An Android remote access trojan named BTMOB is offered to cybercriminals with a builder interface for generating malware payloads tailored to phishing lures.
The malware provides a wide set of features that includes stealing specific data, intercepting financial transactions, capturing screenshots, and remote control capabilities.
Cybersecurity company ESET says that BTMOB is openly advertised on the clearweb and operates as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) platform. The APK builder included in the offer provides easy customization of the payload without any need to code.
Customers can select from a set of permissions the APK requests upon installation, and define what actions the app should take (e.g., disable Google Play, hide its icon to make it more difficult to remove from the device, or prevent sleep mode).
It should be noted that BTMOB is mostly active in Brazil and Latin America. It is not a new Android trojan, as ANYRUN analyzed it in February 2025, and threat intelligence and digital risk protection company Cyble documented it as an advanced Android malware.
At the time, Cyble spotted about 15 samples of BTMOB 2.5 in nearly two weeks, indicating that the author was actively developing the malware.
According to ESET researchers, sales are conducted in private Telegram channels. Threat actors can get it with a monthly subscription of $700 monthly subscription, or they can pay $5,000 for a lifetime license.
BTMOB appears to be an evolution of the SpySolr malware family and is distributed via phishing websites masquerading as streaming services and cryptocurrency mining platforms.
ESET reports that potential victims are redirected to portals mimicking Google Play and prompted to download the fake apps. The
Researchers Johnk3r and Merl recently spotted BTMOB campaigns that used an Argentinian government agency as a lure.
The malware platform also helps operators generate custom, localized phishing lures to match the campaign’s topic. Once installed, it abuses Android Accessibility Services to obtain elevated permissions and additional system access without further user interaction.
Although ESET is tracking the threat and updates static detection rules accordingly, the rapid generation of new payloads can undermine the effectiveness of single-layered defenses.
Android users are recommended to install only apps from the official Google Play Store on their phones, scan with Play Protect, and revoke risky and powerful permissions, such as Accessibility access, if not explicitly needed.
Automated pentesting tools deliver real value, but they were built to answer one question: can an attacker move through the network? They were not built to test whether your controls block threats, your detection rules fire, or your cloud configs hold.
This guide covers the 6 surfaces you actually need to validate.
The list of potential buyers for the Seattle Seahawks is starting to look like an NFL Pro Bowl roster of billionaires, venture capitalists and global business leaders.
Billionaire financier Todd Boehly is the latest high-profile name linked to the franchise, according to a report from Semafor, joining a field of prospective bidders that reportedly includes venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, steel executive Aditya Mittal and former Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck.
Boehly, the chairman and CEO of Eldridge Industries, is best known in sports circles for ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Chelsea FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. Before launching Eldridge, he helped build the credit-investing business at Guggenheim Partners.
The Seahawks could fetch as much as $9 billion, a price tag that would eclipse the $6 billion sale of the Washington Commanders in 2023 and set a new record for an NFL franchise.
The Seahawks are being sold by the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, following instructions in his estate plan directing that his sports holdings ultimately be sold and the proceeds used for philanthropic purposes. In February, Allen’s estate formally listed the Seahawks for sale, shortly after the franchise captured its second Super Bowl title.
Among the other reported bidders is Khosla, the Sun Microsystems co-founder, founder of Khosla Ventures and an early backer of OpenAI, DoorDash and Stripe. Khosla — who also owns a small slice of the San Francisco 49ers — reportedly submitted a letter of intent as part of the bidding process.
Khosla spoke in Seattle last year, saying at the time: “I have found that the person who learns faster is way better at building businesses than the person who is a deep expert.” His firm has backed Seattle-area startups including Loti, Mudstack, Viome and Lexion, which was acquired by Docusign in 2024. It is also an investor in Seattle’s AI2 Incubator.
The Seahawks sale is shaping up as one of the largest ownership transfers in professional sports history, attracting investors from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, international industry and private equity.
For Seattle’s technology community, the process marks the beginning of a new era.
Since purchasing the team in 1997, Allen helped transform the Seahawks into one of the NFL’s premier franchises.
Formal bids are expected in the coming weeks, according to Semafor.
School’s (almost) out for summer.
When it comes time to throw open campus doors for the new school year in the fall, research tells us one out of every seven teachers won’t be returning — either because they moved schools or left the profession entirely.
But when the going gets tough, teachers don’t necessarily want to leave. Even when they’re burned out, they still love what they do.
So, the concerning data throughout the country tells a story about how stark the conditions of the teacher workforce are. In Wisconsin, for instance, teachers say they are exiting the profession at the highest rate in 25 years thanks to a range of issues, from poor leadership to safety concerns like students bringing guns to school.
Worse, shrinking student populations and rising costs have forced school districts like Portland Public Schools to make staff cuts in the face of astronomically high budget gaps. Early career teachers are thinking hard about whether they even want to continue in their chosen field.
That’s why we at EdSurge want to hear from educators who have recently left or plan to leave their jobs for another sector: What was the deciding factor? What could your school (or district or state-level leaders) have done differently to change your mind?
Your responses will help shape our coverage, and we may be in contact for an interview.
AI goes beyond digital interfaces like ChatGPT and Claude and it’s now showing up in physical productivity-boosting devices. One of the most useful examples I’ve found is the AI voice recorder. A device slightly larger than a credit card, an AI voice recorder captures, transcribes, and analyzes conversations in real time. It acts as your own personal automatic note taker.
As a freelance writer and entrepreneur who has countless interviews, webinars, client conversations, and Zoom meetings each week, I’ve personally tried two AI voice recorders: the Comulytic Note Pro and the iFlyTek AI Recorder S6. And there are several other similar devices out there at varying price points. Each device is smaller than an iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The Comulytic actually came with a magnetic case to fit onto my phone. That way, it’s within reach and ready to record the moment I answer a call. It sends its recordings and transcripts to a cloud storage system, which I can access via an app. The iFlyTek AI Recorder S6 is a little larger and reminds me of the digital voice recorder I used in college 20 years ago. It’s slim, rectangular, and a little smaller than my palm. Unlike the Comulytic, this one has a screen where I can see the transcription, AI-generated summaries, and other features. It can also record videos. The Comulytic and iFlyTek AI voice recorders have changed the way I do meetings and classes. Here’s how.
Science says that handwriting notes is better for your brain compared to typing, which is why I still enjoy note-taking the old-fashioned way. However, in my line of work, where I’m spending most of my day writing and typing and talking, doing things the old-fashioned way can be downright painful at times, regardless of whether you’ve got one of the best and most reliable mechanical keyboards. I get cramps in my hands and wrists, even with proper form and daily stretching. And if I’m trying to take notes while in a client meeting or online session, I’m not able to give one or the other my full attention. Even with pages of notes, I still feel like I missed part of the discussion.
Using AI voice recorders to do some of the lifting has made my work easier, physically and mentally. Instead of dashing to take notes and pick out all the important details, I can be present in the conversation. When my wrists and hands are aching after a day of writing, I’m more selective about the notes I take. But using an AI voice recorder, I can focus on what’s being said instead of how I’m capturing the information for later. It removes a lot of risk on my end because I know I will have all of the most salient pieces of information without having to pick and choose in the moment. Clients have to repeat themselves less, which saves us both time.
At the end of a meeting, I review my notes and figure out what needs to happen next, usually in the form of research, deliverables, or other tasks. My next steps are only as good as the notes I took, and again, if I miss a key detail or otherwise couldn’t fully immerse myself in our conversation, the rest of the process suffers.
Both of my AI voice recorders analyze the conversations and present me with action steps, summaries, and follow-up items. I know exactly what needs to happen next based on the meeting. And it’s in a digital form in the same place where I’m already doing my work. As a rule, I always end client meetings by repeating a summary and takeaways so that the client has the opportunity to clarify anything we spoke about or what our next steps are. I still do this, and AI picks it up and runs with it. I’ve discovered that taking notes doesn’t have to compete with active listening. Conversations feel more natural since I’m not constantly staring at my keyboard or notepad. I love that my new process removes a layer of mental clutter and allows me to contribute in a more meaningful way.
One of the most valuable features of an AI voice recorder for me is seeing what was said. This goes beyond basic call recording, which, truthfully, I loathe. I don’t want to listen to a 30-minute phone conversation to find one key piece of information. When I have a digital transcript, I can use CTRL + F to search for keywords and find exactly what I need in seconds. Transcripts are a major time-saver for me, and AI voice recorders create them without a separate tool.
With the Comulytic, transcription is free and happens in real time. The iFlyTek does transcription too, but has a limit of up to 300 minutes per month. Beyond that, I need a paid subscription. With both devices, I can go back and look at notes from past calls and have searchable documents. It seems like a small convenience, but transcripts have become incredibly valuable to me over the years. Details that seem insignificant during a meeting might be important days or weeks later when I’m in a different phase of a project. I don’t have to hunt through notebooks or the pile of sticky notes on my desk. All of my records are centralized in one place (well, two since I use two devices for different purposes). Plus, I save money by not having to upload recordings into separate software or transcription apps that convert audio to text.
When I’m not writing about tech or working with clients, I’m a travel freelance writer exploring mountain towns and hiking trails and unique attractions. And when I’m traveling, sometimes I still need to take client meetings. I used to lug around my laptop and pop into a coffee shop or cafe when I needed to take calls. The best note-taking apps were handy enough, but now I have an easy, one-touch way to record conversations without needing them. It takes notes on my behalf no matter where I am.
One of the biggest benefits is that these devices work offline. I don’t have to be connected to Wi-Fi because each device has internal storage, and when I regain internet access, the content will sync to my account automatically. Even when I’m not speaking with clients or stakeholders, this makes AI voice recorders useful for capturing my own thoughts. Some of my best ideas come when I’m walking in the park or hiking to see a waterfall. Sometimes I meet people unexpectedly and want to get their story on the spot. I have come to appreciate how much flexibility an AI voice recorder provides. I don’t have to plan my workflow around the availability of a laptop or internet connection.
As much as I appreciate AI voice recorders, I understand why some people are hesitant to embrace them. AI isn’t perfect, so there’s a risk of contextual misunderstanding. For example, AI might analyze your conversation and give an inaccurate summary or oddball to-do’s. Hopefully you’ll be able to spot this if you were immersed in the conversation, and it’s an easy fix. I haven’t experienced it (yet).
Some people are also put off by the idea of having AI listen to their conversations. Questions naturally arise about where the content is stored, who can access it, and whether the content is truly private. No one wants sensitive business information or client records on display, especially if it involves intellectual property. I believe transparency is essential. If I’m recording a meeting with AI, I let clients know. Most people appreciate being informed beforehand.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
The Mini Crossword is a long one today, as always on Saturday. World Cup watchers, 4-Down is for you. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for June 13, 2026.
1A clue: Sentry’s “Stop!”
Answer: HALT
5A clue: ___ vera (succulent)
Answer: ALOE
6A clue: “That feeling should fade”
Answer: ITLLPASS
10A clue: $1,000,000, informally
Answer: MIL
11A clue: One of the Three Stooges
Answer: MOE
12A clue: Caller of balls and strikes
Answer: UMP
13A clue: ___-1 (class of drugs that includes Ozempic and Wegovy)
Answer: GLP
14A clue: Crunchy tendril used in Asian cuisine
Answer: PEASHOOT
17A clue: ___ Stadium, former home of the Mets
Answer: SHEA
18A clue: Silverstein who wrote “The Giving Tree”
Answer: SHEL
1D clue: Student’s slip
Answer: HALLPASS
2D clue: The “A” of GOAT
Answer: ALL
3D clue: Chop (off)
Answer: LOP
4D clue: Collective objective … or what the ends of 1-Down, 6-Across and 14-Across lead to
Answer: TEAMGOAL
6D clue: “Okay, it’s my turn”
Answer: IMUP
7D clue: The “T” of GOAT
Answer: TIME
8D clue: All by oneself
Answer: SOLO
9D clue: Month #9: Abbr.
Answer: SEPT
15D clue: Librarian’s warning
Answer: SHH
16D clue: Tee-___ (giggle)
Answer: HEE
Deep Robotics sent a modified version of its compact Lynx S10 robot on a research vessel bound for the Arctic Ocean. The goal was straightforward. Engineers wanted to see how the small machine would handle real polar conditions that humans approach with extreme caution. The prototype completed its mission and became the first quadruped robot to step onto Arctic Ocean ice floes.
Given its size and capabilities, the standard Lynx S10 stands out. Even with the battery fitted, it weighs less than 20 kg, allowing one person to transport it to the field and get it up and running quickly. The robot’s sixteen precision joints enable it to fold and twist into tight locations that larger robots cannot access, such as rubble and narrow tunnels. On flat terrain, it moves at 8 meters per second. Furthermore, it can clear obstacles up to 50 cm tall, transition between rolling on wheels and walking on legs as the terrain becomes more difficult, and even rise into a bipedal position when extra height is required.
Sale
Four ultra-wide-angle cameras with high dynamic range lenses, as well as front and rear LiDAR units, feed into a next-generation omnidirectional perception system for clear vision. The robot can generate maps, select paths, and avoid obstacles on its own. That’s because the machine is built to withstand a beating; its IP66 rating guarantees dust, rain, and heavy fog will not knock it down. And it will continue to function in temperatures ranging from -20 to 55 degrees Celsius. The battery life easily exceeds 3 hours, and if the power runs low, the robot can find and travel to a charging station on its own. The effective payload capacity is slightly more than 8 kilograms, with a maximum structural load of 120 kilograms.
When the Lynx S10 was dispatched on the Arctic expedition, the team made a few particular changes. They replaced the standard wheels with large biomimetic paws resembling polar bears’ broad soles. Anti-slip patterns were added to the contact surfaces to promote grip, and crampons provide the robot with extra traction on firm ice. They also tightened the seal on the body to fulfill the IP67 standard. In certain cases, they even increased the surface area of the limbs, allowing the legs to operate as paddles while the robot wades through mixed ice and water.
The studies tested this robot’s boundaries, as we were dealing with snow that periodically masked pools of melt water capable of swallowing a person or a machine whole. The bear-paw feet and crampons kept the robot firmly planted as it crawled and walked over slick, low-friction terrain. There was even one case where the machine simply glided over terrain that appeared solid but was actually sitting on a hidden water pocket. Later studies moved into zones with ice and water mixed together, and the robot’s improved legs simply carried it through the muck.
Now, these runs were more than just a publicity stunt, because the Lynx S10 prototype is still in development and was in alpha when it went on the trip. Deep Robotics worked with professionals at Sun Yat-sen University, Westlake University, and Hangzhou Dianzi University to create the best paw design and control algorithms. Every time the robot stepped on the ice or paddled across the icy water, the crew learned more about its balance, traction, and performance in freezing conditions.
When shopping for a new laptop, most buyers compare specifications like performance, battery life, display quality, and price. But a new AI-powered initiative could soon add another metric to that list: carbon footprint.
Researchers are developing AI agents capable of calculating and displaying the environmental impact of consumer electronics in real time, potentially giving shoppers instant access to sustainability information before making a purchase. The effort aims to bring the kind of emissions transparency already available in services like flight booking platforms to the world of consumer technology.
Today, consumers can easily compare the carbon emissions of different flights through services such as Google Flights. However, similar information is often difficult to find when purchasing electronics, despite the significant environmental impact associated with manufacturing, shipping, and operating devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
The proposed AI system would automatically gather data from multiple sources, including manufacturing information, supply chains, energy consumption estimates, and transportation data, to generate an environmental score that consumers can understand at a glance. The goal is to make sustainability as visible and accessible as price tags and product specifications.
One of the biggest challenges facing environmentally conscious shoppers is the complexity of carbon accounting. Determining the total emissions associated with a laptop can involve analyzing raw material extraction, component manufacturing, assembly, transportation, packaging, and long-term energy use.
Researchers believe AI agents are uniquely suited to handle this complexity because they can collect, process, and summarize large amounts of environmental data far faster than traditional reporting methods. Instead of forcing consumers to sift through lengthy sustainability reports, AI could generate simple, easy-to-understand comparisons between competing products.
The technology could also help manufacturers improve transparency. Companies may be encouraged to disclose more detailed environmental data if AI systems begin incorporating sustainability metrics directly into purchasing decisions.
The broader push comes amid growing concerns about the environmental impact of technology and artificial intelligence itself. Data centers, AI training, hardware manufacturing, and cloud infrastructure all contribute to increasing energy consumption worldwide, making sustainability reporting an increasingly important topic across the tech industry.
The concept extends beyond laptops. Researchers envision AI agents eventually helping consumers evaluate the environmental impact of a wide range of products, from smartphones and appliances to vehicles and household goods.
Such systems could also evolve into personal shopping assistants that automatically recommend products based not only on budget and features but also on sustainability preferences. While the technology is still in development, it reflects a broader shift toward greater transparency in consumer purchasing decisions. Just as nutrition labels changed how people buy food, carbon-impact information could eventually influence how consumers shop for technology.
For buyers, that means future laptop shopping may involve more than comparing processors and battery life. An AI-generated carbon score could become another key factor in deciding which device ends up in their bag.
It’s to ensure compliance with a government directive citing national security concerns.
Anthroic has disabled all of its customers’ access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 in order to ensure compliance with an order it received from the government on Friday, June 12. All its other models and its Claude chatbot are not affected. The company said in its announcement that the US government wanted it to suspend all foreign nationals’ access to its newly launched AI models, whether they’re inside or outside the US and even if they’re Anthropic employees, citing national security concerns.
While the US government didn’t specify those concerns, Anthropic believes that it’s because the government heard about a method of jailbreaking Fable 5. The company has just launched the Fable AI model, which was designed to bring many of Mythos’ capabilities to the public, on June 9. If you’ll recall, Mythos is its state-of-the-art cybersecurity model that’s only available to its Project Glasswing partners. Fable’s capabilities “exceed” any previous model Anthropic has launched. It beat Pokémon FireRed during the company’s tests, for instance, while Claude failed to beat Pokémon Red, the original game it was based on.
Anthropic listed the measures it took to ensure that Fable was secure in its post. It said it instituted strong safeguards to “reduce the likelihood that Fable is misused for tasks related to cybersecurity” and added that its “safeguards are so strong that many users have complained that they are overly broad.” The company also explained that any provider cannot possibly ensure perfect resistance to jailbreak attempts, and every model is vulnerable to jailbreaks made especially for it. “We aimed to make jailbreaks either narrow (in the case of non-universal jailbreaks) or very expensive to produce (in the case of universal jailbreaks), and to combine this with thorough monitoring to quickly detect and shut down any successful attacks,” it said about its defense strategy.
The government apparently gave the company verbal evidence for one potential narrow, non-universal jailbreak that an unnamed entity shared with officials. Anthropic promised to share more details over the next 24 hours, but it clarified that it disagrees that a potential jailbreak should be cause for recalling a commercial model.
“As we have stated publicly, we believe the government should have the ability to block unsafe deployments, as part of a statutory process that is transparent, fair, clear, and grounded in technical facts,” Anthropic, which has been vocal about its warnings about the need for more AI oversight, wrote. “This action does not adhere to those principles.”
Strong looks and stronger sound make the Samsung Music Studio 7 a real contender – as long as you take a moment to consider its position in your room it has a whole lot going for it where spatial audio is concerned
Big, spacious and remarkably assertive sound
Extensive app is just one control option
Understated, sophisticated looks and exemplary build quality
High frequencies can easily sound splashy
Needs space in which to operate
Design would suit more colours than the two currently available
Power
150 watts of Class D power
Audio set-up
3.1.1 -channel layout
Looks
Dot Design by Bouroullec
Samsung has been hoovering up audio companies lately, but if you thought this meant the end of Samsung as a music hardware brand you can think again.
The Music Studio 7 is a stand-alone wireless speaker that can be half of a stereo pair, a part of a multichannel home cinema system or an element of a multi-room set-up too – and it goes head-to-head with some of the best pound-for-pound wireless speakers around.
Without going mad (as Sonos did with the great-sounding, bizarre-looking Era 300), Samsung has managed to deliver a wireless speaker that appears expensive and individual while still looking reassuringly like a speaker.
At 269 x 185 x 191mm (HWD) it’s nicely proportioned and strikes a good balance between worktop, shelf and speaker stand size – it’s too big for a desktop really, but in any other space it works well.
But it’s the curved, perforated metalwork that begins to set it apart, and the overall design (which is by Erwan Bouroullec) is confident and understated – the dished area on the front panel that looks like a speaker driver but isn’t seems the sort of visual flourish that could easily become a trademark of quite a large range of Samsung Music Studio speakers if the company so desires.
Build quality is well up to standard (just as well, given the amount of money Samsung wants for the Music Studio 7) and the finish is impressive too. As it stands, black or white is hardly the most inspiring selection of colours – but there is (unofficial, off-the-record) talk of a wider range of colours in the not-too-distant future.
The Samsung Music Studio 7 is configured to serve up an impression of 3.1.1 -channel spatial audio (specifically Dolby Atmos, although the speaker is also compatible with Eclipsa Audio) – and so it deploys five drivers and a couple of passive radiators to do the sonic business.
Facing forwards there’s a mid/bass driver above a tweeter. There’s another tweeter angled upwards from the top of the cabinet, and on each side there’s another tweeter beneath a racetrack-shaped passive radiator.
Samsung isn’t all that keen on discussing the size or the composition of these drivers, and the frequency response they’re capable of generation is a secret too – but there’s 150 watts of Class D power on tap to move these five drivers, which in a speaker of these relatively modest dimensions should prove more than sufficient.
Getting audio information into the speaker can be done in a number of different ways. Dual-band Wi-Fi is available, naturally – and this means that as well as Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect, the Music Studio 7 is Roon Ready and is compatible with AirPlay and Google Cast too.
It’s even compatible with Samsung’s Q Symphony technology, which means it can wirelessly connect to an appropriate Samsung TV. In fact, Q Symphony means that the Music Studio 7 can easily become part of a full-on wireless home cinema surround-sound system – but that’s a review for another day. For now, I’m just considering the Music Studio 7 as a single, stand-alone wireless speaker.
Spotify Tap is on board, for those who just can’t wait to get some music on the go, and Bluetooth 6.0 is available too. There are also some physical inputs on the rear of the cabinet. An HDMI eARC is obviously extremely useful to anyone who fancies incorporating their (non-Q Symphony) TV, while a digital optical input is handy if the TV in question is of a certain (pre-HDMI) vintage. The USB-A slot is only for service and updates, though.
Predictably, Samsung isn’t making the details of the digital-to-analogue conversion hardware known. But the Music Studio 7 can handle Hi-Res content of up to 24-bit/96kHz, which is straightforwardly impressive, and can deal with every worthwhile audio file type.
Control is available via a few buttons on the top of the speaker, or on a remarkably granular level in the Samsung Sound app that’s free for iOS and Android. Here’s where you can deploy the obligatory AI features, such as the AI Adaptive Sound setting that’s intended for use when the speaker is part of a home cinema system – it automatically adjusts audio output to suit the content you’re watching – while AI Dynamic Bass Control tries to maximise low-frequency output while minimising the inevitable cabinet vibrations that result.
Here’s where you can adjust the sound using either a two- or a seven-band EQ or choose from a selection of presets. Here’s where SpaceFit Sound Pro (an automatic room calibration routine) and Active Voice Amplifier Pro (which boosts the midrange to make dialogue more easily discerned) can be accessed. Auto Volume is self-explanatory, and there’s plenty more besides. It’s a clean and stable app, and overall it’s one of the better examples currently around.
The Music Studio 7 is also compatible with Samsung’s SmartThings app, and so can be easily integrated into a much wider smart home ecosystem than merely forming part of a multichannel or multiroom audio system. And if you prefer to just ask, the speaker has Alexa built in and covers Works with Google too – although strangely, Bixby is not on board.
It’s not like Samsung to admit defeat inside a decade, though, so I imagine we’ll be seeing (if not hearing) more of Bixby in the future…
There’s really only one place to start with a wireless speaker that fancies itself where spatial audio is concerned, and that’s with some Hi-Res content mixed in Dolby Atmos and available via TIDAL Connect. The Atmos mix of De La Soul’s timeless 3 Feet High and Rising, it seems safe to say, allows the Music Studio 7 to showcase a lot of its undoubted talents.
First and foremost, the Samsung is a spacious, expansive listen while managing to be quite well focused at the same time. Some less capable spatial audio speakers can do the scale thing without too many problems, but remaining sharp rather than vague at the same time is a trickier discipline – the Music Studio 7 creates a sound that’s demonstrably taller and wider than the cabinet it’s coming from, but the soundstage it describes is carefully controlled and coherently laid out.
And as well as sounding wide and tall, the Music Studio 7 also sounds nicely balanced. It can lose the run of itself a little where high-frequency reproduction is concerned – it doesn’t need any especially unsympathetic recording to make the Samsung sound just a little splashy and edgy, but I guess that’s what can happen when you put four tweeters in a relatively small box.
Otherwise, though, the tonal balance is nicely neutral, and there’s a very well-judged amount of low-frequency wallop available for when the action in your music or your movie really kicks off.
If and when it does all kick off, the Samsung has plenty of dynamic headroom available to make the upturn in volume or intensity plain. It controls its low-end activity well, though, so something like the De La Soul recording that relies heavily on rhythmic expression, is handled properly. And it’s just as adept when it comes to the more subtle stuff, too – detail levels are high at every point in the frequency range, and there’s more insight into the dynamics of harmonic and textural variation that is the norm in products like this.
It communicates eloquently through the midrange and loads voices with information – details of attitude and emotion are just as readily available as those concerning tone and timbre. This, of course, is good news where music is concerned but even better news if you’re listening to a spatial audio movie soundtrack – and the Music Studio 7 projects the midrange forward well, even if the rest of the frequency range is in uproar.
Naturally, all of the above applies only if you give the speaker the space in which to properly do its thing. If it’s on a bookshelf, there can be no shelf directly above it – that upward-firing tweeter needs room in which to operate.
Similarly, the drivers that face outwards from the sides of the cabinet must not be firing onto a surface that’s very nearby otherwise the sound will become muddy and confused. But as long as you give the Samsung the elbow-room, it’s a very satisfying performer indeed.
The Music Studio 7’s audio credentials are impressive, but the appeal of its clean, understated design is strong too.
Or, at least, if it’s not the top shelf – the upward-firing tweeter needs some space in which to operate.
I’d assumed that Samsung would, in the audio/visual market, stick to the TVs and soundbars it’s so good at and leave the more specialised audio stuff to one or more of the many very credible audio brands it now owns. Shows what I know, doesn’t it?
This is the best Samsung-badged audio product I’ve heard in… well, I’m not sure how long exactly, but it’s quite a while.
The Samsung Music Studio 7 was positioned on a kitchen worktop, on the top shelf of an AV rack next to a TV, and a dedicated speaker stand during the course of the test. Music was streamed wirelessly from an Apple iPhone 14 Pro, both via Bluetooth and via TIDAL Connect.
Spatial audio movie soundtracks came via an HDMI cable from the TV connected to the speaker’s eARC socket. This allowed for lots of different content, of different types and resolutions, to be dealt with by the Samsung, and this happened for well over a (working) week.
Yes, the black of this review sample or white. The rumour is that different options will follow, but it’s just a rumour at the moment.
The Music Studio 7 supports Stereo Play, which makes it easy for two speakers to operate as a single stereo system.
If your TV has an HDMI ARC output then the Samsung can play spatial audio soundtracks when connected this way. And if you have an appropriate Samsung TV, Q Symphony is available too.
| Samsung Music Studio 7 (LS70H) | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £499 |
| USA RRP | $499 |
| EU RRP | €549 |
| CA RRP | CA$649 |
| AUD RRP | AU$749 |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Size (Dimensions) | 185 x 191 x 269 INCHES |
| Weight | 5.6 KG |
| Release Date | 2026 |
| Driver (s) | 4 x tweeter; mid/bass driver; 2 x BMR |
| Ports | HDMI eARC; digital optical |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 6.0 |
| Colours | Black, White |
| Frequency Range | – Hz |
| Audio Formats | Dolby Atmos Music, ,Dolby Atmos, Dolby 5.1ch, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, Multi-channel LPCM, MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, AIFF |
| Power Consumption | 20 W |
| Speaker Type | Wireless Speaker |
Fans and students of United States Naval History have no shortage of fascinating destinations to visit across the United States. Spread all over the country, history buffs can enjoy public naval museums that include everything from PT boats to aircraft carriers — along with a handful of historic battleships that are open for tours.
In addition to those surface ships, there’s also a long list of floating submarine museums spread around the country, with some of them actually found far from the ocean. One of these subs is the USS Silversides (SS-236), which is in Muskegon, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Before finding its current home on the Great Lakes, the Silversides was one of America’s most decorated submarines of World War II, serving in the Pacific theater for the entire war.
The vessel has been on display in Michigan since the late 1980s but will soon be temporarily leaving its Muskegon home to undergo an extensive and much-needed renovation project. During the restoration, which will cost around $3.5 million, the Silversides will see a number of structural repairs and cosmetic restorations, all designed to bring the ship back to its wartime glory while also preserving the historic vessel for decades to come.
World War II naval history, especially when it comes to the Pacific theater, is dominated by history-changing carrier battles — and indeed aircraft carriers would change the face of naval warfare from that point onward. The massive historic contributions of World War II’s legendary submarines are not to be overlooked, though.
The Gato-class USS Silversides is among the Navy’s most accomplished submarines of the war. The sub entered service in December of 1941, just weeks after the outbreak of World War II, and would serve in the Pacific right up to the war’s end, on a total of fourteen different war patrols. Among its accomplishments were 23 confirmed enemy vessels sunk, for which the USS Silversides earned 12 battle stars as well as the Presidential Unit Citation. Along with its numerous combat achievements and sunken enemy ships, the sub also helped save lives, rescuing downed American aviators from the sea on multiple occasions.
After the war, the Silversides was put into use as a training ship before being retired from service in the late 1960s. In 1987, it made its way to Muskegon, Michigan, to become part of the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum, where it’s hosted visitors ever since. Eventually the facility would be renamed as the USS Silversides Submarine Museum.
Having been in Muskegon for nearly 40 years, time has taken its toll on the Silversides. With much of the submarine’s hull lying below the waterline, the true condition of its structure is hard to inspect. That will all be addressed beginning in July of 2026, when the ship is scheduled to be towed across Lake Michigan to drydock in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Once there, it will get a complete renovation that will include structural inspection and repairs, cleaning, and the application of new coatings to protect the vessel from the Lake Michigan elements.
The total cost of the restoration is expected to come in around $3.5 million, with $750,000 of that being paid through a grant from the National Park Service. If all goes to plan, the Silversides will be in dry dock for a relatively short time, with the renovated ship scheduled to be brought back to Muskegon in the middle of October. During the sub’s absence, the museum will remain open to the public with other displays and exhibits including plans to host a visiting tall ship over the summer.
2026 is turning into a banner year for WWII naval vessels. Earlier this year, the sunken wreck of another historic Pacific War US Navy submarine was discovered in the seas north of Japan after being lost at sea for 80 years. Meanwhile on the west coast, the USS Hornet is also checking in for some renovations and possible relocation.
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