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I spent 30 brilliant days with this powerful pre-built mini gaming PC: Wired2Fire HAL 9000 review
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I spent 30 brilliant days with this powerful pre-built mini gaming PC: Wired2Fire HAL 9000 review

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Small form factor gaming PCs are getting ever more popular, but the often fiddly assembly process is one that you don’t need to undertake yourself. This is where the Wired2Fire HAL 9000 Mini PC I’ve been testing recently comes in. It’s a well-specced mini PC with full-size desktop parts, including an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X processor, RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM and a 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade SSD. All of this fits inside the Cooler Master NR200P Max V2, an 18-litre case that ranks amongst our top Mini ITX PC case recommendations.

The price? From Wired2Fire’s website, this PC will cost you £1924, including the cost of a Windows licence. For context, if you’re willing to shop around and order from various UK retailers, a DIY version of this PC will cost you £1674 at minimum. That works out to a modest £250 premium for a pre-built system with two-week build time, five-year build warranty and two-year part warranty. I particularly like the fact that the use of off-the-shelf parts means that you’ll avoid a lot of the future upgrade woes common to bigger sellers like HP or Lenovo that use bespoke cases, motherboards and power supplies.

In order to be worth recommending though, Wired2Fire needs to deliver on more than just a good parts list. We’ll also be looking at how well the system is packed for delivery, configured in terms of BIOS and software, and supported by its warranty and customer service. And of course, we’ll be checking to see whether we get the expected level of performance from a SFF PC with these particular parts. Click the quick links below or scroll on for our full findings!

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Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – Packaging and Cable Management

When it comes to the packaging, we just want a box that prevents any reasonable damage in shipping, and Wired2Fire does hit that standard.

The PC was double-boxed, with the PC case packaging inside a larger cardboard box filled with air bags. The main PC was wrapped in foam, with bubble wrap protecting the internal components. It’s sometimes preferable for GPUs to be shipped separately, but that does require a certain level of knowledge from the end user – so shipping with it installed is fine if that internal protection is present. In taking the PC out of the packaging, I can’t actually find fault with it – Wired2Fire’s attention here is first-rate.

A gallery of the PC packaging and cable management – click to expand.

Alongside the Cooler Master case box, you also get the boxes for the other components, including the ASRock B850I Lighting WiFi motherboard (an upgrade from the MSI B650 choice listed on the website), an envelope with instruction manuals, a Windows 11 Home licence, a kettle plug power cable and a patch cable.

In removing the packaging and the side panels for a closer look, cable management is also excellent, with good channelling and consistent tie-downs using both the case’s built-in wraps and some handy cable ties. It’s certainly a better job than I could do in a few days of trying, so good marks there, too.

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – Part Selection

On the front of part selection, the parts installed in this PC aren’t totally consistent with those listed on the Wired2Fire website. However, the discrepancies are generally for the better, with our unit coming with a newer B850 motherboard and a well-regarded Asus Tuf Gaming RTX 5070 Ti. In taking a closer look at the innards of the PC, the RAM used is RGB-enabled Adata XPG Lancer Blade DDR5-6000 RAM with relatively loose CL48 timings – a little off the CL30 kits we recommend but not egregiously so.

The AIO cooler and PSU are the Cooler Master ones that come with the NR200P Max case – this isn’t actually a V2 version, as there isn’t a front-panel USB-C connector, in spite of what the Wired2Fire website says. The PSU inside is a Cooler Master V850 80+ Gold SFX unit that beats Nvidia’s recommended minimum wattage for the 5070 Ti and gives a good amount of headroom and efficiency, too. Overall, it’s a sensible selection, though a proper Max V2 case with front panel USB-C and some tighter RAM timings wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – BIOS Configuration

One of the things that Wired2Fire mentions when you configure this PC is that by default they provide a “moderate CPU optimisation” package that they say is “suitable for gaming and workstation usage alike”. This is a free option that’s enabled by default when you spec the system out, with a more extreme overclock available for £80.

In our case, this seems to refer to enabling the gaming mode on the ASRock motherboard BIOS, with the “Zen 5 Gaming Optimisation” setting set to the AGESA default and the “Cinebench profile performance boost mode” enabled. I didn’t see evidence of more substantive changes, such as enabling PBO, but the RAM was at least set to its EXPO 6000MT/s 48-48-48-96 setting at 1.10V. This is about what we’d expect for a free “optimisation” package.

Likewise, the PC was shipped with the latest BIOS version, 3.2, available at the time of ordering. The chipset and graphics drivers in Windows were also updated to the latest versions, which is always nice to see.

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – Warranty and Customer Service

Another advantage of a pre-built gaming PC is having a support network to turn to if you have any issues, rather than needing to trawl through Reddit and other online forums. Wired2Fire’s support page gives the options of a phone number, email address and a web form.

For convenience, I used the web form to see if they could diagnose a couple of issues. First of all, I stated that the RAM wasn’t showing as overclocked in the BIOS, and if they could help me with enabling EXPO. They replied with a short and helpful answer just seven minutes later.

To test them a little harder, I went back and noted that one of the RAM sticks had mysteriously become unseated during shipping, and that one of them wasn’t being recognised in the BIOS. They came back with a link to a YouTube video to help me get the theoretically unseated RAM back in the system a handful of hours after my original message.

The terms of their warranty are stated on the website. Desktop PCs are covered by a “Standard Desktop PC Collect and Return Warranty” that covers the costs of labour charges for any repair work within five years, as well as the process of repair, replacement or refund for faulty parts within two years. Replacement parts will be dealt with like-for-like, or one that is “at least as good in terms of performance as the faulty part”, while for refunds, if before six months it’s the full value and after six months it’s the “equivalent second-hand value” of the item. Where an item is shown to be faulty, Wired2Fire will cover the costs of collection and return. As is typical, there are exclusions, such as accidental damage or items damaged in transit due to inadequate packaging.

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – Gaming Performance

Arguably, the most important piece of this puzzle is how this Wired2Fire HAL 9000 Mini PC performs. We’ve tested its core components previously, but not necessarily together, so it’ll be interesting to see how it performs. The 5070 Ti is a serious contender for our favourite mid-tier GPU, which Rich equated to in our review as in “4080 territory, or more with an overclock.”

As with my testing with the Ryzen 5 5600 PC, I’ve taken a broad selection of games to best judge how this small form factor PC performs across 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions. The tests were run at the highest settings at native resolution in most cases for comparison purposes, so it’s often possible to achieve higher performance by dropping settings and/or enabling upscaling using DLSS, FSR or XeSS. All games were tested on a Philips Evnia 32M2N8900, a 4K 240Hz QD-OLED panel.

To provide some extra context, we also have the returning results from the 5600 and 7800X3D systems with an RX 7800 XT, as games were run at the same settings.

Here are the ray-traced performance graphs – click to expand.

You can see the array of graphs and data above and below, and in short, I was thoroughly impressed with the general performance of the system. We’ve got particularly impressive results in the likes of Indiana Jones and Black Myth Wukong that virtually double that of the 5600 PC, with RT performance being seriously potent. There are also healthy margins in F1 24 and Forza Horizon 5. I felt that Stalker 2 and rasterised Black Myth Wukong might be considered slight disappointments, with results that weren’t as high as expected.

Here are the raster performance graphs – click to expand.

Generally, I think this Wired2Fire system is suited extremely well for 1440p and 4K AAA gaming thanks to that combo of the 5070 Ti, as Rich also noted in our 5070 Ti review. The mid-range Ryzen 7 9700X also provides ample power for these games, while being more efficient than its predecessor and providing a solid uptick in both gaming and content creation performance – as Will highlighted in our 9700X review.

To back this up, I put the 9700X through a couple of industry-favourite synthetic benchmarks, with runs of Geekbench 6, Cinebench R20, R23 and 2024. Those results against the 5600 and 7800X3D can be found in the handy table below.

Benchmark
AMD Ryzen 5 5600
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

Geekbench 6 (Single)
2111
2691
3214

Geekbench 6 (Multi)
9489
14911
14435

Cinebench R20
4375
6878
6320

Cinebench R23 (Single)
1445
1763
2135

Cinebench R23 (Multi)
11224
17541
16073

Cinebench 2024 (Single)
89
110
128

Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
647
1058
832

It seems as if the 9700X is also being adequately cooled by the case’s built-in 280mm AIO, as I noticed a peak average die temperature of 75.6°C when running Cinebench 2024. Likewise, during a run of 4K Furmark, the 5070 Ti hit a 66°C average with the fans at 65 percent utilisation.

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 – Conclusion

The Wired2Fire HAL 9000 Mini PC probably takes the biscuit as one of the most sensible and solid prebuilt PCs I’ve looked at in some time. It’s got a set of components that, for the most part, make a good amount of sense and provide some fantastic gaming and content performance to boot.

It’s also packaged well, with excellent protection. The system itself is logically built and is well cable managed, while its BIOS is pretty much standard. It’s also up-to-date and comes with a clean Windows install you do yourself, complete with product key, so no bloatware or anything is present.

Customer service is also good, with quick and simple responses to the couple of questions I had, while the warranty terms provide a good amount of peace of mind if anything does go wrong.

I think I’d happily put my trust into a smaller builder such as Wired2Fire in this instance, given their excellent attentiveness and attention to detail with the system provided. The markup on the overall cost of the unit isn’t unreasonable either, and it doesn’t seem like they’d take you for a ride. Good job, chaps.



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Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum review: smart, powerful, and built for busy homes
Gaming Gear

Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum review: smart, powerful, and built for busy homes

by admin



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.

Bosch Unlimited 10: two-minute review

Product info

There are two slightly different versions of the Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum. For this review, I tested the BCS1051GB, sometimes called the Unlimited 10 ProPower. It’s all black and has a slightly better battery.

There’s also the BBS1041GGB, which has a gray plate on the front and slightly shorter runtimes. It’s also cheaper.

The Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum cleaner, launched in March 2025, is a clear step up from the Unlimited 9. Where the older model offered a 60-minute runtime, three cleaning modes and a 105-minute charge time, the Unlimited 10 ProPower bumps it up to an impressive 100-minute runtime, six cleaning modes, and a much faster 60-minute recharge via the fast-charger supplied. It also adds a forward-bending wand for easier under-furniture cleaning and a hi-tech, interactive display.

Bosch is well-established in home appliances but less dominant in cordless vacuums, and the Unlimited 10 feels like its most serious challenger to Dyson and Shark yet. On test, it delivered consistently strong results on hard floors and carpet alike, with the added flexibility of its extended runtime if you invest in extra batteries. Its smart touch control fascia and LED ring that provides a visual indicator of dust-busting progress will appeal to tech geeks. But, if you want to be really nit-picky, its small dustbin, a floorhead that lacks anti-hair wrap features, and overall weightiness are slight drawbacks.

It’s not quite the Dyson-slayer Bosch might have been aiming for, but the Unlimited 10 is easily one of the best cordless vacuum cleaners I’ve tested so far this year. If you’re on the hunt for impressive suction, long runtimes and easy handling, this one’s a clever, future-proof contender. Keep reading as I dive into its design, performance and value to see if the Bosch Unlimited 10 is the best vacuum cleaner for you.

Everything that came in the box for my review model (Image credit: Future)

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower review: price & availability

  • List price: from £569.99
  • Launch date: March 2025
  • Availability: UK and Europe

The Bosch Unlimited 10 BCS1051GB hit the shelves in March 2025 and is currently available across the UK and Europe. Rather confusingly, there is also a slightly lower spec Unlimited 10 BBS1041GGB model in graphite, which was launched at the same time with a RRP of £569.99 (already on offer at £419.99), but, at the time of writing, the black version – sometimes called the ‘ProPower’ – I tested sits squarely at £629.99.

Both versions share the same core cleaning tech, but the main advantage of the BCS1051GB is its larger 5.0 Ah battery, offering up to 100 minutes of runtime (vs 80 minutes with 4.0 Ah). If you’re happy to go for the older Unlimited 9, prices now start from £399.99, so there’s a decent saving to be had there.

One of Bosch’s big selling points is its swappable battery system, which works across more than 100 devices from over 10 brands, making it easy to swap batteries and avoid buying and storing multiple chargers. If you want to double your runtime on the Unlimited 10 ProPower vacuum you’ll need to budget another £137.41 for a second battery pack.

Price-wise, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower lands in the premium bracket of stick vacuums, especially if you pony up for that extra battery, rubbing shoulders with Dyson’s V15 Detect and Shark’s flagship models. On paper, that’s a big ask, but the Bosch claws back some value with its long runtime, six cleaning modes and clever flexible tube. At full price it feels expensive, but as the entry level Unlimited 10 is already discounted by £150 on Bosch’s own website, I predict it won’t be long before the ProPower is on offer, too.

  • Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Model:

BCS1051GB ProPower (reviewed)

BBS1041GGB

Weight:

3.8 kg

3.8 kg

Dimensions (H x W x D):

130 x 25 x 21.6 cm

130 x 25 x 21.6 cm

Floorhead width:

25cm

25cm

Filter:

HEPA

HEPA

Bin capacity:

0.4L

0.4L

Battery:

18v 5.0 Ah

18 V 4.0 Ah

Max runtime:

100 mins

80 mins

Charge time:

60 mins

90 mins

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower review: design

  • Stylish stick vacuum with touchscreen controls, but a tad bulky
  • Compression lever to squish dirt and aid with bin emptying
  • Foot presser for no-bend tool switching

With its matte black finish and streamlined design, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower makes a strong first impression. It boasts a distinctly more premium look than the brand’s earlier vacuums, and while it’s not the most lightweight cleaner out there, but its slightly hefty build does feel reassuringly substantial.

Like most cordless sticks, this vacuum can be configured as a standard upright stick or a handheld, just by plugging the floorhead or upholstery tools into the main unit. I’d have liked a mini turbo brush for getting dog hairs out of the sofas (we have two spaniels), but the extra-long upholstery nozzle with soft rubbery construction that doesn’t scratch the skirting boards was a welcome addition.

The foot pedal makes it easier to release the floorhead without bending down (Image credit: Future)

Swapping out nozzles is especially satisfying, thanks to the handy foot-release pedal on the floorhead, which means you don’t need to bend down every time you want to switch. (Dyson has addressed the same problem on its V16 Piston Animal, except that model uses a slide-down cuff at the top of the wand rather than a foot pedal.)

The wall-mounted docking station is designed to charge the unit when docked so there’s also no need to manually connect the charging cable. If you prefer, and need a fast recharge, you can slide the battery off and charge it in the battery charging unit supplied.

The fast charger gets the battery to full power in just over an hour (Image credit: Future)

Another excellent design feature is the compression lever on the dust bin, which pushes down debris. It’s useful both for squishing the dirt in the bin to make room for more, and for ejecting everything efficiently when it’s time to empty the bin. It meant I didn’t have to get my hands dirty fishing out tangled fluff or hair stuck around the filters. (Incidentally, this is another feature that also appears on the new Dyson V16.)

I loved the touchscreen display, which replaces traditional buttons with a clear, modern interface. You can scroll through the six cleaning modes (Eco, Auto, Turbo, Silent, Car and Delicate), and it also has tutorials on emptying the bin, cleaning filters and so on, so you’ll never have to go hunting for the instruction manual.

The touchscreen is easy and intuitive to use and keeps you abreast of power levels and other key info (Image credit: Future)

Anyone and everyone, but especially those with mobility issues, will appreciate the Unlimited 10’s flexible main pipe, which has a button that lets it bend forwards to a 90-degree angle. This makes sliding the vacuum under sofas, beds, and low or leggy furniture much easier, with no need to crouch down or manhandle heavy furniture.

Press a button and the main hose turns into your flexible friend (Image credit: Future)

This feature isn’t exclusive to Bosch – in fact, it appears on a number of the best Shark vacuums – but it is a welcome addition nonetheless. I used it a lot more than I thought I would, and got a great deal of joy from listening to all the unseen dust and dirt being sucked up from my home’s deepest, darkest voids.

Bosch Unlimited 10 review: performance

  • Packs a powerful punch on hard floors and carpets
  • Auto mode nails switching across different surfaces
  • Super easy to empty, but the dark bin and weight are niggles

With two hairy dogs, messy kids, and a busy family home that always seems to be one mealtime away from total chaos, the Bosch Unlimited 10 had plenty to prove, and I’m delighted to report it did us proud. The bendy wand seemed gimmicky but turned out to be extremely nifty for scooting under sofas, while the floorhead twists nimbly around chair legs and hugs skirting boards. I loved the bright LEDs on the floorhead too: there’s nothing like seeing the hidden dust bunnies lit up before they disappear.

Powerful headlamps make dirt detection easier (Image credit: Future)

Downstairs in my home I have a mix of flooring, primarily hard (wood, porcelain, laminate and terracotta) with a few rugs thrown in, and upstairs is mainly carpet. On hard floors the Bosch Unlimited 10 glided along effortlessly, and when I hit a rug, I could really feel the suction crank up. Auto mode got it spot-on every time, even showing the floor type on the monitor screen, while Turbo is a bit wild on thick carpets but brilliant for the car mats and dog beds.

Day to day, I mostly stuck to Auto and Silent modes, both are more than enough for crumbs, fur and stray feathers (did I mention we also have a budgie?). Silent, in particular, kept things calm without losing too much oomph on the suction front. When I needed extra muscle, Turbo mode swooped in for stubborn dirt or the sofa cushions.

The main floorhead works well on upholstery but I’d have liked a smaller one (Image credit: Future)

Crucially, it didn’t do that annoying thing where bigger crumbs get batted around instead of sucked up; everything just disappeared in one or two passes. And although my decibel monitor app measured noise levels between 65 and 72dBA across modes, none of them had me worried the neighbors might complain.

I’ll admit there are two modes I probably won’t use much – Car mode and Delicate Carpet mode – but for the sake of this review, I gave them a spin. Car Mode sits somewhere between Auto and Turbo in terms of power, and is designed for nozzle work in the nooks and crannies of your car. Normally, I leave that job to our local valet, but it gave a solid “interim clean” performance – not valet-level, but good enough to freshen things up between visits.

Delicate Carpet mode, meanwhile, turns off the rollers and relies on suction alone, making it ideal for more sensitive floor coverings like sisal, silk, or any rug that hates a beater bar. I only have one rug that qualifies, but it handled it gently and effectively.

The red button slides down to drag the bin contents out (Image credit: Future)

Cleaning out the bin and dust-busting the filter is surprisingly fuss-free. The lever in the bin, which you slide down from the outside, means you can compress the contents of the bin to fit more in (useful because the bin itself is very small). It also comes into its own when it comes to emptying – no more grim moments fishing out clumps of fur.

The twist-to-clean filter is oddly satisfying too: you just hold the filter over the bin and turn the top of the filter and some magic within flicks all the dust out. An alarming amount of dust in fact, which is surely just a sign that the filter really must be very good, not that my house is exceptionally dirty?

Sadly, the Bosch Unlimited 10 isn’t entirely perfect. Disappointingly, the floorhead roller did collect its fair share of hair while I was cleaning. Most vacuum makers have solved this issue now, with anti hair-wrap features. The roller pops out easily, so it’s relatively easy to snip away tangles with scissors or a sharp knife, but I’d wouldn’t expect to have to do this on a premium-priced vacuum.

The roller wasn’t too bad with hairs, but a few stray strands lingered (Image credit: Future)

The dark-grey dustbin makes it tricky to see when it’s full unless you peer closely. It’s also a bit heavy – after about 10 minutes on the stairs I definitely felt the weight of the Unlimited 10 in my arms, and after testing the battery life, my arm was nearly ready to drop off. I exaggerate, but it was certainly one of the heavier stick vacuums I have reviewed, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for anyone who is elderly or infirm.

Another key feature of the Bosch Unlimited 10 worth mentioning is its MicroClean LED ring. The Tineco Pure One X and Shark PowerDetect has similar tech, and it’s essentially designed to give you visual feedback on cleanliness levels/progress as you clean. The ring glows red when it’s still picking up dust and debris, then flips to blue once the area is spotless. The idea is that it takes the guesswork out of knowing when you’ve done enough passes.

I’ll be honest, I’m generally happy to trust my eyes to tell me whether a floor looks clean, and I didn’t really pay much attention to the LEDs, so I’m not sure how useful it really is for me. That said, anyone who frets about hidden dirt or just likes a reassuring visual prompt might appreciate this feature.

The LED halo changes colour to indicate cleaning is complete (Image credit: Future)

Suction tests

To really put this vacuum through its paces, I set up a few very scientific (erm, slightly chaotic) tests using oats and teabags across hard floors and carpets. It felt a bit like hosting a chimp’s tea party and the dogs trying to eat my testing material didn’t help matters, but it definitely showed what this vacuum was made of.

First up, I ripped open a teabag and sprinkled its contents across the hard flooring (engineered oak boards) in the kitchen. In the lowest power setting, Eco mode, the Unlimited 10 guzzled those tealeaves up in one sweep, no mess left behind, no repeat passes needed to get that blue LED light ring assurance the floor was clean. Honestly, I was embarrassingly giddy at how satisfying it was watching the tea vanish, even from the grooves between the floor planks.

Over on the carpet though, it was a different story: Eco just wasn’t enough. Switching up to Turbo mode gave it the grunt it needed, and once I did that, the tea leaves were gone in seconds.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

Teabag test

(Image credit: Future)

Next came the oats, about 30g of finest Scottish Porridge Oats scattered across the floor like confetti. On hard flooring, Eco Mode struggled a bit: the vacuum dragged the oats backwards, leaving them behind. I quickly learned that lifting the head slightly and giving Turbo mode a spin sorted them out without fuss. It wasn’t the smoothest pass, but it did the job quickly enough. On carpet, it was oddly easier. Eco did most of the work, but I did ramp it up to Turbo to nab the last few stubborn bits.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

carpet test

Finally, I checked out how well this vacuum handled edge cleaning. I sprinkled a line of tea right along the skirting board in the kitchen. Running the vacuum parallel left a faint dusty line, but as soon as I changed tack and went in head-on at a right angle, it snaffled up the lot. So yes, you’ll probably still want the crevice tool now and then, but with a bit of maneuvering the main floorhead is surprisingly capable at perimeter duty.

If you approach it from the correct angle, the edge cleaning is excellent (Image credit: Future)

All in all, these “tea and oats” experiments were a good stress test, and while not every mode was perfect for every mess, the Unlimited 10 handled everything I threw at it without too much drama or excessive time wasting.

  • Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Bosch Unlimited 10 review: battery

  • For the BCS1051GB ProPower version:
    • Up to 87 minutes in Eco, 32 in Auto, 30 in Silent, and 14 in Turbo
  • Fast recharge in just over an hour – barely enough time for a nap
  • Battery works across Bosch’s 18V All Alliance range

Note, in this section I’ll be focusing on the Unlimited 10 BCS1051GB ProPower model, which has a slightly better battery than the BBS1041GGB.

Battery life is one of the Unlimited 10’s real strengths. In Eco mode, I clocked a solid 87 minutes, which is more than enough for multiple cleans or one mega session. Auto mode, which I used most, lasted about 32 minutes – no doubt helped by the fact my home is at least 70% hard flooring, while Silent mode gave me around 30 minutes of cleaning time. If you’re a suction-obsessed cleaner and stick to Turbo mode, you’re looking at just 14 minutes, so if your home is wall-to-wall carpet you might want to budget for a spare battery.

Recharge time was another bonus. From empty to full, it took just over an hour, which is slightly more than Bosch’s claim, but still super quick compared to most rivals. I could plug it in before lunch, and it would be ready to go again by the time I’d eaten and caught up on my Socials.

Another noteworthy trick is that the battery is part of Bosch’s 18V Power For All Alliance, which means you can swap it into more than just your vacuum – from power drills to hedge trimmers. It’s a small thing, but being able to share batteries across gadgets is genuinely useful, especially if you’re already in the Bosch ecosystem.

For day-to-day cleaning, I’d rate the battery life excellent. I managed to get around my four-bed Victorian house in one charge, as long as I resisted leaning on Turbo too much. For a cordless, that’s pretty impressive, and it takes away a lot of the range anxiety I used to get from early stick vacuums.

  • Battery life score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Bosch Unlimited 10?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value for money

Premium price, but justifiable with strong suction, smart features, and quick-charging battery, especially if you’ve already bought into Bosch’s battery-sharing system.

3.5/5

Design

Sleek and modern with clever touches like a bendy pipe, foot-release floorhead, and touchscreen controls, though its top-heavy build won’t suit everyone.

4/5

Performance

Excellent on hard floors and carpets, with smart Auto mode, bright LEDs, and easy maneuverability.

4.5/5

Battery

Impressive runtimes across most cleaning modes and a rapid one-hour recharge, easily catering for a family-sized home.

4.5/5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower

I put the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower through its paces for four weeks over the summer holidays — the absolute messiest time of year in our house. With two dogs, two daughters riding most days, and the endless trail of hay, horsehair, and snack crumbs that comes with it, our four-bedroom Victorian home in deepest Devon was a perfect test ground. We’ve got a mix of hard floors and carpet, so I was able to see how well it adapted to different surfaces, as well as how it coped with daily chaos.

I used all the attachments and functions, from the detail brush on the sofas and stairs to the bendy wand for reaching under beds. I ran proper “mess tests” too – oats and teabags scattered across both carpets and hard floors – and I checked how close it could get to edges without switching to the crevice tool. I also kept tabs on battery life, recording runtimes across Eco, Auto, Silent and Turbo modes, and timed how long it took to recharge.

To round it out, I used a decibel meter app to measure noise levels in each mode, because I wanted to know if it was genuinely quiet or just “quiet for a vacuum.” I lived with it as our only vacuum, using it on everything from dog hair tumbleweeds to post-dinner disasters, and came away with a clear sense of how it performs in real life.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners.

First reviewed August 2025



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Nutribullet SmartSense Blender
Product Reviews

The Nutribullet SmartSense is an excellent, powerful blender, though its ‘smart’ mode feels unnecessary

by admin



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.

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: one-minute review

Nutribullet is a brand most well known for its compact personal blenders which – while suited to blitzing up smoothies and protein shakes – aren’t exactly heavy duty pieces of culinary tech. But models like the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo aim to up the power and functionality without compromising too much on simplicity or affordability.

By combining a full-sized pitcher with Nutribullet’s familiar single-serve cups, and adding a smart auto-cycle that adapts blending power on the fly, it aims to cover the needs of both speedy smoothie lovers and home chefs.

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

For the most part, it succeeds. Most everyday tasks are handled quickly and consistently. The SmartSense auto cycle is genuinely useful for hands-off blending and the 1,500W motor packs more punch than most people will ever need.

  • nutribullet smartsense blender (White) at Newegg for $213.98

But all that isn’t without its caveats. The SmartSense Blender Combo struggles with thick or dry blends and requires you to intervene a couple of times during the blending process to ensure all the ingredients are within reach of the blades. You’ll also find that very small batches of dips don’t quite reach high up enough to get blended.

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: price and availability

  • List price: $164.99 / £149.99 / AU$299.95
  • Available in the US, UK, and Australia
  • Reasonable price for a two-in-one blender combo

In the US, UK, and Australia, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo is available to purchase on the Nutribullet site. and from third-party retailers like Amazon.

In terms of cost, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo sits on the mid/high end of the Nutribullet range. Understandably, you’re paying more than you would for a dinky personal blender, but it won’t quite set back as much as a top-of-the-line food processor/blender combo.

Similar models from other brands include the Cuisinart Velocity Ultra Trio

Today’s best nutribullet smartsense blender deals

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Price

$164.99 / £149.99 / AUS $299.95

Weight

9.81lbs / 4.45kg

Travel cup capacity

32oz / 900ml and 24oz / 700ml

Jug capacity

64oz / 1.8 liters

Blending speeds

5

Presets

Auto (SmartSense)

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: design

  • Five blending speeds and an auto mode
  • Pitcher with fixed blades and a vented lid
  • Travel cups with extractor blades

The Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo consists of a blender base which can either be attached to the included 64oz pitcher, 32oz travel cup, or 24oz handled travel cup. All three of these add-ons are made from BPA-free plastic, meaning you can enjoy the lightness and durability of the material without worrying about harmful chemicals leaching into your soups and smoothies.

The SmartSense Blender Combo box contents also included a tamper but during testing, I found that it offered very little in the way of practical help. A far more useful tool was a cheap silicone spatula I tend to use while baking. It had the flexibility necessary to scrap the edges of the blender jug, but didn’t tend to get ingredients stuck to it like tamper did.

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

Like the rest of the build, the attachments of the SmartSense Blender Combo are sturdy enough to inspire confidence. The only real concern I’d have is the possibility of stains or scratches developing after long-term use, but even this would just be a superficial complaint. Not to mention, a good thorough clean after every use helps to prevent this. Thankfully, attachments for the SmartSense are dishwasher-safe so this task is a little easier.

Blending with the travel cups is done with a separate extractor blade but in the case of the pitcher attachment, the blade is sealed into the base. This means that, when you’re hand-washing your blender (which those of us without dishwashers are cursed to do) it’s a little difficult to clean. Without being able to pop the blade out and wipe it down, it’s best to blitz some warm water and soap in the pitcher to loosen some of the debris that tends to get stuck underneath. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it definitely adds an awkward extra step to maintaining the machine.

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

One great thing about the pitcher’s design is that its lid has a vent which allows you to add ingredients mid-blend and – crucially – allows for steam to escape when making hot recipes. I’ll admit that throughout my years in the kitchen, I’ve occasionally taken my chances blending hot sauces and soups against manufacturers’ instructions. To try to reduce steam production and the chances of the lid blowing off from the pressure, I’d let everything cool down a bit before pouring it in. But even with these attempts to mitigate risk, the likelihood of getting scalded (or at the very least making a mess of your kitchen) means that blending hot food in an unvented blender is a terrible idea. A tiny gap in the lid makes a big difference when it comes to making this blender an even more versatile piece of kitchen kit.

Controls on the motor base are exceedingly simple to navigate. There’s an on/off button, which – alongside powering the machine on and off – also prompts the appearance of rather cute “hello” and “goodbye” messages on the base’s LED screen. The plus and minus buttons are used to adjust between the 5 power settings, but you can skip all that by using the Auto button that activates the load-sensing setting and estimates the right blending speed and time for you.

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: performance

  • Makes stellar smoothies with virtually no nasty bits
  • Crushes ice (with some assistance from you)
  • Dry blends were a disappointment

Coming in at 1500W, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo should have more than enough power to handle most jobs. Testing started with a smoothie recipe from the Nutribullet site consisting of blueberries, milk, banana, and kale.

Fibrous green veg really puts blenders through their paces, so it’s a great way to reveal just how well it performs. Frozen kale tends to produce fewer gritty chunks than its non-frozen counterpart, but it turns out it’s oddly difficult to find pre-frozen kale in the UK, so I just proceeded with the fresh version instead.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

Thankfully, the power of the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender managed to blitz away any unpleasant texture to produce a smooth, thick end result. Despite my expectations, the kale didn’t pose any problem for the SmartSense.

In fact, the only inconsistencies that were left after blending were the tiny seeds from the blueberries. Personally, this isn’t the kind of textural inconsistency that gives me the ick but even if it was, it seems a tad unfair to expect a blender under $200 to have the seed-pulverizing powers of something like a Vitamix A3500.

The SmartSense Blender Combo also makes light work of crushing ice cubes, on the condition you scrape the ice from the sides midway through. The blades certainly don’t have any difficulty slicing through rock solid chunks of ice (and in fact, the machine doesn’t even go past 95db while doing it) but the structure of the pitcher means that the ice tends to pool around the edges before it’s done being crushed. The good news is after a little intervention, you should be able to rustle up your own daiquiris or frappuccinos at home no problem.

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

Despite delivering a pretty stellar performance in the realm of drinkable delights, the next hurdles for the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender really exposed the machine’s weak points. One of the fatal flaws of the SmartSense Blender Combo is the placement of the pitcher’s fixed blades. They sit just a little too high and don’t cover enough surface area across the pitcher’s bottom so it’s frustratingly easy for ingredients to escape the blender’s vortex.

During the hummus-making phase of testing, I found that the machine consistently created a tasty, well-incorporated dip. However, achieving that result required me to intervene two or three times to redistribute the ingredients and make sure none of my chickpea mixture avoided blending.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

This blade placement problem majorly impacted my ability to make mayonnaise with the blender too. Due to the sheer size of the pitcher, I found I had to double a normal batch in order to have my yolk/vinegar/mustard emulsion even touch the blades at all.

Even then, I couldn’t maintain a consistent enough vortex to create a satisfying result. If you’re truly set on making mayonnaise with the SmartSense Blender Combo, the best way to do it is to mix up your emulsion by hand and then put it back into the blender for the step where you gradually incorporate oil.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)(Image credit: Abigail Shannon)

One other very notable development during my tests is just how redundant the Auto function felt. While the SmartSense name definitely provides a fancy selling point, I found that I actually didn’t appreciate the automation of the blending process. It’s not like the SmartSense Auto blending ever got things too far wrong but rather I preferred to keep my eye on what I was working on and adjust the power as needed.

I can definitely see the appeal of this for folks who find their attention pulled by kids or pets while in the kitchen, but the removal of control actually made things less convenient in my experience, so I mostly opted for the manual options.

Should you buy the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo?

Buy it if

Don’t buy it if

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: also consider

If you’re on the look-out for options that are similar to the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo, here’s some alternatives worth considering:

How I tested the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo

Alongside using it for some of my usual kitchen tasks, I put the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo through its paces with TechRadar’s usual test recipes. During my tests, I alternated between using the Auto and manual speed controls to determine the best approach for each recipe. I used a decibel tracker to determine how loud the blender is during use. After each blend, I cleaned the blender attachments and accessories by hand.

nutribullet smartsense blender: Price Comparison



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Embracer CEO states that while AI is a "powerful" tool, "human authorship is final"
Esports

Embracer CEO states that while AI is a “powerful” tool, “human authorship is final”

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Embracer CEO Phil Rogers has called for a “smart implementation of generative AI in ethical and sustainable ways.”

Addressing the company as the recent Annual General Meeting, Rogers admitted that “in an industry defined by escalating development costs and limitless player expectations, the question is no longer if a company will adopt a technology like AI, but how it leads with it,” but stressed that for the “powerful technology” to succeed, “ethics and good business are one and the same.”

“This isn’t a theoretical future. It’s happening now and the results are quite compelling. Many of our studios have been experimenting with AI in the past couple of years and are now starting to really leverage it to eliminate bottlenecks and empower our development teams. We’re beginning to see measurable increases in productivity,” Rogers said.

Offering mocap as an example of where studios can cut filming time “in half,” the CEO warned that even AI generative art required “tuning by human hand.”

“We see the headlines and we hear the concern from players and developers alike, but we believe the greatest risk is not in using AI, but in using it without a strong ethical framework. Players aren’t longing for generic, soulless side quests or synthetic AI voices. Developers want creative freedom to innovate and experiment and reduce iteration time so they can make more content. Artists, actors, writers need protection from plagiarism. Intellectual properties need to be nurtured and respected.

“For us, ethics and good business are one and the same. They really do go hand in hand. Our position is clear: human authorship is final. Our developers will always have the final creative control and authorship. After all, AI is a co-pilot. It is not the pilot.”

He added: “We really do view AI as a strategic catalyst. It’s the most powerful technology or tool of our generation for driving efficiency, amplifying creativity, and ultimately delivering the high-quality, memorable games that players demand more effectively, more predictably, and more profitably than before.”

Sharing her vision for the game services firm, Testronic chief Sharon Baylay-Bell similarly cautioned that “AI is an accelerant; it’s not the answer.”



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Hornet holds a hand up to her mask to help shade her eyes from a sunbeam in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Gaming Gear

I just found out I’ve been using Silksong’s powerful Thread Storm ability wrong this entire time

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I’m making my way slowly to the end of Act One in Silksong, and one of my mainstays has been Thread Storm, a powerful AOE multihit ability that can be acquired fairly early on. But I’ve been a fool: despite using the attack in multiple boss fights, I actually haven’t been getting as much damage out of it as I could’ve. Thanks to a PSA video from Jason Mondal on YouTube, I only just learned how to use Thread Storm to its full potential.

Instead of pressing or holding right bumper on a controller once to activate the ability, you can rapidly mash the button to extend its duration without using more silk, giving you more damage per cast. The only downside is that this leaves you vulnerable to a counterattack for longer, but that’s kind of the basic tradeoff of Thread Storm already.

Hidden DAMAGE Buff with Thread Storm (Hollow Knight Silksong) – YouTube

Watch On

My preferred deployment is at a diagonal, up and slightly to the side of a boss to get them in the AOE while having a good chance of avoiding any attacks. Against enemies who can be staggered by Thread Storm, though, there’s practically no disadvantage to using its max duration⁠—this ability can be a huge help during any of those tricky wave fights.


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Where to find Thread Storm in Hollow Knight: Silksong

You can grab Thread Storm in the second half of Act One, in the Greymoor area. Instead of traveling west on the critical path to Bellhart, go east, past where Shakra is selling the map for the area, until the path dead ends at a building you can enter.

Inside, you’ll find a tough wave fight that, frustratingly, Thread Storm would be a great help for. Beating this encounter causes ladders of balloons to spawn outside: You can perform a downward attack in the air to pogo off of them, climbing to the top of the room and the entrance to a new area. The shrine with Thread Storm is at the end of a platforming section in this final room.

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(Image credit: Team Cherry)(Image credit: Team Cherry)(Image credit: Team Cherry)(Image credit: Team Cherry)



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Battlefield 6 ui redesigns: A close-up shot of a soldier wearing full headgear turning to look at the camera while holding their gun up.
Gaming Gear

Battlefield 6 producer acknowledges vehicles were underpowered in the beta, but says it’s better than the alternative: ‘Rather have too weak vehicles over too powerful’

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You know something is off in Battlefield when piloting a multi-million dollar metal box with a building-leveling cannon mounted on the end is a bigger risk than hoofing it across the map.

That was the state of last month’s Battlefield 6 beta: tanks, helicopters, jets, and especially jeeps could never get much room to vroom before getting blasted by any number of anti-armor rockets, laser-guided missiles, stationary cannons, mines, or sticky explosives.

A month ahead of launch, we have our first acknowledgement from DICE that vehicle balance needs work via lead producer David Sirland.


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The exchange began with a video of leaked Operation Firestorm gameplay depicting an engineer sniping and firing rockets from the map’s highest tower. To critics of Battlefield 6’s controversial “open weapons” default ruleset, the scenario is a perfect example of why letting any class use any gun disrupts the balance of Battlefield.

“A classic demonstration of why open classes don’t work. Support with ammo resupply/sniper, and APS gadget and engi[neer] with sniper/launchers on Firestorm getting constantly resupplied. It just creates these ridiculously broken combinations,” wrote Battlefield YouTuber GhostGaming.

(Image credit: David Sirland on X)

Sirland, not usually one to acknowledge leaked gameplay, offered a retort.

“That button still exists (as in the originals) & the fact we have more [anti-tank] on the map isn’t really a problem either?” Sirland wrote. “Let’s not pretend this type of gameplay is effective in any shape or form, it really isn’t (unless you can safeguard the pos – which can be cleansed with fire :)”

Whether or not you agree with Sirland’s assessment—if you ask me, an engineer holding a sniper rifle is an affront to the very idea of the class system—it was Sirland’s next response, pivoting toward vehicles/anti-air in general, that’s most interesting.

Responding to someone who made the point that engineers carrying up to five rockets and powerful anti-tank mines means “infantry is more dangerous to vehicles than vehicles are to infantry,” Sirland agreed it’s a balance problem that the studio is currently grappling with.

(Image credit: EA)

“That is a balance issue wholesale, not specific to this special situation, however. And one we are actively working on,” he replied. That said, Sirland suggested undercooked vehicles aren’t too big of a deal at this stage of the game, and said it’s at least better than the alternative.

“Rather have too weak vehicles over too powerful to start. It’s a tricky one as players get better at using them over time as well.”

Perhaps that’s true of tanks, APCs, and aerial vehicles, but what about my poor jeep? For four long days, I watched hundreds of teammates ignore my honks of friendship, opting to run an extra 30 seconds instead of climbing aboard. Give those gunners some armor plating at least!

We’ll see what’s in store for rocket pockets and vehicle armor when Battlefield 6 launches October 10.



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Dyson V16 Piston Animal cordless stick vacuum
Product Reviews

Dyson V16 Piston Animal hands-on review: a powerful new flagship, but not quite a slam-dunk

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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.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: two-minute review

The V16 Piston Animal is Dyson’s brand-new flagship stick vacuum, and it boasts a number of upgrades over its predecessors. Based on specs, this is the best Dyson vacuum on the market – and it should be one of the best cordless vacuums from any brand. I’ve been testing it out for a couple of days now, and I have lots of thoughts.

Based on my first impressions – I’ll be writing a full review when I’ve had more time with it – the V16 Piston Animal an incredibly good vacuum, but with one particular issue that could be a deal breaker for some potential buyers.

Let’s start with the good bits. The dust compactor works extremely well and is a logical, solidly useful addition. It gives you more cleaning time without having to empty the bin so often, and when you do come to empty the bin, the same mechanism expels the contents easily, with no need for fingers to get involved.

Dyson has redesigned the attachment mechanism so that you can connect and release attachments on the end of the wand without having to bend down. This seems like an effort-saver, and should also help those with mobility issues.

It almost goes without saying that the suction is excellent, and the battery gives you ample cleaning time without having to stop to recharge. Like its predecessors, the Gen5detect and V15 Detect, there’s an Auto mode that offers intelligent adjustment based on floor type and dirt levels. On the V16, though, it’ll adjust not just suction but also roller speed, for the most effective, battery-efficient clean.

Dyson has also given the floorhead an entirely different design – and this is where my main issue lies. The conical rollers do work well to prevent hair tangles, but the tapered shape means the floorhead comes to a slight point on the front side, which is a pain when you’re trying to clean along the straight edge of a room.

Read on for more information about the new Dyson flagship and my experiences with it so far, and check back in a week or two for my full and in-depth verdict.

(Image credit: Future)

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: price & availability

  • List price: £749.99 / AU$1,349 (US TBC)
  • Launched: September 2025
  • Available: UK and AU now, US sometime in 2026

The V16 Piston Animal was unveiled at the start of September, and is on sale now in territories including the UK and Australia. It will be available in the US, but not until sometime in 2026.

The regular version has a list price of £749.99 / AU$1,349 (the US list price will be released closer to the launch date). A Submarine version is also available, with an extra mopping floorhead, at a list price of £899.99 / AU$1,599.

For comparison, this model’s predecessor, the Gen5detect, is £769.99 / AU$1,549. The model down from that, the V15 Detect, is £649.99 / AU$1,449.

Those prices position the the V16 firmly in the premium price bracket, and make it one of the most expensive vacuums on the market. It’s interesting to note that it’s actually slightly cheaper than the Gen5detect in the UK (although that older model will attract more discounts).

I’ll make a final call on value for money once I’ve had more time to test the V16 out, but on first impressions, it looks and feels premium. It has been meticulously designed and is packed with features – including some you can’t find anywhere else on the market. I’m not going to pretend it’s not an awful lot to spend on a vacuum, though.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Weight:

7.5 lbs / 3.4kg

Bin size:

1.3L

Max runtime:

70 mins

Charge time:

3hrs 30

Dimensions (H x L x W):

10.2 x 51.1 x 9.8 inches / 25.9 x 129.8 x 25cm

Filter:

99.9% to 0.1 microns

Max suction:

315 AW

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: design

  • Redesigned anti-tangle floorhead with conical rollers
  • Manual compression lever on bin
  • Automatic power and roller speed adjustment based on floor type

The V16 Piston is a premium cordless stick vacuum with a number of useful features, many of which are brand new to this machine.

Key amongst these – and the reason for the ‘Piston’ of the name, is a compression lever on the dust cup. This can be pushed down to squish dust and hair and increase dustbin capacity, and is also designed to wipe fine debris off the inside of the cup, and to be helpful in efficient emptying.

(Image credit: Future)

A second addition is the red cuff at the top of the vacuum’s wand. This can be pushed down to release the floorhead without having to bend down. The docking section of the floorhead is designed to sit upright at an angle, so you can also snap it on the wand from a standing position.

(Image credit: Future)

Speaking of the floorhead: this looks very different to anything I’ve seen before. Rather than being tube-shaped, the rollers here are conical. The idea is that the tapering shape shifts long hair down to the narrow end where it can be sucked up, rather than leaving it to tangle. This floorhead is designed for both hard floors and carpet, and is kitted out with a laser to illuminate dirt that might otherwise be missed.

(Image credit: Future)

The main body of the vacuum has a matte finish, and Dyson has added a padded section above the hand grip for added comfort. It switches on with a button rather than a trigger, and the battery is removable and swappable.

This is the first Dyson vacuum to be properly ‘connected’, with the companion app providing cleaning summaries and offering advanced setting options. There’s a screen on the machine itself to deliver information, including how long you have left on the battery.

The screen will also provide you with real-time reports on the size and number of particles you’re sucking up, as you clean. This works with the V16’s ‘Auto’ mode, where the vacuum will automatically adjust suction and (newly) brushroll speed based on the kind of floor it’s on and how dirty it is.

(Image credit: Future)

Detail tools will vary slightly depending on which model you opt for, but there are a couple of notable upgrades. The Hair screw tool now has a rubberized band across the front to help loosen hair that’s ‘stuck’ to upholstery fabric. Hidden inside the wand are two stubby Crevice tools – one at the top, attached to the main part of the vacuum, and the other at the bottom of the wand, revealed if you remove the floorhead. Because of the redesigned docking mechanism, none of the tools are compatible with other Dyson stick vacuums.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: performance

  • Dust compaction is great, and design makes emptying super-easy
  • Suction excellent, but not notably different to previous models in practice
  • Angled floorhead is a pain for vacuuming the edges of rooms

After one whole-house clean with the V16, I’m impressed in some ways but less so in others. I’ll start with the general suction performance. As I expected, this is excellent. I tested the vacuum in a four-floor house with hard floor, plenty of carpets, and a black Spaniel, and it had no trouble sucking up impressive volumes of dust, dirt and hair.

In Auto mode, I could hear the power and brushroll ramping up and down as I moved into different areas and onto different floor types. I found the on-screen dust reports as mesmerizing as ever, although I’m still not sure they’re that useful.

Officially, the V16 has the most suction of any Dyson stick vacuum, but on first impressions, I didn’t really notice a difference in cleaning power compared to cleaning using the V15 (this house’s usual vacuum, and two models down from the V16 – despite what the number might suggest, the Gen5detect sits in the middle). I’ll run some side-by-side suction tests with all three to see if there is a difference I’m not seeing.

(Image credit: Future)

The V16 feels a little weighty in the hand, but the padded section above the hand-hold is a welcome addition and does help boost comfort. I’m in two minds about the button operation. For longer cleaning sessions, it’s nice not to have to continually compress the trigger, but for quick cleanups, it’s a bit cumbersome to have to keep a hand free to turn the machine on and off (you can’t reach the button with your gripping hand).

I’m also not entirely sold on the new floorhead. While it does work well to siphon off hair, the new design requires the front long side of the floorhead to come to a slight point rather than being in a straight line. This means you can’t approach the edges of rooms front-on – instead, you have to go in from the side. That quickly becomes very annoying.

Otherwise, it pivots well but feels a little harder to push than previous Dysons (and other vacuums I’ve tested). I did find the laser useful for highlighting dust in dingy corners, though.

(Image credit: Future)

The quick-release works well and is an effort-saver, but the joints in general are a little stiffer than on other Dyson stick vacuums I’ve used. It’s also a shame that existing attachments won’t work with the V16.

More of a success is the dust compactor. This is a solid win; the mechanism works a treat, and means you can fit in more cleaning without having to make so many trips to the trash. It also makes it far easier to empty than most cordless vacuums I’ve used.

Those are my thoughts so far – check back for the full review, including the results of TechRadar’s official suction tests, when I’ve had more time to put the V16 Piston Animal through its paces.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: Price Comparison



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Product Reviews

Powerful upgrades but with an even higher price

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At the beginning of the year, Lenovo gave us an early design preview of its next flagship gaming handheld — the Legion Go 2. Today, at IFA 2025, the company is fleshing out the rest of the system with more details regarding its specs, price and availability.

In terms of its overall appearance, not much has changed on the outside of the Legion Go 2. It has the same general shape and detachable controllers as the preview model, alongside an 8.8-inch OLED with a variable 144Hz refresh rate and VESA HDR TrueBlack 1000 certification. Lenovo has kept the ability to use the right controller as a vertical mouse (aka FPS mode) when paired with the handheld’s included puck/stand. And as before, you still get Hall Effect joysticks, a built-in touchpad and kickstand and dual USB 4 ports.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The only major change from what we saw in January is slightly different paint colors on elements like its shoulder buttons. That said, I do appreciate that unlike a lot of its rivals (aside from the Steam Deck), Legion Go 2 still comes bundled with a case, just like its predecessor. On the flipside, one thing I wish Lenovo had changed is the detachment process for Legion Go 2’s controllers. Like before, you can press a button in back before sliding each joypad off a small hidden rail. And while it works, after using the new magnetic system for the Switch 2’s Joy-Con, doing the same thing on the Legion Go 2 just feels clunky.

Meanwhile, the Legion Go 2’s internals are where most of its upgrades have gone. The handheld can now be equipped with up to an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 storage. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a microSD card reader. But perhaps the most tantalizing improvement may be its battery life, as the Legion Go 2 comes with a 74Whr battery that’s 50 percent larger than the 49.2 Whr cell in the original.

The Legion Go 2 features a 8.8-inch OLED display with a 144Hz variable refresh rate.

Unfortunately, I only had a brief time with the demo unit and as it didn’t have a lot of games already installed (especially more resource-intensive ones), so I couldn’t really gauge how much better its performance was compared to the original model. However, I did notice that Lenovo’s Legion Space app felt much snappier and more polished, though it probably won’t be as seamless as the native game integration and new UI that’s coming on the ROG Xbox Ally.

All told, the Legion Go 2 is shaping up to be a more refined, powerful and longer-lasting follow-up while retaining pretty much every major good feature from its predecessor like a big OLED screen, detachable controllers and solid connectivity. Granted, it’s still quite chunky even with its curvier and more streamlined design, but that was always going to be the case considering its large 8.8-inch display. So if you can handle a Windows-based handheld (sorry SteamOS fans) that’s on the heftier side, this is one worth keeping an eye on.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

But here’s the potential catch: the Legion Go 2 may be substantially more expensive too. It’s expected to go on sale sometime in October starting at $1,049, which is a significant jump up from the $700 base price of the original (let alone what it’s going for now, which can be as low as $550 depending on discounts). And that figure is likely for a model with a Ryzen Z2 chip, which means anyone who wants one with a more powerful Z2 Extreme processor will need to keep some wiggle room in their budget. So while I appreciate how Lenovo is chasing big performance on a portable gaming machine, the Legion Go 2’s price has me appreciating more affordable handheld rivals like the Steam Deck even more than I already do.



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NFT Gaming

Analyst Explains Why SOL’s Powerful Rally Should Not Be Ignored

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Solana’s SOL outperformed the broader crypto market on Wednesday, climbing 7.68% in 24 hours to trade at $208.24, according to CoinDesk Data. By comparison, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) rose 2.89% and the total crypto market cap gained just 1.6% during the same period.

Analysts said Solana’s strong performance reflects a combination of technical momentum and structural demand.

Scott Melker, a trader known as the “Wolf of All Streets,” argued that Solana is now at a critical level against bitcoin. He said a breakout here could make SOL the “darling” of the next altcoin cycle. His chart showed SOL pressing into resistance against BTC, a pairing that often signals whether a token can outperform the broader market.

Another analyst, Lark Davis, was more direct, calling Solana the “catch-up trade” for investors who missed ether’s (ETH) breakout from $1,400 during the last cycle.

Davis cited three drivers: the rise of SOL-based treasury companies modeled on bitcoin accumulation firms, the prospect of a spot SOL ETF getting approved in the near future by the U.S. SEC and growing institutional interest. These factors could push billions of dollars into SOL, he noted.

However, Altcoin Sherpa, another widely followed analyst on X, cautioned against chasing the rally. He described SOL’s strength as unusual but advised traders to consider taking profits between $205 and $215 or waiting for more clarity before entering. His view reflects the risk that weekend or short-term rallies often retrace once liquidity normalizes.

Meanwhile, DeFi asset management firm Sentora added another perspective, noting that more than $820 million in SOL is already held in corporate treasuries. The number is worth noting as ETH treasury holdings stood at a similar level in April before expanding to nearly $20 billion. The firm said that the SOL corporate holding trajectory suggests the token could follow a similar path if adoption accelerates.

Adding to the positive sentiments of some analysts, Solana is also seeing institutional adoption grow. Earlier today, staking service provider Chorus One announced the launch of a new Solana validator in partnership with Delphi Consulting, part of Delphi Digital.

The firms said the move reflects a belief that institutions should contribute not just capital but also infrastructure to the networks they back. Chorus One described the validator as institutional-grade infrastructure, positioning it as part of Solana’s growing base of serious, long-term participants.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • According to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis data model, between Aug. 26 at 15:00 UTC and Aug. 27 at 14:00 UTC, SOL rose from $191.67 to $204.62, a 7% gain, with a trading range of $190.11–$205.65.
  • Heavy volume at $193.92 during the early rebound (986,571 tokens traded) established this level as strong support.
  • Resistance formed near $205.65, with repeated rejections around that corridor. Sustained price action above $202.00 suggests institutional buying.
  • In the final hour of trading, SOL dipped to $202.95 before surging to an intraday high of $205.84 on strong volume.
  • Key support is now near $202.82, while resistance is around $205.84. Bullish momentum points toward the $210.00 psychological barrier.



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An image of Hornet from Silksong engulfed with rage.
Product Reviews

Here’s every game that Silksong’s surprise release has delayed as indies scramble to escape its powerful aura

by admin



“From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, with a sawed-off .410 on my lap,” Bruce Springsteen crooned in his magnificent 1982 ballad Nebraska. “Through to the badlands of Wyoming, I killed everything in my path.” The Boss was of course relating the tale of infamous mass murderer Charles Starkweather, but he might as well have been talking about Hollow Knight: Silksong, the upcoming metroidvania that has now claimed at least eight victims since its surprise release date announcement earlier this month.

Nobody’s actually getting murdered here, to be clear: When I say “victims” I mean “other videogames,” and by “claimed” I mean that Silksong’s looming launch has led those games to adjust their own release plans so as not to be caught in the blast radius. It’s been quite a show, and while this sort of release date scramble isn’t unprecedented—Starfield made something of a mini-splash a couple years ago—I haven’t seen this kind of fracas since Cyberpunk 2077 started throwing elbows back in 2020.

How much of a difference moving away from Silksong will really make is a matter of debate, and it’s possible that some games are using it as cover for delays that are primarily driven by other considerations. But Silksong is the current king of Steam’s most wishlisted chart—beating out games like Borderlands 4 and Battlefield 6—so it’s understandable that pretty much every other unreleased PC game in proximity might want to take a little pause.


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Also worth remembering that there’s no way to know how these things will ultimately work out. Back in 2023, PC Gamer editors Wes Fenlon and Jody Macgregor dared contemplate the possibility that Baldur’s Gate 3, which had moved its release date up a month to avoid Starfield, might actually be the better game. And we all know what happened there.

Anyway, with all that laid out, here’s our list of all the games that have been delayed by Silksong. We’ll add to it as necessary, although with Silksong now just over a week away, the bodies may stop dropping soon. Metaphorically, that is.

In the order we noticed them:

The Balatro-like slot machine game said, literally, “Silksong lol” and moved from September 3 to September 26.

🚨GAME DELAY 🚨
due to Silksong (can’t wait to play) launching just a day after CloverPit, we decided to delay our release
our new release date is 26th Sept
we poured our hearts into our little game, so we want to give it the best possible shot. thanks for understanding!!

— @panikarcade.bsky.social (@panikarcade.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T18:31:53.272Z

Stomp and the Sword of Miracles

A Kickstarter had been planned for September 12, with a demo launching on Steam on August 29, “giving it a little boost beforehand,” but both have been delayed to an unspecified date. Developer Bee Braun said they “feel like a little krill trying to not get eaten by a blue whale.”

Head’s up – the Stomp demo has had to be suddenly delayed. I’ll keep you all updated when I know what the plan is.

— @frogteam.games (@frogteam.games.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T18:31:53.251Z

Faeland

More than seven years after a successful Kickstarter, Faeland was set to launch on September 9. No longer: “We’ve poured years of work and love into Faeland, and we want to make sure it arrives at a time when it can receive the attention and care it deserves.” A new date hasn’t been announced but is “coming soon.”

(Image credit: Talegames)

Aeterna Lucis

The sequel to the well-received metroidvania Aeterna Noctis was aiming for a September release but is now coming sometime in 2026. Aeternum Game Studios pointed the finger at Silksong, but also acknowledged that it still doesn’t have the devkits it needs for a simultaneous release on all next-gen platforms. Kind of a straw that broke the camel’s back situation.

(Image credit: Aeternum Game Studios)

The hit multiplayer climbing game is not delayed because it’s already out, but it’s feeling the heat anyway.

sent by a friend over d’cord…

— @glitchypsi.xyz (@glitchypsi.xyz.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T18:31:53.286Z

After initially signalling that it was ready to throw hands with Silksong, publisher Ysbryd had some vivid second thoughts: “We would not be doing Demonschool any favors by wading into waters we can clearly see are blood red.” It’s now set for November 19, a longer-than-most delay because October is crowded as hell too.

Anyway:

— @necrosoftgames.com (@necrosoftgames.com.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T18:31:53.309Z

The cozy life sim about, well, a little witch in the woods has pushed its 1.0 release date back from September 4 to September 15. “Silksong is a game we look up to with awe as developers, and eagerly anticipate as players,” Sunny Side Up wrote. “Given its immense influence, we fear that launching Little Witch in the Woods on the same day would not only dishearten our dedicated team but also disappoint our devoted audience.”

Very sad. (Image credit: Sunny Side Up)

Bennett Foddy’s open world failson walking simulator has also stepped back, from September 8 to September 23.

Baby Steps | Now Releasing on September 23 – YouTube

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And finally, at least for now:

Moros Protocol

The sci-fi shooter has scrapped its planned September 4 release and will instead drop on September 18, “to ensure that the game releases under the best conditions for success.” Which is to say, nowhere near Silksong.

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