims with an upgraded build which makes it more dangerous than ever.
Cybersecurity researchers Zimperium claim to have seen an updated version of the infamous malware in the wild, and this one is even more dangerous as it simplifies things while evading detection even better.
Godfather is a banking trojan, used to steal money out of people’s bank accounts. Earlier variants worked as an overlay - placing an invisible layer on top of legitimate banking apps. Therefore, when victims bring up their apps and start typing in their login credentials, these would be picked up by the overlay and sent to the attackers, who would later log into the app and make cash withdrawals.
Virtualization attacksThe new version, however, ditches the overlay approach for something even more sinister - creating a virtualized version of the app.
On the compromised devices, the malware would launch a virtual instance of the banking app inside a sandbox. That way, the malware doesn’t even need to ask for excessive permissions in order to conduct wire fraud, and means victims may not even trust the legitimate apps they have installed.
When the victim gets infected, the malware first analyzes the installed apps and looks for a banking one that fits.
If it finds one, it creates a virtualized version that launches whenever the victim tries to bring up the legitimate one.
Besides stealing login credentials, Godfather can exfiltrate PIN codes and unlock patterns, and can remotely control the device during off-hours (in the middle of the night, for example), making wire transfers while the victim is asleep.
Zimperium says it has only observed Godfather among Turkish Android users so far, but it warned that the malware operators can pivot towards the West at any time, so banking users everywhere should be on their guard.
Via InfoSecurity
More from TechRadar Pro- Experts warn GTA and Minecraft being used to lure in cyberattack victims - here's how to stay safe
- Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
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Some shows appear and disappear almost overnight; others become institutions. Modern Family is in the latter category: more than five years after it finished it's still one of the most watched shows on Disney+ globally.
Modern Family ran from 2009 to early 2020, and like any show with so many seasons it's fair to say that it lost some of its freshness over time: where season 1 has a stellar 100% rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the final season – season 11 – only reached 80%. But that's still a much higher rating than many rival sitcoms, and there's still lots to praise.
Here's why Modern Family is a modern classic and one of the best Disney+ shows – or best Hulu shows if you're in the US – of all time.
Why this family is worth getting to knowThe first season set up the premise for the show. An unidentified (to us) film crew is following the Dunphys around to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the extended family: mom and dad Claire and Phil and their three children; Claire's dad Jay and his much younger wife Gloria; Jay's son Mitchell, his partner Cameron and their adopted daughter.
As you can see, the setup justifies the title: this is a thoroughly modern family, multi-generational, multi-racial and inclusive of all. And if that's all the show was about it would probably have been a disaster, preachy and worthy rather than punchy and hilarious. But the writing team is incredibly sharp, the dialog and set-pieces are often hilariously funny and the cast is spectacular. And I think its warmth and big heart really resonate with people whose screens increasingly seem to be blasting them with bad news.
The core cast is brilliant, and while some of the characterization comes close to stereotyping – the camp Cameron, the cantankerous Jay, the fiery Gloria – I don't think it ever crossed over from affectionate to problematic.
(Image credit: ABC)You get the real feeling that the writers care about and love the entire cast – and what a cast it is. Ed O'Neill as Jay, Sofia Vergara as Gloria, Ty Burrell as Phil, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Julie Bowen as Claire and Eric Stonestreet as Cameron are all delightful. And with the show lasting so long – almost a lifetime for its youngest stars, most of whom were grown adults by the final seasons – everybody was given lots of time to grow.
The characters are all favorites for me but I think the show was most often stolen by Rico Rodriguez as Manny, the oldest young man ever to exist (and someone who I can't separate from What We Do In The Shadows' similarly entertaining Guillermo, played by Harvey Guillén).
NPR put it very well, describing season 1: "Good acting. Great writing. Human characters played by amazing actors. That might be the one twist network TV hasn't tried often enough."
Writing in Salon, Heather Havrilesky urged us not to touch that remote. "Between the snappy writing, great comedic directing, and remarkable timing of all of the actors involved, "Modern Family" is one of those rare comedies that never feels awkward or corny as it's winding up to a punch line... laughter and families? Those two haven't come together on TV in a long, long time. But once they do? It's like science: You can't fight it." And Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly loved it too. "Modern Family is unique in the way it juggles so many players so deftly and makes every member of the cast a vivid, complex character," he wrote. "Oh, and it's really funny, too."
All 250 episodes of Modern Family are available to stream on Hulu and Peacock in the US, and Disney+ in the UK and Australia.
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Disney+ Standard with Ads plan: was £4.99 per month now £1.99 at Hulu and Disney+ in the UK
This limited-time deal represents a saving of 60% compared to the normal monthly price for the Disney+ Standard with Ads plan. Taking advantage of this promotional offer will get you access to some of the best movies and shows around, including numerous offerings from Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. But, be quick! It's only available between June 11 and June 30. This deal only offers for four months, too, so note that you'll automatically be enrolled on the Standard with Ads plan's usual £4.99 per month cost once your four-month window has expired. This is only available to those in the UK. View Deal