The Call of Duty series needed a win this year. Last year’s Black Ops 7 was a clown car of bad decisions, featuring an always-online campaign mode with ridiculous zombie bosses and open-world Warzone. Worse still, the multiplayer mode (the only reason that many people buy the game) was entirely forgettable. Developer Treyarch was tasked with putting out Call of Duty games two years in a row — that crunch was a recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, that means Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward had plenty of time to cook up the fourth and final entry in its own series. Thankfully, the studio used that extra runway to its advantage. Modern Warfare 4 may not have returned Call of Duty to the highest highs of the original trilogy that ended in 2009 (and which Infinity Ward rebooted over the last decade), but this is a leap in the right direction for a series that has become increasingly sloppy in recent years.

Players will find plenty of cinematic action in the single-player campaign, and the multiplayer mode has slowed down just a touch, which I think the game largely benefits from.

More importantly, Modern Warfare Zombies has been completely dropped in favor of DMZ, an accessible player-versus-player-versus-AI extraction shooter experience. The experimental swing feels like a lifeline for the series, and DMZ is the standout mode for the game.

The campaign identity crisis is (mostly) resolved

Modern Warfare 4 is a tighter game than Infinity Ward’s previous project, and it’s leagues better than Black Ops 7.

At the same time, it has a complicated campaign to crack open (and not because the plot is hard to follow). Players flit back and forth between the perspective of Captain John Price, longtime protagonist of the series, and South Korean soldier Park Hyun-Jun, a newcomer whose squad is fighting for his homeland. A battle rages against a united coalition of Russian and North Korean ultranationalists, who are blazing a path into other territories.

Russian bad actors have been the primary antagonists of every Modern Warfare game, and it’s actually really cool to see South Korea’s positive representation in a Call of Duty title. But the propaganda is laid on thick — Russia and North Korea are presented as sneering colonialist powers, while the Western world’s soldiers are a shield on every front.

Americans spearhead the fight against imperialism; forget about the Strait of Hormuz and gun down these unambiguously bad guys. The whole plot hinges on a somehow less-subtle Red Dawn-type of scenario, and the gung-ho military politics are absolutely nauseating this time around. Sure, Price is framed as morally gray — he’s working with a cartel to achieve his goals, and there’s boring melodrama where he comes to blows with his former allies — but he’s vindicated in the end because he is the type of Call of Duty leader that prevents global conflict.

Modern Warfare 4 also features an obligatory shockingly graphic mission, which is something of a tradition for the series. In it, you play as a North Korean soldier rounding up and executing the occupants of a small village for hiding a defector. During my playthrough, I earned an achievement for successfully interrogating a villager without beating them down. The whole affair is gratuitous, gross and gamified in a problematic way, exacerbated by the bizarre decision to continue making this kind of mission a mainstay in each game.

It’s a shame that the story is so trite and icky because the tentpole action is really good. The best mission takes place early in the campaign, when Price infiltrates a New York nightclub to search for a Russian oligarch. Bright lights and pulsing music contrast with brutal fistfights and gunplay — it’s like playing through the climax of a John Wick film. From there, the highlights keep coming: There’s a fight in a train yard where the cover moves on rails, a chase scene across Mumbai rooftops, a high-stakes nighttime penthouse raid and a full-out assault on a dictator’s compound.

But the worst mission in the campaign repeats the mistakes of other modern Call of Duty games. When the player’s squad initially counterattacks North Korean airspace, they’re shot down and have to survive behind enemy lines with scavenged gear. It’s an interesting setup that is completely wasted on a Warzone-like, open-world mission with a checklist of more than 50 optional collectibles to seek out.

The few puzzles that exist are mind-numbingly easy — despite my best efforts, I checked out after completing around half of the activities. I focused on the main objective to end the mission as soon as possible, which is just about the worst feeling to have while playing a game.

I don’t know if there’s an edict from up top to put one of these open-world missions in each new game to funnel players into Warzone, but they don’t work at all and are the worst part of any campaign.

Still, the folks that play the campaign will probably have a good time here. Players can explore tons of cool locales, and the enemies are surprisingly difficult this time around. Still, if you care about the loose narrative implications of a Call of Duty campaign, it’s tough to wash the bad taste out of your mouth.

DMZ is better than Warzone and a welcome reprieve from Zombies

DMZ, a fairly accessible extraction shooter game mode, returns with new content for the first time since its “beta” ended in 2023. Players have been mourning what could have been for years, but it seems like the developers at Infinity Ward have been tinkering with it in the background for quite some time.

And their hard work has paid off because I’m confident that DMZ is the standout mode for Modern Warfare 4.

This extraction shooter is perhaps simpler than even ARC Raiders, but that’s part of the appeal. Players drop into North Korea to loot, fight each other and take down key targets throughout the map.

Everything is streamlined and easy to understand, including the loot. During play, you will come across several types of scrap, an assortment of healing items and tons of weapons, so you don’t have to think too hard about what to grab. Just move, shoot and pull out high-value items, then run the loop again.

The enemy AI is surprisingly aggressive and fun to battle against, especially when you run into an overwhelming number of troops. Armored vehicles and helicopters will try to smear you into the dirt. It’s an adrenaline rush, and as far as I’m concerned, Infinity Ward nailed the really important part of DMZ. It’s tough to get the player-versus-AI balance right, but these enemies feel like a real threat.

Other players might also come for your loot, which is what sometimes puts folks off of the extraction genre altogether. But DMZ’s in-depth bounty system provides a foil to player-versus-player gameplay.

Folks who hunt down other players rack up a bounty and appear on the map, so pacifists have a better chance to steer clear while bounty hunters stalk them down. It’s a pretty genius compromise that encourages the player-versus-player enjoyers to butt heads while the player-versus-environment crowd hides away because the tension of a potential run-in with aggressors is never truly alleviated.

I’m concerned that the pared-down simplicity of the gameplay loop could hurt DMZ’s long-term success, but Infinity Ward seems committed to adding new world bosses. That could really shake up how matches play out, even if there’s nothing as over-the-top as Marathon’s Cryo Archive boss.

DMZ isn’t perfect, but I see the groundwork laid for one of the better extraction shooters I’ve played. Depending on how the development team builds on this game mode, I can see it becoming something special (and maybe even a Call of Duty mainstay for years to come).

Multiplayer remains quick, but it’s heavier and grounded

Call me an oldhead, I don’t care: Black Ops 7’s omnimovement system, which allowed players to run, jump and slide around while looking in any direction, was disastrous for Call of Duty game balance.

Treyarch’s update to the formula might work for massive Warzone maps where there’s plenty of open space and a higher time-to-kill for other players, but the smaller multiplayer maps become impossible to breathe on. Call of Duty is, first and foremost, an arcade shooter, but the multiplayer formula still works best when there’s time to recoup and recover, make tactical flanks and call in your scorestreaks.

Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 4 removes the omnimovement system, but it still allows players to sprint, slide and dolphin dive around at appreciably high speeds. The new mantling mechanic adds some traversal options, but everyone feels a little heavier.

The slightly slower six-versus-six matches feel great, and the larger modes are a bit less chaotic. The Modern Warfare games have always skewed closer to classic boots-on-the-ground Call of Duty, and the latest entry doesn’t disappoint in that regard.

Still, the fatal flaws of the modern Call of Duty formula have gone untouched. There remain more than 70 attachments for many weapons. Many modes have maps cut out of larger Warzone areas. The seemingly mandatory 24/7 Shipment playlist is being added soon to prey upon your nostalgia. Progression needs to synergize across a complete Modern Warfare 4 product, so unnecessary bloat exists everywhere you look.

This is a solid modern Call of Duty game, but the overall quality is still a far cry from the series’ heyday. In a post-Warzone world, this is about as good as it gets — but if that formula doesn’t work for you, it might be worth steering clear of Modern Warfare 4.

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He’s previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. When Tyler’s not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game.

You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.

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eMudhra, the certificate authority that issued eight intermediate TLS credentials so weak that anyone could mint certificates for any website or mail server—one had a private encryption key of just 4—said it’s getting out of the business.

V. Srinivasan, chairman of India-based eMudhra Limited, cited increasing costs and complexities of compliance requirements—paired with the business generating just 1 percent of its revenue. He also said that the emergence of organizations providing TLS certificates free of charge further reduced returns on investment when compared to other products and services the company offers.

Don’t let the door hit you on the butt

“However, the level of social media amplification around this incident has brought scrutiny that is out of proportion to SSL/TLS’s place in our business,” the company continued in a Thursday post. “In view of this, after detailed deliberations our board has concluded that withdrawing from global SSL/TLS is the right decision for eMudhra and its shareholders.”

The announcement came two days after researchers revealed eMudhra had issued eight certificates with private keys so defective they were trivial to discover. Anyone who took the time—which was measured in milliseconds—could crack them and then use them to generate TLS certificates that would be trusted by all major browsers, as well as an untold number of email servers, IoT devices, Docker containers, forgotten Linux machines, and unmaintained CLI tools that ship their own copy of the roots.

Whereas NIST P-384 elliptic curve cryptography private keys—used in the type of certificates eMudhra issued—are supposed to contain roughly 384 bits of entropy, the eight compromised certificates had key sizes ranging from 3 to 8 bits. Stated differently, whereas there are supposed to be 2³⁸⁴—a number with 116 digits—different key possibilities, the strongest of the defective keys had a maximum of just 256. The private keys were 4, 56, 66, 115, 155, 156, 230, 237.

Why Buy a Soundbar in 2026?

While TV makers have made progress in the past few years in improving the sound of built-in speakers, the physics involved present a challenge. Slim TVs lack the cabinet volume needed for low bass reproduction and the TV screen itself limits the placement and size of internal speakers. Soundbars offer a compelling solution as they can concentrate on providing better sound, while also allowing expansion to discrete multi-channel immersive sound, with no speaker wires or separate A/V receiver required.

But there is a trade-off: getting rid of speaker wires and a separate A/V receiver means that each speaker needs its own power cable, and the width of the front soundstage is still limited (in most cases) by the dimensions of the soundbar itself. It also means that the height effects, critical to immersive sound formats like Dolby Atmos, Eclipsa Audio and DTS:X, are served either by virtualization (simulated height) or by up-firing drivers which bounce sound off the ceiling. While both of these solutions can work reasonably well in the right room, they don’t compare with the discrete height speakers of a traditional wired, component based surround system.

Alternative solutions have emerged that allow customers to get a wider front soundstage by placing speakers on either side of the TV, while still maintaining the set-up simplicity of a wireless system. Sony’s BRAVIA Theater Trio and Quad are examples of this, as are LG’s Sound Suite and TCL’s Z100 wireless speakers, both of which use Dolby Atmos FlexConnect technology to allow customers to choose anywhere from one to five speakers for their room, with a wireless connection from the TV and built-in calibration software to optimize the sound.

But the appeal of a simple one-piece or two-piece soundbar system is hard to deny. Plug in a single HDMI cable from the TV to the bar and provide power to each speaker and you’ll instantly improve the sound of anything you watch on TV. Good soundbars also integrate with music streaming services so you can enjoy high quality sound from music, podcasts or audiobooks when the TV is off.

In 2026, we’ve seen and tested updated soundbar models from Sony, Samsung, Sonos, Bose, Nakamichi and Bluesound. High-end speaker maker Focal also introduced its first soundbar-like product (but don’t call it a soundbar). The Focal Mu-so Hekla wireless speaker can create convincing surround sound with solid bass from a single one-piece speaker that sits on a shelf or credenza below your TV. Our review of that product will be coming soon. This year LG introduced its first soundbar with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect built in (the H7), which is capable of adding up to five additional wireless speakers (including two subwoofers), for maximum immersive surround. But that model is not eligible for an award as we haven’t reviewed it yet.

Methodology

All of the soundbars and soundbar systems selected as “eCoustics Editor’s Choice” for 2026 were reviewed hands-on by our experienced staff of tech journalists. We tested all soundbars standalone, and with optional subwoofers and rear speakers, when possible. We used a wide sampling of content including movies, TV shows and music in both stereo and spatial audio formats like Dolby Atmos. In addition to sound quality (which is paramount), other factors including ease of use and set-up, ergonomic design and usability and aesthetic design were considered. Without further ado, here are our picks for best soundbars of 2026.

Sonos Beam Ultra

The Sonos Beam Ultra ($699.99) is the newest Sonos soundbar for 2026, available in white or black finishes. At just under 30-inches wide it delivers better immersion and more mid-bass punch than you’d expect for its size thanks to more power and more speaker drivers than its predecessor (the Sonos Beam), including two new up-firing reflective height channel speakers. And, for the first time, Sonos allows its portable wireless speakers, including the Play and Move 2, to be used as surround speakers. This means you don’t actually need power cords in the back of your room to get discrete rear sound effects. You will need to recharge these speakers occasionally though, as their built-in batteries don’t last forever. But while they’re not in use as surround speakers, you can take them to the backyard or the beach for music on the go.

The Beam Ultra can also work with the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones to swap sound from speaker to headphones with the touch of a single button, while still maintaining a spatial Dolby Atmos immersive soundstage, complete with head tracking.

Why We Picked It: The Sonos Beam Ultra provides high quality surround sound in a compact, fairly affordable package, works seamlessly within the robust Sonos ecosystem and app and can be upgraded to true discrete multi-channel surround with solid bass if you add an optional subwoofer and rear speakers.

Where to Buy:

Read full review

Samsung HW-Q990H Soundbar System

At $1,999 MSRP, the 4-piece Samsung HW-Q990H is the company’s flagship soundbar system for 2026. Unlike unlike some competitive models, the HW-Q990H comes with everything you need in the box: the soundbar, a pair of rear channel speakers (with up-firing drivers) and a surprisingly capable compact dual 8-inch subwoofer. The nearly 49-inch wide soundbar can process up to 11.1.4 channels of immersive audio, routing sound to each of the 23 separate speaker drivers. In real world testing, we found that the Q990H was the best soundbar we’ve tested at creating an immersive dome of sound with seamless motion and few audible dead spots around the room.

We love that it supports not only Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive surround, but also the new Eclipsa Audio format which is beginning to gain traction on YouTube. Also, with three HDMI ports (compared to competitive products with only one or two HDMI ports), the Q990H offers maximum flexibility and can work well even with older TVs or TVs with limited audio passthrough options. It performs well with both movies and music and its compact design won’t draw too much attention to itself.

Why we picked it: At a street price of around $1,500, the HW-Q990H system offers a simple, yet great-sounding upgrade to any TV or projector, and its comprehensive format support ensures future compatibility.

Where to Buy: $1,999 $1,499 at Amazon | Best Buy | Crutchfield

Read full review

Bose Lifestyle Ultra

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar ($1,099) works well as a standalone soundbar, but its performance ascends to the next level with the addition of a sub and rear speakers. At a system price of $2,596, the four-piece Bose Lifestyle Ultra system includes a 43.5-inch soundbar, wireless Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer, and two Lifestyle Ultra Speakers serving as rear surround and height channels, creating a 7.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos configuration. The system supports HDMI eARC, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, along with Bose’s CustomTune room calibration and adjustable SpeechClarity dialogue enhancement.

Why We Picked It: Our testing revealed excellent dialogue clarity, convincing Dolby Atmos height and surround effects, and significantly greater cinematic impact with the subwoofer and rear speakers engaged. The premium design, generally straightforward setup, and strong performance in real-world living spaces make it an excellent choice for buyers who want immersive home theater without an AVR and speaker cables. The occasional app hiccup and lack of DTS support are worth considering, but the complete system delivers an engaging movie and television experience.

Where to Buy:

Read Full Review

Canvas HiFi All-in-One Soundbar

On paper, Canvas HiFi ($4,999) is a soundbar with an integrated TV stand and mounting system. In reality, that description sells it short—by a long shot. Its Danish build quality is exceptional, and its sonic performance outclasses every standalone soundbar we’ve heard. Thanks to BACCH 3D technology, the soundstage is so expansive and convincing that you’ll swear there are extra speakers hiding somewhere in the room. There aren’t.

Despite all that scale and theatricality, dialog remains locked dead-center and crystal clear, and the system somehow delivers genuinely chest-punching bass down to 30Hz—without the help of a subwoofer. Great for movies. Great for music. One box. No compromises.

The Canvas HiFi has multiple size and finish options and is optimized for TVs 55 to 85 inches. The company makes a version called the “HiFi Frame” specifically for Samsung’s “The Frame” and “The Frame Pro” TVs, for seamless integration with those models. Also, a larger version (Canvas L), optimized for TVs 65 inches to 115 inches was introduced at the Vienna HiFi show and is expected to begin shipping later this year.

Why We Picked It: The Canvas HiFi’s unique combination of elegant design and rich expansive sound offers an ideal solution for design-conscious movie and music lovers who appreciate great sound but also desire visual simplicity.

Where to Buy: $4,999 at Canvas

Sonos Arc Ultra

Sonos made its name as a pioneer of whole home wireless audio systems. Rather than requiring a custom installer or routing miles of speaker wire all over your home, Sonos offered a simple networked solution allowing music lovers to play their music out loud anywhere in their home via a simple mobile app and wireless ecosystem. 13 years ago, the company launched its first soundbar, and in late 2024, they released their latest flagship soundbar, the Arc Ultra ($1,099).

The Arc Ultra builds on what made its predecessors great, with simple design, high quality sound and the ability to expand into a fully immersive multi-channel wireless surround system. Its main strength is simplicity and integration within the Sonos environment, but it’s no slouch in the sound quality department and does a great job adding impact and drama to movies and TV shows. But it was designed for music first, and it shows when you play back your favorite tunes from your streaming service of choice, either in stereo or immersive Dolby Atmos surround.

The Arc Ultra does well as a standalone soundbar, with good spaciousness and solid bass, but really shines if you add a pair of ERA 300 rear speakers and one (or two) subwoofers. Get ready for a little sticker shock, though: a fully loaded system with Arc Ultra, 2 ERA 300s and 2 Subs will set you back around $3,700, and at that price, you could opt for a pretty nice component-based system, albeit with more effort involved.

Why We Picked It: Sonos offers a robust app and ecosystem for music and movie lovers who want to listen to their content out loud anywhere in the home (and even outside it). The Arc Ultra is one of few soundbars that can hold its own, without any additional speakers, though it comes alive with the addition of optional surround speakers and subwoofer.

Where to Buy:

Theory Audio Design Soundbar System

The Theory Audio Design 5.2.2 is a professionally installed home theater system built around a three-channel soundbar, dedicated surround and height speakers, dual subwoofers, and Theory’s amplified loudspeaker controllers with integrated DSP and bass management. The system is modular, allowing installers to tailor the speaker configuration and amplification to the room, although a separate AV processor is required for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding. Unlike conventional wireless soundbar packages, Theory prioritizes neutral tonal balance, excellent dialogue intelligibility, precise imaging, and dynamic range without sacrificing detail or control.

Why We Picked It: In more than two decades of reviewing home theater equipment, few systems have delivered the sense of scale and emotional involvement that the Theory 5.2.2 achieved. Explosions had genuine physical impact without overwhelming the rest of the soundtrack, while quieter scenes revealed subtle ambient details that made films and television dramas feel more believable. It wasn’t simply about playing louder; Theory demonstrated how convincing cinematic sound can fundamentally change the viewing experience.

Priced from $10,398 for a 5.1 system at Theory Professional

Read full review

The Bottom Line

No longer just a poor man’s cheap fix to bad TV sound, sound bars and similar products have expanded to provide comprehensive sonic solutions for virtually any budget and lifestyle. Where you’re looking for something simple and easy to set-up or something more robust and expandable, there is likely a soundbar system out there that will serve your audio needs.

Related Reading

Thousand-outlet Chinese chains are opening up shop fast in Singapore

Luckin Coffee opened its 100th Singapore store in Sept, just three years after entering the market with two. When you step into a mall, a Mixue or Chagee seems to be just a few shopfronts away. A mala or hotpot restaurant might occupy a space where a familiar local name used to be.

It’s easy to see why the “Chinese takeover” narrative has taken hold, and why Chinese brands are being blamed for rising rents and the closure of local eateries.

But what do the numbers actually tell us? And what can’t they?

Chinese-owned businesses make up only 3% of Singapore’s retail sector

In a written parliamentary reply in Jan, Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong gave an official breakdown of retail businesses by ownership.

Of the 45,631 registered retail entities as of Jan 8, 2026, 40,931 (89.7%) were Singapore-owned. Businesses owned by China, including Hong Kong, came second at 1,390 entities, or 3%, just ahead of Malaysia (432) and India (427), which each accounted for 0.9%. Ownership is decided by whoever holds more than half of a company’s shares.

In a separate reply in Jul, MTI said locally owned enterprises still make up about 90% of the F&B and retail sectors.

There’s a catch, though. These figures count registered entities, not outlets, and one company can run dozens of stores.

Luckin, for example, had 103 stores in Singapore as of Sep. NUS real estate professor Sing Tien Foo made the same point to Lianhe Zaobao: chains use their scale to open many outlets, so their presence in shopping centres is far bigger than their share of entities suggests.

Which is why the more useful question is what’s actually inside the malls.

Inside the malls, Chinese brands’ share has doubled

Official data on mall tenants is harder to come by. MTI said in a Feb parliamentary reply that it does not collect information on tenant profiles in privately owned or REIT-owned malls, as tenant mixes are commercial decisions made by landlords and tenants.

So there is no official mall-level figure, and the best numbers come from journalists who counted for themselves.

The most thorough is Mothership’s analysis published in late Sep. It shortlisted 26 malls, from ION Orchard and Plaza Singapura to Jurong Point and Hougang Mall, and compared each one’s 2023 directory with its 2026 directory, noting where every tenant brand came from.

Across all 26 malls, Chinese brands held 254 tenancies in 2026, or 4.97% of the total, up from 122 (2.46%) in 2023. That is a doubling in three years, and all but one of the malls (Compass One) saw an increase. The writer said they had expected a figure closer to 15%.

Singapore brands, though, were not the ones giving way. Their share held steady at about 66% in 2026, with the count rising from 3,260 to 3,366. 

In addition, the Chinese retail share seems orchestrated, with a sizable decline coming from other foreign brands: American tenancies fell by 22%, Hong Kong by 35%, Australian by 15%, and Taiwanese by 6%. Nonetheless, these American (6.36%) and Japanese (5.97%) brands still hold a larger share of mall tenancies than Chinese brands today.

Eatbook’s smaller count lands in a similar place. It sampled three high-footfall malls in each of Singapore’s five regions in May, counting only F&B chains that originated from mainland China, and found they averaged 5.6% of outlets.

Some malls sit far above that, like Grantral Mall @ Clementi, where seven of the 12 F&B listings on Google Maps appeared to serve mainland Chinese food, though some seem to be locally founded. 

However, it’s crucial to note that tenancies are not the same as floor space.

As Mothership points out, a large Haidilao flagship, like its JCube outlet spanning six units, can create a bigger impression than a small-format stall.

The growth feels bigger than it actually is

Chinese brands may still make up a small slice of Singapore’s retail scene, but their rapid expansion is hard to miss.

Across Singapore, some 85 Chinese F&B brands were running around 405 outlets as of Aug 2025, more than double the 32 brands and 184 outlets a year earlier.

Chains that have grown fastest. Mixue went from 10 outlets in 2023 to 38 outlets today. Luckin Coffee, meanwhile, entered Singapore’s mature and highly competitive coffee market relatively late, but expanded from 31 outlets in 2025 to 103 by Oct 2026, attracting nearly two million app members locally.

And since returning to Singapore in August 2024, Chinese tea chain Chagee has also grown to 46 outlets as of Aug 2026.

Such fast growth from a small base is exactly what makes the Chinese retail trend feel like an invasion. New openings draw queues and social media attention, and these tend to land in high-footfall spots. The South China Morning Post reported that observers warn public perception of the retail scene can be skewed for this reason, since chains like Chagee and Luckin sit where the crowds are.

Mothership offers three reasons the share feels bigger than it is.

Many Chinese brands have distinctive names, Mandarin signage and typography, so their origin is obvious, whereas McDonald’s or Starbucks read as generically global. Some arrive with large flagship spaces, and some of the same chains tend to repeat across mall after mall.

Singapore has seen similar waves before. Ernest Tan, a lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business, told Channel NewAsia (CNA) that a wave of Japanese restaurants arrived about 20 years ago, followed by Korean ones. He expected Chinese openings to eventually plateau, and perhaps even decline.

What about rents?

One of the biggest concerns behind the “Chinese takeover” narrative is that these brands are outbidding local businesses for retail space, driving up rents and squeezing homegrown operators out.

Andy Hoon, chairman of the local business group Bosses Network, told CNA that when a local tenant offers S$36 to S$38 per sq ft in a market where S$30 to S$40 is expected, a Chinese brand might offer S$45. Knight Frank’s head of retail Ethan Hsu said large-scale Chinese investment has contributed to rising rents in high-traffic locations. 

But the same CNA coverage also reported that Chinese brands denied paying higher rents, and that analysts described what was happening as market dynamics.

We looked at why some of these brands can afford to do this in an earlier piece: large chains such as Luckin Coffee may have greater financial resources to support their overseas expansion, giving them an advantage over smaller operators.

Moreover, the market-wide data doesn’t show a rent spike either. Savills’ basket of prime suburban malls was unchanged at S$14.90 per sq ft a month in Q2 2026, while Orchard Road malls inched up 0.3% to S$23.70. CBRE data cited by EdgeProp put islandwide prime rents up 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, and 0.9% for the first half.

At the same time, islandwide private retail vacancy rose from 6.4% to 7.0% in Q2, according to URA data, as store closures opened up more space in the market. 

These figures do not rule out Chinese brands bidding up rents in particular malls or high-footfall locations. But they offer little evidence of a widespread rental surge driven by Chinese chains. The picture is more complicated than a simple story of foreign brands outbidding local businesses across the board.

The squeeze is mostly about costs

However, what the data does show clearly is how hard it is to run an F&B business here. A total of 3,047 F&B businesses shut down in 2024, the highest figure since 2005, according to Knight Frank. 

The closures have not been limited to small local players, either. Local restaurant group Crystal Jade is now down to nine restaurants after another round of closures.

That timing is part of why the two trends get conflated. Chinese brands are expanding in the same stretch that local F&B is struggling, so one looks like the cause of the other. 

In reality, high rent and manpower costs are hurting nearly everyone, and the brands that cope best are those with scale. 

Luckin Coffee and Mixue, for instance, control much of their own supply chain, which lets them absorb cost pressures that a single-outlet operator can’t.

But it’s important to note that not all Chinese brands are immune to Singapore’s brutal F&B pressures. Haidilao closed its Clarke Quay flagship in Aug 2025, after earlier shutdowns at Downtown East and Bedok Mall, citing labour costs, locations and rental pressures.

So are Chinese brands taking over?

Not by the numbers we currently have. They own about 3% of registered retail businesses and hold just under 5% of tenancies across 26 malls, behind American and Japanese brands, while Singapore brands hold about two-thirds.

Nonetheless, the shift to a stronger Chinese presence in our retail scene is very much obvious.

Their mall share has doubled in three years, many backed by deep-pocketed parent companies, and they cluster where shoppers look first. That is why it feels like there’s a Chinese takeover even when there might not be one.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Molly Tea, Strike Gundam via Google Reviews, Sentosa, Entree Kibbles

Apple’s causing a commotion with its new iPhone Duo.

The tech giant’s first foldable phone hit shelves Friday, and lines were forming (and selling out) well before Apple stores even opened. Many preordered the phone, but that didn’t stop people from trying their luck to buy one without an order number. CNET editors and reporters were on the ground to bring you all of the uproar, so you can save yourself the trip if you were trying to buy one over the weekend.

At Apple’s flagship 5th Avenue location in New York, the line started forming on Wednesday by 9 a.m. ET — two days before the launch. Over 50 people were waiting in line by Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, sometimes with buckets serving as placeholders. In the first minutes after the store opened, there was no word that the iPhone Duo had sold out yet, but other stores were sold out before their doors opened.

At the Oxmoor Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the Apple store opened at 8 a.m. EDT, and CNET’s Faith Chihil saw a line of more than 40 people three hours earlier. At about 7:27 a.m. ET, Apple store employees started taking orders for the phone. But the 256GB iPhone Duo was already sold out.

CNET Editor in Chief David Katzmaier reported that the first person was in line at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington, New York, on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET, and was able to preorder the phone. Apple store employees started taking orders to pick up the phone at 7 a.m. ET.  But by 7:30 a.m. ET, the rest of the line was dismissed after an announcement that the store had sold out before doors opened.

CNET’s Patrick Holland reported from Apple’s Union Square store in San Francisco. The first people started forming a line at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. As of 11 a.m. ET, lines were down the block and around the building. There were also some sightings of people reselling the iPhone Duo just moments after waiting in line to buy one.

Meanwhile, at the Apple store at University Village in Seattle, about 180 people were waiting in line who didn’t preorder the iPhone Duo. It sold out within 15 minutes of the store opening.

While many may have expected new Apple CEO John Ternus to be at the New York flagship store, he debuted the iPhone Duo launch at the Apple store in Austin, Texas. He might have been there because of this weekend’s Formula 1 race in the city — streaming on Apple TV.

iPhone Duo buyers had ‘one more thing’ waiting at pickup

Apple is full of surprises. In line with the company’s “one more thing” tagline, those who preordered the iPhone Duo had a surprise awaiting them at unboxing.

Apple’s usual “Hello” welcome screen included their name when they first turned on the phone. It’s clearly a special detail the company thought of before today, and it’s the first time it has customized its usual welcome screen for customers.

The iPhone Duo, Apple’s long-awaited first foldable iPhone, debuted earlier this month alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max. It features split-screen capabilities, a photo preview display, Touch ID instead of Face ID and Apple Pencil support. The iPhone Duo’s preorders opened on Oct. 16, but quickly turned into a backlog that stretches into early next year. Pricing starts at $1,999.

“Details like the matte inner display, under-display inner camera and smooth transitions between screens give the Duo a premium feel that helps to justify its high price tag, at least to some extent,” CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti said in her review of the iPhone Duo.

The Duo, Al-Heeti said, “is a foldable experience that feels cohesive, intuitive and genuinely useful, which could help win over more people to foldables in general. But I think that broader appeal is still a ways off.”

We don’t know how many iPhone Duos are available at each store or when Apple will restock its physical locations. But there’s a limit of two iPhone Duos per person, per day, which marks the first time in a long time that Apple’s put a cap on how many you can buy.

If you’re set on getting the phone, try ordering on Apple’s website and picking it up at a nearby store to get the phone sooner, but you’ll need to check availability on Oct. 24. It could be sooner than its estimated shipping times that say the phone won’t arrive until Jan. 29 in some areas.

Dashia Milden

Senior Consumer Insights Editor

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Dashia is the consumer insights editor for CNET. She specializes in data-driven analysis and news at the intersection of tech, personal finance and consumer sentiment. Dashia investigates economic shifts and everyday challenges to help readers make well-informed decisions, and she covers a range of topics, including technology, security, energy and money. Dashia graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She loves baking, teaching spinning and spending time with her family.

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Nagra has never shown much interest in winning the watts-per-dollar competition. With its new AMP II-S stereo power amplifier listed at $27,900 and delivering 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms, the Swiss manufacturer clearly isn’t starting now. If you’re shopping for maximum horsepower at the lowest possible price, you’ve wandered into the wrong showroom.

The AMP II-S replaces the Classic AMP that debuted in 2015, building on more than a decade of development across Nagra’s HD and Reference product lines. The new amplifier isn’t about doubling the power output or introducing another proprietary technology with an acronym nobody can remember. Nagra has focused on the power supply, input circuitry, mechanical construction, and noise isolation, with the goal of improving performance without abandoning the design philosophy that made its predecessor successful.

Earlier this year, we covered the introduction of Nagra’s PREAMP II-S, the vacuum tube preamplifier that established the new Series II family. The AMP II-S completes that initial pairing, combining a tube-based control component with solid-state power amplification. It’s an interesting proposition for listeners who appreciate Nagra’s recording heritage but don’t necessarily have the budget, space, or patience for the company’s more extravagant Reference electronics.

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What’s Different From the Original Nagra Classic AMP?

The Classic AMP was never an exercise in brute force. Rated at 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms, it used MOSFET output devices and a sophisticated power supply incorporating active power factor correction and an unusually substantial 300,000 µF capacitor bank.

That amplifier established a design approach focused on stability, low noise, and maintaining control over demanding loudspeaker loads. Rather than throw it away, Nagra has revisited the underlying engineering, applying lessons learned from its more ambitious amplifiers.

The most significant changes are inside the chassis.

The AMP II-S uses a new linear power supply built around a custom 800 VA potted transformer, with increased voltage headroom and energy reserves. Nagra says this should improve the amplifier’s ability to handle demanding musical transients without compression or a loss of control.

The input board is derived from Nagra’s flagship Reference AMP, accompanied by revised circuit layouts, upgraded internal wiring, and optically isolated controls. The objective is to reduce unwanted interference between circuits while improving channel separation and the precision of stereo imaging.

Nagra also retains a single pair of MOSFET output transistors per channel, avoiding the complexity of larger parallel output stages. The new amplifier operates in Class AB, with its first 10 watts delivered in Class A. That’s an appealing arrangement for listeners who value low-level resolution but don’t want a full Class A amplifier heating the listening room throughout the winter.

There’s also a measurable improvement in the published channel separation specification, from greater than 70 dB on the Classic AMP to greater than 90 dB on the AMP II-S.

Swiss Precision, Without the Industrial-Sized Chassis

Nagra has also made substantial changes to the mechanical design. A large CNC-machined heatsink provides thermal stability, while a dedicated transformer suspension is intended to reduce the transmission of mechanical vibrations into the chassis.

The front-panel controls are optically isolated from the audio circuitry, reflecting Nagra’s preference for keeping potential sources of electrical noise away from the signal path. These may sound like small details, but they matter when the engineering objective is to preserve very low-level musical information.

The familiar Modulometer remains on the front panel, providing an unmistakable connection to Nagra’s professional recording machines, particularly the legendary IV-S reel-to-reel recorder. It also ensures that anyone walking into your listening room knows this isn’t something you picked up during a weekend sale at Best Buy.

One rather interesting development is the additional mass. The original Classic AMP weighed approximately 39.7 pounds, while the AMP II-S tips the scales at 54 pounds. Nagra has clearly invested in more substantial mechanical construction rather than trying to impress customers with an empty box and an oversized price tag.

Nagra AMP II-S Specifications

• Type: Two-channel solid-state power amplifier
• Amplifier class: Class AB, with the first 10 watts operating in Class A
• Rated power output: 120 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms
• Output devices: One pair of MOSFET transistors per channel
• Power supply: Linear design with custom 800 VA potted transformer
• Frequency response: Below 10 Hz to 75 kHz (+0/−3 dB)
• Channel separation: Greater than 90 dB
• Signal-to-noise ratio: Typically 110 dB, A-weighted
• THD+N: Less than 0.05% at 120 watts
• Input impedance: Greater than 100 kilohms
• Output impedance: 60 milliohms
• Analog inputs: Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA
• Control connections: Remote input and output
• Dimensions (D × W × H): 461 x 280 x 174 mm (18.15 x 11.02 x 6.85 inches)
• Weight: 24.5 kg (54 lbs)

What Makes the Nagra AMP II-S Unique?

What distinguishes the AMP II-S isn’t any single specification. It’s Nagra’s decision to combine a relatively uncomplicated output stage with substantial power delivery, mechanical isolation, and input circuitry developed through its far more expensive Reference program.

That approach is increasingly unusual in a market where manufacturers compete with ever-higher power ratings, elaborate circuit architectures, and enough output transistors to populate a small electronics factory.

The AMP II-S also offers something that doesn’t appear on a specification sheet: continuity. Nagra’s products have maintained a recognizable design language and engineering philosophy across generations, and the Series II components are intended to preserve that identity while bringing newer technology into a less extravagant product family.

It doesn’t hurt that the amplifier looks like a piece of precision laboratory equipment rather than an illuminated gaming PC that wandered into an audiophile’s living room.

The real question is whether those engineering decisions translate into audible improvements over the Classic AMP. Nagra claims greater transparency, spatial precision, bass definition, and dynamic authority, but those remain manufacturer claims until we can evaluate the amplifier under controlled listening conditions.

The Competition: Gryphon and Audio Research Have Something to Say

At this price, Nagra isn’t competing with ordinary two-channel amplifiers. Two particularly interesting alternatives offer very different approaches to high-end amplification.

Gryphon Essence Stereo — $26,400

Denmark’s Gryphon Essence delivers 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms in pure Class A, supported by a substantial high-current power supply and dual-mono architecture. Where Nagra combines Class A operation at lower output levels with the greater efficiency of Class AB, the Essence places considerably more emphasis on sustained Class A operation.

The Gryphon is a physically imposing amplifier weighing approximately 99 pounds, and its operating characteristics are very different from the Nagra. For listeners who prioritize Class A amplification and have suitable loudspeakers, it deserves serious consideration.

Audio Research Reference 160S — $28,000

The American alternative comes from Audio Research, whose Reference 160S uses eight KT150 output tubes to deliver 140 watts per channel. It features automatic tube biasing, switchable Triode and Ultralinear operating modes, balanced and single-ended inputs, and the company’s distinctive GhostMeters.

The Reference 160S is a fundamentally different proposition. It offers the flexibility and character of an all-tube output stage, but also brings the heat, weight, and eventual tube replacement costs that come with the territory. At approximately 100 pounds, it isn’t something you’ll casually move when rearranging the furniture.

Neither competitor makes the Nagra irrelevant, but both demonstrate how much choice exists at this price level. Buyers are selecting an amplification philosophy as much as a power rating.

The Bottom Line

The Nagra AMP II-S is unlikely to persuade anyone who evaluates amplifiers by dividing watts into dollars. There are vastly more powerful alternatives for considerably less money, and Nagra has never suggested otherwise.

What makes this release compelling is the company’s willingness to revisit an established design rather than replace it with something unrecognizable. The AMP II-S brings more than a decade of accumulated engineering experience to one of Nagra’s core products, and the improvements appear substantial enough to warrant serious attention.

Whether it actually sounds better than the Classic AMP remains to be determined. At nearly $28,000, it should, and not by an amount that requires three engineers, a soundproof laboratory, and an interpreter to explain. Our experience with their equipment has always been a positive one and we’re particularly interested in their “entry” level gear because it’s actually affordable when you consider the most relevant competition. Nagra combined with DeVore Fidelity and Boenicke are some of the best sounding systems we’ve heard in recent years.

Pricing & Availability

The Nagra AMP II-S made its world premiere at Absolute Sounds’ The Happening event in the United Kingdom on October 17-18, 2026. Additional presentations are scheduled for the Audio Video Show in Warsaw and the Tokyo International Audio Show, both taking place October 23-25.

The official UK recommended retail price is £21,998, including VAT. U.S. retailer Unveil Sound currently lists the amplifier at $27,900, although that price has not yet been independently confirmed as Nagra’s official American MSRP.

The amplifier is entering distribution through authorized dealers, with regional availability and demonstration arrangements varying by market.

For more information: www.nagraaudio.com

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