Anyone who has used Google Chrome has probably seen the red warning screen when they click a suspicious link or try to visit a potentially dangerous website. Google is now beefing up this warning system by adding a new layer that will flag websites that seem fishy, even when Safe Browsing does not have enough confidence to classify them as outright dangerous.

The new Suspicious sites category is being added to Chrome’s Enhanced Protection mode and will sit below the existing Dangerous sites classification. Google says these are pages that show deceptive patterns commonly associated with malicious websites, but where Safe Browsing has a lower-confidence verdict.

Chrome will warn you before it is completely sure

Instead of immediately showing the familiar full-page red screen, Chrome will show a different warning when it suspects something is wrong but doesn’t have enough evidence to call the website dangerous. Google is using different colors, icons, text, and formatting for these alerts, making the two warnings easier to tell apart. Known malicious websites will continue getting the existing red screen.

The extra warning could help older users or people unfamiliar with the tricks used in phishing and other online scams. These days, scammers often use AI to make very convincing copies of e-commerce or support websites, so an early warning could be quite useful in deterring a user from putting in sensitive information like logins, passwords, or financial information on these websites.

Gemini is helping Chrome catch more scams

Google is also upgrading the system behind Enhanced Protection. Chrome is moving from its earlier on-device Gemini model to a more powerful server-side version that can examine the brand a page claims to represent, its apparent intent, and how likely it is to be a scam. Safe Browsing combines that information with domain reputation and other security signals before reaching a verdict.

Chrome is also adding protection against ClickFix scams, which trick people into copying and running malicious commands. If Chrome detects a suspicious copied command, Safe Browsing can analyze it and show another warning if it is considered dangerous.

Technics has introduced the SL-1210MKX, a new flagship professional direct-drive DJ turntable that builds on the legendary SL-1200 series with a heavier chassis, revised isolation system, expanded pitch control, and several practical refinements developed with input from working DJs and sound engineers. Priced at $1,899.99, the new model sits above the existing SL-1210MK7 and is designed for professional clubs, touring, and live performances.

We’ve covered more than a few SL-1200 variations over the years, including the recent 55th Anniversary Edition with its seven color options and gold accents, along with the Aimé Leon Dore collaboration. Both demonstrated that Technics knows how to keep collectors and design enthusiasts interested, even when the underlying engineering remains largely unchanged.

The SL-1210MKX takes a different approach. Rather than dressing up the existing platform, Technics has focused on improving precision, stability, and the physical interaction between DJs and their equipment. It’s a sensible direction for a turntable family that has influenced professional music playback since 1972.

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Improved Isolation Without Sacrificing Control

The SL-1210MKX introduces a significantly heavier, balanced chassis designed to resist external vibration more effectively than the existing MK7 platform. Technics has also developed new isolation feet intended to reduce unwanted mechanical energy reaching the turntable.

This is particularly important in clubs and live performance environments, where vibration can travel through stages, floors, and DJ booths. Excessive vibration can interfere with cartridge tracking and create acoustic feedback, problems that aren’t easily solved by simply adjusting the volume.

However, isolation is only part of the equation. Scratch DJs and turntablists need a deck that remains stable when they’re physically manipulating a record, so the suspension can’t be excessively compliant or unpredictable.

Technics says the new arrangement addresses both requirements, although it hasn’t disclosed the additional chassis weight or published comparative isolation measurements. Those numbers would help establish precisely how much improvement the MKX delivers over its predecessor.

More Precise Pitch Control and Greater Creative Freedom

One of the most useful additions is a dedicated ±4% pitch adjustment range, introduced for the first time in the SL-1200 series. The narrower adjustment range offers finer control when matching tracks with similar tempos, allowing DJs to make smaller corrections during transitions.

At the opposite extreme, the MKX introduces a ±50% pitch range, giving turntablists considerably greater flexibility for experimental mixing and manipulating playback speed. The existing MK7 offers ±8% and ±16% ranges, so the new model provides options for both more precise and more dramatic adjustments.

Technics has also redesigned the reset switch for quieter operation, taking inspiration from earlier SL-1200 models. That might seem like a relatively minor refinement, but tactile consistency matters when equipment is being operated quickly in a dark booth.

The familiar coreless direct-drive motor remains, with adjustable start-up torque and brake speed. Reverse playback and 78 rpm support also carry over from the MK7, reinforcing the point that Technics has retained a proven foundation rather than replacing it unnecessarily.

Classic SL-1200 Styling Without the Gold Treatment

Visually, the SL-1210MKX pays tribute to the SL-1200MK2, the 1979 model that helped establish the series as a professional DJ standard. Its black cabinet and polished silver tonearm create a familiar appearance that should appeal to longtime Technics owners.

The layout reflects decades of refinement, with controls positioned where experienced DJs expect to find them. Familiarity is an advantage in professional environments, particularly when performers move between different clubs and equipment installations.

Technics says the X designation stands for Extreme and Expert, which is a little enthusiastic for a company that usually lets its engineering do the talking. Fortunately, there are no commemorative gold-plated accessories or designer slipmats required to justify the asking price.

Specifications Compared

Who Is the SL-1210MKX For?

The MKX is aimed primarily at professional vinyl DJs, particularly those who perform regularly in clubs, at festivals, or on tour. The improvements should also interest permanent nightclub installations, rental companies, and professional backline providers who prioritize consistent operation and equipment durability.

However, two alternatives are worth considering before spending nearly $1,900.

Technics SL-1200MK7 ($1,299.99): The current MK7 remains an excellent choice for DJs who want the established Technics platform without paying for the new refinements. It shares the familiar control layout and coreless motor architecture, making the $600 price difference an important consideration. For home practice and less demanding environments, the MK7 may offer everything most users need.

Pioneer DJ PLX-CRSS12 ($1,599): Pioneer’s hybrid approach combines conventional analog vinyl playback with digital vinyl system control, including tonearm-free DVS operation using its MAGVEL CLAMP. Compatibility with Serato DJ Pro and rekordbox makes it particularly attractive to performers who combine physical records with digital music libraries. It costs approximately $301 less than the Technics, although the two models emphasize different performance priorities.

Home audiophiles who don’t need professional pitch manipulation or scratch-oriented controls should consider the Technics SL-1200GR2 instead. That model incorporates more sophisticated drive-control and power-supply engineering intended specifically for high-fidelity playback.

The Bottom Line

The SL-1210MKX is an interesting development because Technics has resisted the temptation to reinvent a product that already works exceptionally well. Instead, the company has concentrated on refinements that professional DJs are likely to notice during everyday use, particularly when accuracy, physical control, and long-term reliability matter more than appearance.

The price premium over the MK7 is substantial, and it’s too early to determine whether the improvements justify upgrading an existing deck. For clubs replacing older equipment or professionals who earn their living behind a pair of turntables, however, the MKX makes a more convincing argument than another cosmetic special edition.

Technics has spent more than five decades establishing the SL-1200 as a professional standard. The MKX doesn’t need to rewrite that history. It needs to demonstrate that careful engineering still matters.

Pricing & Availability

The Technics SL-1210MKX will make its public debut on October 21, 2026, at Amsterdam Dance Event, with additional appearances planned for the Paris Audio Video Show and Poland Audio Video Show.

The first units are expected to be available by January 2027 at select Technics retailers for $1,899 in the U.S. or £1299 and €1499 across Europe.

For more information: Technics

For generations, schools have rewarded the correct answer, the polished essay and other finished products of learning. Now that artificial intelligence (AI) can effortlessly write the papers and produce the results that used to come only from high achievers, what does “high achievement” mean? And which student behaviors should be rewarded?

As someone who became a high achiever after years of low academic effort, my own school experiences remind me that it’s critical to consider how AI is affecting the full range of students in our classrooms — not only those who are struggling.

Throughout my first two years of high school, I was what I like to call an “academic minimalist.” I wasn’t trying to fail, but I also wasn’t chasing academic greatness either. I often thought, Why exhaust myself earning a 95 when the diplomas don’t come with a footnote explaining that I passed algebra with enthusiasm? I went to class, did enough to pass and went home. I did not build my identity around earning all A’s or being the student whose hand shot up first. School was something I needed to get through. 

Then, during my junior year, something shifted. I sat in one of my English courses, with a teacher named Mr. Poska. He saw that I had a secret love for reading and writing, and I began to slowly blossom as a scholar in his class. He then suggested that I challenge myself and recommended I take his Advanced Placement (AP) English course, The Faustian Bargain in Literature. Intrigued, I enrolled.

The class centered on the Faustian legend, the centuries-old story of a person who bargains away something essential in exchange for knowledge, immortality, beauty, power or desire. For the first time during my high school career, I felt a sense of intrinsic motivation and internal desire to immerse myself and to push myself, which eventually spilled over into my other classes senior year.

We traced the legend across literature, researched its evolution and analyzed how different writers reinvented the same questions about ambition, temptation and consequence. I had to read closely, do substantial research, make connections between texts and defend interpretations that did not come packaged with one correct answer. 

After taking this class, I fell in love with researching and discovering that a text could hold multiple meanings. For the first time, academic achievement wasn’t just something measured by my report card. Being a scholar became part of how I understood myself. Somewhere along the way, I transformed from “academic minimalist” into “high achiever.”

Once I entered college, I fell even more in love with learning when I decided to major in English and psychology. I continued on to earn a master’s degree in education, followed a decade later by a second master’s degree in leadership. By then, I strove for A’s in my classes, and a 4.0 GPA became a goal I had to hit. Being a high-achieving scholar became part of my identity. 

A New Perspective

As AI transforms education, I find myself looking at my students and seeing reflections of my former self, particularly those who have built their identities around being high-achieving scholars. 

Over my 13 years in education, I have come to recognize these students in my classes immediately. They want the 90, then ask what they can do to make it to a 95. They want extra credit when they already have an A. They revise and research beyond what I assigned. 

For years, schools have rewarded these behaviors. We’ve told students that becoming strong writers, researchers, critical thinkers and independent learners would distinguish them. Then, we handed them technology that can produce a polished essay, summarize a 100-page reading, generate research questions, reorganize notes and offer a sophisticated analysis before they have finished typing the prompt.

That creates a strange existential question for a teenager whose confidence has been built around academic competence: If AI can do the one thing I am good at faster and more accurately than I can, what exactly am I good at and why am I even doing it?

When AI can effortlessly write the essays and synthesize the texts that once defined academic worth, the traditional definitions and metrics of high achievement begin to fracture, and these students begin to feel displaced. 

AI forces educators to move beyond transactional grading and redefine authentic scholarship around human curiosity rather than automated perfection. As this technology continues to evolve and be a part of our classrooms, we have to work to discover how to cultivate genuine resilience and keep academic excellence at the forefront. 

When Confidence Is Outsourced

I have started noticing traits among some of my academically stronger students that concern me more than an obvious AI-generated essay — hesitation, lack of self-trust, low confidence and apathy.

One student offers an insightful interpretation and then wants to check AI to make sure it is “right.” Another student has an original idea but trusts the polished version generated by AI more than their own language. Students who once approached assignments independently increasingly want technological confirmation before trusting their thinking. Students who used to respond first to complex questions now just shrug when I ask them a question and jump straight to AI for an answer.

As an educator, I find the irony unfolding painful to watch. Students who have spent years becoming capable begin outsourcing their thinking because they care more about being correct.

Students themselves seem to recognize some of this tension. In an August 2026 survey of U.S. teens by Common Sense Media, 70% reported using AI for schoolwork. Among teens who use AI, 38% said its availability leads them to generate fewer ideas of their own, while 39% said they feel they miss out on learning when they use AI to complete assignments.

This complicates the conversation about AI and achievement, shifting the focus away from struggling students to high-achieving scholars. It introduces a vital new narrative: A student does not have to be struggling academically to become cognitively dependent on technology, as efficiency and polished outputs quietly erode the productive struggle essential to true mastery.

In fact, perfectionism may create its own vulnerability. Research examining educational identity, achievement and perfectionism among adolescents found complicated reciprocal relationships between these factors, including potentially harmful connections between externally driven perfectionism and educational commitment. For high-achieving students whose academic identities are closely tied to measures of performance and achievement, AI may create an additional layer of pressure by producing seemingly flawless work in seconds. 

As AI increasingly performs tasks that once required intellectual curiosity, persistence and independent thinking, students may begin questioning the value of their own academic contributions and the skills they have worked so hard to develop, potentially undermining the confidence and intellectual independence that have shaped their identities as high-achieving scholars. This leaves us, as educators, with an important question: When students no longer see their own intellectual efforts as essential to academic success, what happens to the motivation and scholarly identity that once drove them to excel?

For a student accustomed to producing excellent work, AI offers something seductive — fewer mistakes. But learning has never required perfection. Learning requires enough confidence to get it wrong before getting it right.

Honoring the Wrong Things

This brings me to an uncomfortable possibility: Perhaps AI is not only disrupting student achievement, but exposing how narrowly schools have defined it.

For generations, we have rewarded the polished essay, correct answer, immaculate notes, high GPA and completed product. AI is exceptionally good at producing products. So if the product is all we measure, AI will inevitably make it harder to identify human achievement.

In my previous EdSurge opinion piece, ‘Protecting Student Cognition in the Age of AI,’ I argued that educators need to preserve productive struggle because the thinking behind an assignment matters as much as the finished product. That becomes even more important for high-achieving students.

Instead of asking “How good is this essay?” I increasingly want to know: How did you arrive here? Show me the question that started your research. Show me your first claim and explain why you abandoned it. Tell me which source changed your thinking. Defend your conclusion when I challenge it. Explain where AI contributed and where you rejected its recommendation. Let me see you change your mind.

Those things are much harder to automate because they reveal intellectual ownership, the very thing we should be protecting.

Redefining High Achievement

This does not mean high-achieving students should avoid AI. They will enter colleges and workplaces where understanding how to use AI will itself be an important skill. Digital Promise’s AI literacy framework emphasizes not simply using AI, but understanding and evaluating it, with human judgment remaining central.

That gives schools an opportunity to expand rather than erase what high achievement means. Maybe tomorrow’s high-achieving scholar is not the student who produces the most flawless essay. Maybe it is the student who can produce an original argument, interrogate an AI-generated one, identify what both missed and explain why their final judgment is their own.

Maybe achievement should be measured through curiosity, intellectual resilience, ethical judgment, creativity, revision, self-advocacy and the confidence to say, “AI suggested this, but I disagree because ….”

School leaders also have a responsibility here. If teachers are independently deciding what AI use counts as learning, cheating or excellence, students are navigating a moving target that will look different in each classroom. Schools and districts need shared language about what human achievement looks like when AI is present and what evidence shows students still own their learning.

I want to encourage educators to consider whether, in this new age of AI, we should continue to reward polished, “perfect” products over original thinking and productive struggle. If we do nothing, we risk sending the message that efficiency and accuracy matter more than the human process of learning.

Today’s ‘Faustian Bargain’

I often think back to the Faustian Bargain in Literature class all those years ago, and it feels almost too fitting to remember that course now. AI has come to offer students an extraordinary bargain: speed, polish, information and accurate answers with less struggle. But education has to make sure students understand what should never be part of the exchange.

When I entered that AP English classroom in high school, I did not become a scholar because every paper I produced was perfect. I can assure you they weren’t. I became one because I discovered that I loved the process of thinking deeply enough to have something of my own to say. 

Our high-achieving students deserve the opportunity to make that discovery too, and to keep the part of their identity that makes coming to school and striving for better worth it.

Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo, has begun leaving boxes in private hands days before its Friday store arrival. A tech leaker channel called Kingmi Mobile uploaded two short clips on October 20, one of them focused on a 1TB Night Sky unit. Both run about two minutes and show the device coming out already open rather than folded shut. Packaging looks like any recent iPhone box aside from the extra length needed to hold the screen flat, and the units themselves carry Chinese text that suggests they left factories ahead of most retail stock.

The footage allows you to see the 7.6-inch inner display and its matte nano-texture finish in all their glory. Light hits the screen very evenly, and the fold line is only visible if you hold the phone at an acute angle. Hands open and close the titanium frame a few times, then power the unit on while the 5.4-inch outer screen acts as a live viewfinder for the dual rear cameras. Both Night Sky and Star White finishes appear across the clips, matching the only two colors Apple offers.

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Media members who handled the Duo after the September announcement already described the hinge as stiff yet smooth and the crease as nearly invisible under normal viewing. We are now getting our first actual look at a finished unit being unpacked; comprehensive reviews should be available within the next day or two (when the NDA expires).

If you pre-ordered online through Apple’s website, you might have to wait until January 25 to get your hands on it. Why? Online orders placed through Apple’s site currently list January 25 arrival dates in many regions, and store staff have been told to warn customers that walk-in stock on October 23 will likely be scarce. In Japan, South Korea, and the UAE the company has limited availability to customers with a pickup reservation. Pre-orders were capped at two units per person after demand ran high and some resellers began listing devices well above the $1,999 starting price for the 256GB model.

The dual-battery tech is touted to last up to 31 hours on the inner screen and 44 hours on the outer screen, and the A20 Pro chip inside is the same as the one that powers the iPhone 18 Pro. When closed, the phone is roughly the width of a smaller iPhone, but when opened, you’ll see a 7.6-inch panel with a thickness of 5.2 mm. Whether or not the early factory units we’re seeing match the production quality that actual buyers receive on launch day remains to be seen, but so far clips confirm the phone ships flat, the matte finish does a great job of hiding the crease, and if you’re looking to get your hands on one, you’ll have to wait a while longer, as supply is expected to be tight for a few weeks after launch.
[Source]

iQOO is set to launch its next-generation flagship smartphone, the iQOO 16, in India. iQOO confirmed the phone’s upcoming launch at India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 but has not announced a release date. However, some details about the phone’s expected specifications have surfaced.

iQOO 16 Expected Specifications and Features

The upcoming iQOO 16 could bring a major performance upgrade with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset. The iQOO 16 could be one of the first smartphones in India to feature this processor. The phone could also offer 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. On the software side, the iQOO 16 is expected to run OriginOS 7, based on Android 17. It would be the first iQOO smartphone to ship with this software out of the box.

The iQOO 16 could feature a 6.85-inch AMOLED screen with a 1440 × 3168 resolution. This 2K panel is also expected to support a 165Hz refresh rate. The high refresh rate could make supported games, scrolling, and on-screen animations appear smoother. Leaks also point to a refreshed design for the upcoming smartphone. The rear panel could feature a bluish-grey textured finish with diagonal lines crossing each other. The iQOO 16 could feature a redesigned camera island that distinguishes it from the iQOO 15.

The new smartphone will feature a triple-lens rear camera module with 50-megapixel sensors. This configuration can comprise a primary camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, and a periscope telephoto camera. The primary camera would take regular photos, while the ultra-wide-angle camera would capture broader shots. The periscope camera could enable zoomed shots. The iQOO 16 may come with a 32-megapixel selfie camera with a punch hole.

Battery capacity could be one of the iQOO 16’s biggest highlights. The iQOO 16 packs an 8,400mAh battery. The 8,400mAh battery provides more power than many top-end smartphones. Even with a huge battery, it will still support 100W fast charging. Fast charging will reduce charging time.

India Launch Date and Expected Price

iQOO has confirmed that the iQOO 16 will launch in India soon. The company’s India CEO, Nipun Marya, shared this update at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026. He said the upcoming flagship is coming “soon,” but did not reveal an exact launch date. The company can place the product in the ultra-premium category. In contrast, iQOO launched the iQOO 15 in India in 2025 for Rs 72,999. The new model could cost even more, although iQOO has not revealed its official price yet.

India’s growing gaming market could offer new opportunities for Roblox and its creator community. The gaming and development platform held its ‘UNBOX ROBLOX’ event in New Delhi this week and displayed its latest announcements from RDC 2026, games, and updates. Roblox announced an Economic Impact Report evaluating the prospects of India’s creator community.

Roblox Sees Strong Growth Potential in India

Roblox and its developer community have strong potential in India’s emerging gaming market. India has more than 500 million gamers, which makes it the nation with the second-highest gaming population in the world. According to Roblox’s Economic Impact Report, video game industry revenue in India is expected to rise from Rs 6,300 crore in 2025 to Rs 9,200 crore by 2028. The report estimates annual growth of 13%, which is higher than the global rate of 5.1%.

Roblox has also seen an increase in users in India. Roblox’s daily active users in India grew at a compound annual growth rate of 76% from 2020 to 2025. On prospects in India, Sunil Rao, Managing Director of Roblox India and South Asia, believes Indian creators and studio players can achieve a lot through Roblox. He said the next major Roblox hit could come from India, highlighting the potential for local talent to reach a wider audience.

Roblox Opens New Opportunities for Indian Creators

Roblox is helping Indian creators explore game development as a source of income and career growth. According to its Economic Impact Report, more than 250 Indian creators qualified to receive payouts in 2025. Total payouts to creators grew at an annual rate of 72%, highlighting the platform’s financial opportunities. Creators don’t always need prior game development experience to get started. In the report, 94% of surveyed Indian creators said they could build games with minimal prior experience. Roblox also allows them to reach players worldwide. On average, international users account for 52% of daily active users on Indian creators’ games and 55% of their revenue.

Several Indian creators have already built businesses through the platform. Bengaluru-based Small World Games developed Death Ball and Racket Rivals, which have received more than 1.6 billion and 560 million visits, respectively. Meanwhile, Meta Fashion has built a digital fashion business selling virtual items. The report also found that 91% of surveyed Indian creators said their Roblox-related work helped them secure external job offers, freelance projects, or business opportunities.

Roblox’s Contribution to India’s Creator Economy

However, Roblox’s influence extends beyond games in India. Many designers, fashion creators, and other professionals use Roblox’s resources to learn new skills. In particular, almost 91% of the surveyed creators from India said that Roblox’s tools and resources helped them learn something new. Moreover, many people started creating thanks to the Roblox community and YouTube video tutorials. Roblox also attracts users through entertainment and social networking. In particular, the report found that 88% of surveyed Indian users visit Roblox on mobile devices. About 93% enjoy spending time with their friends and community.

Developing such a creator ecosystem can also help the Indian economy. According to the report, Roblox creators’ activities contributed about Rs 123.9 crore to India’s GDP from 2020 to 2025. Such activities also created about 510 jobs equivalent on an annual basis in 2025. As the Indian gaming industry grows, Roblox can create new opportunities.

That little orange button can do a lot more than start your next workout.

The action button arsenal on your wrist

Apple

The showstoppers: Accessibility and Shortcuts

sdx15/Shutterstock

It all depends on the wind.

Placement determines whether it works

A whole-house turbine needs much more capacity

Sven Loeffler/Getty Images