Toronto-based Paradigm is debuting its Premier Series v2 loudspeaker series at AXPONA 2026 which is priced from $800 to $2,300 per pair. Although the company is leaning hard into its usual talk of trickle-down tech and refined engineering, the real story is far simpler: they’ve managed to keep this line genuinely affordable in a market that’s been sprinting in the opposite direction.

The new lineup is a full-system play, covering the 820F and 720F floorstanding speakers, 220B and 120B bookshelf models, the 620C center channel, and the 520LCR for flexible front-stage or custom-install use. Built as a ground-up redesign of the original 2018 Premier Series, the v2 range pulls design cues and driver technology from Paradigm’s higher-end offerings without dragging pricing into five-figure territory.

Like DALI, Paradigm remains one of the few speaker manufacturers still doing everything in-house; from driver design to cabinet construction, backed by extensive testing and measurements in its own anechoic chamber. That level of control tends to show up where it counts: tighter tolerances, more consistent performance, and fewer surprises once the speakers hit real rooms.

The Premier v2 Series is clearly designed as a complete, accessible ecosystem, but the headline isn’t just the redesign or the model count. It’s that Paradigm didn’t lose its grip on reality with the pricing. In 2026, that alone makes this launch worth paying attention to.

“With the Premier v2, we wanted to make a reference-grade acoustics platform available at a more attainable price point,” says John Bagby, Managing Director at PML Sound International. “By using some of the technologies and materials developed for our award-winning Founder Series and tuning them for this new line, we’ve delivered a strong level of value—and an experience that we are incredibly excited to share with our dealers and fans.”

Advanced Driver and Enclosure Technologies

The v2 series integrates a range of driver and enclosure technologies designed to deliver balanced, accurate sound across the full frequency range:

• AL-MAC High-Frequency Drivers: A blend of aluminum, magnesium, and ceramic designed to reduce resonances and deliver a clean, controlled treble response without added harshness.
• AL-MAG Midrange Drivers: Engineered for high sensitivity and responsiveness, these drivers keep vocals and instruments clear, focused, and tonally accurate.
• Carbon-X Unibody Bass Drivers: One-piece cone construction designed to maintain rigidity under load, delivering deeper bass with better control and less distortion at higher output levels.

Patented Sound Guides: The PPA (Perforated Phase-Aligning) Lens and OSW (Oblate Spheroidal Waveguide) work together to focus sound toward the listener, ensuring a wide “sweet spot” regardless of the room’s layout. Paradigm’s Oblate Spheroidal Waveguide (OSW) is a proprietary tweeter waveguide designed to improve sound dispersion. It focuses the tweeter output on the listening area, reducing off-axis reflections and enhancing clarity

Outrigger Shock-Mount Isolation Feet: An adjustable system that decouples the speaker from the floor to reduce vibration, helping deliver tighter, more controlled bass on any surface using the included spikes or rubber feet.

From Affordable Entry Point to Serious High Performance

The Premier v2 is positioned as a clear step up for listeners ready to move beyond entry-level gear and into a more refined, higher-performance home audio system.

“We designed the Premier v2 for the enthusiast who is ready to move into a higher tier of performance without the typical high-end cost,” says Badar Qureshi, CEO of PML Sound International. “This series represents the future of our brand by proving that truly exceptional audio can be both approachable and attainable. We are committed to ensuring that Paradigm remains the standard for performance in its class, giving our customers a clear path to owning a world-class listening experience.”

Premier v2 820F

The 820F v2 sits at the top of the Premier v2 lineup, built to anchor a serious two-channel or home theater system. With multiple 7-inch Carbon-X bass drivers and a high-volume enclosure, it’s designed to move a lot of air; delivering deep, controlled bass and a wide, room-filling soundstage without losing composure as volume climbs.

Premier v2 720F

The 720F v2 delivers floorstanding scale without dominating the room. Its 3-way design uses dual Carbon-X unibody bass drivers for low-frequency control and rigidity, paired with a dedicated AL-MAG midrange and AL-MAC tweeter for a more cohesive, full-range presentation. Adjustable Outrigger Shock-Mount feet help keep things stable and isolated, so the speaker maintains composure and clarity even when pushed harder.

Premier v2 220B

The 220B v2 is a larger bookshelf or standmount design built around a 1-inch AL-MAC tweeter and a 6-inch AL-MAG driver, paired with a cabinet that offers more internal volume than you’d expect at this size. The result is deeper bass extension and greater dynamic range, making it viable in both smaller rooms and more open spaces. It’s a strong option for listeners who want something close to floorstander performance without committing to full-size towers.

Premier v2 120B

The Premier 120B v2 is positioned as the entry point into the lineup, built for smaller spaces without giving up on sound quality. This compact 2-way bookshelf pairs a 1-inch AL-MAC tweeter with a 5.5-inch AL-MAG mid-bass driver to deliver a detailed, surprisingly expansive soundstage for its size. It works equally well as a dedicated stereo pair or as part of a larger home theater system.

Premier v2 620C Center Channel 

The 620C v2 is a substantial center channel built for larger home theater systems. It uses a 4-driver array paired with dual passive radiators to deliver deeper, more impactful low-end while retaining the placement flexibility of a sealed cabinet design. The goal here is straightforward: clear, intelligible dialogue with enough weight and presence to anchor even bigger, more demanding setups.

Premier v2 520LCR

The 520LCR v2 is a dedicated left, center, right solution built for high-performance home theater systems. Its sealed acoustic suspension design allows for flexible placement—inside cabinetry or out in the open—without sacrificing clarity or control. A coaxial AL-MAG midrange helps lock in dialogue and imaging, creating a more cohesive and seamless front soundstage. It can be positioned horizontally as a center channel or vertically for left, right, or even surround duties, making it one of the more versatile options in the lineup.

Paradigm Premier Series V2 Speakers Comparison

The Bottom Line

Chasing better sound usually ends the same way: higher prices, diminishing returns, and a lot of second-guessing. The Premier Series v2 doesn’t pretend to rewrite that reality, but it does offer a more grounded path through it.

What makes this lineup stand out isn’t some radical new concept. It’s execution. Paradigm is leveraging its in-house design, driver development, and anechoic testing to deliver a complete, coherent speaker family that pulls meaningful technology down from its higher-end lines without dragging the price into absurd territory. That balance, real engineering, full system flexibility, and pricing that still feels tethered to reality is the hook.

What’s missing? No dedicated subwoofer in the Premier v2 lineup. You’ll need to look at Paradigm’s Defiance or Essentials series, or elsewhere if you want to round out a full-range system. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s part of the equation.

Who should be looking at these? Anyone ready to move beyond entry-level speakers but not interested in playing the five-figure game. The Premier v2 series makes the most sense for listeners building a serious two-channel or home theater system who want consistency across channels, solid engineering, and performance that doesn’t collapse when pushed.

In a crowded sub-$10,000 category, that’s not a small thing. Paradigm isn’t chasing hype here. They’re offering a system you can actually live with and afford.

Price & Availability 

The Paradigm Premier Series v2 Loudspeakers are priced individually (not in pairs) and the stands for smaller bookshelf models are not included. Look for them in June 2026 from Authorized Paradigm Dealers at the following prices:

• Premier 820F v2 (Floorstanding) — $1,299.99 /each 
• Premier 720F v2 (Floorstanding) — $999.99 /each 
• Premier 220B v2 (Bookshelf) — $549.99 /each 
• Premier 120B v2 (Bookshelf) — $399.99 /each 
• Premier 620C v2 (Center Channel) — $1,299.99 /each 
• Premier 520LCR v2 (LCR Channel) — $899.99 /each 

The Premier v2 series will make its public debut at AXPONA 2026 (April 10-12) at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, where attendees will be the first to experience the new lineup through live demonstrations.

Related Reading:

• Flashpoint warns cybercriminals use emojis to evade detection
• Emojis replace fraud and financial keywords to bypass filters
• Symbols like 💳, 🔑, 🤖 signal cards, credentials, and malware

Just as everyone else these days, cybercriminals use emojis, too. But they’re not just using them to make their messages fun or exciting, they’re also using them to hide their communication in plain sight and evade security analysts’ scrutiny.

This is according to a new report from threat intelligence experts, Flashpoint. Published earlier this week, Flashpoint says threat actors may substitute emojis for keywords associated with fraud techniques, financial activity, as well as specific platforms or services.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Tuesday that the chipmaker will “work closely” with Elon Musk to support the billionaire entrepreneur’s Terafab project, a potentially massive chip development and fabrication operation that will be jointly developed by SpaceX and Tesla. A photo posted by Intel’s official X account shows the two executives shaking hands last weekend in front of a large Intel sign. Musk’s 1-terawatt, ultra-high performance chip fabrication facility, which may span multiple locations, could cost billions of dollars.

“Terafab represents a step change in how silicon logic, memory and packaging will get built in the future,” Tan said in a social media post. “Intel is proud to be a partner and work closely with Elon on this highly strategic project.”

Exactly how Tan and Musk plan to execute such an ambitious venture remains unclear. Musk has been talking about the need to develop a so-called Terafab for months, viewing the endeavor as a way to produce the vast number of chips his companies will need for cars, robots, and data centers. Some chip industry analysts are highly skeptical that Musk can pull off such a complex and capital-intensive venture.

Intel, meanwhile, has been attempting to make a mighty comeback after years of stagnation, and part of its efforts include pitching its capacity to manufacture advanced semiconductors to tech companies hungry for chips to power the AI boom. As WIRED recently reported, Intel’s ability to secure these outside customers is critical to its success. And Musk could be a huge whale of a customer.

Musk did not respond to WIRED’s questions about the partnership. A spokesperson for Intel referred WIRED to the company’s posts about the deal on social media and declined to comment further. For now, here are five outstanding questions about how Intel’s involvement could affect Terafab’s chances of success.

How Big Is The “Deal”?

Hard to say. Neither Intel nor Tesla has filed any paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which is typically required if a new partnership or deal materially changes the capital investment or manufacturing capacity of a public company.

For example, when chipmaker AMD and Meta announced a “multi-year, multi-generation” partnership in February to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs for Meta’s AI services, AMD disclosed the deal in an SEC filing. As of publishing, no such forms have been filed yet by Intel or Tesla. That indicates Tan and Musk’s agreement may be mostly handshakes and vibes at the moment. As one chip industry insider put it, “It makes quite a headline for a couple days, no?”

What Is Intel Actually Contributing?

Intel’s public statement about the mashup with Musk is almost comically vague. The company said that its “ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale” will help accelerate Terafab’s goal of producing 1 terawatt of computing power a year to support “future advances in AI and robotics.”

Pat Moorhead, a longtime chip industry analyst and founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, predicts that Musk will lean on Intel for its advanced packaging capabilities to start. He notes that Tesla “doesn’t need [chip] design engineering; they’re already very capable of that.” Moorhead adds that Musk may also want to license Intel’s chip architecture, which Terafab could build upon and customize.

Intel handling advanced packaging is a safe bet in the near term, because it gives all of the companies involved a chance to test their partnership without alienating TSMC, which runs the world’s biggest fabs, Moorhead says. “If you do packaging first, you’re not going to infuriate TSMC as much as you would if you used Intel for wafers,” he says. (Tesla has existing chip partnerships with TSMC and Samsung.)

Elon Musk’s X is continuing its push to bake AI deeper into the platform with two new Grok-powered features aimed at helping users reach a wider audience and edit images seamlessly.

What’s new on X?

The company has rolled out automatic translation for posts worldwide, allowing users to instantly read content in their preferred language without needing to tap on the translation option. The feature, powered by xAI’s Grok models, is designed to give posts a broader global reach while reducing friction for cross-language conversations. Users who prefer the original text can still toggle translations off on a per-language basis.

Alongside translation, X has also introduced a new in-app photo editor on iOS. The tool gives users access to basic editing options like drawing, text overlays, and blur controls for hiding sensitive information, such as faces or personal details.

The editor also utilizes AI to help users edit images with natural language prompts. According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, users can ask Grok to transform images in specific ways. For example, they can ask Grok to turn a regular photo into something styled like a painting. For now, the feature is limited to X’s iOS app, but Android support is coming soon.

What does this mean for users?

With these additions, X is trying to get users to spend more time inside its app instead of relying on third-party tools. Other social media platforms have released similar AI-driven translation features, and X is now joining the fray to make Grok a core part of how people create and engage on the platform.

Whether this push pays off will ultimately come down to execution. If these tools feel genuinely useful and intuitive, they could make posting and discovery smoother. If not, they risk blending into the background as features more users ignore, adding complexity without meaningfully improving the experience.

As agentic shopping becomes more commonplace, how do you dispute a purchase your AI made?

Companies are preparing for a near future where consumers will allow AI agents to shop on their behalf.

Studies have found that most European consumers already use AI to help shape their purchase decisions, but not at checkout, where the money passes hands – although that could change, and fast.

‘Agentic commerce’ is seen as a natural consequence of AI-powered search, which already makes up more than half of global search engine volume. McKinsey trend analysis finds this number could rise significantly over the coming years.

McKinsey found that by 2030, agentic commerce could orchestrate up to $5trn globally. But while Morgan Stanley earlier this year noted that only 1pc of shoppers currently choose the agentic route, newer research elsewhere finds that AI agents could make up a significant portion of customers a business receives in the coming years.

In the background, infrastructure works to make agentic commerce possible are underway at fintechs such as Revolut, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. More are expected to follow.

Did you mean to buy that?

A growing number of users say they would trust AI systems to place orders and execute payments on their behalf. But such a combination of trust and automation will end up creating a whole new category of purchase disputes that companies are yet to get ahead of, says Monica Eaton, the founder and CEO of Chargebacks 911.

“The infrastructure for agentic commerce is being built quickly, but the safeguards need to evolve at the same pace,” she says.

In the era of agentic commerce, both customers and businesses will find it hard to define intent – or a lack thereof – when purchases are made by AI agents. It is easier to determine intent when humans make a deliberate choice to press ‘buy’, but agentic commerce removes that moment in the transaction. And currently, there aren’t many ways to dispute an agentic AI-made purchase, Eaton notes.

“Most customers do not have access to detailed records of the instructions they gave, the permissions in place, or how the agent reached its decision. In many cases, the transaction is technically authorised, which makes it difficult to challenge,” she adds.

To solve this, platforms need to prioritise transparency before a transaction occurs. The AI agent in question must be able to show what it is about to do and why, and ensure it has customer authorisation before going forward with a transaction. An audit trail for agentic purchases will provide an added layer of protection, says Eaton.

Meanwhile, clear permission frameworks that define where and what agents can purchase, and how much they can spend, will further protect customers.

This may only work in the short term, says Eaton. Longer term protections would involve platforms providing transparency and access to activity logs, while dispute processes will need to evolve to recognise when an agent’s decision does not align with the customer’s intent.

Shift in responsibility

This new category of purchase dispute lies somewhere between fraud and ‘buyer’s remorse’, and current systems are not equipped to handle this anomaly, says Eaton.

“In an agentic environment, platforms need to take greater responsibility for how instructions are captured, interpreted and executed”, and merchants should not be expected to absorb this liability by default, she explains.

Moreover, if effective frameworks are not built ahead of time, customers could end up in a situation where they are arguing with an AI customer service bot about an unauthorised purchase made by a personal AI agent.

There is still time to get ahead of this eventuality, but the window is narrowing, Eaton says. “Businesses need to treat agentic commerce as a fundamentally different transaction environment, not just a faster version of existing e-commerce.”

It is important not to wait for regulation to catch up, Eaton warns. “Businesses that build trust into agentic commerce early will be in a much stronger position than those that react later.

“As for the future of customer service, it does not have to become AI versus AI. The key is to keep the human at the centre of the process. Agentic commerce should reflect and support human intent. If that principle is lost, trust will follow.”

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The new OPPO F33 series is just around the corner, and the Chinese smartphone maker has shared a lot more about the upcoming phones ahead of its India launch on April 15, 2026. The headline features are the all-new ultrawide selfie camera and a more polished design. Here’s everything we know so far.

New Cameras

Like the new iPhone 17, the highlight of the OPPO F33 Pro is its 50MP ultra-wide front camera with a 100° field of view. That’s significantly wider than what most phones in this segment offer, and OPPO says it can capture up to 30% more area in group selfies. To make that useful in real-world scenarios, the phone also includes an “AI Groupfie Expert” system. It can automatically switch to a wider 0.6x view when more people enter the frame and correct facial distortion for up to six faces at once.

On the back, the F33 series uses a 50MP main sensor paired with a 2MP depth sensor. While that setup isn’t groundbreaking on paper, one of the new features is AI Portrait Glow, which adjusts lighting in real time depending on the scene. It offers multiple lighting styles, including Natural, Rim, and Studio modes, to improve portraits in tricky lighting conditions. Another interesting addition is the Colorful Front Fill Light, which replaces the usual harsh white flash with softer, adjustable tones to make selfies look more natural, especially at night. The phone also introduces creative features like Popout, which lets users create layered photos with a sense of depth directly from the camera, and Dual-View Video

Redesigned Build

Beyond cameras, OPPO is also making noticeable changes to the design. The F33 Pro introduces a new “Starry Sea” camera module with a cleaner layout and a more prominent lens design. The phone uses a one-piece back panel made from a thicker composite material, which OPPO claims improves durability without adding the fragility of glass. It’s also using a CNC carving process to create a mix of glossy and matte finishes on the same surface.

The F33 Pro will be available in three finishes: Misty Forest, Starry Blue, and Passion Red, each with a slightly different texture and visual style. The device features a 6.57-inch flat display and weighs 194 grams, keeping things relatively slim and manageable.

Demand for Apple’s Mac Mini has skyrocketed, particularly in China, as the small computer has become an ideal platform for experimenting with autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw and others. Now, a company called Astropad is building out a remote desktop solution specifically for this use case.

On Tuesday, Astropad CEO Matt Ronge introduced Astropad Workbench, a remote desktop solution for Apple devices that he pitches as made “for the AI era.”

While an AI agent running on a Mac Mini may not need a screen, its operator (the human) will want to log in at times to see what’s happening in order to check logs, monitor outputs, or restart stuck tasks, he says.

The new remote desktop solution offers a variety of features, including high-fidelity streaming; the ability to dictate prompts and commands with your voice; plus support for other input methods like the keyboard, Apple Pencil, or touch; and clients for both the iPad and iPhone — the latter essentially putting the remote desktop solution into your pocket for on-the-go access.

If you’re running AI agents across multiple Macs, Workbench offers a device chooser so you can move between them.

The idea came about because it was something the team at Astropad had wanted for themselves, as had their friends.

“We have heavily adopted AI at Astropad, and we’ve been using agents. And sometimes, you have an agent running on a long task, and you want to check on it,” says Ronge. “There’s not a great way to do this…there were existing remote desktop tools, but nothing built specifically for this,” he continues. “There have also been ways where you can use a terminal, or there are things like Telegram chats, but they’re limited. I mean, there are times you’ve got to see what’s happening on your Mac. You’ve got to approve a dialog or save something, or just visually see what’s happening.”

Workbench also leverages the company’s proprietary, low-latency display protocol, which it calls LIQUID, which supports the workflows creative professionals use. It retains full fidelity, even at Retina resolutions, Astropad claims, and doesn’t blur lines or pixelate data. The protocol already powers Astropad’s other products, like Luna Display, which turns your iPad into a second display, and Astropad Studio, which lets you use an iPad as a professional drawing tablet.

While monitoring an AI agent may not always need a high-fidelity solution, Ronge points out that it’s something that’s nice to have — especially if you’re approving designs or mock-ups your AI agent made.

Of course, remote desktop software has existed for some time, meaning Astropad has well-established rivals like Jump Desktop, RustDesk, AnyDesk, Parsec, VNC-based solutions, and many more.

But Ronge suggests that those weren’t designed for the specific needs of using remote desktop software to keep tabs on AI agents. With Workbench, it’s easy to check on the status of logs to see your AI agents’ progress in order to spot issues, restart stalled jobs, and make other changes, but what’s more, you can do this from your iPhone or iPad.

“We’ve been doing iPad stuff for years — it’s been, like, our whole company for the past 10 years. So we have a lot of experience in making good iPad apps,” Ronge says. “We know how to make good iOS apps…so we did that, and then we also added a voice model.”

The tech uses Apple’s voice model so you can talk to your phone and direct your AI agent to do something with a press of the microphone button.

“It’s a very natural way to work with agents. That’s the kind of feature that existing remote desktop [apps] just don’t have — they’re built for more traditional, enterprise-style remote desktop.”

As a new release, there will still be some bugs and polishing needed, but the team is continuing to work on the product. Next up, they plan to launch Windows and Linux support and refine the iPhone app.

The new software runs on macOS 15 and up and iOS 26, and is available as a free download offering 20 minutes of access per day. For unlimited access, the cost is $10 per month, or $50 per year.

Astropad, a bootstrapped and profitable small tech business, has over 100,000 customers, including those who have bought its iPad hardware accessories and its software. With Workbench, Ronge believes the company has the potential to reach both AI enthusiasts and businesses as remote support for AI agents becomes more common.

“I totally think businesses are gonna buy it. I mean, just the productivity gains I’m seeing from it myself — this is totally headed to businesses. It’s just too powerful,” he notes.