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TCL P80 Ultra Review: Almost Better Than A Kindle

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TCL P80 Ultra Review: Almost Better Than A Kindle

nature TCL P80 Ultra being held in one hand with Paper Mode enabled on the display

Connor Jewiss/BGR

TCL launched the P80 Ultra at €549 for the 256 GB model and €599 for the 512 GB model, which converts to roughly $640 and $700. U.S. pricing hasn’t yet been announced, though Android Authority has confirmed the P80 line is U.S.-bound. This device is TCL’s first Nxtpaper phone built on an AMOLED panel instead of an LCD one. TCL has featured its matte color nano-etched coating on dim LCD screens for years, but moving it on to this 6.83-inch 1.5K panel finally makes this display tech worth looking at as a daily handset.

I’ve spent just over a week with a Midnight Blue 256GB TCL P80 Ultra as my main phone, reading articles on it most evenings and using it for ordinary phone tasks such as messaging, navigation, taking photos, and listening to music during the day. It also entirely replaced the Kindle I typically read on for the duration I’ve been using the phone, which is one of the specific tasks TCL claims its device is best at. In fact, smartphones like the P80 Ultra are one of the reasons some believe there’s no need for a Kindle anymore.

The Nxtpaper screen delivers on its promise, and reading on this phone beats reading on any other phone I’ve used so far. But ask the phone to do something more demanding, and the Dimensity 7400 Elite processor inside begins to struggle. The result is a phone that’s excellent to look at but is probably best suited for only a few people, unfortunately. Anyone who reads on a daily basis and would like to stop carrying a Kindle around should pay attention to this phone, though; it’s probably one of the most interesting handsets that’s come out this year around this price. For anyone that wants a capable mid-range phone that happens to have a nice screen, the P80 Ultra is a little harder to recommend.

Design

nature TCL P80 Ultra being held in one hand with the rear panel facing the camera

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The Midnight Blue finish on the P80 Ultra I’ve been using is nice enough, but almost entirely forgettable. The matte rear panel hides fingerprints well but feels remarkably plasticky under the thumb. Nothing about the rear panel makes this device feel worth €549, though the aluminum frame helps to make this device feel a little more premium. That being said, you’d probably still struggle to pick it out of a lineup of other mid-range Android phones. Burgundy and Sunlit Gold are the two other color options, which are probably the more interesting choices.

At 163.3 x 77.7 x 8.26mm and 197g, the P80 Ultra is a big — specifically, tall — phone. Long reading sessions never left my hand aching, which matters more on this device than on a typical smartphone. The 19.5:9 aspect ratio does mean a taller, narrower page than a dedicated e-reader such as a Kindle would give you, so expect more frequent page turns if you’re reading a long book. The handset managed to survive a full week without a case and didn’t pick up any marks on the screen or the body.

One of my biggest complaints about the P80 Ultra is the vibration motor, which is noisy, tinny, and imprecise. Every notification feels more like a rattle than a buzz, and it makes the phone feel really cheap every time you type or receive a message. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works reliably, but the front-facing display sensor would be slightly faster. The dual stereo speakers go loud, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they sound good. DTS processing adds depth to the soundstage, but there’s certainly no bass. If you’re listening to anything at length, definitely opt for a pair of headphones.

Display

nature TCL P80 Ultra with its regular display switched on

Connor Jewiss/BGR

As I’ve already alluded to, the Nxtpaper display is the reason to buy this phone. The 6.8-inch AMOLED runs at 1.5K, 2,772 x 1,280 resolution, with a 120 Hz refresh rate and up to 3,200 nits peak brightness. Perhaps more useful on a device like this is how dim the display can get, which is just 2 nits — ideal for if you’re reading in the dark. Colors are vivid, blacks are properly black, and text is sharp enough that you stop noticing any pixels after using the device for just a while. Touch sampling runs at 2,560 Hz, which is one area where the phone does always feel quick.

nature Close-up of the matte display on the TCL P80 UltraConnor Jewiss/BGR

The nano-etched matte coating is what makes this display different from any other panel on a mid-range phone at this price. Reflections essentially disappear entirely, and TCL backs this claim with an SGS low-glare certification. I could read anything on this display outside indirect sunlight without once having to angle the phone to avoid glare. The difference between this and a glossy display on a regular smartphone is immediately noticeable. There is a top layer on the display, which TCL calls the Nano Crystal Shield glass cover, and it’s designed to protect the display from damage. After having this phone in my pocket and my backpack for a week, nothing has left a mark.

Underneath those layers, TCL has put some real effort into eye comfort. The display panel uses DC dimming when it gets brighter and 3,840 Hz PWM dimming in darker situations. It also carries a TÜV Rheinland Full Care Display certification. I regularly use my phone in the dark, and after a week of late-night scrolling or reading, my eyes probably felt a little less tired than they usually would.

Nxtpaper features

nature Paper Mode enabled on the TCL P80 Ultra while being held at an angle

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The Nxtpaper display comes with two dedicated modes. Paper Mode handles color reading while Max Ink Mode strips away all color to just a monochrome display for distraction-free reading. Both modes are excellent, and I imagine comics would be a particularly good experience in Paper Mode. In fact, sometimes I just like using the device normally in this mode rather than the full-color display.

However, customization is slightly buried compared to earlier versions of the Nxtpaper lineup that I’ve used. Previous Nxtpaper phones let you pick between more modes for the display with ease, whereas, on the P80 Ultra, you have to dig through the settings menu to change anything beyond the two quick toggles from the switch. It’s a minor irk, but a frustrating omission nonetheless.

Interestingly, you can run any app in Paper Mode or Max Ink Mode, including games. I played “Subway Surfers” in black and white, and while it dropped a few extra frames compared to usual play, it was still remarkably responsive. Hats off to TCL for this impressive feat — I didn’t think the P80 Ultra would be able to do this.

nature Close-up of the Nxtpaper switch on the TCL P80 UltraConnor Jewiss/BGR

One of my favorite hardware decisions on the P80 Ultra is the Nxtpaper switch on the side. This is a dedicated switch that converts the display from its regular mode to e-reader mode in either color or full black and white. For example, you can go from the regular display to Max Ink Mode to lengthen the battery with a black-and-white-only display, which is perfect for reading. It’s much easier than diving into menus or settings panels, and I think every device featuring an e-ink display with color should steal this (I’m looking at you, Kindle Colorsoft).

Performance

nature Subway Surfers running on the P80 Ultra

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The Mediatek Dimensity 7400 Elite processor is where this phone starts to fall apart. It’s a 4nm chip paired with a Mali-G615 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage. On a €549 smartphone, that’s less power than you might expect, and in practice, it’s noticeable. Reading, messaging, browsing a few tabs, and playing music all run smoothly on this device. Primarily designed to be an e-reader, the P80 Ultra is far more responsive than a Kindle would be. Page turns, library navigation, and loading the store to buy books feel instant by comparison. Push past that and the device begins to struggle.

I hit stutters when switching between multiple apps, the camera lagged while opening if I had another app running in the background, and the device just froze up entirely a few times — though that did resolve itself after a few seconds of waiting. All of these problems are minor on their own, but the frequency at which they appear is what will wear you down if you use this phone on a daily basis (particularly when other phones for this price can handle the same workload or more with ease).

Gaming is almost off the table entirely. Even playing something as simple as “Subway Surfers,” the phone just didn’t feel particularly smooth and started to heat up a fair bit. If gaming is important to you, I’d skip this phone. Running the phone with its display near its 3,200 nits max brightness for any length of time also leaves the phone feeling uncomfortably warm to hold, though this probably isn’t a problem you’ll face on a daily basis, given this handset is primarily built around reading.

Connectivity holds up without any problems across both 5G and Wi-Fi, helped partially by TCL’s 360-degree antenna design. Dual nano SIM and eSIM are both supported, and there’s no microSD slot. That’s pretty common on smartphones these days, but for such a media-focused device, the ability to add external storage would be nice — though e-books don’t take up much storage space.

Battery life and charging

nature Close-up of the USB-C charging port on the TCL P80 Ultra

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The P80 Ultra has a 5,800 mAh battery cell, and my experience with it has been rather mixed. It can last through a normal day of messaging, navigation, a couple of hours of reading, and some camera use with some charge to spare. Treat it more gently than that and you’ll probably be able to stretch it to two days, which is rare for a phone with a display this large. At the same time, I charged the phone to 100% a few times after I’d finished testing, left it overnight, and woke up to a dead phone that needed plugging in. That’s when I felt the battery really needed to be better.

Reading is arguably the best use case for the battery. That being said, its battery also drains much faster than a Kindle’s would, since it’s still a phone with background processes running. Max Ink Mode helps, though nobody should expect Kindle-class endurance here. Anyone sitting on a long-haul flight may wish they had a Kindle anyway (or at least a charger). TCL rates the phone for up to 45 hours of continuous voice calling, 23 hours of streamed video, and 15 hours of gaming (all measured at 200 nits). From my experience, these figures are more of a goal than a realistic expectation.

Charging runs at 45 W over USB-C, with a compatible charger included in the box — which is a nice touch for a mid-ranger. I’d get just under 50% charged in around 30 minutes, and a full charge would take somewhere between an hour and 90 minutes — though I didn’t time either precisely. That’s competitive with other mid-rangers rather than fast, but a battery this large would have benefited from faster charging. There’s no wireless charging either, which is a really odd omission given that the plastic back should have made it easy to implement.

Cameras

nature Close-up of the camera array on the TCL P80 Ultra

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The periscope telephoto lens is one of the best camera features on the P80 Ultra. TCL fits a 50-megapixel 3x periscope telephoto lens with optical and electronic image stabilisation, alongside a 50-megapixel main camera on a 1/1.56-inch sensor, an 8-megapixel autofocus ultra-wide, and a 32-megapixel front selfie snapper. Having a dedicated zoom lens on a handset at this price is unusual, though its results justify TCL’s decision to include it rather than try to make up for it.

nature Macro photo of an intercom photo taken by the TCL P80 UltraConnor Jewiss/BGR

Shots at 3x zoom managed to hold detail properly. Buildings, signage, and tight portraits all come back looking rather sharp, and TCL’s claimed 6x lossless mode seems to stay usable in good lighting conditions. The telephoto macro mode is a pleasant surprise, with close-ups that maintained focus better than I expected from a device at this price point.

The main camera produces natural color in images rather than the oversaturated look that many mid-rangers often default to. An f/1.88 aperture gives it plenty of light to work with, and low-light shots are usually acceptable rather than impressive. The 32 MP selfie camera is also sharp in daylight color but gets noisier once you enter low-lit conditions.

nature Colourful image taken by the TCL P80 UltraConnor Jewiss/BGR

The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, however, is not so good. The shots it takes are soft at the edges even in daylight and close to unusable in low-lighting conditions, with detail that collapses into mush. The telephoto lens also struggles in darker conditions, and pushing past the 6x zoom produces smeared, over-sharpened results that have obviously come from excessive image processing that’s trying to make up for what the sensor can’t quite handle.

Software

nature Close-up of the TCL P80 Ultra on a desk with bloatware highlighted

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The P80 Ultra ships with Android 16 and TCL UI 9.1, which stays remarkably close to the stock Android experience. TCL’s own apps sit alongside Google’s stock apps rather than replacing them like Samsung would, and the overall feel is clean in a way that mid-range Android phones often aren’t. However, shipping on Android 16 in late 2026 is a curious decision, given that Android 17 reached its stable release back in June, nearly three months before this phone launched. You’re buying a device that starts a generation behind, and TCL hasn’t said when Android 17 will arrive.

TCL has promised four major Android upgrades in the P80 Ultra’s lifetime and seven years of security batches for this model. That’s fairly strong for a mid-range phone at this price (though it doesn’t quite reach the seven years of full software support that Google offers for the Pixel 10a). Anyone planning to use this phone for more than a year or two should consider those two numbers carefully.

The P80 Ultra also commits one of the biggest sins a smartphone can commit in my eyes, which is having preinstalled bloatware. It arrives with AliExpress, a couple of games, and some TV app I’ve never heard of called ReelShort. It’s not the worst bloatware offender I’ve ever seen, but any amount is just not acceptable in 2026.

AI features

nature Running a Google search from the homescreen widget on the TCL P80 Ultra

Connor Jewiss/BGR

AI is present, as is inevitable in 2026, though it’s mercifully restrained. Gemini and Circle Search are built in, and TCL also includes an AI smart translator powered by Microsoft Azure’s speech models, transcription, writing assistance, and an Ask AI gesture that activates on a three-finger swipe up.

While these features are present, they aren’t shoved in your face. For example, I can use the Google Search widget on the home screen to make just a normal search, which the Pixel 11 series can’t do, as it forces you to use Gemini instead (yuck). I use the transcription feature fairly often, and it managed to work rather well without demanding much manual intervention.

TCL also offers a few non-AI features that are interesting, mainly designed around eye care. Circadian tone warms the display throughout the evening, matching the sun’s movements for a more naturally lit display. A smart eye care assistant offers several different alerts and will let you know if you’re holding the phone too close or if the ambient light conditions aren’t ideal. It’s more of a nagging feature than one I’d typically have switched on, but some people might find it useful.

Conclusions

nature TCL P80 Ultra being held in one hand above a desk with Max Ink Mode switched on

Connor Jewiss/BGR

The TCL P80 Ultra is a smartphone that tries to double as a specialist device. As a reading phone, it has no real competition. The massive AMOLED display, the Nxtpaper Key, the eye comfort engineering, and the battery combine into something that could almost replace a Kindle for many people, though hardcore readers will appreciate just how much longer a Kindle can last.

The periscope telephoto camera lens and the IP68 dust- and water-resistance are other features that help to make this feel more like a smartphone than an e-reader. But the Dimensity 7400 Elite chip is a major problem, and no amount of screen quality can disguise a phone that stutters during ordinary multitasking at this price. If you’re buying the P80 Ultra, you’re buying it solely for the screen, so don’t expect to swap this out for your Galaxy S26 or iPhone 18 Pro without resetting expectations.

Inside TCL’s own range, the P80 Pro for €429 gives you the identical Nxtpaper AMOLED panel and ditches the periscope lens, making it better value (unless zoom shots matter to you). The standard P80 at €349 skips the Nxtpaper feature entirely, so is a lot harder to recommend. Looking elsewhere, the $499 Google Pixel 10a is the stronger all-around phone, with better sustained performance and 7 years of software updates. Our full Pixel 10a review covers why it keeps coming out on top of other mid-rangers.

If raw speed is your priority, there are many budget Android phones that are more powerful than the Pixel 10a, which are worth looking at. If endurance matters to you more, there are mid-range Android phones with better battery life than the Pixel 10a as well. Anyone put off by the P80 Ultra’s size should start with these budget Android phones worth buying if you hate huge phones.

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Samsung Is Being Fined $15M For Misleading Marketing On Some Galaxy Phones And Tablets

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Samsung Is Being Fined $15M For Misleading Marketing On Some Galaxy Phones And Tablets

Karlis Dambrans/Shutterstock

Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets have come with some big promises across multiple generations. The South Korean consumer electronics company has more recently teased “Pixel-level” privacy screens for its upcoming Android phones, and prioritized innovation with the new Galaxy Z Flip 8. However, it seems Samsung got too big for its britches regarding one marketing claim around some of its Galaxy products, and it didn’t take long for the company to be called on for it.

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, or FTC, dinged Samsung with a 20.1 billion won fine — that’s roughly $15.2 million in U.S. dollars — for deceivingly marketing its Galaxy S21 and S22 smartphones’ and Tab S8 tablet’s supposed gaming power. The FTC alleged that the company conveniently left out that it purposefully throttles the devices whenever confronted by beefier games. “It misled consumers about gaming performance and interfered with their rational purchasing decisions,” it said, per Korea JoongAng Daily. Throttling is the practice of reducing a processor’s speed to prevent overheating. The expensive penalty comes four years after Galaxy owners first noticed their devices didn’t quite feel as powerful as they were promised.

Per the Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung argued against the fine, saying “No court has found that consumers suffered harm because of the advertising,” and that it planned to “actively present the company’s position through future legal proceedings.” Only time will tell what further measures Samsung might take to defend itself against the penalty.

The Galaxy S22 series may not have offered ‘the ultimate gaming experience’ after all

Lukmanazis/Shutterstock

The South Korean FTC’s pricey fine against Samsung comes after the company previously boasted that products like the Galaxy S22 and its sister devices offered “the ultimate gaming experience” thanks to their processors, memory capacity, and adaptive refresh rates. The Galaxy S22 models’ gaming performance was supposedly bolstered by their 8 to 12 gigabytes of memory, data storage ranging from 128 to 512 gigabytes, pristine graphics, 5G capabilities, and 120 hertz refresh rate. While these specs were indeed delivered, buyers found the mobile gaming experience to be hindered by default with Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, and its throttling practices.

According to the FTC, Samsung preinstalled the GOS on the cited devices and prevented users from uninstalling it. The GOS then applied CPU and GPU presets automatically whenever certain games were launched — not when the processors reached a certain temperature threshold, which is a more common practice when it comes to thermal throttling. In court, Samsung argued that this was done to ensure sustained performance and keep games running reliably for longer. However, considering that Samsung marketed these devices around a premium gaming experience, the FTC ruled that leaving out these GOS details was misleading under South Korean advertising laws.

Samsung also is no stranger to false advertising lawsuits. Its throttling issues sparked eight lawsuits between the United States, South Korea, and Israel. Elsewhere, the television manufacturer TCL sued the company for allegedly recycling old television models and rebranding them as Mini LED TVs, despite lacking the proper size and technology. Such a claim, along with the Galaxy performance discrepancy, shows that Samsung may need to get its facts straight before pitching its products to the public.

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Reddit Is Adding A Popular TikTok Feature, But Users Aren’t Happy

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Reddit Is Adding A Popular TikTok Feature, But Users Aren’t Happy

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Over the past few years, we’ve seen several social media apps add their own version of TikTok’s For You feed, with X and Threads already offering one, and now Reddit is doing the same. The company announced on October 28 that it’s splitting the home feed into two separate feeds, For You and Following, and the change will roll out globally over the next few weeks. For You mixes your joined communities with interest-based recommendations, while Following shows only posts from the communities you’ve joined.

TikTok’s For You feed is built around recommendations, and in 2023 TikTok let users reset their For You feeds when those recommendations stopped lining up with what they liked. Reddit says its new feed is “a first step in helping drive discovery that leads to something novel and relevant,” with the goal of getting people into communities and conversations they might not find on their own.

The site has been testing For You and Following with a small group of users since September, and the company said it refined the test based on their feedback. And while this is far from the first time Reddit has tried to be more like TikTok, many users with the new feed don’t seem too happy about it.

Reddit users don’t want the For You feed

PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Being able to choose your own communities has always been one of the biggest parts of Reddit. If you only cared about a couple of games and your local subreddit, then that used to be what showed up in your home feed. However, that’s changing now, as the For You page update adds in content from subreddits that you may not have joined yet.

One r/help user already asked how to remove the For You page since it came back, and we have even seen posts dating back to September discussing removing the feature on Android, too. Users have also reported that the Hot sort function has disappeared from the new home feed, leaving only Best and New. Reddit says it’s testing sorting options as part of the For You and Following experiment and has acknowledged the complaints. However, there’s no date yet for when the missing sorting options might come back.

How to avoid Reddit’s For You feed

miss.cabul/Shutterstock

You don’t have to use the new For You feed; however, you can’t remove the tab completely, at least not yet. If you have the new home feed, you may want to switch to the Following feed to avoid content you don’t care about. Reddit will remember which feed you used last, so the Following feed should load the next time you open Reddit.

Reddit’s Following feed isn’t chronological, either, and depending on which version of Reddit you have, you might only be able to sort it by Best or New. If you want to see the newest posts from your communities first, the Reddit app on Android and iOS has a Latest feed that sorts everything by new, and you can also make a custom feed with just the communities you care about most.

Reddit also has a Show recommendations in home feed toggle in its settings. On Android and iOS, it’s under Privacy in your account settings, while on desktop you can find it in your preferences. This lets you turn off recommendations when you sort by Best. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to affect the For You tab, so for now the Following feed is still the most reliable way to avoid Reddit’s recommendations.

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5 days beneath the waves: What it’s like to live in an underwater ‘space station’

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5 days beneath the waves: What it’s like to live in an underwater ‘space station’

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science news view of a small dorm room in a research station, showing two bunk beds on one side
The dormitory of the Jules’ Undersea Lab, which can be split into two bedrooms.
(Image credit: Dr. Michaela Musilova)

Living underwater was surprisingly peaceful. It was in many ways exactly what I imagine living on Mars would be like one day. There were no humans around us, except for my three SEA STAR crewmembers and me. Apart from the human noises we made, we couldn’t hear anything other than the life support systems keeping us alive submerged 22 feet (7 meters) below the surface.

We were living in these extreme conditions to study the challenges astronauts may face on long-duration space missions. Since performing research in space is still rare and expensive, there are numerous facilities around the world that focus on recreating space-like conditions on Earth. One of those stations is the Jules’ Undersea Lab, where the SEA STAR simulated space mission took place.

This underwater habitat was called “La Chalupa” when it was built in the 1970s. Its purpose was to allow divers to live and perform research as aquanauts — people who spend more than 24 hours underwater in a so-called state of saturation. Today, the Jules’ Undersea Lab is located near Key Largo, in Florida. However, it was originally designed to be mobile — inside a barge 20 feet wide and 60 feet long (6 to 18 meters).

science news photo of three women and one man, seen fuzzily through a circular porthole

The SEA STAR crew inside the Jules’ Undersea Lab, as seen from the outside of the station by a member of Mission Control. (Image credit: Ozlem Berg)

The aquanauts could choose an ideal site for their research expeditions underwater and then have the facility be submerged. They did that by flooding most of its inside space, turning it from a boat to a submarine. Once their work was done, they could remove the water and move “La Chalupa” to another location.

Unfortunately, the funding to keep this facility running ran out over time, and it was moved one last time to its current home. Since then, the now Jules’ Undersea Lab served as the research station for tens of different aquanaut missions, including a NASA 30-day project and two missions that set world records for the longest time living underwater (73 and 100 days).

science news photo inside a small room of a research station, showing wet suits and scuba gear arrayed along the walls

The “moon pool” of the Jules’ Undersea Lab, through which aquanauts enter and exit the station. (Image credit: Dr. Michaela Musilova)

On the inside, the underwater station is made up of a galley with a kitchen and dining/work area. Next to it there is a basic toilet, shower and the “moon pool,” which is the equivalent of a door to get inside the habitat. The final area is the bedroom with two bunk beds, which can be split in the middle to create two bedrooms and provide additional privacy. Three windows throughout the habitat provide its dwellers with a view of a mostly green outside world.

To start our SEA STAR simulated space mission, we waved goodbye to our Mission Control team on “Earth” and dove down to enter the Jules’ Undersea Lab through the “moon pool” at 25 feet (7.6 m) underwater. After that, we did not return to the surface again until five days later. We lived and worked the whole time underwater, performing our space-related research and “spacewalks” (a.k.a. exploration dives in scuba gear).

science news view of a toilet stall with the door open

The bathroom and shower of the Jules’ Undersea Lab. (Image credit: Dr. Michaela Musilova)

We were able to survive all this time in such a challenging environment thanks to a number of important life support systems keeping us alive. The communications and umbilical support cables (providing air, fresh water and power) for the habitat were originally supplied by NASA. All the piping and fittings are inside the submerged barge, protected from the air-sea interface and from encrusting marine creatures. There was also a direct line to Mission Control “on Earth” to help us in case of any emergencies.

Our schedule kept us busy all day every day to simulate what astronauts experience on the International Space Station (ISS). All four of us on the SEA STAR crew had research projects that we were responsible for, as well as daily tasks. These tasks involved cooking, medical checkups, cognitive tests, maintenance work and taking care of unexpected issues. As the Commander of the crew, I also made sure everyone was on top of their work and addressed any problems that came up.

science news view of a skinny kitchen/eating area inside a research station

The galley of the Jules’ Undersea Lab, which includes a kitchen and a dining/work area. (Image credit: Dr. Michaela Musilova)

We performed “spacewalks” in between all those other activities. They were pretty physically exhausting, which meant that we did not do additional exercise during the mission. I have been the Commander of 40 simulated space missions, and normally we exercise for at least an hour or two during each mission, just like astronauts on the ISS. Nonetheless, the pressure in the Jules’ Undersea Lab was approximately twice as high as it was on the surface at sea level. This caused the crew to experience additional stress to their bodies, which is why no further exercise was required.

Even though our hands were full with activities during the mission, none of us felt particularly stressed out. Whether it was because of the effects of the pressurized conditions or thanks to good planning, we actually enjoyed our time living underwater. One of the nice surprises of the mission was that the food wasn’t too bad, either. We were allowed to use a small crock pot, which meant we could eat soups, stews and overnight oats. Small joys like that boosted our spirits immensely.

science news closeup photo of a hand holding a black phone

A direct connection between the Jules’ Undersea Lab and Mission Control on “Earth” for emergency purposes. (Image credit: Dr. Michaela Musilova)

Having said all that, the Jules’ Undersea Lab did also make the isolation from our lives on Earth feel very realistic. While we didn’t have a view of Earth like the astronauts on the ISS, our very green view of a completely different world outside our windows gave us an impression of living on another planet. It was the alien nature of our lifestyle 22 feet underwater and all the challenges that came with it that made this mission feel Mars-like. Our daily schedule grounded us, the extreme environment around us kept us on our toes and our scientific exploration helped us reach new frontiers.

You can follow Dr. Michaela Musilova at her website and on social media: @astro_michaela (Instagram, TikTok and Threads), @Dr. Michaela Musilova (Facebook) and @astro-michaela.bsky.social (Bluesky).

Dr. Michaela Musilova is an award-winning astrobiologist, explorer, professional speaker and author. Michaela has been conducting space-related research at institutions around the world, including NASA, ESA, CalTech, the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope and many others. She was the Commander of 40 simulated missions to the Moon and Mars — the most missions led to date.

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Major progress in HK’s third medical school: HKUST

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Major progress in HK’s third medical school: HKUST

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on Wednesday said its new medical school had entered a new stage of development.

HKUST officials said that construction of its Medical Education and Research Complex — the core interim facility at the Clear Water Bay campus for its new school of medicine — is ahead of schedule.

Updating the media on progress for the city’s third medical school, HKUST officials said the eight-storey building topped out last week, less than six months after its groundbreaking.

Dean King Li said the school had also made encouraging progress in faculty recruitment, securing candidates for various key roles.

The school aims to have at least 100 professors by 2030 to maintain a 1:1 teacher-student ratio, he said.

Li noted that the ratio of local to overseas professors is expected to be fairly even.

“It’s a process, so we want to choose the best candidates instead of where they come from. As time goes on, you will see that more and more global people will show up,” he said.

“In the beginning, it would seem like it’s geared towards the locals, because easier to join, but the actual ratio of applicants is not skewed that much that way. It’s fairly even, I would say, at this time.”

One of the newly recruited faculty members is Anskar Leung, a former vice-dean at the University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty.

HKUST President, Professor Nancy Ip, stressed that the school had not engaged in any talent-poaching from other medical schools, but noted that they have received plenty of interest.

“When HKUST indicated its interest to establish the third medical school in Hong Kong, even before the selection process, we received a lot of enquiries already from interested faculty candidates, both locally and overseas,” she said.

“So I think they share our vision. They would very much like to participate in the founding stage to set up the new medical school.”

Leung, who has already assumed his new role as Senior Associate Dean of Medicine at HKUST, said he shared the school’s vision and described the opportunity as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He added that he resigned from HKU about four months ago.

HKUST also said it remains confident it would meet its target in admitting the first cohort of 50 students in the 2028/2029 academic year.

Edited by Tony Sabine

Spain declares three days of mourning after at least 68 killed in train crash

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Spain declares three days of mourning after at least 68 killed in train crash

The Spanish prime minister has declared three days of mourning after at least 68 people were killed and dozens more injured in a collision between two high-speed trains in central Spain.

The trains were travelling in the same direction on the line that stretches from the Spanish capital, Madrid, to Seville on Wednesday when one of the trains ran into the tail of the other that had stopped, knocking several carriages off the track.

The tragedy marked the second deadly train accident this year in Spain.

“All of Spain is in mourning,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said from the scene in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha. It was “unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed train accidents in the same year, as we have”, he said.

Spanish authorities initially reported 10 deaths, but Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla-La Mancha region, said “that number will surely rise”.

Spanish state-owned news agency EFE and other media later reported that the death toll had risen to at least 68.

Another 73 people needed medical treatment in hospital, including 15 who were in serious condition.

It is the second major train accident in Spain this year.

Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred on Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. Rail services were suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

Two trains travelling in same direction

Ms Padilla told state broadcaster TVE that the collision involved two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers and travelling in the same direction from Madrid to Seville in south-western Spain.

One train struck the rear of the other, which had stopped, derailing two of its carriages. She said the cause of the crash was not known.

The crash occurred on a flat stretch of track surrounded by fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. One carriage was reduced to twisted metal, with debris scattered down a gravel slope.

Spanish health minister Monica Garcia told TVE that emergency workers were focusing on rescuing survivors and recovering bodies from the two most damaged carriages. She said injured passengers were being taken to hospitals in the area.

“It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” Ms Garcia said.

The accident involved a train operated by Spain’s state-owned RENFE and another operated by private rail company IRYO.

Spanish media reported that the RENFE train appeared to have rammed the IRYO train.

Trains operated by the two companies were also involved in a deadly crash in January.

Ms Padilla said 397 passengers were on the RENFE train and 147 on the IRYO train.

IRYO, an Italian-owned company, said in a statement that it had “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities”.

travel One of the trains involved in the accident, on 28 October, 2026 in Urda, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Picture: Juanma Jimenez/Europa Press via Getty Images
One of the trains involved in the accident, on 28 October, 2026 in Urda, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Picture: Juanma Jimenez/Europa Press via Getty Images

Emergency services at scene

The mayor of nearby Urda, Manuel Galan, told TVE that civil protection authorities had asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to accommodate injured passengers.

A military emergency brigade was deployed to assist emergency services, firefighters and police at the crash site.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez cancelled his schedule to focus on the crash. He wrote on X that he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo”.

“Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” Mr Sanchez wrote.

“All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Consternado ante el grave accidente de trenes en Toledo. Permanezco en constante contacto con el ministro de Transportes, @oscar_puente_, y con el presidente de Castilla-La Mancha, @garciapage.

Los servicios de emergencia están trabajando sobre el terreno para atender a las…

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) October 28, 2026

The regional president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano Garcia-Page, wrote on X that he was travelling to the crash site.

Second deadly crash in Spain this year

In January, 45 people died in southern Spain when a train derailed and struck an oncoming train.

That crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 rail disaster that killed 80 people.

The January incident shook confidence in the country’s extensive high-speed rail network.

Read More

Australian travellers targeted in sophisticated hotel booking scam after RMS Cloud cyberattack

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Australian travellers targeted in sophisticated hotel booking scam after RMS Cloud cyberattack

Australian travellers have been targeted by a sophisticated hotel booking scam after hackers accessed customer information held by an accommodation software provider.

Scammers have been using reservation details to send fraudulent messages threatening to cancel bookings unless travellers reconfirm their payment information.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Thousands of Australians caught in booking platform hack

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RMS Cloud, a property management software provider used by hotels, motels, holiday parks, campgrounds and serviced apartments, confirmed on Tuesday it was investigating the phishing messages.

The company said guest names, contact information and booking details had been accessed, but that credit card and payment details were not compromised.

travel RMS Cloud said it was investigating the phishing messages.
RMS Cloud said it was investigating the phishing messages. Credit: RMS

“RMS is also aware of phishing communications sent by an unknown entity claiming to be RMS or one of RMS’ customers,” the company said in an updated statement on Wednesday.

“The communications quote reservation information, request confirmation of payment details, and may be received via email, text message or WhatsApp.

“We are treating this matter with the utmost urgency, and recognise the concern and disruption this has caused our customers and their guests.

“We are working closely with affected customers to make sure their guests have clear information and practical guidance while our investigation continues.”

Be the first to know:

RMS customers, including Reflections, BIG4 and G’day Parks, have issued warnings to guests following the incident.

“We are contacting you as a past guest to make you aware our third-party booking system provider, RMS Cloud, has confirmed a global incident,” Reflections said in an email.

“Please do not click any links, open attachments, or share payment or personal information.”

travel Reflections has warned guests about the data breach.
Reflections has warned guests about the data breach. Credit: 7NEWS

Convincing scam

Similar scam messages have also been reported by travellers who booked accommodation through Booking.com, Agoda and Trip.com.

Perth man Wayne Garrard, 68, told 7NEWS.com.au one of his friends “nearly fell for it”.

The friend, who had booked accommodation through Booking.com, received a WhatsApp message asking him to reconfirm his payment details or risk having his reservation cancelled.

“He actually clicked on the link, and it takes you to the room that you bought on booking.com,” Garrard said.

The friend entered his credit card details, but was alerted by his credit card when the scammers attempted to charge him €400.

He rejected the transaction before posting a warning on Facebook.

travel Wayne Garrard and two of his friends received similar hotel booking scam messages.
Wayne Garrard and two of his friends received similar hotel booking scam messages. Credit: 7NEWS

Another friend responded to the post, saying he had received a similar WhatsApp message despite booking through Agoda.

What shocked Garrard the most is that, about 30 minutes after seeing the initial warning on Saturday, he received a suspicious message himself.

Garrard, who was holidaying in Vietnam, had booked accommodation through Trip.com and was due to move to another hotel a few days later.

The WhatsApp message appeared to come from a business account and contained details of his upcoming reservation.

“Please ensure the confirmation is done within 24 hours; otherwise, the room may be offered to other guests,” the message read.

It included his hotel details, booking dates and reservation reference number.

“I knew straight away that it was a scam, but I did click on it just to see where it took me and it took me to the picture of the hotel that I booked and the exact room,” Garrard said.

“It looked perfect — the booking.com website with the hotel room and everything.”

travel The scam messages Wayne Garrard received contained his genuine hotel booking details.
The scam messages Wayne Garrard received contained his genuine hotel booking details. Credit: 7NEWS

He said a chat window then opened, instructing him not to close the page and to follow further directions.

However, Garrard stopped before providing any information.

“I felt lucky that my friend had warned me,” he said.

“It’s like, how did they get all this information?”

“If this happened to three of us, it could be a massive scam.”

South Australian woman Diane McAskill also received a similar WhatsApp message.

“I knew straight away something wasn’t right,” she told 7NEWS.

“I didn’t click on any links so I didn’t give them any information. But what information they do have is still uncertain.”

More victims feared

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said 62 reports of the scam had been received over the past three days, with one victim losing more than $300.

The consumer watchdog warned there could be more cases that had not been reported.

South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services Commissioner Brett Humphrey urged travellers to remain vigilant.

“If it doesn’t quite feel right, stop! Don’t give your details,” he said.

7NEWS.com.au has contacted booking.com, Agoda, and trip.com for comment.

Janhvi Kapoor takes responsibility for Peddi controversy: ‘Could I have been more vigilant? 100% yes’

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Janhvi Kapoor takes responsibility for Peddi controversy: ‘Could I have been more vigilant? 100% yes’

Janhvi Kapoor has spoken candidly about the controversy surrounding her portrayal in Peddi. The sports action drama, directed by Buchi Babu Sana, faced criticism over the sexualisation of her character. The actor has now admitted that she could have been more alert to the concerns while working on the film.

Also Check: Jr NTR-Janhvi Kapoor’s AI-morphed Chuttamalle video: Tarak warns ‘I will not spare any of you’, Vijay Deverakonda backs him

During her appearance on Koffee with Karan, host Karan Johar asked Janhvi how she dealt with the backlash. She acknowledged the potential social impact of the film’s narrative and said the experience continues to weigh on her conscience.

Janhvi Kapoor said, “I feel many people worked really hard on that film and I really didn’t know if there was anything to say. It weighs heavily on my conscience the sort of negative impact a narrative like that can have our society. Specific to my gender. That shame I will always carry with me. Could I have done more? Could I have been more vigilant? 100% yes. Was it problematic, was it extreme objectification? Did it even propagate sexual assault narratively? Yes. But the only thing I can do is ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

‘It was a violating experience’

Janhvi also explained how she struggled with the criticism and questioned whether she should have intervened more firmly. She described the challenges of navigating a film production where the script and camera angles may not always be available for actors to review in advance.

She added, “I went through the beats of really beating up myself that I should have been more vigilant. I don’t like saying this because it sounds like i am shifting blame but its like you listen to the director and what he says. I was navigating how to make things less problematic as and when information was becoming available to me. In the south, very rarely there is a bound script. very rarely do u see the camera angles. I should have taken advantage of my privilege. It was a violating experience in a way. the good thing that came out of it is that maybe next time a director will rethink twice before presenting a lead actress this way.”

Related Story: Peddi: Ram Charan’s film gets 6 minutes of new footage as controversial Janhvi Kapoor scenes are removed

Scenes That Triggered the Backlash

Peddi, featuring Ram in the titular role, casts Janhvi as Achiyamma, his love interest. Viewers questioned the character’s introduction, arguing that the sequences placed excessive emphasis on her body instead of developing her personality. Another scene drew criticism for its depiction of romance and consent.

Peddi expresses his desire to be with Achiyamma despite her lack of interest and later kisses her during a power cut without her consent.

Director’s Response, Film Undergoes Changes

Following the criticism, Buchi Babu Sana issued an apology on X, formerly Twitter, acknowledging the concerns raised by viewers. The filmmaker also confirmed that changes would be made to the portions in question.

Must Check: Janhvi Kapoor FINALLY confirms romance with Shikhar Pahariya, reveals wedding plans, watch

Buchi Babu Sana maintained that he has always respected women, both on screen and in real life, and clarified that the film was never intended to objectify or disrespect female characters. Acknowledging the audience’s concerns, he expressed regret over the portrayal and said the team had decided to revise the scenes in question after reviewing the feedback.

Novak Djokovic says retirement talk does not anger him, admits ‘it’s closer than ever’

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Novak Djokovic says retirement talk does not anger him, admits ‘it’s closer than ever’

Novak Djokovic has said he does not pay much attention to people asking him to retire from tennis, although he admits that the end of his career is approaching. The 39-year-old Serbian star says he still believes he can compete at the highest level and wants to enjoy playing for as long as possible.

WTA Novak Djokovic says retirement speculation does not anger him, but admits the end of his tennis career is closer than ever. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP) (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)
Novak Djokovic says retirement speculation does not anger him, but admits the end of his tennis career is closer than ever. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP) (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

Djokovic, who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, addressed the retirement talk in an interview with Serbian website Sportal. He was asked whether suggestions that he should leave the sport make him angry.

“Oh well, everything is there. As long as there are people, there will be speculation.

“It’s in people’s nature, and it’s not only here, but everywhere. People like to criticise, to judge, with insufficient information, but that’s not something I’m used to. I don’t pay attention. I’m not angry about that, I’m angry about some other things. Some much bigger things make me angry.”

His comments come as he prepares to compete at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, with questions about his future continuing to follow his career.

Novak Djokovic admits retirement is getting closer

Djokovic has continued to compete against younger players despite being in the later stages of his career. He won the China Open in Beijing earlier in October, claiming his first title of the 2026 season and the 102nd trophy of his career.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic drops biggest hint about future in professional tennis after US Open shocker: ‘How much longer I can…’

However, his last Grand Slam title came at the 2023 US Open. He reached the Australian Open final in 2026, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz, and also made the Wimbledon semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

The Serbian has previously spoken about retirement and acknowledged that he has started thinking about life beyond professional tennis.

Speaking at Fanatics Fest in New York in July, Djokovic said he still felt capable of competing with the best players but understood that his time on the tour would not last forever.

“I’m still feeling I can compete at the highest level, and the results are there. I can still stay a little bit active here and there (smiles), but yeah, the moment is approaching. There’s no question it’s closer than ever,” Djokovic said.

He also referred to comments from former tennis star Andre Agassi, who discussed Djokovic’s retirement in the documentary Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter.

Also Read: ‘Most stupid rule’: Novak Djokovic loses his cool, clashes with umpire and Alexander Zverev as VAR drama erupts in tense China Open win

Andre Agassi shares his thoughts on Novak Djokovic’s retirement

Agassi said he hoped Djokovic would not wait too long before ending his career, pointing to the time and effort professional tennis demands from players.

“I don’t know when the end will come for Novak, but the one thing I can say is that the end, when it does come always comes fast,” Agassi said.

“I would hope for him that he doesn’t wait for too long, not because he can’t win anymore, but because Tennis takes your childhood. But then it gives you a chance to be done with your success so that you can raise your children without the preoccupations.”

Djokovic agreed that retirement could arrive sooner than expected but said there was no simple way to decide when to stop playing.

“Of course, I would lie if I don’t have those thoughts. I do have them. And I don’t know if there’s a perfect way .”

He added that some athletes choose to leave while they are still winning, while others stop because their bodies can no longer cope or because they can no longer compete at the same level.

“So I’m still just trying to enjoy myself competing. I’m there, and we’ll have this conversation later.”

The new MacBook Pro has everything I wanted, minus one thing

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The new MacBook Pro has everything I wanted, minus one thing


Apple’s new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR is an exciting upgrade that delivers nearly every feature I was hoping for, with just one exception.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR is an exciting leap forward, and might replace the iPad Pro as my primary computer

I’ve been waiting a long time for the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR. I haven’t used a Mac as my primary computer in years, but rumors about this new model made me think that might finally change.

The iPad Pro has been my main computer of choice since 2015, but lately I’ve grown increasingly curious about revisiting the Mac full-time.

This is largely due to Apple making the Mac, to me at least, a lot more exciting than it was in 2015. The Mac’s hardware and software are advancing in compelling new ways, and today’s new MacBook Pro brings an especially big leap.

As a longtime iPad Pro user, I’ve come to expect features like touch support and OLED in a relatively thin, lightweight device. I also love how iPadOS tends to advance in lockstep with iOS, a trend that has recently started extending to macOS too.

Until recently, it seemed like Apple’s latest and greatest tech—with the exception of pro-focused chips—has been in the iPad and iPhone.

I don’t need an extremely powerful chip, as my computing needs are pretty basic. But I do value having a great display, touch support, and modern OS features like the Dynamic Island.

The MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR delivers those things. I’ve ordered one and can’t wait to give it a legitimate shot to be my full-time computer. But my biggest hesitation is the lack of cellular.

The lack of cellular is my one MacBook Pro disappointment

I use cellular all the time on my iPad Pro. I tend to work from coffee shops and random outdoor spots for at least a few hours every day. And in my experience, public Wi-Fi options aren’t reliable enough for my needs.

Having a persistent cellular connection on my iPad is a killer feature. I very much wish Apple provided the option of cellular on the MacBook Pro too.

I’m hoping that personal hotspot has become a lot more reliable since I last tried it. Apple does say its N1 wireless chip makes the feature better.

Additionally, I wonder if the need for cellular will be mitigated some by having a tablet-sized iPhone Duo in my pocket soon. So if I need to stop in the middle of nowhere and get work done quickly, maybe the Duo will suffice.

In any case, the MacBook Pro looks like a fantastic product regardless. It’s not for everyone, and the high price hurts, but I’m excited to give it a try.

What are your thoughts on the new MacBook Pro? Would you use cellular if it was offered? Let us know in the comments.

*Buy Mac with 15% discount from Apple refurbished

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The 4 biggest Amazon smart home announcements from today

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The 4 biggest Amazon smart home announcements from today

ZDNET’s key takeaways

  • Amazon just announced five new smart home devices for its lineup.
  • There’s new categories: the $230 Alexa Photo Frame and the $200 Echo Time.
  • And new Alexa Home Map creates 3D maps of your home’s interior and exterior.

Amazon announced several new smart home devices today, including two all-new device categories: the $200 Echo Time smart alarm clock and the $230 Alexa Photo Frame. Both are available now, along with an upgraded Echo Dot for $100 and a new Echo Studio with a built-in Home Camera for $250.

Also: Amazon’s new Echo Dot can turn into a Wi-Fi extender – how it works

The company’s smart home lineup also now includes a redesigned $500 Echo Show 16, which is available for preorder, with devices shipping in mid-December. Finally, Amazon announced the Alexa Home Map, which lets you create a 3D interactive map of your home’s interior and exterior.

1. Echo Time combines a smart alarm clock and home hub

The Amazon Echo Time is a new bedside companion and a definite upgrade over the Echo Spot. It’s a rounded speaker with a display and no camera, designed to be the smartest combination of alarm clock and hub available.

Also: Amazon’s new Echo Studio gives Alexa+ an AI camera to see inside your home

The Echo Time doubles as a smart home hub, since it supports Zigbee and Matter and acts as a Thread border router. It costs $200, so it’s a definite price hike compared to the Echo Spot, but it’s also a more capable speaker with hub capabilities.

2. Alexa Photo Frame displays photos and records voice notes

The Amazon Alexa Photo Frame is another first for Amazon, arriving just in time for the holidays. The photo frame consists of a 10.1-inch matte display with Alexa+ built in, made to cycle through your own collection of photos. It also allows you to search for specific photos by voice, as well as record voice notes associated with individual photos.

Amazon

The Alexa Photo Frame comes in three frame finishes, including Birch, Walnut, and Black, so it can fit in with your home decor. It costs $230 and is already available for purchase.

3. Echo Show 16, Echo Dot, and Echo Studio get upgrades

Amazon also announced some big upgrades coming to the Echo lineup. They include a redesigned Echo Show 16, a new Echo Dot, and an upgraded Echo Studio with Home Camera.

  • Amazon Echo Show 16: Entirely redesigned from the inside out, the Echo Show 16 features rounded edges, a 16-inch display, a slim tablet-like construction, and an upgraded 13-megapixel camera. The Echo Show 16 is available for preorder at $500, with devices shipping in mid-December.
  • Amazon Echo Dot (6th Gen): A fan favorite among Alexa users, the Echo Dot is a compact speaker that is getting its first major upgrade since 2022. Powered by Alexa+, the Echo Dot offers bright, full sound and acts as a smart home hub, with support for Zigbee, Matter, Thread, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
  • Amazon Echo Studio with Home Camera: The new Echo Studio aims for room-filling sound with automatic room adaptation and a camera that supports adaptive volume, so it adjusts based on where you are in the room. The 13-megapixel camera also lets you check in on your pets and home when you’re out and “show” Alexa+ items to discuss using the bot’s visual intelligence. It’s not “always-on,” but instead has to be invoked, with visual lighting effects on the front to indicate the camera is on.

4. Alexa Home Map creates a 3D view of your home and devices

The new Alexa Home Map lets you create a 3D interactive map of your home’s interior and exterior, allowing you to navigate floors, zoom into rooms, and see the locations of all your devices while controlling them in real time.

The concept isn’t a novel idea for Amazon, but the Alexa Home Map elevates the experience offered by the Amazon Alexa app’s Map View feature, which we covered at launch three years ago. Map View lets you create a basic layout of the rooms inside your home to place and tap device icons.

Amazon

Unlike Map View, which focuses on indoor smart devices within four walls, the new Alexa Home Map offers a 360-degree aerial view of your property. It uses your Ring cameras to generate animations of people and cars moving around your yard and uses the controversial Familiar Faces feature to let you know who was detected.

The Familiar Faces feature uses AI-powered facial recognition to identify individuals and save their faces so the device can recognize them when they return, raising questions about consent and privacy. It is the subject of at least one lawsuit.

Also: Alexa Tablet 12 Pro review: Forget everything you knew about Amazon tablets

You create the 3D interactive map of your home by using a compatible smartphone with a lidar feature to scan each room and then putting them together. You can then place Alexa-compatible smart home devices in each room and interact with them in real time, like turning on a light or lowering the volume on a speaker.

For the exterior of your home, enter your address, and the app will generate an Alexa Home Map of your residence using existing map data.

Alexa Home Map’s security and privacy concerns

Using integrations with compatible Alexa devices, including Echo devices, Ring and Blink cameras, Fire TV devices, and other “Works with Alexa” smart home devices, will improve your home security, Amazon says. But it also opens the door for a whole lot more surveillance of your home, both for potential bad actors and for Amazon itself.

Amazon claims that the Alexa Home Map will update dynamically in real time, gathering data from your smart devices in and around your home. As a result, it can show the color of your smart twinkle lights during the holidays, as well as animations of people and cars moving around your property.

Amazon

While having an interactive map of your devices is surely a big convenience for many smart home users, the question arises of whether that much information should be available to an outsider. Aggregating your home’s layout, smart appliances, and security devices into a 3D interface introduces its own share of privacy concerns, including exposing users to account takeovers and invasive data breaches.

A vulnerability in a single third-party smart device could theoretically be used to pivot deeper into your home network or manipulate the map interface, not to mention that the data in this 3D map will include sensitive and private behavioral patterns, like when the family leaves the home or when children return.

Also: Kindle Colorsoft review: My favorite color e-reader just got better with this thoughtful upgrade

ZDNET reached out to a cybersecurity expert to comment on the matter.

technology Maria Diaz


Maria Diaz is a staff writer with a passion for home automation, smart home devices, and tablets. With a background in graphic design, photography, and filmmaking, she has a bachelor’s in Mass Communication and experience in journalism and film.

Some Pixel Watch users report a sudden decrease in battery life

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Some Pixel Watch users report a sudden decrease in battery life

news


A surge of online reports indicates that some users are experiencing a recent increase in battery drain on their Pixel Watch, by as much as 20% every few hours.

Sometimes new software introduces extra stress on device batteries. New processes can take a toll on phone or smartwatch energy at a higher cost than expected, and that might be what’s happening with some Pixel Watch users.

It’s nowhere near a definitive trend, but it’s intriguing to see several new posts on Reddit pop up with the same complaint – their Pixel Watch’s battery is draining faster than normal (via Android Authority). One post has 65 comments, with a healthy number sharing the same concern. One user wrote that their Pixel Watch 2 is getting 12 hours of use on a full charge, instead of the normal 48 hours with AOD off.

The other user claims their Pixel Watch 4 now lasts less than a day. Their normal usage reportedly gets them up to 2.5 days. That’s high for the Pixel Watch 4, but it’s not unheard of. Both of these users dropping by 12 or 24 hours from one charge isn’t nothing.

Sporadic comments echo the same situation, but many report they haven’t noticed a difference. Timing isn’t entirely consistent across comments, either. Some say they started seeing the issue a few days ago, while others say this happened to them a while back.

Still, it might indicate a recent software update is to blame. Google’s recent September 2026 update reaches the Pixel Watch 2 and newer. It adds “Gemini Personalization,” which Google says leverages past conversations and Google apps like Gmail or Calendar to offer personalized responses. It’s also possible that the battery is affected by the recent Google Health update with automatic activity tracking, but that wouldn’t explain why the Pixel Watch 2 is having an issue.

It’s unclear if that’s playing a factor, but Google has yet to officially acknowledge the issue for these users.

What about you? Is your Pixel Watch suddenly dying in the middle of the day? The comments section is all yours.

More on Pixel:

  • Google Health 5.11 rolling out expanded 100+ activity detection to Fitbit Air, Pixel Watch
  • Google is ending support for Pixel Watch’s emergency LTE ‘Safety Signal’
  • Google Pixel’s solution to using Face Unlock in the dark seems to be just blinding you
  • Google gives Pixel 9 another year of free Satellite SOS connectivity


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Cowboys vs Eagles one big takeaway: Javonte Williams finally got the workload he deserved

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Cowboys vs Eagles one big takeaway: Javonte Williams finally got the workload he deserved

analysis

The Cowboys ran over Philadelphia in Week 7, after six weeks of the Dallas Cowboys struggling to establish a consistent running game. That inconsistency left QB Dak Prescott to carry an offense that too often became predictable.

On Monday night, Brian Schottenheimer finally committed to a different approach, and Javonte Williams showed exactly what this offense can look like when Dallas gives its running back room to work. Williams delivered a career night against the Philadelphia Eagles, rushing for 155 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys earned a much-needed 38-21 divisional victory.

Williams’ performance was not just a personal milestone. It was a reminder of what Dallas had been missing throughout the first six games of the season: a physical, dependable rushing attack capable of controlling the pace, wearing down a defense and opening opportunities for the passing game.

The Cowboys entered Monday averaging just 76 rushing yards per game, ranking near the bottom of the league. Against Philadelphia, they piled up 204 rushing yards on 38 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. That is the kind of offensive identity Dallas has been searching for, and Williams was at the center of it.

analysis Williams showed what happens when Dallas commits to the run

Williams finished the game averaging 6.2 yards per carry. His workload was just as important as his production. After receiving only 11 carries against Green Bay the previous week, Williams finally got the repeated opportunities needed to establish a rhythm and punish a defense that struggled to adjust.

The fourth-quarter numbers tell the story. Williams ripped off a 34-yard run that helped Dallas extend its lead, then continued to move the chains as the Cowboys leaned on the ground game to close out the victory. With the Eagles struggling to get off blocks, Williams repeatedly found open space and made Philadelphia pay.

Troy Aikman even pointed out just how thoroughly the Cowboys’ offensive line had won the battle up front. On one run, left guard Tyler Smith was left looking for someone to block as the running back raced past him into the open field. It was a striking image of the control Dallas had established at the line of scrimmage. It feels like forever since we’ve seen that.

Williams deserves plenty of credit for taking advantage of those openings. He ran with decisiveness, showed the acceleration to turn successful blocks into explosive gains and continued to make positive plays as the game wore on. But the performance was also a testament to the offensive line, which created the kind of running lanes that had been largely absent during the Cowboys’ early-season struggles.

analysis The running game made life easier for Dak Prescott

The most important consequence of Williams’ performance may have been what it did for the rest of the offense. After Prescott threw four interceptions across the previous two games, Dallas needed a more balanced attack that did not require its quarterback to manufacture every scoring opportunity.

Prescott responded with 212 passing yards, three touchdown passes and zero interceptions, finishing with a 118.1 passer rating. He connected with CeeDee Lamb for two touchdowns and George Pickens for another, while the running game forced Philadelphia to respect the possibility of a handoff on every possession. Dallas finished with 416 total yards and scored on seven of its nine possessions. That is a significant improvement for an offense that had scored just 29 combined points in its previous two games.

The balance was the difference. When Williams and the offensive line consistently gained yards on the ground, Prescott did not have to drop back and face an obvious passing situation on every important down. The Cowboys could use play-action, attack mismatches and give their receivers more opportunities to make plays against a defense that could no longer focus exclusively on the passing game.

Williams had his first game of the season with more than 20 carries, and Dallas looked far more comfortable offensively as a result. It is a reminder that play-calling is not only about finding the perfect individual play. It is also about giving your best players enough opportunities to influence the game. Williams had been productive in scoring situations before Monday, but he had not consistently received the volume needed to take over a game, until Monday.

analysis This needs to become the Cowboys’ identity

One victory does not erase the problems Dallas showed in its first six games. The Cowboys still have to prove they can execute consistently, avoid costly penalties and produce this kind of performance against opponents that aren’t as banged up as the 2026 Eagles.

Even so, the Eagles still had much of their starting defensive front and secondary available, including Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Yet Philadelphia failed to record a sack, a quarterback hit or a tackle for loss against the Cowboys’ offense. Dallas controlled the line of scrimmage, protected Prescott and repeatedly created opportunities for Williams to make explosive plays.

Williams’ career night was the headline, but the larger takeaway is about how Dallas should operate moving forward. The Cowboys have the talent to be dangerous through the air, and Prescott remains capable of producing big numbers when the offense is functioning properly. What they needed was a way to make the entire offense work together. Against Philadelphia, they found it.

Now the challenge is to make sure this was not simply a one-night breakthrough. If Williams continues to receive a meaningful workload and the offensive line keeps creating room to run, the Cowboys have a much clearer path toward becoming the balanced offense they expected to be when the season began.

NASA nears end of space station solar array upgrade with Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 spacewalks

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NASA nears end of space station solar array upgrade with Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 spacewalks

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A still from a NASA animation depicts Anil Menon transporting the rolled up, folded IROSA solar array to its install position. Image: NASA.

NASA is two spacewalks away from completing a major, years-long upgrade to the International Space Station that will power the orbiting lab through to its planned decommissioning in 2030.

More than five years after the upgrade work first began in earnest, NASA astronaut Anil Menon, 43, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, 44, are scheduled to depart the station’s Quest airlock at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC) Thursday to install and unfurl the seventh of eight International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, or IROSAs.

The compact, high-efficiency panels are designed to make up for power lost as the station’s original solar wings have degraded over more than two decades in orbit. Spaceflight Now will carry live coverage of the spacewalk starting at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 UTC).

If all goes to plan, Menon and Kutryk will venture back into the vacuum of space Nov. 5 to install the eighth and final array, capping an upgrade campaign that began in 2021. NASA says the eight IROSA arrays will raise the station’s available power from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts, supporting critical operations through the outpost’s final years, including its “safe and controlled deorbit” after it is retired in 2030.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon (left) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk. Image: NASA.

“Overall, these roll-out arrays increase our power generation capability up to 30 percent,” Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager for NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program, said during an Oct. 20 briefing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Thursday’s outing, which marks the 285th spacewalk devoted to station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, is planned to last about six hours and 45 minutes. It will be Menon’s fourth excursion outside the ISS airlock and the first for Kutryk. During Thursday’s spacewalk and on Nov. 5, Menon is scheduled to perform a series of complex maneuvers atop to the station’s robotic arm to transport the final IROSA arrays into position for roll out.

Menon, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and emergency physician, has made his three prior spacewalks since July when he arrived at the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz.
Kutryk, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel and test pilot who boarded the ISS Oct. 1 as part of SpaceX’s Crew-13 mission, will become the fifth Canadian astronaut to walk in space and the first since David Saint-Jacques in 2019.

Technicians work on the final pair of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) during prelaunch processing at the Kennedy Space Center in August. Image: NASA.

The pair of final IROSA solar wings arrived at the station rolled up and folded on a carrier in the unpressurized trunk of a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule after receiving a boost to orbit from a Falcon 9 rocket launched Oct. 13 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Each IROSA assembly weighs about 750 pounds, said Garrett Hehn, the spacewalk flight director, who is leading the operation with flight director Greg Whitney.

After Menon and Kutryk free the first array from the carrier Thursday, Menon will lock his boots into a foot restraint on the end of the station’s Canadian-made robotic arm — Canadarm2 — and ride it, array in hand, out to the left, or port, side of the station’s main truss. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney will fly the arm from inside the station while Kutryk makes his way to the installation site along the truss.

While in transit, the arm will pivot around the IROSA assembly’s center of mass, rather than Menon’s, one direction at a time — a lesson learned from earlier installs meant to make the work “a little less tiring” for the astronaut holding it, Hehn said.

While the rolled up array is weightless in space, it still carries 750 pounds of inertia.

Once the IROSA is bolted to an awaiting mounting bracket astronauts installed during a March spacewalk, Menon and Kutryk will swing it open, doubling its length from about 10 feet to 20 feet. Hehn called that step “one of our key points of the EVA,” or extravehicular activity.

Once in place the two rolled-up solar arrays are unfolded, as seen in a still from a NASA animation. Image: NASA.

Menon and Kutryk then must lock the two halves in place and connect the new array’s power cables to the station while it’s in Earth’s shadow, when none of its solar panels are generating electricity.

“We can’t have any sun on the arrays whenever we’re handling those hot cables,” Hehn explained.

Finally, the astronauts will release the last restraints and let the IROSA array unroll on its own over about 10 minutes — no motors required — thanks to energy stored in carbon-fiber composite booms. Hehn likened the panels to a snap bracelet that, once released, “just continues rolling out steadily.”

Space shuttles delivered the station’s eight original solar wings, which were designed to last 15 years, between 2000 and 2009. Rather than replacing them outright, NASA opted to mount the smaller IROSA arrays, which generate about 8 kilowatts of electricity each, in front of the old wings, allowing the original panels’ unshaded portions to keep producing power.

The first IROSA unfurled in June 2021, though not without a fight: A spacesuit glitch and an array that wouldn’t unfold cleanly forced astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet to finish the job on a second spacewalk. Six arrays were in place by June 2023, and NASA ordered an additional pair that summer.

A view from the approaching CRS-35 Cargo Dragon shows the International Space Station in October 2026. The previously installed iROSA solar arrays are visible in front the station’s larger original solar panels. Image: NASA/SpaceX.

The Nov. 5 spacewalk will take the eighth and final array to the far right end of the station’s main truss, beyond the reach of its robotic arm. As during Thursday’s EVA, Menon will ferry the array atop the robotic arm as far as it will take him, but to cover the last stretch, he and Kutryk will pass the array between foot restraints in a maneuver Hehn said the team “lovingly” calls “the leapfrog.”

As with all spacewalks, the work carries risk. NASA’s spacesuits date to a design first flown in 1983 and are responsible for providing critical life support in the harsh environment of low earth orbit, where temperatures fluctuate between 250 degrees Fahrenheit in sunlight to minus 250 degrees in darkness during each 90-minute orbit.

A NASA inspector general audit last year flagged aging hardware and thin supplies of spare-parts as potential safety weak spots.

Collisions between a spacewalking astronaut and space debris as small as a grain of sand can prove “life threatening,” according to NASA, due to the sheer speeds involved: The ISS and the astronauts orbiting the Earth with it are already traveling at about 17,500 mph, and collisions with space debris in low earth orbit average about 22,000 mph, or 10 kilometers per second, according to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility.

Hehn said Oct. 20 that the suits are “not entirely redundant” and acknowledged they are aging, “which means we know they have some quirks.”

“Our primary goal is to keep the crew safe,” he said.

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Betelgeuse’s Atmosphere is Back to Normal after Great Dimming Event, New Radio Observations Show

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Betelgeuse’s Atmosphere is Back to Normal after Great Dimming Event, New Radio Observations Show

New radio observations with NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) show the red supergiant star’s outer atmosphere has rebounded and hint that its recently identified companion star is reshaping it.

nature This artist’s illustration shows the smaller, hotter companion star Siwarha creating a wake-like disruption in Betelgeuse’s outer atmosphere as it orbits directly through it. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NRAO / M. Weiss.

This artist’s illustration shows the smaller, hotter companion star Siwarha creating a wake-like disruption in Betelgeuse’s outer atmosphere as it orbits directly through it. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NRAO / M. Weiss.

Betelgeuse, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, is an 8-million-year-old red supergiant located approximately 724 light-years away from Earth.

With a radius around 1,400 times larger than the Sun’s, the star is one of the biggest stars known.

Also known as HD 39801, Alpha Orionis or Alpha Ori, it is also one of the most luminous stars known, emitting more light than 100,000 Suns.

In 2019 and 2020, Betelgeuse underwent its most dramatic dimming in more than a century of records.

Dubbed the Great Dimming, the event has since been attributed to a surface mass ejection.

Dr. Lynn Matthews of MIT Haystack Observatory and colleagues used VLA and ALMA telescopes to image the star at seven radio frequencies between 2021 and 2026.

“It was the combination of the incredible data from the VLA and ALMA that gave us a convincing result here,” Dr. Matthews said.

“The fact that we can use these facilities to actually resolve the disks of nearby stars is amazing.”

Just before the Great Dimming, VLA data from August 2019 showed the star’s atmosphere at its coolest in three decades at 44 GHz.

The new VLA data show that at 22 and 44 GHz the brightness temperature has returned to typical values.

The peak, about 3,500 K at 22 GHz, now matches the star’s photospheric temperature.

The peak also appears at a slightly larger radius than before, about 2.7 stellar radii compared with roughly 2.5 in studies before 2016.

According to the astronomers, this is consistent with a change in the atmosphere’s density structure but cannot prove the Great Dimming caused it.

Because higher frequencies probe deeper layers, the ALMA data let them map temperature from the outer atmosphere inward.

The brightness temperature falls steadily from about 3,500 K at 2.7 stellar radii to about 2,220 K at 1.2 radii, confirming a temperature minimum between the star’s visible surface and its hotter chromosphere.

Betelgeuse has a long-known 2,100-day variability cycle, which two independent studies recently attributed to Siwarha, a companion orbiting within the star’s extended atmosphere.

Dr. Matthews and co-authors did not detect the companion directly, so they looked instead for its effects on the star’s shape.

Betelgeuse appears nearly round in radio images, with ellipticity of 10% or less in all bands. But when they plotted ellipticity against the companion’s predicted orbital phase, using their own data plus three earlier measurements, it was largest near the companion’s greatest apparent separation from the star and close to zero when the companion crosses in front of or behind it.

This suggests the companion may be shaping the atmosphere near where the stellar wind is launched.

“This companion is orbiting so close to the star that it actually passes through its extended atmosphere,” Dr. Matthews said.

“Like a jet boat tearing through a lake, it’s likely leaving a wake in its path as the smaller star rips through the atmosphere.”

“And as the new spatially resolved observations of Betelgeuse show, Siwarha’s presence is producing observable effects.”

The findings were published in the Astronomical Journal.

_____

L.D. Matthews et al. 2026. New Spatially Resolved Observations of Betelgeuse from the VLA and ALMA: Evidence for Atmospheric Perturbations from a Close Companion. AJ 172, 184; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ae953d

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Atiku faults FG’s ₦70,000 transport allowance for workers

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Atiku faults FG’s ₦70,000 transport allowance for workers

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s planned ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance for public service workers, describing it as inadequate to cushion the impact of rising living costs on Nigerian households.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate in the 2027 election, said the allowance, scheduled to run for six months from November 2026, would do little to address the broader economic difficulties facing workers, businesses and families.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the intervention failed to address rising costs of food, electricity, rent and other essential goods and services.

He said the allowance was insufficient, noting that at an assumed petrol price of about ₦1,400 per litre, ₦70,000 would purchase approximately 50 litres of petrol.

“At about ₦1,400 per litre, ₦70,000 buys roughly 50 litres of petrol. What meaningful difference can 50 litres make over an entire month?” he asked.

The former vice-president accused the government of responding to economic hardship with temporary payments rather than addressing the underlying causes of rising living costs.

“The Tinubu administration is scrambling from one announcement to another, showing its failure to grasp the crisis. The cost of living crisis reaches beyond transport: energy, food, rent and other essentials affect every part of daily life,” he added.

He argued that the intervention would leave out a significant proportion of Nigerians, including private-sector employees, traders, small-business owners, transport operators and people working in the informal economy.

“If public service workers receive ₦70,000 monthly for transport from November, what happens to private sector workers, traders, small businesses, transport operators and millions without formal jobs?

“The public workforce is only a fraction of Nigeria’s population. A temporary allowance for some cannot solve a national crisis,” he argued.

He also called on the Federal Government to clarify the payment schedule and eligibility criteria for the allowance, while expressing concern over what he described as the unresolved effective date for a new minimum wage.

Atiku urged the government to provide clear information on when wage negotiations would produce a decision, arguing that workers needed lasting improvements in their earnings rather than temporary assistance.

He acknowledged that the allowance could provide some relief but maintained that its six-month duration would not reverse the economic pressures facing households and businesses.

“Any genuine relief is welcome, but a six month allowance cannot undo this hardship,” he said.

The ADC chieftain also faulted the government’s fuel and transport interventions, including its compressed natural gas programme, arguing that they had failed to deliver the promised relief to Nigerians.

He described the announcements as a recurring pattern of temporary measures that had not significantly reduced the cost of commuting or operating businesses.

“These rushed announcements smack of political bribery and corruption. Tinubu has shown no genuine intention of clearing the monumental mess caused by his hasty subsidy removal. He offers temporary payments instead of confronting the consequences,” Atiku stated

He further criticised the removal of petrol subsidy, insisting that the administration should reconsider its approach to fuel pricing and adopt policies capable of lowering costs for consumers.

Atiku proposed a transparently managed production subsidy for fuel refined in Nigeria, which he said could provide relief at the pump while supporting domestic refining.

“Tinubu must not punish 250 million Nigerians for the corruption and leakages of a few thousand,” he said.

The former vice-president maintained that the government should prioritise policies that reduce the cost of living, increase household incomes and make businesses more affordable to operate.

“What Nigerians are witnessing is a government that set the house ablaze with its reckless policies, then pretends to fight the inferno by throwing ice cubes at the flames,” he said.

The Federal Government’s planned transport allowance comes amid continued pressure on household budgets following the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 and subsequent increases in transport and other living costs.

The subsidy removal, alongside exchange-rate reforms, has contributed to higher prices across several sectors, although the extent of the impact varies by location and household circumstances.

The government has introduced various measures aimed at cushioning the effects of the reforms, including transport-related interventions and the promotion of CNG as a cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel.

However, the adequacy, reach and implementation of such measures have remained subjects of debate among political parties, labour groups and other stakeholders.

Atiku said his campaign would pursue policies aimed at lowering living costs, increasing household incomes and restoring the dignity of work.

“Nigerians need lasting relief, decent wages and an economy that rewards honest work. When will life become affordable again?” he asked.

James Hird joins AI firm after missing out on Essendon coaching job

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James Hird joins AI firm after missing out on Essendon coaching job

AFL great James Hird has taken a full-time job with a Melbourne artificial intelligence company – two months after Essendon chose Mark McVeigh over him as senior coach.

The Brownlow medallist will run a new sports division at Affinda, which is backed by Toll founder and former Essendon chairman Paul Little. Hird will keep his role as director of coaching at VFL club Port Melbourne, which he does after hours and on weekends.

James Hird has been appointed global head of Affinda Sports, an Australian AI company.Joe Armao

“This is very much a full-time role, but I will continue my role with Port because it’s something I love,” Hird told this masthead.

“I was disappointed, you know, thoroughly disappointed,” he said of missing out on the Essendon job. After the decision, he sat down with Affinda chief executive Tim Toner. “I was sort of like, well, why don’t we create something in sport that hasn’t really been done.”

Founded in Melbourne in 2012 and run by Toner and his brother, Ben, Affinda sells software that pulls information out of documents, as well as software that law firms use to compare contracts. Toner said it had customers in 85 countries.

It was valued at $220 million after raising $25 million in February, The Australian Financial Review reported. Little put $15 million into that round.

Ex-Essendon president Paul Little says there is already some optimism in the business community.Getty

Asked whether Little had a role in his hiring, Hird said: “Not so much bringing me in, but when I spoke to Paul maybe a year ago about AI and sport, he mentioned that, would I like an introduction to Tim.” Hird said he “put my hand up and said yes, please”.

Little became Essendon chairman in 2013 and backed Hird through the 12-month ban he accepted from the AFL that year under a settlement over the club’s supplements program.

Asked why clubs should trust him with their performance data given the supplements saga, Hird pointed to security. “The data is kept on their servers and with them, we’re providing a tool that they can use within their club and within their safety and within their security,” he said.

(Left to right) James Hird and Affinda CEO Tim Toner.Joe Armao

Toner said Affinda already had “multiple customers” among sporting organisations in Australia and overseas, but would not name them. “In the sporting world, there’s a lot more sensitivity around disclosure, particularly around what they’re doing with AI,” he said.

He said sporting organisations had been approaching the company for about 18 months. Affinda initially paid them less attention than its corporate clients, he said, until bigger and better-known clubs started asking what AI could do.

Hird said he had been using AI at a basic level for about 18 months, in his coaching and in analysing games for television. As he and Toner talked, he said, the possible uses grew. “The use cases just sort of bounced from five to 50.”

Clubs already collect GPS data, Champion Data statistics, gym results, daily wellness data and training and match vision, he said, and AI could help bring it together. He recalled 8am meetings as a coach, deciding which players could train and how much: “Can they have 100 kicks, can they have 20 kicks, can they have 50 kicks.”

It could help on game day, too. “In a coaches’ box, it’s very chaotic, and if you can reduce some of that chaos and some of that noise, there’s no doubt you can think more clearly as a coach,” he said.

When Hird started playing, he said, “the only data you got was your kicks, marks and handballs”. He described Affinda’s work as “complementary” to Champion Data, the AFL’s official statistics provider, which is 49 per cent owned by the league.

Toner said clubs that moved early would pull ahead. “I think what we’ll see in the next 12 months is the first mover advantage is real,” he said. “I think there’ll be a lot of clubs and teams playing catch-up if they’re not really at the front of that wave.”

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results David SwanDavid Swan is the technology editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor for The Australian newspaper.Connect via X or email.

Why Joe Roff says it no longer feels right to call footy players courageous

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Why Joe Roff says it no longer feels right to call footy players courageous

Joe Roff is well known in Canberra for his rugby career and his work as chief executive officer of the John James Foundation.

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What is less well known is the shadow that cancer casts across three generations of his family.

Joe Roff says whatever member of his extended family is facing cancer, the whole family will be supporting them in the fight. Picture by Keegan Carroll

After taking to the field as both a Wallaby and a Brumby, when heroes are often mentioned in the sporting realm, Mr Roff said his extended family’s experience with cancer had redefined what courage means to him.

“There’s this false definition of courage about going out to play footy, compared to when you are actually dealing with things that are serious in life and that actually do matter,” he said.

“I’ve redefined what courage means when I look at my cousins and how they’re dealing with this and my uncles who are advocating and speaking publicly about this to build awareness.”

On Wednesday night, Mr Roff for the first time publicly shared that 17 members of his extended family, across three generations, carry genes that put them at a heightened risk of developing cancer.

Thankfully, Mr Roff is not affected by the gene mutation, nor are his own children. His brother Jake died in 2015 at the age of 41 from brain cancer, but that was not due to anything genetic.

“My brother’s death is what’s called a ‘general population cancer’. There was no rhyme or reason as to why that happened and it was just extremely unlucky. If you look at our family as a forest of trees, someone came in and chopped down a big oak, which was Jake,” he said.

“Genetic cancer is a bit like someone come into that family forest with a flamethrower and hit a whole lot of trees.”

The people living with the increased risk of cancer due to genetics are Mr Roff’s much-loved uncles and cousins.

Joe Roff’s five uncles all inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation. His father, Glenn, was the only one of the six brothers who did not. Picture by Keegan Carroll

On Wednesday night, he spoke at a dinner at the Hotel Realm for Inherited Cancers Australia, of how the BRCA1 gene mutation affected 17 members of his family including men and women.

The BRCA1 mutation stands for the breast cancer gene 1 mutation which increases the risk of people developing cancers such as breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic.

His grandparents carried the BRCA1 gene and five of their six sons did as well.

The only brother to escape the gene was Mr Roff’s own father, Glenn.

All the brothers are still alive, including Glenn, the oldest, who is 77.

Mr Roff spoke about his family’s experience as Inherited Cancers Australia launched a campaign to make Australia “a world leader in preventing cancers caused by inherited risk”.

For the large and extended Roff family, genetic testing has been critical.

Joe Roff in 2001 in his Brumbies playing days. Picture by Adam McLean

“That knowledge has meant people in our family have had to make life-changing decisions about screening, surgery and how to manage their risk,” he said.

“One of my uncles was diagnosed with prostate cancer through PSA testing because he knew he was at increased risk. Thankfully, it was detected early.

“Another cousin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she undertook her risk-reducing surgery.

“That’s why we need more people to understand inherited cancer risk and make sure families have the information and support they need.”

‘People need pathways’

Inherited Cancers Australia chief executive Sarah Powell said up to one in 100 Australians lived with an inherited cancer risk, yet her organisation had “no sustained funding”.

The new campaign launched in Canberra on Wednesday night – Ahead of Cancer – would bring together health professionals from across the nation to identify where the gaps were in supporting people with inherited cancers and to “drive meaningful change”.

“Genetic testing can provide life-changing information, but knowing your risk is only the beginning. People need clear pathways and support beyond the test so the value of genetic testing can be realised,” Ms Powell said.

“Right now, there are people who develop cancer while waiting for preventive surgery, there’s significant out-of-pocket costs and uncertainty about who is responsible for their ongoing care.

“We have the knowledge and the tools to prevent some cancers and save lives. What we are missing is a nationally coordinated approach to making that prevention possible.”

Mr Roff said young adult members of his extended family were having to be made aware of the risk to them of cancer and have tough conversations about any preventive measures that might need to be taken.

“There’s child-bearing implications, there’s decisions around preventative operations – mastectomies, hysterectomies, various other procedures – that will support your chances of a longer life expectancy as a result but they’re really difficult decisions to make in your 20s,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Roff proudly supported his uncles who in their later years were becoming advocates for people with inherited cancers.

“Blokes are not the best talkers, particularly that generation. That generation are very stoic and very closed and get on with things,” he said.

“I’ve been very proud of their courage to address the issue directly, both publicly and within the family.”

All six Roff brothers and their families – more than 100 people – will gather soon to celebrate Christmas together. Grateful for another year. And grateful for each other.

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STING OPERATION: SA ‘refugee’ in US faces decades behind bars on child sexual exploitation charges

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STING OPERATION: SA ‘refugee’ in US faces decades behind bars on child sexual exploitation charges

A 28-year-old South African “refugee” who was arrested in the United States following an online vigilante sting operation has been formally indicted on 11 criminal charges involving child sexual abuse material, potentially exposing him to decades in prison if convicted.

Arno Andries Francois Venter was arrested on 16 October in North Olmsted, a suburb of Cleveland in the US state of Ohio, following a filmed interaction with members of the controversial vigilante group Predator Poachers at the Walmart supermarket where he worked.

An unnamed US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed Venter’s arrest to Daily Maverick on Wednesday in an email that referred to Venter as “a criminal alien from South Africa”.

Ohio court records obtained by Daily Maverick reveal that the prosecution has escalated considerably since Venter’s arrest.

Venter’s police mugshot along with his booking sheet following his arrest in Ohio. (Source: Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts)

On 21 October, a grand jury in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, formally indicted Venter on 11 counts: five of “pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor”, five involving the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or a performance, and one of “possessing criminal tools”.

“Pandering”, in this sense in Ohio law, refers to the creation, recording, reproduction or publication of material depicting children being sexually abused. The offence does not require the accused to have personally filmed or photographed the abuse.

The charge of “possessing criminal tools” relates to having an object or device with the intention of using it to commit a crime: in this context possibly a mobile phone or laptop.

The 10 charges involving minors are all classified as second-degree felonies under Ohio law. Each carries a potential prison sentence of up to 12 years under the state’s sentencing system.

If convicted on all counts, with maximum sentences ordered to run consecutively rather than concurrently, Venter could face a maximum of 85 years in prison.

Venter’s official criminal case summary from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. (Source: Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts)

‘Refugee’ life exploded in one hour

Venter’s new life in the US came crashing down four months to the day after he arrived.

The DHS told Daily Maverick that he “lawfully entered the United States on June 16, 2026”. The department refused to confirm Venter’s refugee status even after being asked twice.

Questions sent by Daily Maverick to both the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and the Amerikaners group, which helps process and refer would-be South African refugees for the US government, went unanswered.

The US embassy in Pretoria, meanwhile, said only the DHS could comment.

When asked on camera whether he was part of the US refugee programme for South Africans, however, Venter explicitly confirmed it.

“I’m a refugee,” Venter is shown on video telling Predator Poachers founder Alex Rosen on 16 October, shortly after Rosen entered the Walmart store where Venter was a uniformed employee to confront him.

“Is it really that bad over there?” asks Rosen.

“Ja, it is,” Venter responds.

A three-minute clip of the Predator Poachers’ ambush of Venter at his workplace has gone viral on South African social media, but the full video of the sting operation, available only to paid subscribers, is more than an hour long. 

The video, seen in full by Daily Maverick, shows Rosen persuading Venter to talk to him initially outside Walmart and subsequently inside a Predator Poachers’ team vehicle, all while being recorded. 

Venter tells Rosen that he is from Gauteng and came to the US as a refugee with his brothers, with whom he says he lives in Cleveland.

From the residential address given on Venter’s original arrest docket, Daily Maverick was able to locate the specific property in which the 28-year-old was registered as living when detained by police, thanks to a 2024 real estate listing.

The Cleveland address at which Venter was recorded as living in his original arrest warrant. (Photo: Zillow)

The 3-bedroom Cleveland property Venter was allegedly sharing with his brothers was described in the 2024 listing as a “traditional colonial home” which “needs some work and updating but has a lot of potential”.

Among its features were a “side porch plus 2 car garage”.

Asked by Rosen if he had been a farmer in South Africa, Venter replied: “I did farming, yes, and later I go on to retail.”

An increasingly anxious and sweating Venter refused to give Rosen many further details of his life in South Africa or to be drawn on his feelings about the US, beyond observing that the food in both countries was “the same”.

Child sexual exploitation allegedly started in SA

In the video, Rosen does not initially disclose the purpose of the interaction or his identity, with Venter seeming to comply with his request to “talk” out of sheer confusion.

When Rosen confronts Venter with print-outs of sexually explicit messages allegedly sent by Venter to a minor, however, and repeatedly interrogates the South African about his online activities, it does not take long for Venter to start confessing.

Venter admits to Rosen on camera that he receives and forwards child sexual abuse material on his phone daily.

“Not more than 100 videos a day,” he says, before amending this: “Not more than 50.”

Venter also admits to specifically seeking out videos featuring babies being sexually abused.

“I’m aiming to find them so that I have the rare stuff,” he says.

Asked by Rosen what age he considered a “baby”, Venter replied: “Younger than when they start walking.”

Venter tells Rosen that his viewing and distributing of child sexual abuse materials has been going on “for a few years”.

Based on messages Rosen says he obtained from Venter’s ongoing communication with a 15-year-old boy, Venter allegedly also discussed abuse he had personally perpetrated on “younger kids”.

Rosen asks: “Back in South Africa, there’s a girl called Natasha who you babysat…”

Before he can finish, Venter angrily interrupts: “That’s all a lie!”

Rosen does not pursue the topic.

Presumably finally understanding where this interaction is leading, Venter appears to try to barter with Rosen by telling him: “I can get you a lot of usernames”, referring to the online community with whom he shares child sexual abuse material.

After just under an hour of this exchange, Rosen persuades Venter to re-enter the Walmart store, where police are shown immediately arresting him. A shell-shocked Venter admits to police that he has explicit images of minors on his mobile phone and hands them his device.

Case raises questions about SA ‘refugee’ vetting

Daily Maverick could find no evidence that Venter had been arrested or prosecuted in South Africa before moving to the US.

His arrest will, however, raise questions about the robustness of the vetting of South Africans admitted under the Trump administration’s controversial refugee programme, which has operated at a dramatically accelerated pace compared with ordinary US refugee admissions.

Under the conventional US Refugee Admissions Program, applicants undergo extensive background checks involving multiple government agencies, including the FBI and US intelligence services. These include fingerprint and biometric screening, checks against criminal and security databases, and interviews with immigration officers.

In 2023, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that the average refugee application took approximately four years to process.

By contrast, an October 2025 investigation by the Washington Post reported that security and biometric screening for many Afrikaner refugee applicants was being completed in as little as a week. The US State Department acknowledged the accelerated processing, telling the publication that the programme was operating “at record speed while upholding the highest standards”.

The SA Police Service had not responded at the time of writing to a question from Daily Maverick about whether the police were still assisting the US refugee programme with criminal checks, as was reportedly the case when the programme launched.

According to the Amerikaners website, would-be South African refugees must provide details of their social media accounts covering the previous five years, with its official interview questionnaire requesting usernames, account histories and posting frequency.

If this was done thoroughly, it is unclear how Venter slipped through the cracks, since Rosen alleged in his interview that Venter was freely communicating with his contacts through a TikTok account in his real name.

Court records indicate that Venter was released on bail of $5,000 on 23 October, although it is not clear whether he remains subject to any separate immigration detention or enforcement proceedings.

Venter’s next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 3 November. DM

Russell Brand takes witness stand for first time in sexual assault trial

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Russell Brand takes witness stand for first time in sexual assault trial

Russell Brand testified in his defence during his ongoing rape and sexual assault trial on Wednesday.

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor began giving evidence in his trial, which is now in its third week, at Southwark Crown Court in London.

The 51-year-old is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one charge of attempted indecent assault. He has consistently denied the charges, and repeated those denials in court on Wednesday.

When asked if consent was important to him, Brand told the court, “Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed in many ways more important than sex itself.”

During his testimony, the comedian told his defence barrister Ian Winter KC that the 2023 Dispatches documentary, which included some allegations against him, had a “devastating” impact on his life and his friends won’t touch him with a bargepole, with nobody agreeing to testify on his behalf.

Brand also claimed that because of the documentary and newspaper reports, he was not allowed to stay with his son at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital after he had open-heart surgery.

“Due to material that had been published in the public eye, they had to bar my attendance and presence,” he alleged. “They were unclear about what legal reason there was but that was the reason they gave to my wife Laura (Gallacher) and I.”

According to BBC News, he added, “My entire life has been consumed by these allegations. I have devoted myself to these matters.”

The charges relate to six female complainants and alleged incidents between 1999 and 2009.

Brand was taken through the separate allegations. He denied raping a woman in a Bournemouth hotel room in 1999, and denied grabbing a woman’s breasts before dragging her into a toilet and orally raping her in a London bar in 2004.

The Get Him to the Greek star also insisted he didn’t intend for a non-consensual sexual encounter when he allegedly tried to drag an MTV employee into a toilet at work in 2001. He also denied raping a woman at his Hampstead home in 2009 following a prior consensual sexual encounter.

The trial continues.

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