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The Fairphone 6 standing before various boxes.
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Fairphone 6 review: a new high watermark for the eco-friendly phone

by admin



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Fairphone 6: Two-minute review

Fairphone has always delivered on its key promise of making the most eco-friendly smartphone it can, and over subsequent generations it’s also come on leaps and bounds at making a handset that’s has green credentials yet is also a solid Android phone. We’ve always given respectable reviews to handsets from the Dutch phone maker but that’s mostly for the eco-credos, and the quality of the devices has often left something to be desired.

That gets less true with each generation though and the Fairphone 6 shows another step towards the company understanding its true potential. Case in point, while this is still a chunky Android that has one foot in the rugged phone camp, it has a few features which make it stand out in the crowded smartphone market.

The successor to 2023’s Fairphone 5, the continuing key selling point for the new handset is it’s a green phone (literally, depending on which model you buy, but I’m talking about its environmental credentials). The phone incredibly easy to repair yourself, so you don’t need to toss it away should something break. It’s made with loads of recycled materials, from production processes that support fair working conditions. There’s no e-waste in the box and even the making of the phone was done with renewable energy.

While many phone brands might mutter out a line or two about how one component of its phone was made from recycled wool during an announcement, Fairphone makes its environmental mission part of the sales pitch. And with more people each year letting their carbon footprint (or desired lack thereof) inform their purchasing decisions, it remains the best part of buying a Fairphone.

But there’s more; Fairphones have often been pretty hardy but the sixth-gen model literally has military-grade certification to ensure it’s protected. I like a phone that can look after itself and you don’t need to worry with the Fairphone 6; I didn’t even put it in a case.

Like past models it’s very easy to replace damaged parts yourself using a little Fairphone-branded screwdriver, but a new change for this generation is the same process can be used to add accessories to the device (albeit ones bought separately). I found it really easy and even fun unscrewing the back panel to add a finger loop, or card holder, or lanyard, and this also encouraged me to poke around inside the device and demystify the scary-sounding self-repair process.

My biggest surprise with the Fairphone 6 was its presence of a 3D time-of-flight sensor on the back, in lieu of a third sensor. These were popular on phones a few years ago but largely as a way of bulking up a specs list, and rarely did they actually contribute much. But on the Fairphone 6, the impact is noticeable as portrait photos have incredibly accurate background blur, getting blurrier with greater distance from the subject. That’s not something you see often on smartphones and it made the Fairphone one of my favorite phones for pictures of myself (if taken on the rear camera, of course).

That’s not to say that the Fairphone is one of the best camera phones, as pictures tended to be a little dull, lacking in vibrancy and color, and the macro mode worked poorly.

Beyond the areas I’ve discussed, it’s overall a pretty average mid-range phone: its chipset, screen quality, battery capacity and charging speed are all at or slightly below what you’d expect for the price. But the software is stock Android, which provides a nice clean interface and the addition of a handy slider adds some quick functionality when you need it.

Fairphone 6 review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

  • Announced in June 2025, released shortly after
  • Costs £499 (roughly $680, AU$990) but only on sale in Europe
  • Pricier version available without Android OS

After being announced in June 2025, the Fairphone 6 was put on sale across July and August, only in Europe. That’s right, Fairphone doesn’t range the phone in the US or Australia… mostly.

The handset costs £499 (roughly $680, AU$990) so it’s a mid-ranged mobile in price. The accessories Fairphone sells and you can see in review images, like the lanyard or finger grip, all cost about £25 (about $34, AU$49). For context the Fairphone 5 was quite a bit pricier at £649 (roughly $800 / AU$1,250), and the price cut is welcome.

There’s another version of the smartphones that’s ‘deGoogled’ and comes with the open-source /e/OS instead of Android as the default operating system. This costs $899 / £549 (at least AU$1,000 but there’s quite a gulf between those two prices). As you can see it is on sale in the US, although at a rather high price compared to the UK and also the European pricing.

I didn’t test this version of the phone so it hasn’t been factored into this review, but specs-wise it’s the same as the Android version of the phone.

Fairphone 6 review: specs

Here’s the spec sheet in full for the Fairphone 6:

Swipe to scroll horizontallyFairphone 6 specsHeader Cell – Column 0 Header Cell – Column 1

Dimensions:

156.5 x 73.3 x 9.6mm

Weight:

193g

Screen:

6.31-inch 20:9 FHD (1116 x 2484) 120Hz OLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 7s Gen 3

RAM:

8GB

Storage:

256GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.6

Ultra-wide camera:

13MP f/2.2 116-degree

Front camera:

32MP, f/2.0

Audio:

Stereo speakers

Battery:

4,415mAh

Charging:

30W wired

Colors:

Green, white, black

Fairphone 6 review: design

(Image credit: Future)

  • New slider for quick functions
  • IP55 and MIL-STD-810H adds protection
  • Easily repairable or modifable

As with past models, the Fairphone 6 is a pretty blocky handset, but it makes sense for reasons we’ll get to in a bit. It comes in white, green or black; my review unit was white but the accessories were green, hence the color clash, and I found the white model picked up marks and stains pretty easily.

The phone measures 156.5 x 73.3 x 9.6mm and weighs 193g, so it’s a little smaller than many other contemporary Androids but is pretty thick.

The bottom edge of the phone has the USB-C port but there’s no audio jack. On the left side there’s the volume rocker, which I struggled to readily reach, and replacing it on the right edge of the phone, just above the power button, is a slider.

The function of this slider can be picked from the Settings menu; you can use it to turn on Do Not Disturb, Flight Mode, Torch, Dark Mode, Battery Saver or to turn on Fairphone Moments, a stripped-back menu with quick links to the phone’s most useful functions (maps, messages etc). I personally switched it to torch, because I love it when a phone has a quick way to turn on the flashlight.

Housed in the power button is the phone’s fingerprint sensor, as the Fairphone 6 doesn’t have an under-display scanner. In testing, I found this reliable and quick to use.

The Fairphone 6 is one of the few phones that I don’t feel you need to buy a case for, as by default it feels like it’s clad in an armor of hard plastic. But there’s more; not only does it have IP55 certification against dust ingress and water, it has the military-grade MIL-STD-810H protection too. This means it’s passed tests designed by the US Department of Defense to check that it’s reliable in military situations, so it can withstand altitude, extreme temperatures, humidity, intense shocks and so on. You (hopefully) won’t need any of these protections, but it’s a useful little piece of mind so that you know the Fairphone is hardy.

The unique selling point of the Fairphone 6 is that it’s fully repairable; not by an expert or specialist but by you. If a part of your ecp-friendly phone is damaged you can easily buy a new one on Fairphone’s website and replace it with a screwdriver (the company’s video tutorials might help), saving you buying a whole new device if one component is damaged. This is that eco ethos in action.

It’s also the case with accessories, as you can remove the phone’s back panel and replace it with a card holder, a finger loop or similar. The ability to be easily modded like this is perhaps the Fairphone 6’s most distinct upgrade over its predecessor and, frankly, is pretty fun to do too (Fairphone sent me each of the accessories along with the phone, though they’re not included in-box).

Fairphone 6 review: display

(Image credit: Future)

  • 6.31-inchd display feels small compared to contemporaries
  • New refresh rate at 120Hz beats predecessor
  • Sometimes struggles in sunlight

Compared to the behemoth screens of some flagship Android phones, the Fairphone 6 might feel a bit small (or ‘compact’, which is the diplomatic word choice). The display measures 6.31 inches across, so it matches the iPhone 17 in this regard.

The resolution is 1116 x 2484, just a hair above FHD+, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate in a notable upgrade over the last-gen Fairphone. The max brightness is 1,400 nits which is fine, but not as bright as many rivals, and I wouldn’t have minded a bit of extra shine for use on sunny days.

Most of the time, though, the Fairphone 6 display works well, especially since it totes the same number of pixels as a much bigger display but crammed down into a smaller screen to increase the pixels-per-inch count.

Fairphone 6 review: software

(Image credit: Future)

  • Comes with stock Android 15
  • 7 years of updates
  • Fairphone app gives extra insight into phone

Fairphone is one of the few remaining companies to use ‘true’ stock Android – not an Android fork, and not stock Android buried under so many customizations that it feels like a fork anyway.

In the case of the Fairphone 6 that means you’re looking at Android 15, and all the features that come with it: live location sharing, dodgy text warnings, screen time tracking and so on. The handset is due to get upgrades for the next seven years, which would take you up to Android 22 in the year 2033 (if that’s what Google decides to call it).

If you like a clean interface with no added bells and whistles, you’ll like the Fairphone 6’s software. You start free from bloatware and can build up your app library just how you like it.

Fairphone does have one addition: its own app is included on the device at start, and while you can remove it, there are some useful features. Firstly, it lets you find information about the device at a tap, instead of buried away in the Settings menu (although mine told me I had 0GB RAM and 0GB storage, perhaps an issue with a review unit. It lets you buy spare parts and accessories quickly too, providing video tutorials on how to add or replace parts.

But the most important is a phone health option, so you can see how much memory and storage you’ve used up, and also what the phone’s temperature is, giving you a little insight into its operations. The benefit of this is for the device’s longevity, so you can keep it ticking longer.

Fairphone 6 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

  • 50MP main and 13MP ultra-wide cameras, 32MP up front
  • Pictures lack contrast and color, but are detailed
  • Rear portraits look really good

Judging by a look at the specs list, Fairphone 6 isn’t being dragged into the camera- sensor pixel wars, dropping many from the past model. Its main camera is a 50MP f/1.6 snapper and it’s joined by a 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide as well as a 3D time-of-flight sensor. Those specs are absolutely fine for a low-cost phone (except the TOF sensor, a relic of yesteryear, which nine times out of ten doesn’t contribute anything) but nothing to write home about.

Photos taken on the phone are… fine. Forgive the boring descriptor but it’s the most apt one. Snaps have lots of image quality but not much in the way of dynamic range, with a single cloud in the sky dooming the photo with a noticeable lack of color or vibrancy.

In well-lit scenarios things fared a little better, but only a little; the greens of a natural landscape blur into one and a little extra contrast would go a long way. Still, they’re fine-looking for sharing around, especially if you don’t mind going into the edit menu and sprucing them up a little.

Fairphone’s mobiles have rarely had much in the way of photo post-processing optimization, at least compared to competitors, and that’s the case again. It won’t impress anybody but this is a phone for saving the planet, not for capturing sparkly pictures flaunting all the air miles you’ve burned by going to a remote beach for your holiday.

(Image credit: Future)

On the front there’s a 32MP f/2.0 camera for snapping selfies and I generally found it pretty fit for purpose, if still indicative of the rear cameras’ issues; snaps could be a little washed-out and colorless.

For a brief whip around the other specs: you can record video at 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps, and down to 120fps at 1080p in slow-motion mode. Most of the other modes are ones you expect: Pro, panorama, time-lapse and night mode.

There are two modes I’ll flag. First is portrait, with the Fairphone 6 surprisingly touting one of the best iterations of this mode I’ve seen. While snaps weren’t exactly vibrant, the bokeh background blur was accurate and varied in intensity depending on the distance to the phone, which is something I rarely see; that could be the TOF sensor in effect.

The other mode is macro, which really didn’t work too well. Like on most phones without a dedicated macro lens it uses the ultra-wide one, resulting in a pixel-heavy pic, missing the depth of field that such pictures should have. In testing I always turned off macro mode and relied on the main camera for such shots instead.

Fairphone 6 camera samples

Image 1 of 11

A standard picture taken on the Fairphone, in fairly well-lit conditions.(Image credit: Future)An ultra-wide photo taken in overcast conditions, to contrast the following two snaps.(Image credit: Future)A standard photo taken in overcast conditions, to contrast the preceding and following snaps.(Image credit: Future)A 2x zoom snap taken in overcast conditions, to contrast the two previous snaps (the phone uses digital zoom).(Image credit: Future)A canape board taken at 1x zoom in artificial lighting at close range.(Image credit: Future)A portrait snap of a man to show the bokeh effects (white bars added manually before adding this picture to the web).(Image credit: Future)A macro picture of some flowers… or an attempt to photograph them.(Image credit: Future)The flowers from the previous photo, but using the main camera, to show how improved it is.(Image credit: Future)Another standard picture of a closer object.(Image credit: Future)Another standard photo of a further subject.(Image credit: Future)A final standard photo showing a woodland scene with mixed lighting.(Image credit: Future)

Fairphone 6: performance and audio

  • Mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset
  • Single 8GB/256GB model
  • Bluetooth 5.4 or USB-C port for audio, no jack

As is the way with Fairphone’s mobiles, the Gen 6 doesn’t have a top-end chip, but it has enough power that you won’t find it too slow for everyday use. The chipset here is the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, which we’ve also seen in the likes of the Nothing Phone 3(a) Pro and Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus.

This is a mid-range piece of kit, capable of handling gaming in a mostly fine fashion, though maybe not at the top graphics options if you don’t want stutters, and all everyday tasks.

When I put the phone through a Geekbench 6 benchmark test, it returned a multi-core average score of 3,430, which reflects the chipset; Snapdragon 600s often sit at around 2,000 points while 800s I’ve tested recently have gone to the mid 4,000s.

Paired with the chipset is 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and there’s only one configuration available. While 8GB RAM is nothing to write home about, a spec that flags this as a mobile not designed for power-users, the storage is a solid amount that compensates for the lack of a microSD card slot.

It’s 2025 so of course there’s no 3.5mm audio jack for audio, Fairphone ditched that years ago when everyone else did. Instead you can listen to music using the Bluetooth 5.4 support or using a USB-C adaptor. The stereo speakers aren’t exactly impressive but that’s normal for a smartphone.

  • Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Fairphone 6 review: battery life

  • Relatively slender 4,415mAh battery
  • Slow 30W charging

(Image credit: Future)

The Fairphone 6 has a 4,415mAh battery, one which the company estimates will keep you going for “almost two days” from 100% power. I wouldn’t go that far, and I’d put the lasting power at about a day, or a little bit longer if you’re not an intensive user.

That’s a fine battery life for a smartphone, even if 4,415mAh may seem anemic given that most contemporaries have pushed it to 6,000mAh. Fairphone’s own optimizations and software and spec choices often counter smaller-capacity batteries.

Of course, if your battery starts to diminish or go wrong, it’s one of the many parts of the phone you can swap out very easily.

Charging is done at 30W, which is again a little lower than rivals, and you’ll have to wait for well over an hour to get from empty to full. There’s no kind of reverse or wireless powering.

Fairphone 6 review: value

(Image credit: Future)

What price would you put on a phone that looks after the planet?

Rhetoric aside, the Fairphone 6 isn’t priced particularly competitively when you look at the specs, but what sets its apart is its lasting power.

Not only does its IP and military certification ensure it’ll survive damage much better than other handsets on the market, but the fact you can replace ailing parts ensures that the mobile’s lifespan will far outstrip anything else you might be considering.

After all, the average phone lasts for under three years, especially cheaper models. The Fairphone 6 will last you longer than multiple other models if you let it.

Should you buy the Fairphone 6?

(Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyFairphone 6 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The potential lasting power of this phone means its price seems like a bargain, when looking at the bigger picture.

4.5 / 5

Design

It’s no looker, but it’s well protected, easily modifiable and has a handy new slider.

4 / 5

Display

If you want a phone with a smaller screen, the Fairphone will fit you perfectly.

3.5 / 5

Software

The software is nice and clean, as Google intended, but without the extra features Android forks bring.

3.5 / 5

Camera

Other than the impressive portrait capabilities, the Fairphone 6 cameras are bang average.

3.5 / 5

Performance

The Snapdragon chip here is fine for everyday use for most people, but gamers will pine for more.

3.5 / 5

Battery

The battery is small and the charging slow, but optimizations ensure the actual battery life is okay.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Fairphone 6 review: Also consider

If you don’t think this mobile is right for you, let’s look at some similar-priced handsets. Just note, other than the first, these won’t retain the Fairphone’s green principles.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Fairphone 6

Fairphone 5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus

Nothing Phone 3a Pro

Starting price (at launch):

£499 (roughly $680, AU$990)

£649 (roughly $800 / AU$1,250)

$399 / £399 (roughly AU$800)

$459 / £449 / AU$849

Dimensions:

156.5 x 73.3 x 9.6mm

161.6 x 75.8 x 9.6mm

162.53 x 74.67 x 9.95mm

163.52 x 77.5 x 8.39mm

Weight:

193g

212g

210g

211g

OS (at launch):

Android 15

Android 13

Android 14, HyperOS

Android 15, NohtingOS 3.1

Screen Size:

6.31-inch

6.46-inch

6.67-inch

6.77-inch

Resolution:

1116 x 2484

2700 x 1224

2712 x 1220

1080 x 2392

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3

Qualcomm QCM6490

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3

RAM:

8GB

8GB

8GB / 12GB

12GB

Storage (from):

256GB

256GB

256GB / 512GB

256GB

Battery:

4,115mAh

4,200mAh

5,110mAh

5,000mAh

Rear Cameras:

50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide

200MP main, 8MP ultra-wide

50MP main,. 50MP zoom, 8MP ultra-wide

Front camera:

32MP

50MP

20MP

50MP

How I tested the Fairphone 6

(Image credit: Future)

  • Review test period = 2 weeks
  • Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
  • Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

I tested the Fairphone 6 for just over two weeks to write this review, using it as my normal mobile in this time. As stated, I was sent the white version of the mobile along with all the extra accessories.

The testing process included a mix of experience and ‘lab’-style, so I’d use the handset as my normal phone for some of the time but also conducted a battery of benchmarking tests as well. I also took the phone with me on holiday, hence the camera samples.

I didn’t test the military-standard protection of the phone, due to not having a nearby warzone or extreme climate in which to do so. I’ll have to take Fairphone’s word for that.

As well as this mobile, I’ve tested the last few Fairphone mobiles, alongside plenty of other devices since I started reviewing for TechRadar in early 2019.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed September 2025



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A screencap of the World of Warcraft: Midnight Gamescom 2025 Opening Night Live cinematic trailer. A dark-haired elf looks toward the viewer, her face covered in a violet hue.
Product Reviews

World of Warcraft: Midnight’s collector’s edition lets you own the Dark Heart, but please don’t use this void relic to resurrect an all-devouring shadow god

by admin



World of Warcraft: Midnight is on the horizon, and you know what that means: the time to throw money at an ostentatious collector’s edition is almost upon us.

Conveniently, Blizzard has just revealed what Midnight’s fanciest edition contains, and while I’m not vibing with it as much as I did with The War Within’s, there’s some cool stuff in here.

Here’s what you’ll get:


Related articles

Game access

  • 3 days of Midnight early access
  • 30 days of WoW game time

Physical items

  • Midnight hardcover art book
  • Midnight collector’s pin
  • Replica of the Dark Heart

Digital items

  • Housing items
  • Hopeflutter and Doomfeathers pets
  • Lightstrider Raiment and Voidstrider Raiment armour transmog sets
  • Voidlight Surger mount
  • Lightwing Dragonhawk and Voidwing Dragonhawk mounts

(Image credit: Blizzard)

It looks like there will be other bits and bobs, too, including 2000 Trader’s Tender, which you can splash out with on the trading post, and a boost to level 80. The digital items will also be available in the cheaper epic edition, so the draw of the collector’s edition is all the physical items.

WoW’s art books are always great, and I still have a few of them sitting on my shelf, but for this expansion the highlight is probably the Dark Heart replica. I wouldn’t mind owning one myself, but I don’t think it holds a candle to the mighty Gryphon Rider statue from The War Within’s 20th anniversary collector’s edition.

You’ll be able to preorder the collector’s edition from October 1 via the Blizzard Gear Store in the US, where it’ll set you back a not-insignificant $140. In Europe, meanwhile, you’ll be able to get it via regional retailers.



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Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle Is Unbreakable. These Physicists Found a Loophole
Product Reviews

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle Is Unbreakable. These Physicists Found a Loophole

by admin


Old physics wisdom can get comically simple. Take, for instance, the idea that bigger is generally better for complex science observatories. But there’s another one that researchers unknowingly gloss over, despite its impressive success rate: When a rule can’t be broken, don’t fight it. Just go around.

In a Science Advances paper published today, physicists did just that. The researchers found a way to sidestep Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle—a monumental rule dictating the elusiveness of quantum particles—to arrive at a “Goldilocks Zone” for uncertainty that allows scientists to extract only the most relevant information from a quantum system. This practical approach could greatly benefit future advances in quantum sensing for navigation, medicine, or astronomy, according to the researchers.

“We really exploit this concept of moving the uncertainty around,” Christophe Valahu, study lead author and a physicist at the University of Sydney in Australia, told Gizmodo during a video call.

If a particle was on a ruler, the new approach wouldn’t be measuring its exact location or momentum, Valahu explained. Instead, the idea is to measure something called the particle’s modular position and momentum, which are “different variables that give very much the same kind of information,” he said.

Skirting around Heisenberg

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle, introduced by the eponymous physicist in 1927, dictates that it is impossible to precisely lock down both metrics—location and momentum—at the same time. Simply put, there is a trade-off between the two that emerges as a fundamental behavior of measurements in quantum mechanics.

The new approach essentially “redistributes uncertainty in a way that benefits us,” Valahu said. It sacrifices “larger-scale, global” information—the particle’s actual position and momentum—for a sharper picture of tiny changes in a particle’s position and momentum. The latter information would be much more relevant for quantum sensing, which depends on quantum mechanical rules to detect and track tiny signals.

A quantum marriage

To validate this idea, the team recruited quantum computing experts to develop a protocol based on its approach and a 2017 paper outlining a similar strategy. In the end, the researchers arrived at an “engineered quantum system” inspired by both quantum sensing and quantum computing, according to Valahu.

“Quantum computing and quantum sensing are two sides of the same coin,” Valahu said. “One of them is trying to eliminate noise; the other one is trying to measure the noise or a signal. In theory, the better you can measure signal, the better you can correct for noise as well. So they often work hand-in-hand.”

Co-author Tingrei Tan (left) and his PhD student Vassili Matsos participated in another experiment that used the paper’s ideas on an actual quantum system. Credit: Fiona Wolf/University of Sydney

Specifically, they wanted to see if the new sensing technique could help the researchers distinguish tiny signals among the error-inducing noise in a quantum computer. To their delight, they successfully measured the modular position and momentum of a trapped ion inside the quantum computer.

“It’s a very fundamentally different way of looking at quantum sensing—using what were traditionally quantum error-correcting codes now for quantum sensing,” Valahu said. “We think this is an enabling technology [that may] spawn more metrological technologies [and transform] how we do current sensing. By “metrological technologies,” Valahu is referring to the scientific study of measurement and the various tools used to take precise measurements.

The literature on quantum technology is growing at astonishing speeds. It’s a great time to explore how different fields can come together to create innovative solutions, Valahu said. Many opportunities are appearing, and it’s hard to focus on a single one—but there’s little doubt we’re living at an exciting time for all things quantum.



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Larry Ellison Is a ‘Shadow President’ in Donald Trump’s America
Product Reviews

Larry Ellison Is a ‘Shadow President’ in Donald Trump’s America

by admin


“Maybe 10 years ago, he was like, ‘I want Marco Rubio to be president,’” the same source says.

Many players first started hearing of Ellison in the lead up to the 2024 Republican presidential primary. At that point, after years of donating to both parties, Ellison was seen internally as doing Trump a small favor by pledging his financial support to senator Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolina. My sources considered Scott to be a solid VP contender, if a slight longshot. He was seen as harmless at worst, and at best a potential insurance policy in the event of a prolonged primary campaign—a potential spoiler candidate capable of pulling support from rivals, particularly fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley.

“His involvement with GOP politicians like Tim Scott was the appetizer,” a second Republican familiar with Ellison’s political activities tells me, “and Trump is the main course.”

TikTok, Paramount, AI—Oh My

Ellison, who’s almost two years older than Trump, has been setting the groundwork for the successor to his family empire. The weight of his legacy falls on the shoulders of his 42-year-old son, David.

Once an aspiring actor, David played a key role alongside James Franco in the 2006 WWI drama Flyboys—which he also partially financed. When his on-screen career didn’t take off, he figured he would be better not just behind the camera, but up in the C-suite.

David’s known political donations have been entirely to Democrats. But he is not known for having the same tactical nous as Larry.

“This is the exhausting part of it,” a campaign staffer with knowledge of donor outreach involving the Ellison family tells me, describing David as someone who carried himself with the confidence of a business tycoon despite, at the point they interacted, only having been born to one. “I’ve dealt with a lot of people through my career who are nepo babies. Some of them feel like they’re moguls in their own right.”

This source—who, like others, requested anonymity to speak candidly about the political influence of the Ellison family—said the nepo babies of the ultra wealthy tend to fall into two camps: There are those with pet policy issues and a desire to shape their legacy through some notion of making a difference, and there are those who want to accumulate power and influence for their own sake.

“He was always part of that latter group.”

Representatives for Larry and David Ellison did not return requests for comment.

While my Trumpworld and Republican sources who have dealt with Larry Ellison’s political activities say they take him to be more or less a true believer on most of their key issues at this point—most notably seen in his support for the Israeli military, a focus on improving “blue cities,” and his financial interests in the AI industry—far less is known about his heir apparent.

With a still vaguely described domestic iteration of TikTok and scores of TV channels from news to entertainment coming into the family’s portfolio, it remains to be seen whether David Ellison will become a Murdoch-type figure, setting the agenda for the modern GOP and in control of properties occupying the top spot in the conservative media ecosystem in the way Fox News did for the past three decades.



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Product Reviews

Instagram reaches 3 billion monthly users

by admin


Nearly 15 years in, Instagram has passed a new milestone: the app now reaches 3 billion monthly users, Mark Zuckerberg shared in a post on Threads. That’s up from 2 billion monthly users in 2022.

Meta doesn’t regularly share monthly or daily user numbers for its “family” of apps, but Facebook reached 2 billion daily users in 2023; WhatsApp passed 2 billion monthly users in 2020. The company reported 3.48 billion “daily active people” across facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger last quarter.

Meta shared the latest metric as it reportedly plans some significant changes to Instagram. According to Bloomberg, Meta will soon make Reels an even more prominent part of the app. Instagram exec Adam Mosseri told the publication that users will see a redesigned navigation bar that will “highlight private messaging and Reels.” The company will also run a test in South Korea and India that will allow users to set Reels as the default feed for the app. (Instagram’s newly-announced iPad app already makes Reels the default feed in order “to reflect how people use bigger screens today,” the company has said.)

It’s probably no coincidence that these changes come as the United States government edges closer toward an agreement that will put the US version of TikTok largely in the hands of US-based investors. Despite more than a year of uncertainty surrounding the app’s future in the United States, TikTok is still a formidable competitor to Meta more broadly and Instagram specifically.



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Rippling Spend website screenshot
Product Reviews

Rippling Spend review | TechRadar

by admin



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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.

Rippling Spend is an all-in-one spend management platform designed to streamline how businesses control their spending, which means it’s far more than just an expense or bill tracking tool.

The spend tracking tools are just one part of Rippling’s offering, which already spans other areas like HR, IT and other finance solutions.

Because of this unified approach, it means everything is kept under the Rippling roof which allows companies to simplify their software stacks. While it reduces the interoperability challenges posed by having to use multiple providers, it could result higher costs.

It’s designed primarily for mid-sized and growing businesses, so if you’re a startup with just a few people on the books and minimal spend tracking requirements, it might be too much for you.

Spend is one of Rippling’s newer products, launched in September 2022. Because it ties in with the rest of the platform, it with employee data like roles, departments and locations, for granular controls and approval automation.

Rippling says this helps streamline month-end processes and cut administrative time by up to 75%.

Rippling Spend: Plans and pricing

Rippling has a series of different packages to pick from, but one thing’s consistent across the entire ecosystem – you’ll struggle to find any explicit pricing, because Rippling wants to share this via a consultation.

The principal Rippling Platform offering comes in two flavors – Core and Pro. Both have add-ons like unlimited workflows, custom no-code apps and an API platform with over 600 third-party apps and integrations.

If you’re looking for a standalone spend management solution (without the full Rippling suite), then the Rippling Spend package is the right fit.

It includes tracking and reimbursement across any currency in over 100 countries, expense viewing and reimbursement via payroll, policies, receipt matching and the mobile app.

Again, Rippling does not disclose pricing, but we do know that companies will pay monthly per employee, so they only pay for what they use.

We understand tailoring packages to different sized companies is essential to maximizing value, but by simply not declaring prices to start with could leave many customers looking elsewhere.

(Image credit: Rippling)

Rippling Spend: Features

Rippling’s unified spend management platform includes expense management, corporate cards (physical and digital, with options for up to 1.75% cash back on eligible purchases), bill pay, payroll and travel into a single interface, so it can just about handle any mainstream expense you or your employees can throw at it.

It’s a great fit for bigger companies, because it allows admins to set up custom rules based on employees, such as department, role or location, meaning some processes and even approvals can be complete with automation.

In fact, it’s the automations that Rippling Spend such an easy system to use. For example, you can allow certain employees to book different cabin types on flights, or issue corporate cards to individuals with allocated budgets and spending categories.

It all means finance teams will have fewer requests with the correct setup.

For admins, a handy dashboard offers a consolidated view of live spending across departments, projects and other categories, which can be especially handy in the third sector where grant-led projects require funding to be allocated from different pots.

Another power of Rippling’s is that it integrates well with third-party applications, including over 600 accounting, HR and productivity tools like QuickBooks and Xero.

Finance teams will also love how Rippling Spend integrates bill payments and invoice processing – one less reason to have to jump between different apps.

(Image credit: Rippling)

Rippling Spend: Ease of use

Rippling is a big name in this space, so it should come as no surprise that everything feels very unified and simple across the entire ecosystem.

This consistent UI isn’t just nice to look at and easy to use, but it also helps from a staffing point of view because, if you’re using other tools in the Rippling suite, you’ll have fewer onboarding and training challenges.

It’s as easy to manage Rippling Spend as a finance exec as it is to use it as a worker – and the latter can submit expenses through email, receipt upload or manual entry, which are then automatically routed to the right approvers.

Rippling Spend is at its most powerful on the desktop, but there are mobile apps for on-the-go tracking and claim submissions, which is really handy for keeping tabs on costs during business trips.

It’s one big app – not just spend-tracking – so again, it’s better when a company commits to using the entire Rippling ecosystem.

(Image credit: Rippling)

Rippling Spend: Support

Rippling encourages users to schedule a demo to determine the features they need, and this is where the pricing will be revealed.

In terms of learning resources, the company has its own help center, webinars and documentation to guide users through most processes, but the platform is on the simpler side to use anyway.

Apart from the online chat pop-up, there’s an online form to reach Rippling, but no email address or phone number.

Rippling publishes support times daily to show response times across chat and email, how many customers are converted from chat to call, and more.

(Image credit: Rippling)

Rippling Spend: Final verdict

Rippling Spend is an easy-to-use spend management platform that consolidates corporate cards, expense tracking and bill payments into one integrated platform, as well as all the usual smaller expenses that add up.

Because it forms part of a wider Rippling ecosystem, it means companies can tap into existing knowledge about processes, projects and workers, which can significantly reduce administrative time – Rippling says by 75%.

The interface is about as easy as it gets on the desktop, and a handy complementary mobile app keeps workers connected on the go when they need to out-of-office expenses.

For admins and finance teams, real-time visibility across projects and teams eliminates last-minute surprises, and powerful automations keep things flowing with little human interaction needed – ultimately freeing up workers to product more meaningful work and saving the company time and money.

For mid-sized to larger organizations looking to centralize spend, Rippling Spend is a strong contender, but smaller teams might find just as much value from cheaper, smaller-scale solutions elsewhere.



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An image of an experimental cooling solution developed by Microsoft, that uses microfluidics to get coolant directly into the processor's silicon.
Product Reviews

Microsoft is resorting to laser etching AI-designed cooling channels directly into data center chips to tame their massive heat

by admin



Introducing microfluidic cooling: a breakthrough in chip cooling technology – YouTube

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If you think the power consumption of today’s gaming graphics cards is bad, it’s nothing compared to how energy the massive processors in AI and data systems use. All that power ends up as heat, resulting in chip cooling being a serious challenge. Microsoft reckons it has a great solution, though, and it’s all about getting water into the processors themselves.

The most complex direct-die, liquid cooling loops you’ll see in a gaming PC all involve using a chamber that mounts on top of the CPU. At no point does the coolant ever touch the chip directly. In a recently published blog, Microsoft explains how it has developed a system that does precisely that.

By etching the surface of the processor die with an intricate pattern of tiny channels, water can then be pumped directly into the silicon itself, albeit to a very shallow depth.


Related articles

The keyword to describe this is microfluidics, a technology that’s been around for many decades, and if the history of consumer tech is anything to go by, it’ll be a phrase plastered across every CPU cooler within a couple of years (though not actually do anything).

This might all just seem like Microsoft is cutting a few grooves into the chip and having water to flow through it, but it’s far more complicated than that. For a start, the channels themselves are no wider than a human hair, and they’re not just simple lines either. Microsoft employed the services of Swiss firm Corintis, which used AI to determine the best pattern for maximum heat transfer.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The end result is a network of microchannels that genuinely look organic, though at first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the complex patterns were just manufacturing defects. It certainly looks super cool (pun very much intended).

Microsoft claims the tech is up to three times more effective at removing heat from a massive AI GPU than a traditional cold plate (aka waterblock), citing a 65% reduction in the maximum temperature rise of the silicon.

Since all the coolant transfer apparatus doesn’t need to be right on top of the microchannels, the system can also be applied to stacked chips, with each one etched before mounting. This way, each die within the stack is cooled individually, meaning they can operate closer to their maximum specifications than with a normal cold plate.

Take AMD’s X3D processors, for example. These all have one stacked chip underneath the heatsink: a Core Complex Die (CCD) bonded to a 3D V-Cache die. Each one acts as a thermal barrier to the other, though the CCD does generate much more heat than the cache die. If these could be both cooled via microfluidics, you’d be able to operate them both at higher clock speeds.

Of course, such complex tech isn’t cheap to develop or implement, and the likelihood of it ever appearing at the consumer level is very slim. But I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody takes an RTX 5090, rips off the heatsink, and swaps it for a homebrewed microfluidic cooler.

There again, if ramping up power consumption is the only way AMD, Intel, and Nvidia can keep improving chip performance, perhaps we might see etched processors and direct-die cooling being standard fare in our gaming PCs. After all, it wasn’t that long ago when heatpipes and vapour chambers were phrases never to be uttered by a PC component manufacturer, but now they’re in coolers of every kind.

Best CPU coolers 2025

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iBuyPower Y40 Pro
Product Reviews

iBuyPower Y40 Pro Review: Style first

by admin



Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware


Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

iBuyPower casts a wide net with its desktop lineup, aiming to please everyone from frugal shoppers to hardcore enthusiasts. And while it often delivers, the Y40 Pro, reviewed here ($1,899.99 as tested, on sale for $2,099.99), raises a few eyebrows. Its aquarium-like glass shell and RGB-lit interior certainly make a statement, and the performance appears promising at first glance. But the focus on aesthetics brings compromises that may lead you to look elsewhere.

Design of the iBuyPower Y40 Pro

As the Y40 Pro’s name suggests, the system is built in Hyte’s Y40 chassis, a more compact, pared-down sibling to the Hyte Y60 found in the iBuyPower Y60 Pro. (Hyte is owned by iBuyPower.) Aesthetics take center stage here. The borderless glass panels on the front and sides evoke a fishtank-like display, offering an unobstructed view of the internals. Its dimensions of 18.58 x 17.28 x 9.44 inches (HDW) are standard mid-tower fare.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

  • iBuyPower Y40 Pro at Amazon for $2,106.79

The tower is equipped with five 120 mm RGB fans: two side intakes, one rear exhaust, and two mounted on its own 240 mm liquid CPU cooler. RGB lighting extends to the cooler’s waterblock and the system’s RAM, creating a cohesive glow throughout the build.

To manage the lighting, I had to manually install MSI Center. Identifying which fans were mapped to which headers eluded me, but the “Select All” function allowed me to apply settings across all zones simultaneously. That’s slightly disappointing – being able to control individual zones would have allowed more personalization. The RGB DIMMs, however, can be independently controlled.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The case itself is sturdy, with generous use of rolled steel. Side panels are secured with metal ball pins that release with a firm pull, a simple and effective solution. That said, a few design choices feel counterintuitive. The right side panel’s dust filter is molded in, making it non-removable – cleaning it requires removing the entire door. The two bottom filters slide out in opposite directions, meaning you’ll likely need to shift the entire tower if it’s placed near a wall. There’s also a dust filter on the top panel, despite it serving as an exhaust rather than an intake.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Y40 Pro’s fan noise proved distracting. Even at idle, the fans remain consistently audible, often rising above ambient household sounds. Thermal management appears poorly tuned, with fan curves reacting aggressively to brief CPU activity spikes. During gaming sessions, noise levels increased noticeably, prompting me to switch to closed-back headphones just to catch subtler in-game sounds. While advanced users can tweak the fan curves in the motherboard BIOS or using an app, this desktop should have come better-tuned out of the box.

iBuyPower Y40 Pro Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

CPU

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

Motherboard

MSI PRO B650-BC WIFI

Memory

32GB DDR5-5200 (2x 16GB)

Graphics

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (16GB GDDR7, 2,452 MHz boost clock)

Storage

2TB SSD (AGI2T0G43AI818)

Networking

2.5 Gbps Ethernet, RealTek RZ616 Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Front Ports

2x USB Type-A, USB Type-C, 3.5 mm audio

Rear Ports

USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2, 7x USB-A 3.2 (3x Gen 2, 4x Gen 1), 3.5 mm audio connectors, DisplayPort, HDMI

Power Supply

750 watts, non-modular

Cooling

240 mm liquid cooling (iBuyPower)

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

Dimensions (WxDxH)

18.58 x 17.28 x 9.44 inches

Price (as configured)

$1,899.99

Today’s best iBuyPower Y40 Pro deals

Ports and Upgradeability on the iBuyPower Y40 Pro

The Y40 Pro delivers standard connectivity for a mid-tier gaming desktop – nothing unexpected, but nothing lacking either. Up front, you’ll find a 3.5 mm audio jack, two USB Type-A ports, and a USB Type-C port, with the power button centered between the group.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The MSI PRO B650BC motherboard backplane features seven USB-A ports (three rated at 10 Gbps, four at 5 Gbps), a 20 Gbps USB-C port, and six 3.5 mm audio jacks. HDMI and DisplayPort outputs are available if the CPU includes integrated graphics, as our Ryzen 9 7900X test unit does. That said, monitors should be connected to the GPU’s outputs: the RTX 5070 Ti provides one HDMI and three DisplayPort connectors.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

For networking, the system includes a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port and a RealTek RZ616 wireless card supporting Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Note that the external antennas shown in the photos must be attached for reliable wireless performance.

This case’s priority on form over function limits expansion. The vertically mounted GPU obstructs the motherboard’s PCIe slots, ruling out the installation of any additional full-height cards. It’s just something to be aware of when you buy this desktop – most users are not installing additional PCIe cards. That said, you can install a half-height card in either of the remaining slots, one x1 and one x16.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Storage options are surprisingly limited for a case of this size. Aside from the two M.2 slots on the motherboard, the only additional drive support is behind the motherboard, where there’s room for either two 2.5-inch drives or a single 3.5-inch drive. Meanwhile, memory expansion is more forgiving – our test unit has two of the four UDIMM slots open, and the board supports 192GB of RAM.

The 750-watt power supply isn’t modular, but it covers the standard connectors and delivers enough juice for mid- to enthusiast-tier GPUs. With clearance for cards up to 422 mm long, this case shouldn’t hold you back when it’s time to upgrade.

Gaming and Graphics on the iBuyPower Y40 Pro

Our Y40 Pro test configuration features a Ryzen 9 7900X CPU, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, and 32GB of DDR5-5200 RAM.

For my game testing, I fired up F1 24 and played at the game’s Ultra preset at 3840 x 2160 with DLSS enabled, seeing anywhere from the high-80 to the low-100 frames per second range. The gameplay was exceptionally smooth.

We compared the Y40 Pro to two other gaming desktops: the Asus ROG G700 ($2,029 as tested) features an Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, though it sticks with the vanilla GeForce RTX 5070, while the Corsair Vengeance a7500 ($2,799) pairs the gaming-focused Ryzen 7 9800X3D with an RTX 5070 Ti. While the Corsair and the iBuyPower have similar GPUs, we’ll see some big performance gaps at 1080p due to the CPU, which also makes the Corsair far more expensive.

Image 1 of 5

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Starting with Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the Highest detail preset, the Y40 Pro trailed the Corsair significantly at the CPU-bound 1080p resolution, with 228 FPS versus the Corsair’s 261 FPS. At 4K, however, both systems leveled out at 89 FPS. The RTX 5070-powered Asus predictably fell behind, posting 199 FPS at 1080p and 68 FPS at 4K.

In Cyberpunk 2077’s demanding Ray Tracing Ultra preset, the Y40 Pro narrowed the gap, achieving 87 FPS at 1080p compared to the Corsair’s 95 FPS. At 4K, both machines converged again, each producing 29 FPS.

Far Cry 6 at Ultra settings showed a wider disparity at 1080p, with the Y40 Pro reaching 125 FPS while the Corsair surges ahead at 197 FPS. At 4K, the performance is almost identical. The Asus sits between the two, with 110 FPS at 1080p and 80 FPS at 4K.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 (Medium preset), the Y40 Pro clocked in at 161 FPS at 1080p, just behind the Corsair’s 174 FPS. At 4K, the difference is negligible: 66 FPS for the Y40 Pro and 67 FPS for the Corsair. The Asus trailed again, with 120 FPS at 1080p and 50 FPS at 4K.

Finally, in Borderlands 3 at the “Badass” preset, the Y40 Pro stayed competitive, posting 215 FPS versus the Corsair’s 227 FPS at 1080p. Both systems match at 94 FPS at 4K. The Asus finished with 175 FPS and 74 FPS, respectively.

Overall, the Y40 Pro delivers stable gaming performance, though it falls short of the Corsair in CPU-intensive titles and lower resolutions, where the Ryzen 7 9800X3D clearly extracts more from the RTX 5070 Ti. At 4K, where GPU limitations are apparent, the two systems perform nearly identically. Since the Y40 Pro is also available with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, its performance gap isn’t necessarily a strike against it, though as of this review, no RTX 5070 Ti configuration was available with that chip (see the configuration section for more).

To evaluate sustained gaming performance, we run 15 loops of the Metro Exodus stress test at RTX settings. During the approximately 30-minute test, the Y40 produced an average framerate of 163 FPS across all runs, with almost no variation between runs. The Ryzen 9 7900X maintained an average temperature of just 50 degrees Celsius while the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti averaged 61 C.

Productivity Performance on the iBuyPower Y40 Pro

The Y40 Pro is built for high-performance productivity, featuring a Ryzen 9 7900X processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

In Geekbench 6’s synthetic CPU test, the Y40 Pro landed behind its rivals in both single- and multi-core scores. It posted 2,953 points in single-core, just shy of the Asus’ 3,029 and well below the Corsair’s leading 3,247. Multi-core results followed a similar pattern, with the Y40 Pro scoring 17,226 compared to 19,057 for the Asus and 18,124 for the Corsair.

The Y40 Pro also lagged in our 25GB file transfer test, where its SSD delivered 1,501.6 MBps. That’s notably slower than the Asus at 1,816.5 MBps and far behind the Corsair’s impressive 2,659.9 MBps.

In our Handbrake video transcode test (4K to 1080p), the Y40 Pro redeemed itself slightly, finishing in 2 minutes and 29 seconds to be second fastest overall. It trailed the Asus (2:03) but outpaced the Corsair (3:02).

Performance may improve with the newer Ryzen 9 9700X configuration, which could help close the gap in CPU-heavy workloads. As noted in the Configurations section of this review, iBuyPower offers many different CPUs in this tower, including Intel chips.

Keyboard and Mouse with the iBuyPower Y40 Pro

iBuyPower bundles its Chimera K7 RGB mouse and keyboard with the Y40 Pro, which are basic peripherals but a cut above the generic kits often tossed in with mainstream desktops.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Chimera K7 mouse sports a gamer-friendly shape that fits comfortably in medium-sized hands, though it’s designed exclusively for right-handed users. While the primary buttons and scroll wheel feel like nothing special, it does include two side buttons and a DPI toggle behind the wheel. A dedicated RGB switch on the underside cycles through ten LED modes, including off. The lighting is impressively bright, with effects like breathing, strobing, solid color, and a starlight mode that illuminates sections of the mouse in sequence.

Despite its membrane construction, the keyboard delivers a surprisingly tactile typing experience. I had no trouble maintaining my usual speed of about 120 words per minute and near-perfect accuracy on MonkeyType. It lacks premium features like USB passthroughs, but compensates with vibrant RGB backlighting across multiple colors. Lighting is controlled directly via Fn+ScrollLock, with options for static or breathing effects, and can be disabled using Fn+Pause. Flip-out feet provide a slight incline for ergonomic comfort, though iBuyPower unfortunately doesn’t include a palm rest.

Software and Warranty

Besides the usual smattering of Windows 11 default apps, iBuyPower preloads no software onto the Y40 Pro, which is mostly great. I had to install MSI Center myself for RGB lighting control.

iBuyPower backs the Y40 Pro with an industry standard one-year warranty.

iBuyPower Y40 Pro Configurations

iBuyPower offers a vast selection of prebuilt desktops, including fully customized systems on its website. Our Y40 Pro test unit, a $2,099 model from Amazon, uses the older Ryzen 7 7900X CPU; an $1,899 version at Best Buy swaps in the Ryzen 9 9700X and keeps all other specifications the same, including the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.

Other configurations available at Best Buy begin at $1,499 with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Radeon RX 7800 XT, followed by a $1,599 model with a Ryzen 7 8700F and RTX 5070, and a $1,699 option pairing a Ryzen 7 7800X3D with a Radeon RX 9070. Higher-tier models include a $1,999 build with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Radeon RX 9070XT, and a $2,299 version matching our test unit’s specs but upgraded to a Ryzen 9 9900X. Systems featuring the RTX 5080 start at $2,499, with the flagship $2,999 configuration combining that GPU with a Ryzen 9 9900X.

iBuyPower is competitive on price: a similarly equipped Corsair Vengeance a7500 was listed at $2,899 with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 1TB SSD, Alienware’s Aurora came in at $1,949 with a Core Ultra 7 265KF, and the Asus ROG G700 was priced at $2,399 with a Ryzen 7 9800XD.

Bottom Line

iBuyPower’s Y40 stands out visually and delivers solid mid-tier gaming performance, backed by decent build quality and ample connectivity. Above-average peripherals and competitive pricing further enhance its value proposition.

That said, noticeable fan noise detracts from the overall experience, and the limited RGB customization may disappoint users seeking more personalization. While most won’t need to expand storage or install additional full-height PCIe cards, it’s worth noting that the chassis offers little flexibility in those areas.

Ultimately, the Y40 Pro is among the more stylish mid-towers we’ve tested and holds its own against competitors like the Asus ROG G700. Still, for those prioritizing acoustic performance, the quieter G700 earns our preference.

iBuyPower Y40 Pro: Price Comparison



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A Brief History of Swole Hutts
Product Reviews

A Brief History of Swole Hutts

by admin


When the first trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu dropped yesterday, one of its many creature-packed visuals seemingly confirmed one of the most absurd pieces of casting surrounding the movie: that The Bear star Jeremy Allen White would be entering the Star Wars galaxy as a grown-up Rotta the Hutt, last seen as a tiny baby Huttlet in the 2008 Clone Wars animated movie.

Adult Rotta and Star Wars‘ yearning penchant to revisit characters no matter how minor weren’t the distressing things about the moment in the trailer, however. It’s that, whether it’s Rotta or notta, that Hutt was swole.

But of course, this is not actually the first time Star Wars has ever engaged with the concept of a muscular Hutt—Rotta is just the latest in a long line of times the series has explored the idea of what happens if you give a space slug a six-pack.

Swole Hutts in the Expanded Universe

Leia and Beldorion’s duel depicted in The Essential Chronology. © Bill Hughes/Del Rey.

Swole Hutts were much less common in Star Wars‘ old Expanded Universe—they mostly formed a part of contemporary Hutt society’s ancient history, where the species was depicted as a mighty warrior race, carving out their military empire in what would eventually become the broader sector of Hutt Space. Eventually, infighting among the Hutts led to a devastating civil war known as the Hutt Cataclysms, which laid waste to the Hutts’ homeworld, Varl, and nearly took the Hutts with it.

The surviving Hutts founded a new homeworld, Nal Hutta, and transitioned from a martial-focused society to a clan-based system known in Huttese as “Kajidics.” With the formalization of the Kajidics, Hutt society promoted competition through economic enterprise rather than military might, radically overhauling the cultural value Hutts placed on raw physical strength.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have examples of swole Hutts in the EU. The 1997 novel Planet of Twilight introduced us to Beldorion, a former Jedi who abandoned the Order and fell to the dark side of the Force. When he was encountered by Leia Organa in the early days of the New Jedi Order, Beldorion was revealed to have been using the Force itself to sustain a lithe, muscular physical form, granting him immense strength and prowess in lightsaber combat, to account for his decayed control over the Force in other forms. Buff or not, Leia was able to defeat the Dark Jedi after a brief duel, bisecting him.

Swole Hutts in Modern Canon

© Guiu Vilanova, Dean White, Giada Marchisio, and Joe Caramagna/Marvel Comics

Swole Hutts, then, have become more commonplace in the modern, post-reboot Star Wars continuity, with Rotta becoming merely the latest in a line presenting a contrast to our typical vision of what Hutts look like.

Marvel’s Star Wars comics have served as a primary source of buff Hutts—just nine issues into the revitalized Star Wars ongoing back in 2015, we were introduced to Grakkus the Hutt, a crime lord obsessed with artifacts from the Jedi Order who attempted to add Luke Skywalker himself to his collection. Grakkus used a series of cybernetic legs to aid his mobility, but he was also incredibly physically strong and fit, proving to be much more sizeable than most depictions of Hutts. However, when Grakkus made a brief return during the events of the Poe Dameron comic series (set in the couple years running up to The Force Awakens), he was depicted more in line with the typical body type associated with Hutts after a lengthy period of imprisonment.

Elsewhere in the comics we were also introduced to Bokku the Hutt in the 2020 relaunch of the Darth Vader comic series. A ranking member on the Grand Hutt Council that guided Hutt civilization, Bokku was an extremely muscular Hutt who unfortunately crossed paths with Darth Vader in his attempts to locate the carbonite-frozen body of Han Solo. In the aftermath of an attempted auction of Solo’s body by the Crimson Dawn syndicate leader Lady Qi’ra, Bokku was slain by Vader.

That brings us to Rotta (or seemingly so, as the Hutt in the trailer has yet to be confirmed explicitly as such—although an appearance of the Desilijic clan emblem in the trailer heavily suggests a connection to Jabba’s family). The Mandalorian and Grogu actually marks the first time we’ve seen Rotta as an adult Hutt, having only appeared as a Huttlet during the events of the 2008 Clone Wars movie, where he was the subject of a kidnapping plot aided by the Separatist confederacy in an attempt to disrupt negotiations between Jabba and the Galactic Republic.

The intervening 30 years (and death of his father) have apparently been kind to Rotta: the trailer for the movie only gives us a brief, back-facing look at the Hutt as he roars before a screaming crowd in a combat arena, but he’s clearly trimmer and more muscularly defined compared to the typically presented Hutt body type.

Swole Hutts and Star Wars‘ History With Fatphobia

Grakkus the Hutt as he appeared in Star Wars #9 and Poe Dameron #4 © Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Justin Ponsor/Phil Noto, Marvel Comics

The increased depiction of swole Hutts in Star Wars, especially to make them a contrasting design to the standard depictions of the species, does sit as part of a broader unfortunate Star Wars legacy: the franchise’s historical depiction of fat bodies, and typically how those portrayals play into shorthand for negative tropes.

Both the Expanded Universe and contemporary canon have played into this depiction of fatness as a reflection of negative traits when it comes to the Hutts. The idea of corpulence as a reflection of a Hutt’s power in criminal enterprise—the idea that as a Hutt acquires power, they are able to offload physical labor to associates, slaves, and mercenaries for hire—has long been a part of Hutt culture in both versions of canon, especially in light of their EU history as a martially driven species before turning to an economics-driven society.

Star Wars‘ depiction of Hutts in broad strokes spinning solely out of the original trilogy’s depiction of Jabba—leading to the general idea that most Hutts are criminals, and that in turn most Hutts are obese, and that these two facts are often associated—is just one aspect of many when it comes to the franchise typically depicting characters of size as amplifications, or as aspects, of their negative traits (another example would be The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett‘s depiction of Bib Fortuna, who was portrayed as having gained a significant amount of weight during his brief reign overseeing Jabba’s criminal empire after his death).

It’s also more nuanced than simply depicting characters of size as inherently villainous—there are overweight characters who are heroes, like X-Wing pilot Jek Porkins (unfortunate name aside) in A New Hope—but the idea of wanting to depict outwardly muscular Hutts as a specific contrast to the body norms usually associated with the species does at least speak to an element of wanting to move beyond cheap, lazy stereotyping. If anything, there probably should be plenty more muscular Hutts, given the strength required to move their large, gastropod frames in the first place.

Perhaps Rotta, Grakkus, and Bokku will simply be some of the first steps towards that kind of more nuanced depiction of Hutts. Well… maybe more of a first slither?

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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The Best Sheets on Amazon, Tested by WIRED (2025)
Product Reviews

The Best Sheets on Amazon, Tested by WIRED (2025)

by admin


Comparing Our Favorite Sheets on Amazon

Honorable Mentions

Boll & Branch Signature Sheets for $259: I love this brand’s flannel, and this signature sheet set is a solid choice as well (though pricey compared to other cotton sheet sets I prefer).

Buffy Eucalyptus Lyocell Sheet Set for $200: This set uses lyocell made from eucalyptus trees for a similar feel to bamboo sheets—silky and chilly to the touch. It’s another unique cooling option, and great for folks who love soft bedding.

Cariloha Classic Bamboo Sheet Set for $239: For being Cariloha’s cheapest set, it still feels fantastic to sleep on and delivers on the softness and comfort you want in a good bamboo sheet. Upgrade to Cariloha’s Retreat Sheets ($289) if you want a securing strap, which is handy for silky bamboo.

Coyuchi Organic Crinkled Percale Sheet Set for $189: I love a few different sets from Coyuchi, but none of the ones we’ve tested are available on Amazon. Still, it’s a good organic brand, so swinging for the crinkled percale and classic sateen ($178) will likely leave you satisfied.

Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set for $330: This is a big favorite in the bamboo world for the super-cozy, silky soft feel. It’s unlike any other bamboo set I’ve tried. It’s a splurge, but truly worth it if you love a cozy-soft feel and want sheets that feel cool to the touch at the same time (but warm up nicely as you sleep).

Ettitude Signature Sateen Bamboo Sheets for $333: These are an impressively decorated set of bamboo sheets, with certifications from Oeko-Tex, the Forest Stewardship Council, Eco-Cert, and B-Corp. Bamboo doesn’t have the same organic certifications yet that you can find on linen and cotton, but this is the closest combo you’ll get. These sheets are also super soft yet still very breathable, and my favorite bamboo for hot sleepers and organic shoppers.

Sheets to Skip

Amazon Basics Microfiber Sheet Set for $20: We wanted to like these cheap sheets made by Amazon, but this set is a major skip. This set both felt and sounded like the paper robes you wear at the doctor’s office, and our testers hardly managed sleeping on these for a single night.

Coop Comphy Cool+ Sheet Set for $219: This set promises cooling properties, but I found myself waking up sweating after sleeping on these, which isn’t a huge surprise after seeing they’re made of nylon, polyester, and spandex, none of which are as breathable as simple linen or cotton.

Rest Evercool+ Cooling Starter Sheet Set for $299: These are supposed to be cooling sheets, but I found myself waking up feeling moisture trapped around me. Whatever’s in Rest’s proprietary cooling fabric didn’t work for me at all.

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