 | | Created for techradar.com@quicklydone.com | Web Version | | | |  I documented part of that event with the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’s currently the best Android you can buy, but by no means the cheapest. The Nothing 4a might be the best new affordable Android, and it was a highlight of the MWC expo in Barcelona, which produced a host of news and announcements. Also this week, OpenAI faced some major blowback for stepping in where Anthropic refused to tread — there are actually a lot more complexities with the ' cancel ChatGPT and embrace Claude' movement, which I think we’ve covered well. Scroll down for more on all those stories and lots more, including our reviews round-up, entertainment news, and this week's poll. Lance Ulanoff, Editor at Large | | | | What happened – this week's biggest stories | |  | | The MacBook Neo was the undisputed star of Apple's March event (Future) | What happened? Apple’s big week of announcements lived up to the hype, with new Macs featuring new M5 chips, a new iPhone 17e and a new iPad Air arriving throughout the week, with the topper being the MacBook Neo reveal. The MacBook Neo is clearly aimed at everyone who has ever bought a cheap Windows laptop. It’s exciting, but not perfect (or at least not as full-featured as a MacBook Air). The iPhone 17e was so long-rumored that there was zero surprise when it arrived in its final form. Equally unsurprising, but certainly welcome, were the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which arrive inside the latest MacBook Pro laptops. They’re essentially two regular M5 chips sandwiched together for big performance gains. What did we think? Apple MacBook Neo will be remembered as one of the year’s biggest releases. The majority of other updates are incremental, but likely still welcome to fans of the MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, iPads, and affordable iPhones — you can tell us what you think in the poll at the bottom of this newsletter. | | | | See how eero PoE 7 delivers fast, reliable Wi-Fi 7 with PoE installation, strong coverage, and performance designed for modern workplaces. | | | | ADVERTISEMENT |  | |  | Get caught up: the rest of the news in 30 seconds | | | |  | Good display, great, distinctive design, and decent performance, all for a price that comes in at half the cost of the best Android phone on the market. That’s the Nothing 4a. It’s an unusual phone in some distinctive colors that generally wowed us, but not in all aspects. The cameras seem a bit subpar. You have to wonder if that will hamstring sales. Speaking of unusual looks, you should check out the Nothing Headphones. We did (tested them, really) and found they’re better than ever — and cheaper, to boot. On the other end of the spectrum is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, competing head-to-head with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and in our tests, it held its own. It’s a big screen device with a fantastic camera array. We also like the design update and S Pen, but what really has us talking is the Privacy Display, which uses pixel-level technology to do some magic that really works.
Our testing team have also been busy pitting Sony's new WF-1000XM6 earbuds against three of their leading premium rivals, the AirPods Pro 3, Bose Ultra (2nd Gen) and Technics AZ100 — find out how they fared in our head-to-head video below.
| | | | What's on – the week in entertainment | |  | You won't want to miss Jasmine Valentine's review of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, which sees Cillian Murphy reprise his role as Thomas Shelby in the hit Netflix show's film sequel. Then, read our Young Sherlock and Vladimir reviews to find out if those shows are worth a watch on Prime Video and Netflix respectively. And if you're looking for something to unwind with this weekend, don't miss our round-up of the best new movies and shows on the big streamers. Elsewhere, the final trailer for The Boys season 5 teases a typically explosive, hyperviolent, and darkly comedic end to the Amazon TV Original, and the director of new Pixar film Hoppers teases its Easter egg-filled post-credits scene — and, don't worry, that news exclusive is spoiler-free. There’s sure to be drama of a different kind in Melbourne this weekend, with the start of the new Formula 1 season. We’ve got a full guide to how to watch the Australian Grand Prix — but just be warned: if you’re in the UK you’ll need to get up very early… | | |  | | Afraid of the dark? We'll help you get the balance just right (Netflix) | TV and movie directors seem to be locked in a battle these days to see who can shoot the darkest scenes. “No! What I’m going for here is ‘4am inside a blackout tent’. You can still see her face there, we need less light!” Annoying though that is, there is a solution of sorts — and that’s to tweak your TV’s settings. Yeah, we know, nobody wants to do that; get it wrong and you’ll make an episode of Stranger Things look like Teletubbies. But we can help. Our expert TV reviewer James Davidson has put together an excellent guide to how to make your TV’s picture look less dark without screwing it all up. | | | | What you think – this week's poll | | | Which of Apple's new devices are you most excited about? | | | | | | | | | © Future Publishing Limited. Reg No. 2008885 England. | | Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. | | | | |
