Indeed’s research finds that the country’s labour market is consistent, while unemployment rates are low.

Recruitment platform Indeed has published the findings of its latest ‘Labour Market Snapshot’, which explores how the Irish employment space is performing in the third quarter of the year. 

The research finds that Ireland’s labour market has steadied over the course of the last few months, with new job postings comparable to an early 2020, pre-pandemic baseline. 

Ireland’s labour market remains close to full employment, with the unemployment rate remaining at 5pc and the employment rate close to highs. According to Indeed’s report, this is in line with a labour market that has normalised following a period of persistently elevated labour demand post-Covid. 

“Our latest data suggests Ireland’s labour market has moved into a more normalised phase following the hiring demand we have seen after the pandemic,” said Jack Kennedy, a senior economist at Indeed.

The report finds that the majority of sectors tracked sit below their pre-pandemic levels in terms of overall postings on Indeed, with the remaining 41pc sitting at or above baseline. 

Postings for pharmacy, as well as cleaning and sanitation, are furthest above the February 2020 baseline, while listings for IT infrastructure, operations and support, and childcare are furthest below pre-pandemic levels.

Kennedy added, “While overall demand has stabilised, the picture varies by sector, location and occupation, with AI increasingly becoming an important factor of Ireland’s hiring landscape.”

Indeed’s research also found that the rate at which AI is being adopted in Ireland is increasing. Almost 15pc of all Irish postings to the jobs site were found to include AI-based terminology in the description, the highest among all European countries tracked by Indeed. 

Corresponding rates elsewhere included 9.7pc in the UK, 5.6pc in Germany, 5pc in Italy and 3.6pc  in the Netherlands. Further afield, it was 6.7pc in the US. 

“AI is certainly changing the skills employers are looking for and Ireland is at the forefront of that shift. Around 15pc of Irish job postings mention AI, one of the highest shares internationally,” said Kennedy. 

“We’re increasingly seeing AI create demand for new skills and roles, and that demand is spreading well beyond traditional tech jobs. The challenge is making sure people, particularly those early into their careers, have the opportunity to develop the skills employers will need as the world of work changes.”

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There are so many things we approximate to make life simple. Wires, for example, have no resistance or other strange effects. Crystal oscillators output their exact frequency. But surely our model of how a computer stores and loads memory is accurate, right? You put data in a particular location and, later, you take it out. The [FEX-Emu] developers have a different perspective. Once you have caches and, perhaps, multiple CPUs, it isn’t that easy.

The basic problem is this: if one CPU (or, more accurately, bus master) writes to a location, will another CPU have access to the new value? X86’s Total Store Ordering model gives programmers strong guarantees about when loads and stores become visible, while ARM deliberately uses a weaker memory model that permits considerably more reordering for performance and efficiency.

An emulator can, in theory, compensate by translating ordinary x86 memory operations into ARM acquire/release operations, but doing that for nearly every memory reference can be expensive. Newer ARM extensions such as LRCPC help considerably, while Apple took a more direct approach by adding an x86-compatible TSO mode to Apple Silicon. That lets ordinary loads and stores behave the way translated x86 code expects with comparatively little overhead.

Things get much uglier with unaligned accesses and atomic operations. X86 software routinely performs accesses that ARM would consider badly aligned, and x86 provides surprisingly strong atomicity guarantees within a cache line. FEX sometimes has to catch alignment faults and dynamically patch translated code with barriers. Split-lock operations are worse still: some require excursions through the kernel and signal handlers and can be hundreds or thousands of times slower than the normal case. Qualcomm’s newer Oryon cores improve matters by supporting coherent cache-line atomics, while Valve has shipped a Linux kernel optimization that handles some troublesome unaligned atomics directly.

There’s another particularly nasty corner involving write-combined GPU memory. PC games frequently expect x86 ordering semantics while writing uncached buffers destined for a discrete GPU. ARM currently lacks a clean equivalent for some of these stores, and FEX measured worst-case bandwidth more than 800× slower, enough to reduce some games to below 1 FPS. UMA systems fare much better because drivers can often substitute ordinary cache-coherent memory.

It’s a long article, but a good illustration of why modern emulators are less about translating instructions and more about reproducing decades of architectural assumptions that software quietly depends upon. Of course, not all emulators or processor recreations are this accurate, and often that’s good enough. But sometimes you need a recreation that is truly cycle-accurate and behaves exactly like the original.

India has extended its anti-spam regime to require caller-ID and call-management apps to share users’ spam reports with telecom operators, prompting spam-blocking app maker Truecaller to call the ruling anti-competitive.

On Friday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the country’s telecom regulator, amended rules governing commercial communications, making it mandatory for caller-ID and call-management apps that let users flag calls as spam or junk to send those reports to a blockchain-based platform maintained by telecom operators. The platform tracks commercial communications and enforces anti-spam rules.

The change, TRAI said, is intended to broaden the pool of spam reports available for action against spammers, effectively connecting reports collected by apps with the telecom industry’s enforcement infrastructure.

However, Truecaller told TechCrunch that it sees this requirement as a “one-way exchange” that is “anti-competitive,” arguing that it transfers commercially valuable data from call-management apps like itself to telecom operators.

India is Truecaller’s largest market, accounting for well over 350 million of its more than 500 million monthly active users globally. The Stockholm-based company uses community reports alongside automated detection and other signals to identify and block spam calls.

The rules come as India grapples with spam and fraudulent calls at enormous scale. In its report in February, Truecaller said its users in the country encountered around 42 billion spam calls in 2025, including calls that were blocked, labeled, or ignored. The company also stated that it blocked nearly 12 billion spam calls during the year.

It is not the first time Truecaller and the Indian regulator have been at odds over how spam calls should be handled. The Swedish company previously objected to restrictions preventing call-management apps from automatically labeling calls from certain government-designated number ranges as spam. It argued that the exemption could allow unwanted calls to escape its filters.

However, Friday’s amendments retain that restriction and have barred call-management apps from blanket blocking, filtering, or spam-tagging calls from designated number series used for promotional, service, and transactional communications. Individual users can still choose to block such calls on their own devices, the regulator said.

“While our data and user sentiment clearly show that spam has skyrocketed due to this free pass to spammers, we have been compliant with this since late last year,” a Truecaller spokesperson said.

Sumeysh Srivastava, a partner at New Delhi-based consulting firm The Quantum Hub, who leads its telecom-regulation policy work, said the latest change bridges two distinct layers: Telecom operators provide the underlying network and run the blockchain-based anti-spam system, while caller-ID apps operate on top of the network to identify and filter calls.

That raises technical and jurisdictional questions, Srivastava told TechCrunch, including what reporting standards apps will have to follow and how the requirement will be enforced against companies that are not themselves telecom operators.

A March draft proposed (PDF) using India’s IT laws to enforce the requirement. However, Srivastava pointed out that the new announcement did not say whether that enforcement mechanism was retained in the final rules.

It is also unclear how much information the apps will actually have to provide under the updated regulation. Kazim Rizvi, founding director of New Delhi-based policy think tank The Dialogue, told TechCrunch that requiring an app to transmit a specific spam report made by a user is materially different from requiring it to share the broader datasets, reputation signals, or analytical systems it uses to identify suspicious calls.

The rules will need clarity on what information must be transmitted, how users are notified or asked for consent, and how that data can subsequently be retained and used, Rizvi said.

TRAI did not respond to TechCrunch’s questions about what information apps would be required to share and whether the rule would also apply to spam-reporting features built into smartphone operating systems and dialers such as Android and iOS.

New rules for AI-powered calls

The amendments also address the growing use of software and AI voice agents to make calls. Calls made automatically, without a person directly dialing the number, will now fall under TRAI’s application-to-person (A2P) framework. That includes robocalls and calls using prerecorded or artificial voices.

Companies using such systems will have to declare their use and the phone numbers involved to their telecom operators in advance. Undeclared A2P calls will be treated as spam, TRAI said.

The key test, Srivastava said, is how a call is initiated, rather than simply whether it uses an AI-generated voice, leaving some uncertainty around AI-assisted calls that involve human initiation.

Satya N. Gupta, a former additional secretary at TRAI, told TechCrunch that the new rules do not restrict businesses from using AI or other automated calling technologies, but instead require them to disclose their use to telecom operators.

Telecom operators will also be allowed to levy a termination charge of up to 5 paise (about 0.052 cents) per minute on A2P calls. However, calls made using certain designated number ranges will be exempt.

Rizvi told TechCrunch that the new definition could also cover calls made using software even when a person is still involved, such as calls from contact centers and click-to-call services. “Without that distinction, the A2P category risks becoming broader than the regulatory harm it is intended to address,” he said.

This week was a little quieter than last in the tech news space — if you ignore the hullabaloo caused by various AI companies that their models might one day kill us all if regulation doesn’t arrive.

A bit heavier than an Apple iPhone event, but important nonetheless.

Microsoft reminded customers this week that devices running Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro editions will stop receiving updates next month.

However, under Microsoft’s lifecycle policy, Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise and Education editions remain under mainstream support until October 2027.

“On October 13, 2026, Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro editions, and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 will reach end of updates,” Microsoft said in a message center update.

“After this date, devices running these editions will no longer receive monthly security and non-security preview updates containing protections from the latest security threats.”

Customers are now advised to upgrade to Windows 11 25H2, the latest Windows 11 version also known as the Windows 11 2025 Update, which became generally available in September 2024 as a minor update installed through an enablement package.

Microsoft also warned that systems running Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro that aren’t managed by IT departments will automatically upgrade to Windows 11 25H2, while still allowing customers to choose when to restart or postpone the update.

“If you have an eligible Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, you can check whether the update is available by selecting Settings > Windows Update and selecting Check for updates,” it said. “If your device is ready for the update, you’ll see the option to Download and install Windows 11, version 25H2.”

More information about Windows servicing dates is available on the Windows Lifecycle FAQ page or can be found using the Lifecycle Policy search tool. Microsoft also provides a list of all products and services that will be retired or reach the end of support this year on its support website.

Last week, Microsoft also announced that Windows Server 2022 is rapidly approaching the end of mainstream support and that it will switch to extended support on October 13 until October 14, 2031.

Earlier this year, Microsoft also quietly extended the free Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for home users until October 2027 and stopped rolling out security updates to devices running Windows 11 Home and Pro 23H2 in November 2025.

Join Mikko Hyppönen and security leaders from the NFL, CHANEL, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit on what AI-speed attacks change, what defenders should stop doing, and how to validate, decide, fix, and re-validate at machine speed.

Save your seat

FiiO showed us the M25 and M25 R2R at CanJam London in July, but both digital audio players were still pre-production models with provisional specifications, no confirmed pricing, and enough unanswered questions to keep the Head-Fi forums occupied for months.

Two months later, FiiO has officially launched both models in China for ¥7,499, and the final production specification looks considerably more interesting than another expensive Android music player stuffed with flagship DAC chips.

The standard model is now officially called the M25 VERITA and uses AKM’s flagship separated-DAC architecture with one AK4191EQ digital processing chip and two AK4499EX DACs. The M25 R2R takes the opposite route with FiiO’s proprietary 24+5-bit segmented R2R PRO resistor-ladder DAC. Same player platform. Same Chinese price. Very different approaches to converting bits into music.

FiiO could have changed the finish, added another anniversary logo, and charged more money. Nobody would have been particularly shocked. Instead, it is giving buyers two genuinely different conversion architectures without forcing them into two different product tiers.

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One Platform, Two Very Different DACs

The M25 VERITA uses the AK4191EQ + dual AK4499EX architecture that has become familiar in some of the better premium DACs and headphone amplifiers. The AK4191EQ handles digital processing separately from the AK4499EX conversion stage, allowing FiiO to build its own analog and amplification stages around AKM’s flagship platform.

FiiO is also introducing four selectable AKM-based sound profiles with the VERITA. We have not heard the final production version, so we are not going to tell you that one setting suddenly makes poorly mastered music sound like Rudy Van Gelder was behind the console. We will reserve judgment until we actually listen to it.

The M25 R2R is substantially different. Its proprietary 24+5-bit segmented R2R PRO architecture uses a segmented resistor-ladder topology rather than conventional delta-sigma conversion, following the direction FiiO has already taken with products including the K17 R2R.

The upper five bits use thermometer coding, an approach designed to reduce the cumulative errors that can occur in conventional R2R ladder implementations. FiiO also provides selectable voicing options for the R2R version.

R2R does not automatically mean warmer, more analog, or better. The DAC architecture is only one part of the signal chain, regardless of what somebody with 47,000 forum posts might insist.

What makes the M25 family interesting is the ability to choose between these two architectures while keeping almost everything else constant.

More Power Than the Prototypes

FiiO has also revised the output specification since the prototypes appeared earlier this summer.

Both production models can deliver up to 1,700mW + 1,700mW into 32 ohms from the balanced output in Super High Gain mode, with THD+N specified below 1%. High Gain reduces that to 1,000mW per channel into 32 ohms, while the 4.4mm balanced output delivers 220mW per channel into 300 ohms in Super High Gain mode.

The single-ended output is rated at up to 500mW per channel into 32 ohms in the same maximum-power operating mode. Four gain settings are provided, ranging from Low to Super High.

That is serious output for something intended to leave the house. Sensitive IEMs obviously do not require anywhere near that level of power, but the M25 should have considerably more flexibility with demanding full-size dynamic and planar magnetic headphones.

FiiO M25 and M25 R2R Key Specifications

• Models: M25 VERITA and M25 R2R
• Processor: Qualcomm QCS6490
• RAM: 8GB
• Internal Storage: 128GB
• Expandable Storage: microSD up to 2TB
• Display: 5.5-inch, 1080 x 2160
• M25 VERITA DAC: AK4191EQ + dual AK4499EX
• M25 R2R DAC: FiiO proprietary 24+5-bit segmented R2R PRO
• USB Controller: XMOS XU316
• FPGA: High-capacity FPGA with customized femtosecond clock
• Headphone Outputs: 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced
• Maximum Balanced Output: 1,700mW + 1,700mW into 32 ohms in Super High Gain mode
• Balanced Output Into 300 Ohms: 220mW + 220mW in Super High Gain mode
• Maximum Single-Ended Output: 500mW + 500mW into 32 ohms
• Gain: Low, Medium, High, Super High
• Equalization: 31-band PEQ and Auto EQ
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.2
• Bluetooth Transmission: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC, LDAC
• Bluetooth Reception: SBC, LDAC
• Local/USB DAC Resolution: Up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and native DSD512
• Battery: 6,500mAh
• Charging: Up to 30W fast charging
• Desktop Mode: Supported with battery isolation
• Chinese MSRP: ¥7,499 for either version
• European MSRP: €1,249 for either version

FiiO rates battery life at approximately 9.5 hours single-ended and 8.5 hours balanced for the M25 VERITA, while the M25 R2R stretches those figures to approximately 14.5 and 12.5 hours, respectively. Actual endurance will obviously depend on gain, output level, screen usage, wireless connectivity, and the headphones attached.

Why Are These Different?

The most interesting aspect of the M25 is not the processor, power figure, or increasingly inevitable wall of PEQ options.

It is choice.

Most manufacturers decide which DAC architecture belongs at a given price and sell you that implementation. FiiO is effectively offering two versions of the same automobile with completely different engines and charging the same amount for either one.

That is particularly interesting because the DAC market has become far more diverse again in 2026.

We recently covered the $289 SMSL R100, which uses a pair of Analog Devices AD1861-J multibit DAC chips, alongside the $649 SMSL D400 MK2, which goes in the opposite direction with AKM’s AK4191 and AK4499EX platform. Schiit has just introduced the $699 Bifrost 3, abandoning the previous True Multibit architecture for its proprietary Mesh digital processing feeding ESS modulators.

FiiO itself has been particularly aggressive with R2R. The $989.99 K17 R2R combines its 24+5-bit segmented resistor architecture with 31-band PEQ, network playback, and up to 4 watts per channel from a desktop chassis. Its K13 R2R, BR15 R2R, WARMER R2R, and even DM15 R2R portable CD player demonstrate that FiiO is no longer treating resistor ladders as some exotic technology reserved for people who own cable elevators.

The M25 brings that argument into the premium portable category and makes the comparison unusually clean. Buyers can choose AKM delta-sigma conversion or FiiO R2R without changing the processor, memory, storage, display, EQ platform, or basic amplification capability.

Whether they actually sound dramatically different is another question, and one we would prefer to answer with headphones on our heads rather than a block diagram in front of us.

The Bottom Line

When we saw the M25 and M25 R2R at CanJam London, the most compelling part of the concept was FiiO’s decision to offer two fundamentally different DAC architectures inside essentially the same player.

The production models make that idea even stronger. Both receive a fast QCS6490 platform, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, powerful headphone amplification, 31-band PEQ, Auto EQ, desktop operation, and enough connectivity to function as portable players or serious USB DAC/headphone amplifiers.

The decision comes down to the conversion stage: AKM’s flagship delta-sigma architecture in the M25 VERITA or FiiO’s latest segmented resistor ladder in the M25 R2R.

And because FiiO is charging exactly the same price for both in China, choosing between them may finally come down to something refreshingly old-fashioned in high-end digital audio.

Which one actually sounds better?

Pricing & Availability

Both the FiiO M25 VERITA and M25 R2R are listed for €1,249 pre-order on FiiO’s European website, with availability expected in mid-to-late November 2026.

FiiO has not announced official U.S. pricing or a North American release date.

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