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Product Reviews

7 Best MagSafe Phone Grips (2025), Tested and Reviewed
Product Reviews

7 Best MagSafe Phone Grips (2025), Tested and Reviewed

by admin October 4, 2025


MagSafe grips are hardly the only type of phone grips available. In fact, there are four main other types of grips you can buy.

Cases with attached grips. These are cases with a grip attached to the back. You get a strong and durable grip that will never fall off, but the trade-off is a thicker phone, and these cases typically are incompatible with wireless charging and may not work with other MagSafe accessories.

Clamp-style grips. Also called universal phone grips, these clamp to a phone so you can easily take them on and off, and they’re not limited to a particular kind of phone. The downside is they’re not the fastest to take on and off, and they can sometimes slide up and down the phone.

Adhesive grips. You can stick a phone grip to the back of your phone or case, and while this will typically give you a well-attached grip that likely won’t fall off your phone, the downsides are similar to cases with attached grips. It may block features like wireless charging and restrict you from using other accessories.

MagSafe grips. These grips are all about convenience. You can easily take them on and off, but they only work with devices or cases with built-in magnets. While you can dangle a phone from a MagSafe grip without issue, any additional force could cause the magnets to separate and fling your phone to the ground.



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Product Reviews

Ray-Ban Meta, GoPro Max 2 and more

by admin October 4, 2025


If you prefer some variety in your review roundups, we cover quite the gamut this time. The headliner is the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but we’ve recently tested a powerful gaming laptop, two action cameras and a wireless mouse (yep, still need those). Catch up on all the reviews we’ve published over the last two weeks by scrolling down below.

Ray-Ban Meta

Engadget

Meta’s second-generation smart glasses are becoming a genuinely useful accessory.

Pros

  • Noticeably better battery life
  • YouTuber-friendly 3K video
  • Meta AI translations are a game-changer for travel

Cons

  • Framing POV photos and video is still a challenge
  • Pricey lens upgrades

$379 at Meta

While the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses may look similar to the original model, a lot has changed in terms of features. There are also two big upgrades over the last version: battery life and video quality. “The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a lot of features that didn’t exist when I first reviewed them two years ago, largely thanks to AI,” senior editor Karissa Bell said. “And with the release of its second-generation frames, there’s still a lot to look forward to, like new camera features and AI-powered audio.”

Alienware 16 Area-51

Alienware / Engadget

While it is a bit pricey at $2,000 to start, the Alienware 16 Area-51 sports top-notch components, a bright display, a clicky mechanical keyboard and a slick re-interpretation of the company’s signature intergalactic design.

Pros

  • Unique design
  • Strong performance
  • Clicky mechanical keyboard
  • Lots of ports

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Big and heavy
  • More display options would be nice

$2,000 at Dell

If you’re in the market for a powerful gaming laptop with a unique design, the Alienware 16 Area-51 might be for you. Of course, you’ll have to live with a machine that ‘s big and heavy — and also expensive. “Even though the Alienware 16 Area-51 might not be as portable as some of its rivals, it’s got a lot to offer,” senior reviews writer Sam Rutherford wrote. “There’s a striking design, a nice screen (though more options would be nice), tons of ports and class-leading performance with plenty of configurability so you can dial in its specs exactly how you like.”

GoPro Max 2

GoPro/Engadget

GoPro’s Max 2 is a worthy competitor to DJI and Insta360 with a focus on image quality and effective editing tools to make clips you might actually want to share.

Pros

  • “True” 8K 10-bit GP-Log video
  • Replaceable lenses
  • Simple in-app editing
  • Works with Bluetooth mics

Cons

  • Stitch lines are sometimes present
  • No onboard storage

$500 at Amazon

GoPro’s new product this fall wasn’t another Hero action camera. Instead, the company opted to take the 360 route, debuting the Max 2 for spherical videos. “With a mix of pro features like Timecode, GP-Log (with LUTs) alongside mobile-focused editing, GoPro clearly hopes the Max 2 will appeal to demanding and casual users alike,” contributor James Trew observed. “The company has also focused heavily on improving the user experience rather than going for pure technological advances and after a week or so of testing, that feels like a sensible move.”

DJI Osmo Nano

DJI/Engadget

The Osmo Nano is DJI’s first mini action cam designed to take on Insta360’s Go 3S and Go Ultra. Video quality is a bit better than those rivals, but it’s still missing a few features.

Pros

  • Tiny size
  • Log and 10-bit video
  • DJI Mic compatibility
  • Generous built-in memory

Cons

  • Video editing app falls short
  • Poor stabilization in low light
  • Vlog mode is less convenient than rivals

$299 at Amazon

In case you missed it, tiny action cameras with detachable displays are a thing now. DJI’s first attempt at one of these products takes direct aim at Insta360’s duo of Go models. And despite better video quality than the competition, there’s still work to be done for the Osmo Nano. “With the Nano, DJI leaned on its camera experience and mostly matches or beats its main rival in terms of video quality,” reporter Steve Dent said. “However, the company is still lagging behind in a few areas, particularly its editing app — something that’s important for many creators.”

Logitech MX Master 4

Three years after releasing the MX Master 3S, Logitech is back with another update to its productivity mouse. Shopping for the new version isn’t exactly a straightforward endeavor though. “The MX Master 4 may not be a essential upgrade if you’re happy with an older MX Master mouse, and if those didn’t work for you before, this one probably won’t work for you now,” senior buying advice reporter Jeff Dunn wrote. “But if you’re a power user in the market for a new productivity mouse, we’d expect this newest iteration to be as popular as its predecessors.”



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TCL QM9K review: a flagship mini-LED TV with exceptional brightness and Gemini AI
Product Reviews

TCL QM9K review: a flagship mini-LED TV with exceptional brightness and Gemini AI

by admin October 4, 2025



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

TCL QM9K: Two-minute review

The TCL QM9K is the final TV series the company launched in 2025, and it was clearly saving the best for last. As the company’s flagship mini-LED TV series, it arrives packed with the highest level of performance, along with the latest and greatest features, with some of those exclusive to the QM9K.

A key exclusive feature of the TCL QM9K at launch is Google TV with Gemini. This adds the Gemini AI chatbot to what is otherwise the same Google TV smart interface found on many of the best TVs. Gemini enables you to conduct not just content searches, but research on essentially any topic, from dinner recipes to ancient Roman civilization, using the TV’s built-in far-field mic.

The contextual, conversational Gemini lets you ask follow-up questions without losing the thread, and for those concerned about privacy, queries get deleted after 10 minutes. Other Gemini capabilities include image generation, and the screensavers you create can pop up on the screen automatically when you enter the room, thanks to the TV’s built-in presence sensor (another QM9K exclusive).

On the picture-quality front, the QM9K features a mini-LED panel with up to 6,500 local dimming zones, and TCL’s Halo Control System works to minimize incidences of backlight blooming – something it does remarkably well. The result is an exceptionally bright picture with powerful contrast, deep, uniform blacks, and detailed shadows.

Other features that enhance the QM9K’s picture are an AIPQ Pro processor, a wide viewing angle feature, and an anti-reflective screen. Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats are both supported, and the TV features Filmmaker Mode and is IMAX Enhanced.

The QM9K’s Audio by Bang & Olufsen speaker system provides potent Dolby Atmos sound with clear dialogue and an impressive level of bass for a TV. And if you want even better sound, the QM9K is one of the first TVs to support Dolby FlexConnect, which can output wireless Atmos sound to the company’s Z100 speakers and Z100-SW subwoofer, as well as automatically configure the system for optimal performance.

TCL’s Zero Bezel design for the QM9K reduces the screen’s bezel width to 3.2mm for a striking, “all-picture” look. An adjustable height pedestal stand provides solid support and can clear space for a soundbar, and the TV’s edges taper in at the sides to give it a slim profile.

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A respectable number of gaming features are provided on the QM9K, including two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 144Hz support, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming. A pop-up Game Bar menu lets you make quick adjustments, and a Game Accelerator 288 feature enables 288Hz gaming at 1080p resolution.

  • TCL QM9K QD-Mini LED 4K TV (2025) (55-inch LED) at Amazon for $497.99

TCL QM9K review: Price and release date

The QM9K’s high brightness and refined local dimming help to bring out fine details in images (Image credit: Future)

  • Release date: September 2025
  • 65-inch: $2,999.99
  • 75-inch: $3,499.99
  • 85-inch: $3,999.99
  • 98-inch: $5,999.99

The TCL QM9K is available in 65- to 98-inch screen sizes. As TCL’s flagship TV, it is priced higher than other series in the company’s mini-LED TV lineup, with the 75-inch model I tested priced at $3,499 at launch. To put the QM9K’s price in perspective, the step-down TCL QM8K mini-LED launched in May at $3,199 for the 75-inch size, and is now selling for around $2,000.

Similar to the QM8K, prices for the QM9K are already starting to drop, with the 75-inch model having been reduced to $2,499. Other flagship mini-LEDs in a 75-inch size that the QM9K is competing with include the Samsung QN90F (currently selling for $2,099) and Hisense U8QG (currently selling for $1,899).

TCL QM9K review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Screen type:

QLED with mini-LED

Refresh rate:

144Hz

HDR support:

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio support:

Dolby Atmos

Smart TV:

Google TV

HDMI ports:

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

Built-in tuner:

ATSC 3.0

TCL QM9K review: Benchmark results

TCL QM9K review: Features

The QM9K has two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 144Hz support, plus two HDMI 2.0 ports (Image credit: Future)

  • Wide viewing angle and anti-reflective screen
  • Audio by Bang & Olufsen
  • Google TV with Gemini

The TCL QM9K features a high-contrast display panel with a wide viewing angle and an anti-reflective screen. A Halo Control System with a 23-bit controller and dynamic light algorithm is used to minimize blooming from the TV’s mini-LED backlight, which provides up to 6,500 local dimming zones, and the company’s AIPQ Pro processor is used for upscaling and noise reduction.

High dynamic range support includes both the Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ formats. The QM9K is also IMAX Enhanced certified and features a Filmmaker Mode picture preset, a new addition to TCL TVs in 2025.

The QM9K’s Audio by Bang & Olufsen built-in speaker system features Dolby Atmos support, and there’s pass-through for DTS:X. Upfiring speakers for Atmos height effects are located on the TV’s top surface, and there are dual subwoofers on the back panel.

TCL’s Zero Border design for the QM9K provides a disappearingly thin bezel that allows for virtually the full screen area to be filled with the picture. A built-in sensor can be configured to turn the TV on when it detects your nearby presence, and it will then be switched to ambient mode, displaying artwork or photos. A built-in far-field mic lets you use voice commands to control the TV, and there’s also a built-in mic on the backlit remote control that lets you do the same.

The QM9K is the first Google TV with Gemini AI, which lets you carry out contextual, voice-based content search, among other things. Gemini can be used to control Google Assistant smart home devices, and the TV additionally works with Alexa and Apple HomeKit and jas AirPlay and Chromecast built-in support.

Gaming features include 4K 144Hz support on two of the TV’s four HDMI ports, FreeSync Pro, and Game Accelerator 288, which lets you game in 1080p resolution at a 288Hz refresh rate. There is also a Game Bar onscreen display that lets you make gaming-related adjustments without having to exit to a menu.

TCL QM9K review: Picture quality

The QM9K’s high brightness and anti-glare screen make it a great option for bright room viewing (Image credit: Future)

  • Exceptional brightness and contrast
  • Rich color and excellent detail
  • Wide viewing angle

When I previously reviewed the TCL QM9K’s step-down sibling, the TCL QM8K, one of that TV’s high points was its exceptional brightness. In my testing, the QM9K proved to be even brighter than the QM8K, with a measured peak HDR brightness of 3,322 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 3,811 nits in Standard mode. Fullscreen HDR brightness was also impressive, with the QM9K hitting around 660 nits in both Filmmaker and Standard modes.

The QM9K’s HDR color gamut coverage was also very good, with the TV measuring 96.7% for UHDA-P3 and 79.7 for BT-2020. Color point accuracy was similarly good, with the Delta-E value (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen, with a result lower than 3 being undetectable by the human eye) averaging out to 1.8, and to 2.8 for grayscale accuracy.

The QM9K’s high brightness, combined with its extended, accurate color and refined local dimming translated into an exceptional picture. Watching the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on 4K Blu-ray, a scene where Spider-Man battles the Green Goblin had powerful contrast, and it caused the scene’s psychedelic color palette to pop more than I’m used to seeing on most TVs. The film’s animated textures were also displayed with a high level of detail, giving it a near 3D-like effect.

The QM9K’s impressive detail carried over to Ripley, which I streamed in 4K with Dolby Vision from Netflix. Watched in the TV’s Dolby Vision Dark picture mode, textures in clothing and objects were clearly visible, and it gave the picture a strong sense of depth. The show’s black and white images looked completely uniform, and subtle gray tones were easily revealed.

Test patterns on the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray confirmed that the QM9K’s CrystGlow WHVA Panel worked as well in maintaining uniform color and contrast over a wide viewing angle as the TCL QM8K did when I tested it. The disc’s local dimming torture tests also confirmed the effectiveness of TCL’s Halo Control System at minimizing backlight blooming in high contrast images.

With its Ultra Wide Angle feature, the QM9K’s picture looks uniformly good over a range of seating positions (Image credit: Future)

The only area where the QM9K stumbled a bit was in its motion handling. Watching a scene from the James Bond film No Time to Die, where Bond walks across a craggy hillside cemetery, there was a fair amount of judder, although this could be eliminated by making adjustments to the Custom mode in the TV’s Motion menu without introducing too much “soap opera” effect.

There was also a very slight degree of vignetting at the edges of the screen, an effect likely related to its Zero Border design. This was mostly visible on test patterns, however, and I rarely spotted it on TV shows or movies.

The QM9K’s anti-reflection screen proved effective at reducing screen glare from overhead lights and maintaining picture contrast. I did see some reflections from lamps when placed in the path of the screen, but it was minimal and mostly an issue for dark images.

  • Picture quality score: 4.5/5

TCL QM9K review: Sound quality

The QM9K’s Audio by Bang & Olufsen speaker system features upfiring drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects and dual subwoofers on the TV’s rear (shown) (Image credit: Future)

  • Audio by Bang & Olufsen with Beosonic interface
  • Dolby FlexConnect support
  • Potent sound with good directional effects

TCL doesn’t provide much in the way of audio specs for its TVs, but the QM9K does have an Audio by Bang & Olufsen Dolby Atmos speaker system with upfiring drivers and built-in subwoofers. There’s no DTS Virtual:X processing, but DTS:X pass-through is supported.

The QM9K is also compatible with Dolby FlexConnect, which lets you use the TV with the company’s Z100 wireless FlexConnect speakers and Z100-SW wireless subwoofer. FlexConnect automatically configures and calibrates the system from the TV, and it gives you the freedom to position the speakers anywhere you want in the room, not just in the standard home theater positions to the side of the screen, or behind you to the sides.

One notable feature related to the Audio by Bang & Olufsen on the QM9K is its Beosonic interface, which becomes available when you select the TV’s Custom sound preset.

The graphic interface features a cursor that allows you to move between Relaxed, Energetic, Bright, and Warm quadrants to adjust the sound to your liking. Using this, I was able to warm up the TV’s too-bright sound, though I ended up leaving the Movie preset in place for most of my testing.

Overall, I found the QM9K’s sound to be pretty potent, with clear dialogue and a good helping of bass. When I watched the chase scene through the town square in No Time to Die, the crashes and gunfire had good impact and directionality, and the sound of ringing church bells in the Dolby Atmos soundtrack had a notably strong height effect.

I imagine many viewers will be fine with using the QM9K’s built-in speakers, though I’d recommend adding one of the best soundbars or taking advantage of its FlexConnect feature to get sound quality that equals the picture.

  • Sound quality score: 4.5/5

TCL QM9K review: Design

The TV’s pedestal stand can be installed flush or at an elevated height (shown) to accommodate a soundbar (Image credit: Future)

  • ZeroBorder design
  • Height-adjustable pedestal stand
  • Full-size, backlit remote control

TCL’s ZeroBorder design minimizes the QM9K’s bezel to a vanishingly small 3.2mm, giving it a true “all-picture” look. The panel itself has a two-inch depth, although its sides taper inward in a manner that gives the TV a slimmer look when viewed from the side.

A pedestal stand comes with the QM9K in screen sizes up to 85 inches, while the 98-inch version features support feet. The stand is made of metal covered with a faux brushed metal plastic, and it has two height positions, with the higher option clearing space for a soundbar.

Connections on the QM9K include four HDMI ports (one with eARC), two USB type-A, Ethernet, and an optical digital audio output. There is also an ATSC 3.0 tuner input for connecting an antenna.

TCL’s full-size remote control features a backlit keypad. The layout is uncluttered, and includes three direct access buttons for apps (Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube) plus an input select button, and a Free TV button that takes you to the TV’s free and ad-supported streaming channels portal.

TCL QM9K review: Smart TV and menus

Image 1 of 2

The QM9K’s Google TV smart interface with the Gemini AI icon,(Image credit: Future)Google TV’s Live TV grid guide(Image credit: Future)

  • Google TV with Gemini AI
  • Live program grid with broadcast channels
  • Quick menu for basic adjustments

The QM9K is notable for being the first Google TV with Gemini AI chatbot support. This feature lets you essentially carry on a conversation with the TV using either the set’s built-in far-field mic or the remote control’s mic.

Using Gemini, you can ask a question like, “Show me a list of Samurai movies from the 1960s to the present.” The contextual nature of Gemini search lets you then ask follow-up questions to drill down deeper, such as “Show me the ones with an 80% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score that are available on HBO Max or Netflix.”

Gemini has much more in its bag of tricks: You can ask about anything you want, from questions about astronomy or astrology to recipes to top attractions to see when visiting cities. It can create news briefs with video links and also generate images from prompts (“Fantasy twilight landscape with white deer”) to use as screensavers.

The QM9K features a built-in presence sensor, and it can be configured to activate your AI-generated screensavers, or even a rotating photo gallery drawn from a Google Photos account, automatically when you enter the room.

A Live TV portal in Google TV provides a grid guide of broadcasts pulled in by the QM9K’s ATSC 3.0 tuner, including NextGen channels, and these are displayed along with Google TV Freeplay and TCL free ad-supported TV channels. Google TV gives you multiple options to sort these, including by genre (Reality TV, News, etc.) or antenna-only.

Both AirPlay and Chromecast built-in are supported by the QM9K, which also works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.

The QM9K’s quick menu lets you easily adjust basic settings (Image credit: Future)

There are extensive settings in the QM9K’s menus to satisfy picture and sound tweakers. The Brightness section of the Picture menu provides multiple gamma settings and contrast adjustments. For sound, there are various audio presets, including a custom Audio by Bang & Olufsen Beosonic adjustment that lets you EQ the sound based on parameters like Bright, Relaxed, Energetic, and Warm.

Accessing these settings is done by pressing the gear icon on the remote control or by clicking the same icon in the Google TV home screen. Another option is to press the quick menu icon on the remote, which calls up a menu at the screen’s bottom with a range of picture and sound setup options.

  • Smart TV & menus score: 4.5/5

TCL QM9K review: Gaming

The QM9K’s Game Bar menu (Image credit: Future)

  • Two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 144Hz support
  • FreeSync Premium Pro and Game Accelerator 288
  • 12.9ms input lag is average

Gaming features on the QM9K include two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 144Hz support, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming. There is also a Game Accelerator 288 feature that lets you game at 288Hz in 108p resolution and a Game Bar onscreen overlay for making quick adjustments to gaming-related settings.

The QM9K’s bright, contrast-rich picture makes all manner of games look great. Performance is also responsive, with the TCL measuring at 12.9ms when tested with a Leo Bodnar 4K input lag meter.

TCL QM9K review: Value

The QM9K’s full-size, fully backlit remote control (Image credit: Future)

  • Priced higher than top mini-LED competition
  • Less extensive gaming features than competition
  • Google TV with Gemini enhances value

The TCL QM9K is a fantastic TV, but its raw value is taken down a notch by the fact that there is plenty of great mini-LED TV competition in 2025.

At the time of writing, TCL had already lowered the price of the 75-inch QM9K by $1,000 to $2,499. Even so, other 75-inch flagship mini-LED TVs such as the Samsung QN90F are now selling for $2,099. The QM9K has higher peak HDR brightness than the Samsung, and it also beats competitors such as the Hisense U8QG on that test. But the Samsung has superior gaming features and performance, and its great overall picture quality was one of the main reasons why it earned a five out of five stars overall rating in our Samsung QN90F review.

TCL’s own step-down mini-LED TV, the TCL QM8K, also provides very impressive picture quality, and it features the ZeroBorder screen, ultra wide viewing angle, and anti-reflection screen features found in the QM9K.

I’d have said that Google TV with Gemini, which is currently exclusive to the QM9K, was its ace-in-the-hole when it comes to value, but that feature is also coming to the QM8K at some point in 2025, and it should also be available as an upgrade for the Hisense U8QG. The QM9K is the only TV of the three with a built-in presence sensor, so that is one exclusive feature the QM9K can claim.

Should I buy the TCL QM9K?

A Gemini-generated fantasy image, used as a screensaver (Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyTCL QM9K

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Google TV with Gemini, Dolby FlexConnect and comprehensive HDR support

4.5/5

Picture quality

Exceptional brightness and refined local dimming combined with a ultra wide viewing angle feature and anti-reflective screen make this a great all-around TV

4.5/5

Sound quality

Very good built-in sound from Audio by Bang & Olufsen Dolby Atmos speaker system

4.5/5

Design

ZeroBorder screen minimizes bezel for all picture look. Adjustable height pedestal stand can clear space for a soundbar

4/5

Smart TV and menus

Google TV is enhanced by Gemini AI, plus the quick menu provides easy access to basic settings

4.5/5

Gaming

4K 144Hz and FreeSync Premium Pro supported, but only on two HDMI ports

4/5

Value

A bit pricier than most of the current flagship mini-LED TV competition. Step-down QM8K model is a better overall value

4/5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

TCL QM9K: Also consider…

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

TCL QM9K

Samsung QN90F

TCL QM8K

Hisense U8QG

Price (65-inch)

$2,999

$2,499.99

$2,499.99

$2,199

Screen type

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

QLED w/ mini-LED

Refresh rate

144Hz

165Hz

144Hz

165Hz

HDR support

DolbyVision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

DolbyVision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

DolbyVision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Google TV (with Gemini)

Tizen

Google TV

Google TV

HDMI ports

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

4x HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

3x HDMI 2.1

How I tested the TCL QM9K

Measuring a 10% HDR white window pattern during testing (Image credit: Future)

  • I spent about 15 viewing hours in total measuring and evaluating
  • Measurements were made using Calman color calibration software
  • A full calibration was made before proceeding with subjective tests

When I test TVs, I first spend a few days or even weeks using it for casual viewing to assess the out-of-the-box picture presets and get familiar with its smart TV menu and picture adjustments.

I next select the most accurate preset (usually Filmmaker Mode, Movie or Cinema) and measure grayscale and color accuracy using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software. The resulting measurements provide Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for each category, and allow for an assessment of the TV’s overall accuracy.

Along with those tests, I make measurements of peak light output (recorded in nits) for both standard high-definition and 4K high dynamic range using 10% and 100% white window patterns. Coverage of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space is also measured, with the results providing a sense of how faithfully the TV can render the extended color range in ultra high-definition sources – you can read more about this process in our guide to how we test TVs at TechRadar.

For the TCL QM9K, I used the Calman ISF workflow, along with the TV’s advanced picture menu settings, to calibrate the image for best accuracy. I also watched a range of reference scenes on 4K Blu-ray discs to assess the TV’s performance, along with 4K HDR shows streamed from Max, Netflix, and other services.

TCL QM9K QD-Mini LED 4K TV (2025): Price Comparison



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An image of Civlization 7's Napoleon in his Revolutionary and Emperor personas.
Product Reviews

Civilization 7’s latest update brings improved map generation, a better UI, and a ‘full rework of Napoleon’, but it hasn’t moved the needle on its divided Steam rating

by admin October 4, 2025



Civilization 7 received a beefy update this week, as Firaxis continues to work on its latest and most divisive entry in its series of historical 4Xs. Update 1.2.5 brings a host of tweaks and adjustments, shuffling maps, improving the UI, and expanding strategic options around city-states. Plus, like a certain Duke who gave his name to a certain rubber footwear, it also gives Napoleon a proper sorting out.

Map generation is the primary target of update 1.2.5, with Firaxis responding to complaints that the sequel’s landmasses were predictable and dull. To fix the issue, Firaxis says it has “started from scratch and created a new base algorithm for making maps” in Civ, while simultaneously introducing two extra map types. “Continents and Islands” serves as the new map default for single-player, mixing up larger and smaller landmasses of various sizes, while “Pangaea and Islands” situates the bulk of the action on one giant geographical inkblot, with splashes of separate terrain in and around it.

As for those aforementioned UI improvements, these focus primarily on settlement development. The changes provide more detailed upfront information on the production menu, add clearer yield indicators for building placement, improve the visual language for “growth events” to help you decide between improvements or specialists, and implement a complete reformat for constructible tooltips. According to Firaxis, the changes should help players decide “what to build, where to put it, and how to grow your empire”. In other words, how to play the videogame Civilization.


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Elsewhere, update 1.2.5 adds two types of city-state—namely Diplomatic and Expansionist city-states—while suzeraining either of these provides new player options. Firaxis has also implemented a broader “strategic balance pass”, replacing most percentage stacking bonuses with numerical bonuses to curb power snowballing, adding a cost-progression mechanic for buildings, and adjusting the gold economy to make managing your finances a bit more challenging.

Finally, there’s that Napoleonic makeover. Apparently, the French general wasn’t living up to his reputation among Civ fans, so Firaxis has boosted the power of both his Revolutionary and Emperor personas. The former variant now gains extra rewards when he goads other leaders into attacking him, while the latter receives bonuses for sanctioning other leaders.

It seems like a substantial update, but it doesn’t appear to have done much to improve Civilization 7’s standing among players. In fact, the game’s recent Steam reviews have a lower positive percentage than the overall rating—43% compared to 49%. This doesn’t seem to have much to do with the update one way or another—the key issue is that a lot of players fundamentally don’t like Civilization 7’s Age Transition concept, where you basically switch factions at the end of each age.

What effect this will have on Civilization 7’s long-term prospects remains unclear. Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick doesn’t seem concerned, stating in August that the sequel is selling in line with expectations and that Civilization “has always been a slow burn”. This didn’t stop Firaxis from laying off a bunch of people last month, though game sales seem to have zero bearing on whether or not layoffs occur these days, with job security seemingly based wholly on vibes.

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.



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'The Summer Hikaru Died' Is Easily the Best Horror Anime in Ages
Product Reviews

‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Is Easily the Best Horror Anime in Ages

by admin October 4, 2025



One would assume that horror and anime, two media seemingly tailor-made for each other, would consistently produce masterpieces. After all, anime’s visual elasticity and horror’s emotional extremity should be a match made in heaven. Yet, more often than not, their union exposes mutual blind spots rather than shared strengths.

Anime adaptations of horror manga frequently fall into two traps: slavish recreations that beg the question of what was actually adapted, or hollow spectacles that rely on cheap jump scares, evoking the aesthetics of a 2011-era YouTube craze. But then there’s The Summer Hikaru Died—an outlier, a revelation, and arguably the pinnacle of modern horror anime.

Created by mangaka Mokumokuren and adapted by CygamesPictures, The Summer Hikaru Died slipped quietly into Netflix’s summer anime lineup, overshadowed by the usual shonen fare. But from its first frame, it announced itself as something different, drawing from the same well as cult classics like Higurashi: When They Cry, horror auteur Junji Ito‘s ill-fated Uzumaki adaptation, Shudder’s Best Wishes to All, and Konami’s Silent Hill f.

It’s steeped in the iconography of Japanese horror: a sleepy countryside town with ritualistic secrets simmering beneath the surface and wide-eyed teens thrust into the abyss of its mystery.

As the title suggests, a boy named Hikaru Indo (Shūichirō Umeda) dies. But his death is only the beginning. What follows is a slow, devastating unraveling for his best friend, Yoshiki Tsujinaka (Chiaki Kobayashi), who finds himself living alongside a cursed entity wearing Hikaru’s face.

Yoshiki is faced with an ultimatum. He must either destroy it or acquiesce to the demonic entity’s wish to continue living as his best friend—someone he is very clearly in love with. Yoshiki’s selfish choice to continue living with his puppeteered childhood friend sets the tone for the entire series: horror not as a spectacle, but as an emotional reckoning.

The show’s central tension—Yoshiki’s refusal to reject “Hikaru” and “Hikaru’s” obsessive need to protect Yoshiki—creates a dynamic that’s both tender and terrifying. Their relationship evokes the tragic absurdity of trying to domesticate a bear: you may love it, it may love you, but one day it might maul you. Turning any perceived affection into a misplaced anthropomorphization of a killer.

© Netflix/CygamesPictures

As villagers begin to die and supernatural violence attaches itself to the pair like a magnet, Yoshiki is routinely tested to choose between shielding “Hikaru” or mercy-killing him for the greater good. In essence, The Summer Hikaru Died is a love story wrapped in a horror spiral, one that interrogates grief, self-hatred, and the intimacy of queer desire under subtle yet ever-presently monstrous patriarchal pressure. Yet, it doesn’t boast itself as “elevated horror,” but rather something more intimate, messy, and deeply human.

Unlike many mystery-driven anime, The Summer Hikaru Died doesn’t insult its audience with drawn-out reveals and an inept cast bumbling through its Scooby-Doo mystery of “what’s wrong with our village?” Its characters are observant, emotionally intelligent, and often one step ahead of the viewer. When they notice something’s off, they say so or play their cards close to their chest for the opportune moment to voice their perturbed concerns. When they suspect a curse, they act.

This narrative efficiency doesn’t undercut the show’s emotional weight; it enhances it, allowing the horror to bloom organically rather than through forced exposition and cheap scares tantamount to jingling keys in front of a child to keep their attention.

© Netflix/Cygames Pictures

Visually, the series is nothing short of stunning, with its horror never confined to set pieces but a constant optical undercurrent. Despite its weekly format, it boasts feature film-level animation, with a focus on dread over shock. The horror isn’t in the jump scares—it’s in the quiet moments: a panic attack in a grocery store, the creeping sense that something malevolent is watching you from the woods, the realization that your home is no longer safe, or your mind playing tricks on you with something being amiss from the corner of your eye.

Sonically, the anime is steeped in the low, ambient hum of cicadas and a soft, contemplative piano—evoking a mood of languid summer melancholy. But like the ebb and flow of a shoreline current, this tranquility is periodically ruptured by bursts of distorted noises and intrusions that jolt viewers into awareness of the unseen impurities haunting Yoshiki’s hometown.

© Netflix/CygamesPictures

These scenes aren’t framed as setups for a long-walked jump scare. Instead, they’re part of the show’s palpable, ambient dread. It lingers in the corners of every frame, threading through the narrative like a seasonal shift from summer’s golden haze, giving way to the brittle chill of fall. All the while, it creates a tonal duality that becomes a signature of the series, a steady heartbeat that makes its horror feel intimate and inescapable.

And yet, the show knows when to breathe. Like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger, series director Ryohei Takeshita balances horror with humor, letting characters crack dry jokes or act appropriately human in the face of eldritch terror. These moments of levity don’t deflate the tension; instead, they deepen it, reminding viewers that horror is most potent when it’s grounded in real emotion. The show routinely showcases its artistic merits by implementing close-up live-action shots of marinated chicken or moving train cars, as well as scenic views from their windows, to imbue its artistry with both gross-out and moments of zen all at once.

© Netflix/CygamesPictures

In a sea of horror anime that shoot for greatness and land on surface-level cosplay mimicking the aesthetics of horror without grasping its emotional marrow, The Summer Hikaru Died stands head and shoulders above. It doesn’t resign itself to drawing inside the lines of its source material or paying homage to a bygone era of horror anime, but boldly takes it to depths the medium has yet to explore. threading grief, intimacy, and monstrosity into something profoundly unsettling and unquestionably human.

With its first season wrapped and a second on the horizon, The Summer Hikaru Died is the perfect series for horror fans to experience a haunting, heartfelt reminder that anime still has the power to surprise, disturb, and move viewers. Not by screaming louder, but by whispering hard truths we’re afraid to face.

The Summer Hikaru Died is streaming on Netflix.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



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Sam Altman Says the GPT-5 Haters Got It All Wrong
Product Reviews

Sam Altman Says the GPT-5 Haters Got It All Wrong

by admin October 4, 2025


OpenAI’s August launch of its GPT-5 large language model was somewhat of a disaster. There were glitches during the livestream, with the model generating charts with obviously inaccurate numbers. In a Reddit AMA with OpenAI employees, users complained that the new model wasn’t friendly, and called for the company to restore the previous version. Most of all, critics griped that GPT-5 fell short of the stratospheric expectations that OpenAI has been juicing for years. Promised as a game changer, GPT-5 might have indeed played the game better. But it was still the same game.

Skeptics seized on the moment to proclaim the end of the AI boom. Some even predicted the beginning of another AI Winter. “GPT-5 was the most hyped AI system of all time,” full-time bubble-popper Gary Marcus told me during his packed schedule of victory laps. “It was supposed to deliver two things, AGI and PhD-level cognition, and it didn’t deliver either of those.” What’s more, he says, the seemingly lackluster new model is proof that OpenAI’s ticket to AGI—massively scaling up data and chip sets to make its systems exponentially smarter—can no longer be punched. For once, Marcus’ views were echoed by a sizable portion of the AI community. In the days following launch, GPT-5 was looking like AI’s version of New Coke.

Sam Altman isn’t having it. A month after the launch he strolls into a conference room at the company’s newish headquarters in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, eager to explain to me and my colleague Kylie Robison that GPT-5 is everything that he’d been touting, and that all is well in his epic quest for AGI. “The vibes were kind of bad at launch,” he admits. “But now they’re great.” Yes, great. It’s true the criticism has died down. Indeed, the company’s recent release of a mind-bending tool to generate impressive AI video slop has diverted the narrative from the disappointing GPT-5 debut. The message from Altman, though, is that naysayers are on the wrong side of history. The journey to AGI, he insists, is still on track.

Numbers Game

Critics might see GPT-5 as the waning end of an AI summer, but Altman and team argue that it cements AI technology as an indispensable tutor, a search-engine-killing information source, and, especially, a sophisticated collaborator for scientists and coders. Altman claims that users are beginning to see it his way. “GPT-5 is the first time where people are, ‘Holy fuck. It’s doing this important piece of physics.’ Or a biologist is saying, ‘Wow, it just really helped me figure this thing out,’” he says. “There’s something important happening that did not happen with any pre-GPT-5 model, which is the beginning of AI helping accelerate the rate of discovering new science.” (OpenAI hasn’t cited who those physicists or biologists are.)

So why the tepid initial reception? Altman and his team have sussed out several reasons. One, they say, is that since GPT-4 hit the streets, the company delivered versions that were themselves transformational, particularly the sophisticated reasoning modes they added. “The jump from 4 to 5 was bigger than the jump from 3 to 4,” Altman says. “We just had a lot of stuff along the way.” OpenAI president Greg Brockman agrees: “I’m not shocked that many people had that [underwhelmed] reaction, because we’ve been showing our hand.”

OpenAI also says that since GPT-5 is optimized for specialized uses like doing science or coding, everyday users are taking a while to appreciate its virtues. “Most people are not physics researchers,” Altman observes. As Mark Chen, OpenAI’s head of research, explains it, unless you’re a math whiz yourself, you won’t care much that GPT-5 ranks in the top five of Math Olympians, whereas last year the system ranked in the top 200.

As for the charge about how GPT-5 shows that scaling doesn’t work, OpenAI says that comes from a misunderstanding. Unlike previous models, GPT-5 didn’t get its major advances from a massively bigger dataset and tons more computation. The new model got its gains from reinforcement learning, a technique that relies on expert humans giving it feedback. Brockman says that OpenAI had developed its models to the point where they could produce their own data to power the reinforcement learning cycle. “When the model is dumb, all you want to do is train a bigger version of it,” he says. “When the model is smart, you want to sample from it. You want to train on its own data.”



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Product Reviews

The second-gen Kindle Scribe is $100 off

by admin October 4, 2025


We’re only one week away from Amazon Prime Day and the sales have already started. The deals include Amazon’s devices, from Kindle tablets to Echo speakers.

Take the Amazon Kindle Scribe, which has dropped to $300 from $400. The 25 percent discount brings the second-generation device back down to its all-time low price. This deal is available on the 16GB model in Tungsten (dark grey) and doesn’t include Kindle Unlimited. If you want more storage, the 32GB and 64GB versions are also 25 and 24 percent off, respectively.

The Kindle Scribe is our pick for best e-reader E Ink tablet. It scored an 86 in our review, thanks to the smooth reading and writing experience it provides. We were also fans of its sleek and slender design. It has a 10.2-inch screen and offers front lights that auto-adjust to your needs. Our biggest gripe was the cost which, thanks to this deal, is less of an issue.

Amazon

It’s worth noting that Amazon announced a few new Kindle Scribe models recently, but none of them are available just yet. The Kindle Scribe 3 has a thinner and lighter design, plus faster page-turning and writing experiences. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is Amazon’s first full-color E Ink tablet. If you want the latest and greatest, it’s worth it to wait — but Amazon hasn’t yet named specific release dates for either new model. During its latest hardware event, it only said the new Scribes were coming “later this year.”



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Hisense 116UX review: a step forward for TV, but at a price that's too premium for most people
Product Reviews

Hisense 116UX review: a step forward for TV, but at a price that’s too premium for most people

by admin October 4, 2025



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Hisense 116UX review: Two minute review

The Hisense 116UX is the brand’s flagship 4K TV, and it introduces RGB mini-LED technology to the world in a 116-inch screen size. Some elements of its picture rival the best TVs, and it has a wide array of features, but its appeal is limited by key shortcomings.

With a launch price of $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999, the Hisense 116UX is an expensive TV that will exceed most budgets. And while it features exciting new RGB mini-LED tech, Hisense will also be introducing RGB mini-LED in 100- and 85-inch models in the future, and more buyers are likely to gravitate to those.

The 116UX’s bold, vibrant colors take mini-LED to the next level. Textures are crisp, and the high brightness gives pictures a strong level of punch. Contrast and black levels are mostly good, but backlight blooming and inconsistent backlight control lead to a clouding effect in some dark scenes that hamper what would otherwise be a remarkable picture. Even with the TV’s large size, viewing angles are limited, with pictures losing contrast when viewed from off-center seats .

A 6.2.2-channel sound system delivers mostly solid performance, with immersive effects, impressive accuracy and clear dialogue. Bass has good impact, but the 116UX’s soundstage isn’t as wide as I’d hoped for. A screen this size deserves one of the best soundbars to match, ideally a premium option like the Samsung HW-Q990F.

The 116UX is great for gaming, with 4K 165Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all supported across three HDMI 2.1 ports. While its 14.6ms input lag time is higher than the best gaming TVs, its overall gaming performance is good enough for an enjoyable experience on a big screen.

This TV’s high price is hard to ignore, and even though the 116UX features an RGB mini-LED panel and has a gargantuan screen size, you can build a truly great home theater system with some of the best 4K projectors at this price. The 116UX will deliver better value when its price drops, but right now, it’s a big ask.

  • Hisense 116UX RGB-MiniLED TV (HDR) at Amazon for $24,999.99

Hisense 116UX review: Price & release date

(Image credit: Future)

  • Release date: September 2025
  • Price: $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999

The Hisense 116UX, Hisense’s flagship 2025 TV, uses a new RGB mini-LED panel. It sits above the Hisense 110UX, U9Q, U8Q, U7Q and U6Q mini-LED TVs and is priced at $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999.

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Although the 116UX had only been available for a few weeks at the time I reviewed it, the price has dropped to $24,999 in the US. I expect the TV’s price will drop even further over the coming months.

Hisense 116UX review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Screen type

RGB mini-LED

Refresh rate

Up to 165Hz (4K)

HDR support

Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio support

Dolby Atmos

Smart TV

Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK& Aus)

HDMI ports

3 x HDMI 2.1

Built-in tuner

ATSC 3.0

Hisense 116UX review: Benchmark results

Hisense 116UX review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

  • RGB mini-LED panel
  • Hi-View AI Engine X processor
  • Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ and IMAX Enhanced support

The 116UX features Hisense’s RGB mini-LED panel, which uses RGB mini-LEDs to produce a wider, more refined color gamut. HDR support includes Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+, as well as the HDR10 and HLG formats. It also supports IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker Mode.

Hisense’s flagship TV comes equipped with a 6.2.2-channel speaker system, totaling 110W in power. It supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS. Alongside the usual sound presets – Standard, Movie, Sport – it also has AI sound, which adapts the sound and dialogue based on both the content showing onscreen and the viewing environment.

The 116UX’s gaming features include 4K 165Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM support. All features are supported across the TV’s three HDMI 2.1 ports.

Hisense’s smart TV platform varies by region. Google TV is used in the US, while Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV platform features in the UK and Australia. I reviewed the UK version, so I used VIDAA, which has access to popular streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, and also UK apps such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. If you want a review of the Google TV smart TV platform, check out our Hisense U8Q review.

Hisense 116UX review: Picture quality

Color is where the Hisense 116UX really shines, thanks to its RGB mini-LED panel (Image credit: Disney / Future)

  • High brightness and brilliant color
  • Refined detail
  • Black uniformity issues

The 116UX’s peak HDR brightness hit 5,441 nits and fullscreen HDR brightness was 1,090 nits, with both measured in Filmmaker Mode. That peak brightness result is over twice what I measured on the Hisense 110UX, a TV that uses a standard mini-LED panel.

The 116UX’s measured HDR color gamut covered 99.3% of the DCI-P3 color space, which is an excellent result for a mini-LED TV. Its BT.2020 color gamut coverage was even more impressive at 92.64%, which is the highest amount we’ve measured on a TV to date.

I first started my testing with some SDR content, beginning with an HD stream of Fight Club on Disney+. I chose Filmmaker Mode but set brightness and local dimming to medium as the picture was too dim at the default settings. I was impressed by the 116UX’s effective upscaling of textures, which gave the picture a crisper look. Even at a 116-inch size, the image was clean. Lower resolution content on YouTube didn’t fare as well, with the image looking blocky on the large screen.

Color is where the 116UX shines – literally. Watching Elemental on Disney Plus in Dolby Vision IQ picture mode, reds and oranges were vibrant and punchy, with the 116UX’s brightness adding real pop in a scene where Ember makes a vase. In Wicked on 4K Blu-ray, pink flowers in a tree in the ‘Wizard & I’ scene had a bold look, as did the greens of the Emerald City.

Image 1 of 2

The 116UX sometimes handles dark scenes well (1) but struggles with others (2), even in the same movie, as shown here with Alien: Romulus(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: 20th Century Studios / Future )

As I’ve discovered with most Hisense TVs, motion handling requires a bit of setup. I watched a stream of a soccer game on Prime Video and found that most motion presets worked, but either Standard or Custom, with Blur set to 3 and Judder set to 5, produced the smoothest image. This was also true for movie viewing, as a scene from No Time To Die where a camera pans across a rocky hillside looked much smoother with the above settings.

Textures looked consistently crisp and realistic on the 116UX, with close-up shots of people’s faces showing fine details such as marks or hair. Clothing was also true-to-life and given a 3D look.

Watching black and white scenes from Oppenheimer on the 116UX, whites looked bright and there was a good range of gray tones. Blacks were slightly raised, but they still looked solid. The 116UX also delivered good shadow detail in darker scenes, such as objects against dark walls in a scene where Strauss and Oppenheimer are in an office after their first meeting.

Dark scenes ultimately were a mixed bag on the 116UX. Blacks appeared rich and deep in some instances, such as the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray’s demo footage, but they came across as more of a dark gray in movie scenes from The Batman and Alien: Romulus. While contrast was also strong in these movies, there was a clouding effect across the screen in dark sections of the image. Strangely, one exterior space shot in Alien: Romulus demonstrated good accuracy in the blacks, but another in a dark tunnel revealed the clouding effect at its worst.

The 116UX also demonstrated some backlight blooming around bright objects against dark backgrounds when viewed from off-center. Plus, the clouding issue became more apparent when viewing from more extreme angles.

I reached out to Hisense regarding dark scene viewing and the clouding effect and it said it was aware of and looking into it, but couldn’t provide a fix at this time. If there are any updates, I’ll be sure to add them to this review.

  • Picture quality score: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Sound quality

The 116UX delivers decent built-in sound, but overall a screen like this deserves a soundbar to match (Image credit: Future)

  • 6.2.2-channel speaker array
  • Clear, expansive, accurate sound
  • Only average soundstage

The 116UX comes with a built-in 6.2.2-channel, 110W Devialet sound system that supports Dolby Atmos, but not DTS. It has subwoofers built into the rear of the screen, with two speakers running down each side of its frame and height speakers positioned on the top of the TV.

Watching the Batmobile chase scene from The Batman, the 116UX accurately connected the sound to the action on screen. The overall sound was punchy with clear dialogue. The 116UX’s sound was also immersive at times, going beyond the borders of the screen and making Dolby Atmos effects, such as rain in The Batman, feel as if they’re overhead.

While the 116UX’s built-in sound system is good, at times it felt restrained. Bass in particular lacked fullness. And while there was some suggestion of surround effects, I expected a sound system like this to produce a wider soundstage.

Some people will be happy with the 116UX’s sound, but I feel it deserves a sound system to match its gargantuan, cinematic picture.

  • Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Hisense 116UX review: Design

Image 1 of 2

The 116UX uses metal feet to support its heavy weight (Image credit: Future)But the 116UX is surprisingly thin despite is large size(Image credit: Future)

  • Sleek, modern design
  • Weighty and cumbersome
  • Basic support feet

At 116 inches, the 116UX requires a large space. Its big screen will be too cumbersome for most living rooms and, unlike retractable projector screens of a similar size, it will dominate a space.

Hisense has done its best to make the 116UX appear as sleek as possible while still housing a substantial built-in sound system. Its frame is trim, and it’s made of a premium-looking black metal. As a result, the 116UX is an incredibly weighty 239lbs (108kg), meaning you’ll need to carefully consider installation, although there are two carry handles on the rear. The TV is supported by two metal feet, which, although plain, are expected for a TV this size.

The 116UX comes with Hisense’s solar remote, which is reminiscent of Samsung’s SolarCell remote and can be charged using the rear solar panel or by USB-C. It has a nice design with a burnished steel finish and feels more premium than Hisense’s standard TV remotes.

Hisense 116UX review: Smart TV & menus

VIDAA (Hisense’s smart TV platform in the UK) has plenty of picture settings and good app access (Image credit: Future)

  • Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK & Australia)
  • Good number of picture settings
  • Performance can lag at times

Like all Hisense TVs, the 116UX’s smart TV platform will be different based on your region. In the US, it uses Google TV, and in the UK and Australia, it uses Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV platform. I reviewed the 116UX in the UK, so I will be focusing on VIDAA. Check out our Hisense U8Q review to read about a Google TV Hisense model.

VIDAA has access to all major streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video, and all UK-based streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. It also supports Freely, a service in which you can watch live TV over Wi-Fi with no need for an antenna or satellite connection.

There are a good number of picture settings on the 116UX. VIDAA’s overall look is plain and not as user-friendly as LG’s webOS, and the 116UX’s overall performance during navigation suffered from lag on occasion. VIDAA could do with a visual overhaul, as it does look dated in some of its menus.

Hisense 116UX review: Gaming

The Hisense 116UX has great gaming features and impressive picture quality for gaming (Image credit: Future)

  • 4K 165Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium
  • 14.6ms input lag
  • Three HDMI 2.1 ports

The 116UX has impressive gaming features, such as 4K 165Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming, and these are all supported on three HDMI 2.1 ports. There is also a 288Hz game booster mode for PC gaming and a Game Board pop-up menu that displays useful information such as frame rate and VRR, as well as settings that can be adjusted, such as Dark Detail.

Gaming performance on the 116UX is generally smooth and responsive. Playing a demo of Dynasty Warriors: Origins on PlayStation 5, the action felt fast-paced and chaotic as expected at both 60Hz and 120Hz. I noticed during gameplay that the frame rate varied a lot in the 120Hz Performance mode, but I chalked this up to the game itself, due to its rendering of many enemies on screen.

The 116UX’s measured input lag is 14.6ms, which is higher than rivals like Samsung and TCL, but still under the 15ms threshold most gamers look for.

Hisense 116UX review: Value

The Hisense 110UXN comes with Hisense’s premium remote, which has both a USB-C port and a solar cell on the bottom rear for charging (Image credit: Future)

  • Expensive
  • Similarly priced to big-screen OLED TVs
  • Much pricier than the 110-inch 110UX

At $29,999 / £24,999 / AU$39,999, the Hisense 116UX is a pricey, premium TV. It may come with an exciting, new RGB mini-LED panel that produces superb brightness and color, but that’s still a lofty price, even for a TV this feature-packed.

At this price range, you can pick up some of the best projectors on the market, such as the JVC DLA-NZ800 ($15,999 / £15,999 / AU$24,999). It won’t have the 116UX’s brightness, but it will still produce an excellent picture. Plus, you can build an entire home theater system around it with the same budget.

The 116UX is also much pricier than the step-down 110UX ($14,999 / £18,999 / AU$24,999), and while it delivers better performance and picture quality, that’s still a significant price gap.

Should you buy the Hisense 116UX?

The Hisense 110UXN comes at a premium price that most won’t be able to afford (Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyHisense 110UXN

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

RGB mini-LED panel with good amount of smart and gaming features

4.5/5

Picture quality

Superb color reproduction, brightness and realistic textures, but dark scene viewing can be an issue

4/5

Sound quality

Punchy, precise sound system with decent bass, but sound feels narrow at times

4/5

Design

Trim design considering size, and feels sturdy as well

4/5

Smart TV and menus

VIDAA has good number of picture settings and apps, but looks dated

4/5

Gaming

Great array of gaming features including 165Hz and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and 3 HDMI 2.1 ports

4.5/5

Value

An exciting step forward for mini-LED, but expensive price means it remains exclusive

3/5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Hisense 116UX

Hisense 110UXN

Samsung QN90F (65-inch)

Hisense U8QG (65-inch)

Price

$24,999 / £24,999 / AU$34,999

$14,999 / £19,999 / around AU$24,300

$2,499.99 / £2,499 / AU$3,499

$2,199 / £2,199 / AU$2,999

Screen type

RGB Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Mini-LED

Refresh rate

120Hz (up to 165Hz)

120Hz (up to 144Hz)

120Hz (up to 144Hz)

120Hz (up to 144HZ)

HDR support

Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision IQ/HDR10/HLG/HDR10+

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

Smart TV

Google TV (US), VIDAA (UK/Aus)

Google TV (US/Aus), VIDAA (UK)

Tizen

Google TV (US/Aus), VIDAA (UK)

HDMI ports

3 x HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

4 x HDMI 2.1

3 x HDMI 2.1

How I tested the Hisense 116UX

(Image credit: Future)

  • Tested in light controlled testing room
  • Tested SDR and HDR sources for picture quality

I tested the Hisense 116UX in a light-controlled demo room at Hisense Europe HQ in Leeds, England.

I first established which picture modes I would use for my testing with some casual viewing. For my critical viewing, I used several reference scenes from both SDR (broadcast TV and streaming) and HDR sources (4K Blu-ray and streaming). I tested the 116UX’s picture for brightness, color, shadow detail and contrast, screen uniformity, upscaling and motion. I also used these same sources to test the UX116’s audio performance. To play 4K Blu-rays, I used the Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player.

I also tested gaming performance and features using a PlayStation 5.

Measurements for the Hisense 116UX were taken by my colleague Matthew Murray, Head of Testing at Future, at a separate event in the US.

These tests included peak (10% window) and fullscreen (100%) SDR and HDR brightness, measured on a white window test pattern.

HDR color gamut was also measured, examining the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color spaces. Color and grayscal accuracy were measured using Delta-E values (the margin for error between the test pattern signal and what’s shown on screen).

Finally, the TV’s input lag was measured using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester.

For a more detailed explanation of how we test TVs at TechRadar, check out the link.

Hisense 116UX RGB-MiniLED TV: Price Comparison



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Today's Wordle clues, hints and answer for October 4 #1568
Product Reviews

Today’s Wordle clues, hints and answer for October 4 #1568

by admin October 4, 2025



When it feels like today’s Wordle answer just isn’t going to show up in time, feel free to hit our emergency win button and save yourself the stress. Or if you’ve got a few yellow letters hanging around but aren’t quite sure what to do with them, go and read our October 4 (1568) clues and puzzle it out from there. Point being, whatever’s going on, we’ve got something that’ll help.

A clue for today’s Wordle

Stuck on today’s Wordle? Here’s a clue that pertains to the meaning of the word.

If you’re still just as stuck after our clue, scroll down for further hints.


Related articles

Hints for the October 4 (#1568) Wordle

Our Wordle hints will start vague so as to just give you a bit of a nudge in the right direction at first.

As you scroll down, they’ll offer more and more help towards figuring out today’s word without fully giving it away.

Are there any repeated letters in today’s Wordle?

Every space needs a new letter today.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

You’re going to have to find two vowels this time.

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?

So long as you start with an “R”, you’ll be fine.

The October 4 (#1568) Wordle answer is…

(Image credit: Josh Wardle)

This is it. No turning back now!

The solution to today’s Wordle puzzle is…


Related articles

The meaning behind today’s Wordle answer

Anything passed on from one to another, whether that’s a baton in a race or an image via a TV network, is part of some kind of relay. 🏃

Previous Wordle answers

Past Wordle answers can give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh. They are also a good way to eliminate guesses for today’s Wordle, as the answer is unlikely to be repeated.

Here are the last 10 Wordle answers:

  • September 24: BLUNT
  • September 25: DRAPE
  • September 26: DALLY
  • September 27: FRITZ
  • September 28: GOOEY
  • September 29: CIVIL
  • September 30: GEESE
  • October 1: SPOIL
  • October 2: WIDTH
  • October 3: SPASM

Learn more about Wordle 

(Image credit: Future)

How to play Wordle

Wordle’s a daily guessing game, where the goal is to correctly uncover today’s five letter word in six goes or less. An incorrect letter shows up as a grey box. A correct letter in the wrong space turns up yellow. And the correct letter in the right place shows up as green. There’s no time limit to worry about, and don’t forget that some letters might be used more than once.

Get better at Wordle!

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Generally you want to pick something with a good mix of common consonants and vowels in it as your Wordle opener, as this is most likely to return some early green and yellow letters. Words like SLATE, CHIME, and REACT all work, but feel free to find your own favourite.

Is Wordle getting harder?

(Image credit: Valve)

Wordle is not getting harder!

There will always be the occasional day where the answer is the name of a body part, has a sneaky double vowel, or a word obscure enough to send everyone rushing off to a dictionary. But the daily answers, edited by Tracy Bennett, are still a good mix of common terms and tougher challenges.

Remember that if you’re craving more of a challenge, you can enable Hard Mode under the ⚙️ options menu. This option doesn’t make the words themselves harder, but it requires that “any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses.”

How did Wordle begin?

Wordle is the creation of Josh Wardle, and began life as a small personal project before its public release in 2021. From there it’s gone on to become a global phenomenon, attracting a dedicated daily audience, billions of plays, a whole host of competitors, and even a seven-figure sale to the New York Times where it’s become a mainstay of daily games alongside the crosswords and Connections.



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In 'Final Fantasy Tactics', Throwing Rocks at Assholes Is Solidarity
Product Reviews

In ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’, Throwing Rocks at Assholes Is Solidarity

by admin October 4, 2025



Final Fantasy Tactics has long been beloved as one of the highest highs of the series, not just for its grand strategical depth but for its sharp and frank political themes, telling a sweeping tale of fantastical kingdoms, conspiracy, the nature of power, the truth in history, and class and political violence in equal measure.

But revisiting the 1997 classic this week for its new remaster, The Ivalice Chronicles, its opening hours reminded me that it’s also really about the simple joy of beaning someone you really, really hate in the face with a stone, even when they’re ostensibly on your own side, as a viable political action.

In the early hours of Final Fantasy Tactics, the Throw Stone ability is a fundamental tool in the game’s strategic combat kit. An early ability earned by one of the two default jobs, the Squire, Throw Stone is exactly what you think it is: a ranged attack where your selected character picks up a rock from the ground and promptly hurls it at whatever is in range. It doesn’t do a lot of damage, but it lets you do something on a unit’s turn, and that’s very important in Tactics.

© Square Enix

Character progression in Tactics is built around earning both experience points and “job points,” the former increasing your character’s general level in any given job they use and boosting their stats, and the latter being a currency used to unlock abilities within jobs (the term Tactics uses for different traditional Final Fantasy classes, like Knights, Archers, White and Black Mages, and so on). You earn them every time a character performs an action in Tactics‘ turn-based combat—not when they move around the field of battle, but when they perform a major action, like attacking, casting spells, or using items.

Characters can pick and choose abilities from across jobs to essentially multiclass as they progress through the games’ systems; making sure they’re earning XP and job points efficiently is a key layer to the games’ strategy. You want all your characters in the field participating, not just letting your heavy hitters run in and get all the hits in. So push comes to shove, if they’re a melee unit who can’t get in range, or they’re a primarily buffing or healing-based character, getting the Squire’s Throw Stone is useful early on just so a character can pick up a pebble and lob it at someone. It’s a last resort to keep that efficiency ticking over.

But most importantly, in regard to Final Fantasy Tactics‘ themes of class struggle, Throw Stone can target anyone who’s in range, friend or foe. It’s not a lot of damage, barely double-digits at most. If you want the XP and job points at the most efficient rate, why not have your lowly chemist ding your nearby knight with a stone if no one else is in range. They take a teeny bit of damage, you get your points, and it’s all fine.

There are targets among your allies for this minmaxing temptation that are much better than others early on, however. Well, actually, there’s one in particular: Argath Thadalfus, a guy who sucks so much.

© Square Enix

Players meet Argath very early on in Tactics. Main characters Ramza and Delita run into him being accosted by members of the Corpse Brigade, a revolutionary band that serves as an early antagonistic force. In Tactics‘ setting, the kingdom of Ivalice has only recently emerged from a half-century-long war with its eastern neighbor, Ordallia—a war that Ivalice broadly lost in suing for peace, having been financially ruined by decades of conflict. The Corpse Brigade is largely made up of disillusioned members of Ivalice’s peasant classes, brought in to fight the war on behalf of its noble families and then cast aside and left unpaid for their service, with no ways to support their families, already ravaged by the cost of the war.

Tactics makes it clear very early on that Ramza and Delita—the former the young scion of House Belouve, the latter his commoner friend—begin to realize that their life as training warriors-to-be is not necessarily on the right side of history as they’re drawn in to help put a final end to the Corpse Brigade. But Argath, who joins your retinue after being rescued, unabashedly and gleefully thinks otherwise: although his own noble family was disgraced in the war, Argath prides himself on his place above other people at every opportunity. He is arrogant and simpering in equal measure and deeply cruel—relishing in fighting alongside Ramza and Delita as they hunt down people he sees as little more than chattel.

Tactics knows this dude is a real piece of work every step of the way, and that’s part of what makes its opening so compelling, as you, the player, slowly come to realize alongside Ramza and Delita that you’re pawns in a much larger game, and the rot in Ivalice’s class structure runs deep. But it also means an interesting intersection of Tactics‘ mechanical and narrative design becomes clear. You have Throw Stone to maximize your leveling up. You have a guy in your party who is a snobby piece of shit that no one really likes. Throw Stone needs a target, and you’re not always going to have enemies in range to use it.

© Square Enix

Throw rocks at Argath. Repeatedly. Every turn, if you can. You can always occasionally chuck a potion at him if you get so zealous in your class consciousness that you almost stone him to death, but that just means you can repeat the cycle. Do it because it feels good.

And really, it does feel like an act of class solidarity. Ramza may be a noble, but eventually even he realizes that Argath’s complete disdain for those less well-off than he is abominable. Delita, a commoner himself, is already at odds with Argath, and part of the reason why Argath ultimately splits from your group is when the jerk callously mocks Delita’s sister after she’s believed to be a noble and taken hostage by the Brigade. The rest of your retinue is made up of randomized characters this early on in the game, so you can tell whatever story in your head about them—and with Throw Stone being a low-level Squire ability, it’s easily acquirable by every character you recruit by default, so it really can be a point of commonality for everyone regardless of background or whatever you go on to train them as.

Everyone in Tactics‘ opening can be unified in hating Argath so much that they all want to pelt him with rocks as much as they want to get through a combat encounter alive, to put the high and mighty snob in his place stone by stone. After all, when we all throw rocks at a guy who sucks together, we all rise together.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



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