Category: 4. Technology

New MTG Series Introduces Newly Developed Structure Using Advanced Materials and Innovative Technology

DOVER, N.J., July 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Casio America, Inc., is excited to unveil the MTGB4000, the newest addition to its premium MT-G lineup and the first G-SHOCK timepiece developed through a design process combining human ingenuity with generative AI technology. This launch marks a new era of innovation in watchmaking, where advanced computational design meets G-SHOCK’s signature shock-resistant engineering.

The MTGB4000-1A and MTGB4000B1A2 debut a newly developed, distinctive frame that redefines G-SHOCK’s iconic toughness and refined craftsmanship. Development began with initial sketches from G-SHOCK’s designers, which were then optimized using AI to enhance structural performance while preserving the bold aesthetics of the MT-G line. The result is a timepiece that achieves a new harmony of strength and elegance, pushing the frontiers of functional beauty, delivering both rugged durability and elevated visual appeal.

Building off of the MT-G line’s signature construction, the new launch combines the strength of metal and resin for a bold yet functional design. This new model features an evolved Dual Core Guard structure with integrated band connection parts, allowing the frame to absorb external shocks and reducing the load on the inner case. This innovation further enhances the MTGB4000’s shock resistance while giving the watch a bold and cohesive form.

The frame is cut from laminated carbon and glass fiber sheets, producing a dimensional silhouette with visible layering along the sides. The top of the bezel is adorned with precision finishes, including Sallaz polishing, a high-end technique that produces smooth, distortion-free mirror surfaces. Contrasting hairline and mirror finishes highlight the craftsmanship behind each metal detail, adding richness and depth to the overall design. The MTGB4000B1A2 is further distinguished by a newly developed blue-gray IP coating, offering a rich, futuristic aesthetic.

Crafted using metal injection molding (MIM), the case back features intricate shaping and a highly durable form. Clarity and scratch resistance come courtesy of a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, while the multi-dimensional dial is expertly produced through precision processing at Yamagata Casio.

The new timepieces come equipped with the following features: 

• Triple G Resist Structure (Shock-resistant)
• Centrifugal gravity resistant (Vibration-resistant)
• 200 Meter water resistance
• Tough Solar power
• Smartphone Link
• Radio-controlled (Multi band 6)
• Auto hand home position correction
• World time (27 cities)
• Stopwatch
• Countdown timer
• Alarm
• LED light (Super Illuminator)

The MTGB4000-1A ($1,250) and MTGB4000B1A2 ($1,350) will be available for purchase on July 2^nd at select Retailers, gshock.com, and the G-SHOCK Soho store. For more information about the G-SHOCK brand, visit gshock.casio.com/us. 

About G-SHOCK

CASIO’s shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch is synonymous with toughness, born from the developer Mr. Ibe’s dream of ‘creating a watch that never breaks’. Over 200 handmade samples were created and tested to destruction until finally in 1983 the first, now iconic G-SHOCK hit the streets of Japan and began to establish itself as ‘the toughest watch of all time’. Each watch encompasses the 7 elements; electric shock resistance, gravity resistance, low temperature resistance, vibration resistance, water resistance, shock resistance and toughness. The watch is packed with Casio innovations and technologies to prevent it from suffering direct shock; this includes internal components protected with urethane and suspended timekeeping modules inside the watch structure. Since its launch, G-SHOCK has continued to evolve, continuing to support on Mr. Ibe’s mantra “never, never give up.” www.gshock.casio.com/us/

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT:
5WPR
[email protected]

Sue VanderSchans / Cecilia Lederer
CASIO AMERICA, INC.
(973) 361-5400
[email protected]
[email protected]

SOURCE Casio America, Inc.

We have talked a lot on this podcast about the death of social media and the rise of algorithmic platforms. But what if there was a better way?

What if we could go back and fix the mistakes of Web 2.0 with new tech?

“ The company fascinates me… because they have such interesting concepts internally. One of them being ‘treat the company as a future adversary,’ which I have never seen anywhere in my career.”

What would truly modern social media look like, and who would be responsible for making sure it doesn’t… turn out the way things did last time?

These are weighty questions that I lob this week at Aaron Rodericks, a Canadian working in Dublin as Bluesky’s head of trust and safety. In town to speak at the BetaKit Town Hall for Toronto Tech Week, Rodericks first joined The BetaKit Podcast to discuss his journey from government to social media, lessons learned from working at Twitter, and how a decentralized social media platform might one day help you find joy online.

Finding joy online is a weighty task, and Bluesky has already had its share of hiccups. On this episode, Rodericks explains that Bluesky briefly suspending and then unbanning the account of US Vice President JD Vance was “not the ideal outcome” before walking through the platform’s approach to content moderation.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RSS

That approach includes automated tools, which Rodericks presented as a necessity to fight an internet filled with bots built to lie. The difficulty is that the “bad actors are evolving continually,” and new approaches to combat them only seem to make them stronger.

So is that what keeps Aaron Rodericks awake at night? Not really. The answer to that question is more closely tied to Bluesky’s approach to social media, which includes treating the company as a future adversary. 

---

The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Invest Northern Ireland: the gateway to international growth.

International Tech companies are discovering countless advantages in Northern Ireland. That’s why it’s the #2 international investment location for US cybersecurity firms, as well as Europe’s leading location for new Software development projects. Global Tech giants like Microsoft, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Synopsys have already spotted the benefits we offer, such as our skilled workforce, supportive business environment, competitive costs, and expertise in sectors like cybersecurity and fintech.

Let Northern Ireland help your business grow. Visit investni.com/americas to learn more.

---

Feature image courtesy Matt Tibbo Photography for BetaKit.

With Wimbledon under way, I am going to grasp the opportunity to make a perhaps contentious claim: tennis is the most important sport in the history of video games.

Sure, nowadays the big sellers are EA Sports FC, Madden and NBA 2K, but tennis has been foundational to the industry. It was a simple bat-and-ball game, created in 1958 by scientist William Higinbotham at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, that is widely the considered the first ever video game created purely for entertainment. Tennis for Two ran on an oscilloscope and was designed as a minor diversion for visitors attending the lab’s annual open day, but when people started playing, a queue developed that eventually extended out of the front door and around the side of the building. It was the first indication that computer games might turn out to be popular.

I’ve been unable to find out if Ralph Baer, the inventor of the first mass-produced games console, the Magnavox Odyssey, ever played Tennis for Two. However, when he was developing the idea of a TV that could play games, while working at the defence contractor Sanders Associates in the late 1960s, the rudimentary elements of what his prototype consoles could display on screen were vertical lines and square dots. When Magnavox released the product in 1972, its key games were Table Tennis and Tennis (the same as Table Tennis, except you could place a plastic overlay of a tennis court on your TV screen). These allowed two players to bat a ball to each other, adding a little “spin” by flicking the dial on the side of the primitive joypad. This was an extension of the knob on the Tennis for Two controller that let you alter the height of your return shot, but neither game really allowed much in the way of player skill.

From here, of course, we get to Pong, widely considered the first smash hit video arcade game. Atari founder Nolan Bushnell played tennis on the Odyssey and thought he could do better; with programmer Al Alcorn, he divided the onscreen bat into eight areas, each deflecting the ball at a different angle. Here we had the true beginnings of input finesse, a crucial element of all future video games, giving the player room to add skill and timing to their shots. Pong was such a success, Bushnell realised Atari needed a single-player version – hence the 1976 coin-op Breakout, where you hit the ball not at another human participant but at a wall of disappearing bricks. Breakout was effectively a one-player tennis game, and its brilliance had two major ramifications for the video game industry in Japan: it was the first successful release for legendary manufacturer Namco after its purchase of Atari’s Japanese arm in 1974, effectively propelling the company into the video arcade business; Breakout also inspired a game designer named Tomohiro Nishikado, who would use it as the basis of a certain 1978 arcade game, Space Invaders. So you see, tennis is responsible for the entire shoot-em-up genre.

Tennis sims were also vitally important in the early home computer gaming boom of the 1980s. Titles such as Match Point on the ZX Spectrum and International Tennis on the Commodore 64 provided compelling and intuitive two-player experiences that didn’t require a whole team of animated players like footie sims. The accessibility of tennis as a game concept also appealed to Nintendo, with its Tennis, Mario Tennis and Wii Tennis (from Wii Sports) games becoming its most popular sporting titles.

Since then, every generation of consoles has had its staple tennis titles, usually not as big and showy as the football or basketball sims, but always there in the background, perfect for when non-gamers wanted to join in the fun. Namco’s Smash Court, Codemasters’ Pete Sampras Tennis, 2K’s TopSpin and Sega’s Virtua Tennis have added interesting assets to the central concept of hitting a ball over a net, and while they have all sought to simulate a range of surfaces and competitions, it’s the idyllic vision of the Wimbledon grass court that has sold them. In tennis, you have an almost unique set of properties: wide consumer knowledge, an easy-to-understand rule-set married to deep skill mechanics and a highly constrained play space providing concentrated single-screen action.

Would people have queued for hours outside a science research base in Upton, New York, in the autumn of 1958 to play a space blaster or kung fu fighting game? I don’t think so – it would have been unworldly and mystifying to many attenders. Look at Computer Space, the first commercially available space shooter arcade game, released in 1971 (designed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney) – it did modestly well, but it was far from the global success that Pong achieved. The controls were too complicated, the concept too abstract. Tennis was the Trojan horse of the video game industry – it snuck video games into our homes and our amusement arcades, and by the time we realised what had happened, it was too late ever to go back.

What to play

I was going to be predictable and recommend a tennis game here – probably a classic such as Virtua Tennis or Top Spin 4 – but instead I’m going for a different sort of retro treat. Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition is a modern update of what many consider to be the pinnacle of the Worms series, 1999’s Worms Armageddon, a daft multiplayer turn-based battle game where you set out to destroy your enemy’s army of annelids with sheep launchers, banana bombs and … a concrete donkey.

It’s such a ridiculous and funny game, but also requires deep tactical thinking and such a mastery of angles and trajectory it may as well be considered educational software. An update to the game also gives access to previous titles in the series for the Mega Drive and Game Boy. A boisterous bargain.

Available on: PS5, Switch, Xbox
Estimated playtime: 10 hours to 25 years

What to read

• The concern over rising video game prices continues. The BBC has a report talking to one consumer who says: “New video games cost me a whole day’s wages.” Major titles can now cost up to £80, with increased manufacturing and development costs getting the blame – although we should perhaps also be looking at the generous pay packets some industry CEOs are able to command.

• How does Metacritic actually work? GamesIndustry.Biz spoke to its founders about the science of score aggregation. Lots of interesting topics came up, including the phenomenon of game publishers basing staff bonuses on the meta score of their latest projects.

• A few sites, including IGN, have picked up on a recent video from former Xbox exec Laura Fryer on the death of Xbox hardware and what Microsoft’s recent announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld PC might tell us about its strategy going forward.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

What to click

Question Block

This one comes from JohnnyBiscuits:

“Five years ago, many media commentators were adamant that the PS5/Xbox Series X would be the final generation of consoles. What’s the latest thinking?”

As referenced in the What to Read section above, Laura Fryer, an early Xbox employee, has stated that Microsoft is preparing to kill games hardware development in favour of getting its Xbox app on to different platforms. We’ve seen this approach taking shape with the recent ROG Xbox Ally and Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition announcements; Samsung is also making Xbox game streaming a part of its Smart TVs. However, Microsoft has also just announced a multi-year partnership with chip manufacturer AMD, which it stated would include “Future Xbox consoles”. Meanwhile, Sony, which lacks the sort of ecosystems open to Microsoft thanks to Windows, has recently reiterated its commitment to dedicated games consoles, which is unsurprising considering that PS5 has sold around 78m units, and rumours of a third Switch are already swirling. Earlier this month, Switch 2 sold over 3.5m units in its first four days on sale – a record for console hardware.

So no, I don’t think dedicated games consoles are going anywhere soon. They’re convenient, cheaper than buying and maintaining a gaming PC and offer a more stable and reliable experience than streaming games via a set-top box. Also, after five years of increased virtualisation, where we generally don’t own the music we listen to or the movies we watch, there is a growing kickback against digital apps and streaming services – the games console is a desirable object, specifically designed for fun and rife with sentimental memories. It’s illogical really to want a big chunk of plastic and circuit boards to play games on, but when that chunk looks as cool as a Mega Drive, a Neo Geo or a PlayStation 5, it becomes more than just a platform. While we still enjoy visible artefacts that express our likes and tastes, there will be consoles to put next to the TV and gaze at adoringly.

If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.

Luddites, shield your eyes, because we’ve just powered up the 2025 GQ Tech Awards. We’ve been plugged in for the last 12 months to bring you a sophomore class of the best drops and innovations in tech last year. We listened to an unbelievable number of headphones, affixed an innumerable amount of gadgets to our bodies, and even chef’d it up in the kitchen.

All of which means the 45 products we’ve listed below are sure to make your life a little bit more joyful. So, from gear to help you on your fitness journey to the best tech essentials everyone should own, we present to you: the 2025 GQ Tech Awards.

Tech Essentials

A year on from its release, this ludicrously thin iPad Pro remains a class apart from every other tablet going. What makes this Pro quite so special? You’ll understand as soon as you get your hands on it. A slender 5.1mm in its 13-inch guise, it’s Apple’s best-designed device in recent memory. Not just because of that skinny aesthetic, but sheer amount of tech that’s crammed into it, with Apple’s latest M4 chip and a resplendent Ultra Retina XDR OLED display gifting this iPad headlining a slew of laptop-calibre capabilities. Pairing with either Apple’s Magic Keyboard or Pencil Pro accessories is more or less essential, as will be downloading Apple’s major new iPadOS 26 upgrade later this year—assuming you’re as amped about the ability to resize app windows as we are.

Despite AirPods seeing a discount every Prime Day, it’s not often an Apple-made product can be described as a bona fide steal. Still the world’s best-selling laptop, its entry-level configuration is now available for under a grand, giving you an ultra-portable, crazy powerful computer to create with. Although the MacBook Pro is still your best bet for heavy-duty editing, the Air has the heft to hop between 4K video files, GarageBand sessions, and the like with consummate ease. If you want to spend a little extra on a 10-core model, that dual USB-C adapter is almost worth the upgrade alone.

Compared to AI voice assistants and autonomous vehicles, time travels a little slower in the world of camera tech. That’s why 2022’s Fujifilm X-T5 still ranks as our favorite camera for still photography—at least until the long-awaited X-T6 launches in the not-too-distant future. Why do old habits die hard with the X-T5? It’s an incredibly well-made piece of kit that combines pin-sharp autofocus and a gloriously detailed 40.2MP APS-C sensor with the kind of tactile, retro-imbued ergonomics that get camera enthusiasts hot under the collar.

A year on from the furor that greeted Sonos’ now-infamous app redesign, it’s worth remembering why everyone got so indignant in the first place. Just like the brand’s many other speakers (and now headphones), the Era 100 absolutely slaps. Originally released way back in 2023, it’s our favorite wireless speaker by far thanks to its compact design, ample smarts, and impeccably judged audio for the price. Now with a mercifully improved app experience and available at a semi-regular discount if you’re shopping in the right place, this remains an easygoing companion whether you’re giving the new Haim LP a spin or delving through EPMD deep cuts.

Apple might be going through a bit of an AI-related wobble right now, but the iPhone remains imperious. In all honesty, its 16 Pro Max doesn’t change up too much from previous years. A slick touch-controlled camera button for photography, the latest A18 Pro chip to put ChatGPT (and eventually a smarter Apple Intelligence-powered Siri) through its paces and a refined titanium design with ultra-thin screen bezels rank as the major innovations here. Should you be inclined to make an upgrade before the new models drop in September, you still can’t go wrong with the biggest, most powerful iPhone out there.

As much as Google redefined foldables with last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold, its Pixel 9a remains the reasonably priced jewel in a quietly imperious hardware crown. As with the best affordably-minded handsets, this Pixel is laser-focused on bang for your buck. More specifically, it’s a playground for many of Google’s latest AI innovations. Not least, its talkative Gemini Live assistant, which can see and respond to the world via the Pixel’s excellent 48-megapixel camera. It’s not all new-fangled gimmickry that we love about the Pixel 9a though—it also sports a two-day battery life.

Audio Visual Tech

Nothing elevates your listening experience like a pair of headphones you’ll actually want to wear, and this year, two headphones offer peerless sonic performance: the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Sony WF-1000XM6. Slimmer and more compact on the outside, the B&W S3 is also completely different from its predecessor on the inside, sporting a re-engineered 40mm bio-cellulose driver alongside a separate headphone amp. A DSP powered by a top-tier Qualcomm chipset enables 24-bit/96kHz and Lossless support for high-resolution wireless audio. Add in the 8 microphones for ANC and you get a pair of headphones that’s equal parts functional and fun.

As for Sony’s headphones? Its WF-1000X series is as critically acclaimed a franchise as the likes of Severance, Toy Story, and every Beatles album (bar Yellow Submarine). Three years in, the making having long set the standard for noise cancellation and comfort in over-ear headphones, this new pair proved well worth the wait thanks to a new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 that adjusts their acoustic performance in real-time according to 12 microphones. With 30 hours of battery life and a refined, foldable design, these are the kind of cans that afford you an ocean of calm to revel in as you schlep across town into work.

Honestly, given the fidelity of most TVs nowadays, you’ll struggle to find a model that recalls the blurry, pixelated horrors of the early smart TV era. From Amazon’s own Fire TV Omni QLED to the imperious Sony Bravia 8 and LG’s legendary C5 series, there’s a great screen going at almost any given price point. So why are we giving Samsung’s Frame Pro the spotlight? While the design-forward ethos of these TVs—they’re built like an artwork and display iconic imagery from The Met and Tate when turned off— has always made them stand apart, the Pro’s televisual performance has also taken a leap forward this year thanks to its brighter panel and more detailed Neo QLED display. As such, this is an up-to-85-inches large television that actually deserves that space in your living room.

Every aspiring audiophile needs a starter turntable that won’t scratch up their records or scare them off with an enormous price tag. With a built-in power supply alongside preset tracking force and anti-skate and an included Ortofon OM cartridge, the Pro-Ject Primary E will have you jamming in no time, with minimal setup. An included adapter for seven-inch singles and speed settings for 33.3 or 45 RPM means the Pro-Ject Primary E will be able to play whatever you get your hands on. And maybe most important of all, it’ll look great in your living room.

The Best Soundbar: Sonos Arc Ultra

How do you make a former Tech Awards winner even better? Apparently, you add “Ultra” to the end of the name and generally just make everything better. Weighing less than the original, featuring a more compact design, and improved audio quality, the Sonos Arc Ultra might be the best soundbar we’ve tested. The improved Ultra projects sound into a room that’s more enveloping and clear than the original, with all of the Sonos-powered connectivity you know and love.

The Best Affordable TV: Amazon Fire TV

Researching which TV you should buy can be a whirlwind of numbers and jargon, but Amazon’s Fire TV Omni mini-LED TV makes the calculus a little easier. Built-in Fire TV OS brings a user-friendly smart TV platform with access to every app you could need. High contrast and Dolby Atmos provide a viewing and listening experience that rivals that of even your local chain movie theater. Plus, Alexa capability makes it easy to put the remote down, especially if it’s once again been lost to the sofa’s seat cushions.

Modern consoles give the vaunted gaming PC a run for its money, and none more so than the PlayStation 5 Pro. Stop worrying about “performance” versus “quality” mode: The Pro lets you play over 100 Pro-enhanced PS5 titles with 4K output, 60 frames per second, and ray tracing simultaneously. Combine that with high-speed SSD storage for near-instant load times plus Wi-Fi 7 capability for maximum network speeds, and you have a device engineered top to bottom for maximum speed in every scenario where you might otherwise have to wait to play.

Any time active noise cancellation enters the conversation for earbuds, a high price tag is usually to follow. JLab bucks the trend with its JBuds Pods, a stupidly affordable pair of noise-cancelling earbuds that seriously don’t suck. At its price point, the bounty of features is hard to beat: 56 hours of playtime (with the charging case), spatial audio, IP55 water and dust resistance, and wireless charging.

The Best Surround Sound: Sony Bravia Theater Quad

If you’ve wanted a surround sound system without having to run a thousand miles of cable, the Bravia Theater Quad is what you’ve been looking for. With 360-degree spatial sound mapping, BRAVIA’s system creates up to 12 “phantom” speakers from just four slim and stylish wireless units that can be configured free-standing or mounted to the wall. HDMI 2.1 pass-through provides support for 4K and 8K systems (at 120Hz and 60Hz, respectively) while wireless subwoofer support gives you the option for booming bass, all without any tripping hazards.

The Best Streaming Box: Roku

Cancel your cable subscription, and get a streaming stick. Roku, one of the most popular of the bunch, offers a way to keep all of your streaming services onto what is essentially a master account so you can easily juggle from Squid Game to Reacher to Yellowstone with as little effort as changing a channel. Plus, Roku offers over 500 live TV channels, so you won’t miss out on daily news coverage and the occasional sports.

Tech Accessories

If you aren’t blessed with the luxury of being able to leave your work computer at the office, you’re going to need a good laptop bag for your commutes. A good one, like this Nomatic option, might not get your grumpy train mate to compliment your bag, but it will get you a good jumpstart to your work day. The bag’s multiple compartments make it easy to organize your cables, water bottle, and brown-bagged lunch, while a padded dedicated laptop sleeve will protect company secrets from the elbow that gets thrown around on the sardine-packed train.

Small, sleek, and affordable, an AirTag is an absent-minded person’s best friend. Whether helping you locate your keys with Precision Finding or helping you recover tech that has gone further afield by leveraging Apple’s ubiquitous Find My network, AirTags continue to be amazing insurance for anything you can’t afford to lose. And if your item truly goes off the grid, Lost Mode will always show your phone number to helpful finders, so your gear can make its way home.

The Best Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3S

A good mouse is the unsung hero of any productive office setup, and Logitech’s MX Master 3S is the cream of the crop. An 8000 DPI sensor means your mouse work is precise, even on high-resolution screens, while MagSpeed Electromagnetic Scrolling lets you zoom through documents or navigate line by line as needed. Silent click technology makes the 3S 90% quieter than its predecessor, and the optional PowerPlay 2 mat, which wirelessly charges your mouse as you use it, means this mount won’t annoy you or your office mates.

The Best Charger: Anker Nano Power Bank

A backpack full of tech is worthless if none of it can power on. That’s what makes Anker’s Nano Power Bank such a reliable sidekick. A little larger than a deck of playing cards and weighing in at less than a can of soda, the Nano packs 5,000mAh of capacity—enough to recharge your phone multiple times or give your laptop a second wind. When it does run dry, 30-watt bi-directional fast charging lets it drink in the power as fast as it dishes it out, running from 0 to 50% charge in 45 minutes in ideal conditions. And with a built-in USB-C cable, you’ll be able to charge virtually any modern device without worrying about packing another charger.

The Best Travel Mug: Ember Tumbler

Coffee should only be cold when it’s literally on ice, and the Ember Tumbler can help you keep 16oz of your morning joe in the sweet spot between scalding and frigid for three hours on battery power or all day on the charging coaster. The Ember app (for iOS and Android) lets you select your exact desired temperature between 120°F and 145°F, along with settings for presets, a built-in sleep timer, and customizable LED colors. And with IPX7 waterproofing, you don’t have to worry about giving it a full dunk when you’re washing it.

The Best Phone Case: Casetify Impact

Your phone is not only an essential and expensive tool but also a fashion accessory. So it’s imperative that you protect it in style. Casetify’s Impact line of phone cases promises drop protection for up to eight feet while keeping a slim and lightweight design. A subtle raised bezel and camera rim protect your screen and lenses against direct impacts when you inevitably drop your phone, and MagSafe compatibility combined with a range of styles and finishes means you don’t have to sacrifice style or convenience for protection.

Fitness and Health Tech

Now in its 10th iteration, the iconic Apple smartwatch is the best it’s ever been with a new slimmer design, the brightest wide-angle OLED screen yet, and a nigh-on indestructible titanium case replacing traditional stainless steel options. With an improved S10 SiP chip inside and cellular connectivity by default alongside FDA-cleared notifications for moderate to severe sleep apnea, the Apple Watch Series 10 is not only a ridiculously polished piece of kit but a purchase you can justify as an investment in your health.

If you’re looking for a sidekick to help you train for that marathon, Garmin’s Forerunner 570 is hard to beat. Coming standard with multi-band GPS for route tracking and Garmin’s Elevate Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor that can track your cardio mid-run or overnight, the 570 provides rock-solid performance when it’s tracking yours. A crisp and bright AMOLED display that’s visible in direct sunlight and a built-in speaker and microphone for taking calls on the go make the Forerunner an excellent outdoor smartwatch in addition to its impressive fitness functionality.

If you’ve ever thought wistfully about your first Fitbit, the fourth-generation Oura Ring will tickle the step-counting part of your brain, and then some. Boasting support for over 30 biometrics, including sleep tracking, temperature monitoring, blood oxygen sensing, cardio capacity, and 24/7 heart rate via recessed sensors flush with the ring’s inner surface, the Oura Ring will increase your self-awareness by an order of magnitude as soon as you slip it on. And with over a week of battery life and a lightweight titanium design you’ll hardly ever want to take it off.

You’re already familiar with the heavy hitters in the massage gun game, but Rally is a new one to know. Recently released this spring, this massager works in continuous thumping circles rather than hitting the same spot over and over (like a jackhammer). The result is a recovery tool that’s more gentle on the muscle, resulting in less pain during use while remaining effective in warm-ups and recovery.

For years, the Beats Powerbeats Pro earbuds were the leading workout headphones, but the second-gen model is truly the only gym buddy you need. Why? They’ve been boosted with active noise cancellation, effectively putting those grunting gym goers on permanent mute, while improving the fit so that they’re even less likely to bounce out of your ear during a particularly motion-heavy workout. And because we don’t think you should buy separate headphones for working out and the rest of your life, the audio quality is exactly as you’d expect from a brand like Beats.

We never took recovery seriously until setting off on a journey for thighs as thick as our arms. Easy to use, comfortable as hell, and just a helluva excellent way to reduce my recovery time, the JetBoots Prime are basically the treatment we’d get if we were to go to PT, but without a recurring copayment. And now every day can be leg day.

Sure, you can technically sleep on a mattress on the floor. But you’re wasting your 40 winks by not sleeping smarter. The Eight Sleep Pod 5 Ultra+ is the ultimate in snoozing technology. It creates a microclimate around your body, automatically adjusts your posture to eliminate pain and snoring, and passively monitors your cardiovascular and respiratory health with AI. The sleep tracking and clinical-grade sensors are the best way to justify the investment, while the alarm that combines gentle vibration with a warming sensation will be the thing you can’t live without.

While LED face masks require a hefty price to pay upfront, they’re much cheaper than regular trips to an esthetician. A recent contender in the fight for the best LED mask is Shark’s Cryoglow, which easily won out for its affordability (yes, it’s $350) and effectiveness. Hyperpigmentation seems to fade like you just got a chemical peel, fine lines plump up like you injected fillers, and acne spends less time on your face like Mount Vesuvius. Plus, nifty cooling under-eye patches help to reduce puffiness almost immediately.

Outdoor and Travel Tech

Your go-to Bluetooth speaker shouldn’t just sound good. It should also be fun to use, and that’s what puts the Marshall Kilburn III a step above the rest. With physical tactile knobs for volume, bass, and treble, the Kilburn III provides an old-school user experience, along with its warm and rich analog-style sound. But for all its old-school charm, it also has the modern creature comforts you need, like the ability to function as a power bank via its USB-C port, a battery life of over 50 hours on a single charge, and the latest Bluetooth 5.3 for rock-solid connectivity.

The original Nintendo Switch was a huge mainstream hit, but after eight years, the casual gaming juggernaut was getting a bit long in the tooth. Now, with a new, larger LCD touchscreen and an updated Nvidia Tegra T239 processor, the Nintendo Switch 2 is taking hybrid mobile and home console gaming to a new level of fidelity. Enhanced docked performance brings games up to 1440p at 120Hz or 4K/60Hz thanks to a built-in cooling fan and Ethernet port, so the top-tier Nintendo console can play all of your favorite flagship titles with the crisp and smooth graphics they deserve, at home or on the go.

Whether you’re planning for some time in the great outdoors or just trying to expect the unexpected, the Biolite Luci Charge 360 will be the star of your kit. Weighing in at just slightly more than a large smartphone, the Charge 360 is not only capable of lighting up your night with up to 360 lumen output or 110 hours of light in low mode, it can also power the rest of your kit with its built-in 4,000 mAh charging hub and its high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar panel that can refill the tank with about 28 hours of sunlight.

It’s nice to break out the bike without having to break a sweat. The Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 is always ready to help you over the hump with a 70Nm torque motor and 710Wh battery that can quadruple your pedal force for easy cruising up to 28 miles per hour (depending on local laws). The 80mm front suspension fork and shock-absorbing seat post ensure your journey is smooth for the whole 90 miles you can get on a single charge in Eco Mode. Compatible with child seats and thru-axle trailers, you can haul who or whatever wants to come along for a ride.

Meta’s smart specs merge the iconic style of Ray-Ban Wayfarer glasses with flagship AI functionality. An ultra-wide 12 megapixel camera and 5-mic system capture high resolution photos and video that Meta’s built-in AI can leverage for real-time translation and object identification. The glasses’ custom-built open-ear speakers and in-depth voice control let you run the show by voice (with a touchpad for subtlety when necessary), and the portable charging case provides more than 24 hours of AI assistance before you have to plug in.

Capable of tackling yards up to a third of an acre, Stihl’s iMOW 5 takes almost all the pain out of having a lawn. With automatic charging at its local docking station and a mulching function that eliminates any need for bags, the iMow 5 can cut your grass down to size with barely any oversight from you. Customize the dynamic mowing plan according to your needs, and the iMOW will use its ultrasonic sensors to avoid trees and other obstacles, freeing you up to oversee while drinking a lemonade, if you care to supervise at all.

The Best Portable Projector: XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro

Projectors aren’t just for cinephiles with a home theater in their basement. The XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro Portable Projector turns movie night into an on-the-go proposition with pre-installed Netflix plus Google TV OS for access to thousands of apps and 1920×1080 resolution with 450 ISO lumens of brightness to make whatever you’re watching easy to see. Dual 5-watt Harman Kardon speakers mean the sound system is included in a package roughly the size and weight of a full thermos. All that’s left to you is to find a good place to point it.

Sporting a new seven-inch color ink display, the Kindle Colorsoft is more comic book than newspaper. With support for graphic novels, travel guides, and PDFs on its 32GB of on-device storage, the Colorsoft will make you feel like a kid with a coloring book as you highlight in yellow, blue, pink, and orange. And you won’t have to compromise on other now-standard Kindle features like over a month of battery life, IPX8 waterproofing for bath and pool reading, and an auto-adjusting front light with customizable color temperature you can tune to taste.

Kitchen Tech

Gone are the days when a robot vacuum was a gimmick, and the Eufy X10 Pro Omni illustrates why. Using AI and a front-mounted camera, this robovac strategically maps your home for efficient cleaning and navigates around household objects like wires, shoes and toys. The X10 hoovers up crumbs from carpets and hard floors alike with 8000pa of vacuum suction and switches off to dual oscillating mop heads that exert as much as two pounds of downward pressure for scrubbing and stain removal when necessary. Best of all, its docking station will empty the dustbin and clean the mop heads, so you only have to pay attention once a week.

Everyone loves the Big Green Egg, but sometimes it’s nice to have something you can move without help. At (just) 76 pounds, the MiniMax brings Egg-style cooking to tailgates and small apartment patios. With the convEGGtor heat shielding accessory, the Minimax is also capable of indirect cooking, making it a terrific option for pizzas and other dishes that require a convection approach. But if the dish calls for a direct blast of 750-degree Fahrenheit direct heat, the Minimax can provide that too, with even less wait time than larger models.

There’s no quicker way to become the king of the cookout than to show up with the pizza oven. The size of a small suitcase and just slightly heavier than a case of beer, the Gozney Tread is astonishingly portable for a device that can reach nearly a thousand degrees Fahrenheit after just 30 minutes of preheating. Beyond being perfect for cooking small personal pizzas to your friends’ specifications, the Tread can also be used to roast chicken legs or sear steak, making it almost as welcome an addition to the BBQ as the person who brought it.

At this point, an air fryer is as much of a necessity in the modern kitchen as a stovetop or conventional oven. Phillips’ newest air fryer brings touch-operated control to a sleek and quick-heating countertop cooking appliance that makes it easy to cook practically anything you can imagine from reheating frozen fries, “frying” chicken, to dehydrating fruit. A peek-a-boo window lets you monitor your food as it’s cooking, and because this is an air fryer, you can use less oil and still get a delicious meal

The Best Espresso Machine: Breville Oracle Jet

Brewing your own espresso is a hobby in itself. But the Breville Oracle Jet proves that it doesn’t have to be complicated. With a user-friendly touchscreen display, a fully integrated precision burr grinder that automatically grinds, doses, and tamps into a professional-style portafilter, and microfoam with settings for dairy and plant-based milks alike, your primary concern will be figuring out what you want to drink. New functions for extracting cold brew in under three minutes or making crema-topped cold espresso mean that truly the entire coffee shop menu is now in your kitchen.

A blender can be for much more than milkshakes and smoothies if it has enough grunt. With 19 variable speeds and a variety of blending programs, the Vitamix X5 will make everything from soups to nut butters, even freshly ground spices. With an on-screen indicator for when thicker blends require the included tamper, and a self-cleaning program that agitates soapy water at a variety of speeds, the Vitamix X5 comes with all the creature comforts you need to make it part of your daily life. And with a comprehensive 10-year warranty, you can be confident it won’t quit on you, either.

While it’s certainly more striking than a box fan, the Shark TurboBlade does plenty more than just look slick. Its bladeless design that pulls air in from the base cuts down on dust while blasting the breeze as far as 80 feet, with a telescoping pole and 360-degree top bar to aim the airflow exactly where you need. Sophisticated settings like “Sleep Mode” (dimmed lights, no beeps) and “Natural Breeze” (varying speeds for an outdoor vibe) plus 10 fine-tunable speed settings will make “high” and “low” feel unbearably old-fashioned.

2025 GQ TECH AWARDS CONTRIBUTORS

Tyler Chin, Rob Leedham, Eric Limer

Shopping for the best Fourth of July deals can be exhausting, but we’ve found one deal that you don’t need to think about. All you need to do is place your order before it’s too late — we’re that confident it’s a bargain you don’t want to miss. This deal gets you a $22 discount, slashing the price of a Baseus portable battery pack to just $18 for a limited time. You do need to clip the on-screen coupon to get the best price, so make sure to do that when ordering.

This portable battery pack has plenty of features worth shouting about, not least the built-in USB-C cable for charging your phone and more. That’s joined by a USB-C port and a USB-A port for additional charging options, too.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

A handy display shows you the battery pack’s current charge state, and the large 10,000mAh battery means you can charge your devices and accessories on the move.

In terms of power, you can fast-charge phones and more thanks to support for 22.5 watts of charging power, while the battery pack itself can also be fast-charged, too.

Why this deal matters

No matter how good the batteries in our tech toys get, they’re always going to need to be charged eventually. Invariably, that seems to happen when we’re away from a charger, which is where this battery pack comes in. At this price, it’s worth having one in your bag just in case you need it — you’ll thank us the first time that you do.

Nothing has confirmed that the next version of its custom Android skin, Nothing OS 4.0, will be released before the end of September. The update will be based on Android 16.

Google’s early release of Android 16 this year has disrupted the usual update cycle, leaving many Android manufacturers adjusting their timelines. While Nothing is not typically among the first to deliver major Android updates, the company has now confirmed that users can expect Nothing OS 4.0 to roll out during the third quarter of the year.

This announcement comes alongside the unveiling of the Nothing Phone (3), which is expected to be the first device to receive the Android 16-based OS. Although the statement is primarily seen as a reference to the new Phone (3), it is likely that previous Nothing Phone models will also receive the update shortly afterwards. However, no specific rollout schedule has been confirmed for older devices.

Compared to its earlier updates, this planned release marks an improvement in speed. Details on the features of Nothing OS 4.0 have not been revealed yet. Users will have to wait for more information from the company in the coming weeks.

Nothing on Tuesday unveiled its highly anticipated “true flagship” smartphone—the Nothing Phone (3)—alongside its first over-ear headphones, the Nothing Headphone (1). The Phone (3) is priced at ₹79,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, while the 16GB RAM + 512GB model costs ₹89,999. The Nothing Headphone (1) carries a price tag of ₹21,999.

Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.

Come forth protectors of Sharval! From July 7–23, 3 a.m. server time, the Diablo Immortal Druid Trial Race is your chance to show your devotion to Sanctuary in a fierce, time-based dungeon challenge.

Players who accept the challenge from the in-game event hub must run a hellish version of Mad King’s Breach while playing as the Druid. Your goal? Cut through hordes of the Burning Hell’s foot soldiers and their deranged king as quickly as possible. You will be ranked based on your fastest clear time, with ties decided by highest damage output in that run.

Each week of the competition, the top 200 players from each server will receive one random Legendary item and one random Set item delivered via in-game mail. And once the competition ends, the mightiest Druid—the number one ranked player worldwide—will assist in naming a future Legendary item.

Attune to nature’s might, center your primal sensibilities, and enter the fray. May success find you!

See the current leaderboard rankings on the official Diablo X account. They will be updated every Monday and Thursday at 7 p.m. PDT.

To get a full overview of the Druid ahead of the race, including its skills and affixes, visit this article.

[Terms and Conditions]

A new report out today from phishing defense company Cofense Inc. reveals a dramatic rise in malicious activity leveraging Spain’s .es top-level domain, marking a shift in tactics among phishing operators targeting enterprise users.

According to the research from Max Gannon and Jacob Malimban from Cofense’s Intelligence Team, the use of the .es TLD in credential phishing campaigns surged by a whopping 19 times from the fourth quarter of 2024 through to the end of the first quarter of this year. The surge in the use of .es saw the TLD enter the top three most abused domains for phishing, behind only .com and .ru.

The .es domain is officially intended for Spanish-speaking audiences, but threat actors seemingly don’t care and are increasingly using it to disguise malicious content. The researchers note that the abuse isn’t isolated to a specific group either, as a broad cross-section of phishing campaigns has adopted .es domains to host second-stage phishing pages — sites users are redirected to after clicking on email links.

The sites are often used to harvest login credentials or distribute remote access tools such as XWorm and Dark Crystal RAT. A RAT is a type of malware that allows attackers to secretly control a victim’s computer or network remotely.

Though the surging use of .es TLDs is perhaps surprising, what isn’t is the company the threat actors are impersonating: Microsoft Corp. and its various services. Some 95% of the phishing campaigns using the .es TLD are impersonating Microsoft services such as Outlook. Bringing up the rear, other companies being impersonated include Adobe Inc., Google LLC, and Docusign Inc., though at much lower rates. The campaigns often feature highly polished emails and convincing login pages hosted on pseudo-randomly generated subdomains under .es domains.

In an interesting twist, the researchers also claim that nearly all of these malicious .es domains — about 99% — are hosted on Cloudflare Inc.’s infrastructure, often using Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA for added legitimacy. That raises questions about how easily threat actors are leveraging modern deployment tools such as Cloudflare Pages to spin up malicious content quickly.

“While Cloudflare has recently made deploying a web page quick and easy via command line with pages hosted on [.]pages[.]dev it is unclear whether their recent move to making domains hosted by them easy to deploy has attracted threat actors to their hosting services across different platforms or if there are other reasons, such as how strict or lenient Cloudflare is with abuse complaints,” the researchers write.

The report emphasizes that the use of dynamically generated subdomains that are typically random strings rather than human-readable names is a common trait of these campaigns. Examples include domains like gymi8.fwpzza.es, making them harder for casual users to identify as suspicious.

Cofense warns that organizations should be alert to this shift in TLD abuse and adapt their detection strategies accordingly, particularly focusing on subdomain monitoring and more nuanced brand spoofing detection. As phishing tactics evolve, domain abuse patterns continue to be an early warning signal for threat activity.

Image: SiliconANGLE/Reve