On my recent trip to the coast, I took along the K&F CONCEPT Magnetic Filter Kit, and it was the perfect chance to test out how well these filters handle long exposure seascapes.
Instead of using a single heavy ND, I stacked the CPL with the included ND filters from the kit, giving me plenty of flexibility right there on the shoreline.
Why stack filters?
Stacking a Circular Polarizer (CPL) with ND filters gives you more creative control:
The CPL reduces glare on the water and deepens the blues in the sky.
The ND filters cut light, allowing longer exposures even in bright daylight.
Together, they transform crashing waves into silky, mist-like water while keeping the rocks and coastline sharp.
Tamron 16-30mm with K&F CONCEPT Filter
The results
Grabbing the Tamron 16-30mm wide-angle and my Sony a7RV, and popping it on a tripod. Working with shutter speeds of 5–15 seconds, the waves softened into smooth, smoky trails that wrapped around the rocks, almost like fog rolling in from the sea. The contrast between the sharp foreground and flowing water gave the images a surreal, fine-art feel.
I was especially impressed with:
Colour accuracy – No strong cast, just clean, natural tones, and a pop of colour.
Ease of use – The magnetic system meant I could swap filters quickly without fumbling.
Durability – Salt spray and sand are always hazards, but the coatings make them easy to wipe clean.
Real-world impressions
Bright sunny days: stacking filters gave me the extra stops I needed for long exposures without blowing out highlights.
Cloudy skies: the CPL helped boost contrast in moody conditions.
On the move: light, compact, and easy to handle on a tripod setup by the water.
Final thoughts
The K&F CONCEPT Filter Kit is more than just handy—it’s a creative tool that can take your seascapes to the next level. By stacking the CPL and NDs, I was able to capture that classic smoky water effect that turns a beach scene into something truly magical.
If you’ve ever wanted to create those dreamy, misty water shots, this kit is a brilliant and budget-friendly way to get started.
Today, I can confirm the system actually works. I traveled to Framework’s San Francisco offices to be the first journalist to upgrade an entire laptop graphics card, with my own hands, in just three minutes — including the time it took to reboot. I yanked an AMD Radeon RX 7700S video card out of the machine and plugged in a brand-new mobile Nvidia RTX 5070, with just six screws and using the pen-shaped screwdriver that comes included with the machine.
And because seeing is believing, I filmed the whole thing to show you how quick and easy it was. (Hey veteran PC builders: this looks easier than MXM modules, right?)
I wasn’t able to test everything I would have liked to test at Framework’s offices. We couldn’t run benchmarks, only basic gameplay samples to show the card was working. (Framework claims the Nvidia card should be a 30 to 40 percent upgrade over the existing AMD one; games did run, and didn’t seem to have obvious issues at 1440p and high settings.)
Also, I wasn’t able to upgrade quite from scratch. I actually hauled my original Framework Laptop 16 review unit to San Francisco to see if I could turn that one into a new Nvidia laptop, but CEO Nirav Patel told me it would need software updates, including at least one new BIOS version, which weren’t fully ready yet. So while I did do the upgrade myself, the laptop I upgraded was one that Framework had prepped for the GPU swap.
While I was there, I also got to try Framework’s new standards-compliant 240W USB-C PD 3.1 charger, one of the very first on the market, letting the Laptop 16 (the first 240W PD 3.1 laptop!) finally play and charge at full speed. I brought my power meter and saw the Framework Laptop 16 pull over 220W while running stress tests, charging up its battery, and charging up a couple phones plugged into the laptop all at the same time. When I came back 15 or so minutes later, the new power adapter was only warm, not hot — comfortable to pick up and hold. I’ll have a video on that next week.
At $699 for only a 100W, 8GB mobile RTX 5070 worth of performance, this might be niche tech for now. But Framework’s proven the point, and I’m hoping future upgrades keep it from being niche for long.
Apple released the fifth public beta of iOS 26 on Aug. 25. The beta brought a handful of new features to the iPhones of developers and testers, including a new Liquid Glass design and the ability to screen incoming calls. The update also brings more customization options to your lock screen.
With the release of iOS 18, you could remove and change the controls on your lock screen, a welcome upgrade if you ever found yourself accidentally pressing your flashlight control when putting your phone back in your pocket.
With the iOS 26 beta, you can move your lock screen widgets, increase the size of your clock and give your lock screen wallpaper a 3D spatial effect.
Remember, Apple is still beta testing iOS 26. That means the update might be buggy for you, and your device’s battery life may be affected, so it’s best to keep those troubles off your primary device. If you want to try out the beta, I recommend downloading it on a secondary device.
It’s also possible that Apple could adjust these lock screen options, and other update features, before the final version of iOS 26 is released this fall — I’m guessing in a few weeks.
Here’s how to bring these changes to your lock screen and what to know about each.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Change the size of your lock screen’s clock
The biggest change iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is the ability to change the size of your clock. The expanded clock takes up about a third of my iPhone 16 Pro’s screen at most, which I love because if I place my phone on a table, I can easily see the time, even without my glasses. But you have to enable the bigger clock.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
Here’s how to expand the clock on your lock screen.
1. Tap Settings. 2. Tap Wallpaper. 3. Tap Customize under the lock screen you want to adjust.
Your iPhone will show you that lock screen and all the adjustable elements will be outlined. Your clock has a thicker tab in the bottom right corner of its outline. Tap and drag this down to expand your clock to your desired size.
Then, you can tap the clock and choose whether you want the clock to have a Glass or Solid design, and you can adjust the color and thickness of the clock, too. But, after changing the size of the clock, you can’t change the font. Only the far left clock font can be expanded for now, but maybe Apple will expand this to other fonts in a future iOS update.
Your lock screen’s widget dock can have a new home
Another change iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is the ability to move the lock screen’s widget dock. The update lets you place the dock near the bottom of your lock screen right above your controls.
To move your lock screen’s widget dock, go to Settings > Wallpaper and tap Customize under the lock screen you want to adjust. Then, tap and drag the widget dock to the bottom of your lock screen.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
If you expand your lock screen’s clock, your widget dock will automatically be placed near the bottom of the screen and you can’t place it anywhere else on your screen.
Spatial effects come to wallpapers
Your lock screen’s wallpaper also gets a fun, 3D effect that Apple calls a spatial scene. When enabled, spatial scenes add depth to elements in your wallpaper — and pictures — making them appear like they are popping out at you. As you move your iPhone around you, those elements will move, too.
To turn your lock screen wallpaper into a spatial scene, go to Settings > Wallpaper and tap Customize under the lock screen you want to work with. Tap the hexagon near the bottom right side of your screen, and your iPhone will make the wallpaper a spatial scene.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
It’s important to note spatial scenes only work with photos and not the wallpapers Apple provides, like those under the Weather and Emoji collections.
Controls get some color
A pretty small change iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is it changes the color of the controls near the bottom of your screen. This change is enabled automatically in iOS 26 so you just have to add a colorful control, or create your own, to bring a pop of color to your lock screen.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
Make your lock screen your own
Apple has slowly loosened its grip on your iPhone’s lock screen, giving you more freedom to customize its appearance and how you use it over the years. And iOS 26 is no different.
Being able to expand your clock, move the widget dock to more than one position and being able to give your wallpaper a 3D effect are just a few ways iOS 26 lets you create your own experience on your iPhone. These features could be improved upon — like giving you more freedom in where you can place your widget dock — but I expect Apple to keep adding ways you can customize your iPhone’s lock screen in the future.
For more iOS news, here are my first impressions of the beta version of iOS 26, how to enable call screening in the beta and all the new features Apple said it will bring to your device later this year. You can get an early view of the upcoming iPhone features with our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
Watch this: iPhone 17 Event Clues: Everything to Expect on Sept. 9
The Celestron SkyMaster 25x100mm binoculars are one of the best binoculars on the market. They hold the crown as best for magnification in our binoculars buying guide, and for anyone looking for binoculars to deliver incredible details of the night sky, then these need to be on your radar.
For Labor Day, Amazon has dropped the Celestron SkyMaster 25x100mm binoculars to what is the lowest price we’ve seen since January, with a massive 22% off, taking them down to $403.69, and a saving of $116.23 on the usual Amazon MSRP of $519.95.
Save $116 on the Celestron SkyMaster 25x100mm binoculars — were $519.95, now $403.69 at Amazon.
In our review, binoculars expert David Sky Brody gave the Celestron SkyMaster 25x100mm an impressive four out of five-star score, saying, “They delivered an optically accurate sky-watching experience that can move your soul.” High praise indeed, however, they aren’t without their negatives, and David was sceptical about the waterproof capabilities, although they do have ‘Waterproof’ stamped on them, that’s not quite true, as Amazon (and Celestron’s website) list them as ‘water resistant’. So worth noting if you aim to use these in damp conditions.
With $116 off, this is a great Amazon binoculars deal from one of the leading brands, giving you stunning views of the night sky. It’s worth noting that several retailers are currently price-matching this Amazon price, including Walmart and B & H Photo, should you wish to shop elsewhere this Labor Day.
The SkyMaster 25x100s use two 100mm (4-inch) refractor telescopes set up side-by-side, with image-erecting prisms and eyepieces that focus independently for pin-point clarity — unlike the combined central adjustment on standard binoculars. Glasses wearers will also appreciate the 15mm of eye relief, which means you can comfortably use these binos while wearing specs.
One of the best things about the Celestron SkyMaster 25x100s is its superb magnification (which, of course, allows you to see objects 25 times closer). In testing, we were able to marvel at galaxy clusters such as the Leo Triplets, the atmospheric belts of Jupiter, and Sagittarius’ star cloud.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
However, with hefty magnification, it means they are very large and heavy binoculars (the SkyMaster 25x100s weigh 8.75lbs / 3.97kg), so even those with arms of steel will need a tripod to hold them steady. Our best tripods guide has plenty of buying advice there, and our choice as the most affordable tripod — the Manfrotto Element MII is worth a look.
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The SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars are huge, but will provide incredible close-up viewing (Image credit: Future)
The Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars eyepieces can be independently adjusted.(Image credit: Future)
You will need a tripod for the SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars to get the best shake-free viewing.(Image credit: Jeremy Lips & Dave Brody)
Key features: 25x magnification, 100mm objective diameter, 3-degree field of view, BaK-4 prisms, water resistant.
Product launched: June 2006.
Price history: Before this current deal, the typical Amazon price was $474.95. They have been as low as $389, back in December, but this current deal sees them hit their lowest price of the year.
Reviews consensus: There is no doubt that the Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 are a fantastic pair of binoculars, and are our favorite large astronomy binoculars. They deliver astonishing detail of the night sky, and we scored them a 4 out of 5-star review. We marked them down for their weight. So you will need a tripod to get the best shake-free viewing, but with the money saved, you can easily pick one up.
Space: ★★★★ | Live Science: ★★★★
✅ Buy it if: You want highly adjustable, powerful 25x binoculars for viewing the night sky or long-distance use.
❌ Don’t buy it if: You want a handheld set of binoculars. The Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 is too heavy for that. Consider the Nikon 10×50 Acuon A211 binoculars, which are much more portable and can be handheld.
Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.
Today, Samsung has unveiled its first ever 37-inch monitor, part of the ViewFinity S8 line. It sits right in between the already available 32″ and 43″ models in the series, offering “outstanding readability, an optimal viewing distance and a comfortable field of view”, the company says in its official press release.
The 37″ monitor has a 16:9 aspect ratio, and compared to the 32″ version, “the screen’s additional five inches provide more workspace while maintaining UHD resolution in sharp detail”, Samsung promises.
Even with the same display settings, text appears larger than on a 32″ display (obviously), “making details stand out and information easier to grasp at a glance”. It delivers “the big-screen experience designed for collaboration” when standing, presenting or sharing the display with teammates.
TÜV Rheinland has certified the new 37″ monitor as an “Ergonomic Workspace Display”, which “recognizes its design that reduces visual fatigue during tasks like text editing or documentation and enhances task immersion”. It also has an Intelligent Eye Care feature that minimizes blue light and flicker, reducing eye strain. This too is TÜV-certified.
The monitor has a built-in keyboard, video and mouse switch letting you control two devices simultaneously with a single set of peripherals. You also get picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture for better multitasking. In the former mode you can, for example, connect a laptop and a smartphone that will each use one side of the display as a separate screen.
There’s also a USB-C port and a built-in LAN port, the former offering 90W charging for your devices. The Easy Setup Stand is advertised to only require about 10 seconds for installation, even if you have little experience – and there are no additional tools or screws needed. The height-adjustable stand has tilt and swivel functions to allow you to get the best position.
There’s a gaming-oriented version too, the Odyssey G7, in 37″, which comes with 1000R curvature, 4K UHD resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms (GTG) response time “to deliver an immersive large-screen gaming experience”.
Amazon sells an array of products, with new ones arriving every day across multiple categories, including home essentials, tech gadgets and furniture. The retail giant loves cutting prices as much as it loves adding products. But deciding which offers are worth grabbing (and which aren’t) is a full-time job, so we do all the heavy lifting, hand-picking the top markdowns daily.
Today, we spotted the Google Pixel tablet down to a new low price. We also found $161 off the Tineco S5 vacuum and $160 off the 200-feet Govee Permanent outdoor lights for the start of the Labor Day weekend.
Choosing a new tablet can be tricky, especially when you factor in things like specs, size and price. The Google Pixel Tablet has 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM, so it can store quite a bit. It has an 11-inch screen which is big enough to view everything on the screen clearly without being overly bulky, ideal for taking on the road. This tablet also comes with Google’s Gemini AI. Plus, the tablet is made with a G2 Tensor chip, a pretty powerful chip. Our reviewers also loved the front camera on the tablet.
This tablet is normally $399, which is pretty average for a tablet these days. But now you can grab one for just $249, a new record low price.
If you’re having a Labor Day gathering, cleaning up beforehand and afterwards is probably the least fun part. But cleaning the floors doesn’t need to take all day. The Tineco Floor One S5 is a cordless vacuum that can get stains and debris out from both your floors and carpets. Plus it’s a 2-in-1 vacuum and mop. It’s made with Tineco’s iLoop Smart Sensor Technology that adjusts suction power on this vacuum based on the environment so if it detects more dirt, the power will increase. To make it even easier, the vacuum is capable of self-cleaning with just the push of a button. Plus the vacuum comes with a three-in-one docking station for recharging.
This vacuum is not cheap by any means with a sticker price of $450. This Labor Day deal is knocking 36% off this price bringing it down to $289.
If you’re looking to spruce up the exterior of your home, getting some smart lights is one of the easiest ways to do so. The Govee Outdoor Pro Permanent lights are perfect for the colder weather coming up. Since they’re permanent you don’t have to worry about taking them down in the cold. Plus they are waterproof, with an IP67 weather-resistance rating, and can handle extreme temperatures ranging from -4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. They can be easily installed with an durable adhesive on the back of each light. This adhesive sticks to wood, vinyl, metal and fiber cement, plus it’s included with your purchase. And for those with a smart home, all of these lights can be controlled using the Govee app or synced with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
These 200-feet lights normally go for $760 but thanks to this limited time deal, it’s a little better at $600. It’s still a bit pricey, but it’s down to a record low price.
With so many deals on Amazon, deciding which ones are worth your money can be difficult. But CNET combs through what the world’s largest online retailer has to offer each day and gathers the best deals for you to check out.
I dream of a gadget that can do it all. Instead, when I leave for the office, I pack one or two phones, a portable battery bank, a laptop, a Kindle, a new product I’m testing, and at least one pair of earbuds. In my backpack, there’s a pouch full of cords and adapters. On my body, I usually sport between two and four wearable devices. I know mine is a “gadget maximalist” life. But, surely, one day, the powers that be will convene and society will decide on the Next Must-Have Gizmo — one all-powerful, do-everything device that will replace the phone.
Google doesn’t seem to think so. At least, not based on what I witnessed at last week’s Made by Google event.
At a studio in Brooklyn Navy Yard, Google showed off four phones, a smartwatch, and a pair of earbuds. That’s fairly typical for a product launch, but something about this year’s updates was different. It wasn’t just the odd keynote format, or the latent anxiety of Gemini getting stuffed into every single corner of every product. It was the uncanny feeling that AI won’t be the thing that tears down walled gardens. It’ll strengthen them. Instead of streamlining the number of gadgets we carry around, it might make them multiply.
The word “vibe” gets overused these days, but in that weird Brooklyn TV studio, I felt a palpable vibe shift in mobile computing. Especially with wearables. Where think pieces and online discourse used to argue that wearables were dead, the category is now being positioned as a vanguard for AI.
“The first 15 years of wearables were very much, ‘gather data, the quantified self.’ That’s where Fitbit started,” explains Sandeep Waraich, Google’s product lead for Pixel wearables. “It was episodic data and that’s fast moving to continuous insights because data only goes so far. It’s moving from highly generic to something very personal.”
You can see where this is all going. Wearables generate a ton of data. It’s a lot harder than it sounds to find actionable insights in a way that’s digestible and keeps people engaged long-term. It’s the sort of task that AI would theoretically be good at — which is why you see every fitness tracker and app on the market hopping on the bandwagon.
At the same time, as Waraich describes it, wearables are the “only one device in our computing lives that is guaranteed on-body presence.” Your phone may seem like it’s glued to your hand, but even it might be left behind on a table, stashed in a purse, or turned off at a show. If you want the most personalized, always-available AI assistant, it has to know absolutely everything there is to know about you. Is there a better way to do that than to be on you?
The problem with AI hardware is that we’re in the spaghetti stage. No one knows what the winning formula is, and so every idea under the sun is going to get thrown at the wall until something sticks. You have your always-listening life recorders that purport to be your second memory. Meta’s hypothesis is that multimodal smart glasses are the platonic ideal gateway to AI. Jony Ive and Sam Altman can afford to be hyper vague about whatever project they’re working on because anything they say at this point could be correct.
But to hear Google tell it, no one form factor is going to reign supreme.
“Any religion you have now is probably premature,” says Rishi Chandra, Google’s VP of Fitbit and Health, when I ask what form factors Google is betting on for Gemini. “There’s no doubt in my mind, there’s going to be new form factors that will exist. But I think it’s too early to have conviction. What’s interesting is the AI is moving so fast that any point of view you have on the hardware could change very quickly.”
“What’s interesting is the AI is moving so fast that any point of view you have on the hardware could change very quickly.”
Instead, Chandra says Google’s leaning into the spaghetti-ness of it all. Some of that is an openness to experimentation. You only need to look at Android XR, its nascent platform for smart glasses, to see that. The other half is to “maximize the devices you already have.” The phone is a starting point. The smartwatch and earbuds are natural extensions, but the full potential of AI hardware has yet to be unlocked. The hope, Waraich says, is that by experimenting and maximizing, you end up with a winning combination that hasn’t been seen just yet.
“The future will be a very diverse set of accessories that people may choose to have that work for them, that’s personalized for them, in their environment and what they care about,” explains Chandra. “Our job is to make it all work [together] so it doesn’t matter.”
Waraich agrees. Google, he says, views these overall shifts aligning nicely with its vision for ambient computing, a world where your devices fade into the background, autonomously and proactively answering your every need. (When you walk into a room, for example, your AI lightbulbs might switch to a mellower setting because they can speak to your phone, on which you just texted a friend to say you have a migraine.) But ambient computing will never be unlocked if there’s only one all-powerful gadget. It also won’t work if these gadgets don’t “speak” a common language. So why wouldn’t Google pitch Gemini as the glue holding it all together? If Gemini becomes the must-have AI, and it’s primarily baked into Google hardware — perhaps that’s how you really get people to stop caring about green bubbles.
It’s not enough to just have smartwatches…
or earbuds…
or a phone. You’ll need them all and they’ll all have AI.
Some of this shift is because the smartphone is almost 20 years old. A gadget that once inspired awe, these days phones feel more like a Toyota Camry than a Ferrari. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said last year that the “exciting times are over” and that many people are keeping their phones for three years or more. These numbers fluctuate depending on region and demographic, but Big Tech has publicly admitted that people just aren’t upgrading their phones as often as they used to.
Viewed from that lens, the push toward AI hardware begins to make sense. It just feels out of sync with what people tell me they want. Google’s executives tell me the point of Gemini (and AI in general) is to make people’s lives easier, to return their time to them. It’s a noble quest that seemingly aligns with the exhaustion people feel from the always-on modern life. But even if I can see Google’s vision, even if I genuinely see the value in parts of it — it’s hard to square how adding more gadgets with more AI addresses that existential fatigue.
Nevertheless, this is the bet that Google’s going all in on. It’s why the Pixel 10 and Pixel Watch 4 feel like such opinionated devices in a landscape of iterative updates. I’d argue that’s also why we’re seeing smart rings gain traction, and why Meta’s seeing hardware success with its smart glasses after years of failing to convince people to care about the metaverse. Everyone’s looking for the next turn in the story, and for now, it’s converging on AI wearables. Many, many of them.
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