The mindless pull of the infinite scrolling social media feed has a way of turning every spare moment into a lost hour. It starts as a quick check for a notification or a brief distraction during a work break, but these apps are engineered to keep you trapped in a loop of “just one more.”
Before long, that reflex to reach for your phone becomes an automatic response to any second of boredom, leaving you stuck in a cycle of digital noise that is hard to break with willpower alone.
I miss the feeling of calm that comes with being without a smartphone. And I’m not the only one. A Pew Research survey from 2024 found that 72% of US teens say they feel “peaceful” when they don’t have their smartphone, while 44% say it makes them anxious.
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But switching off is hard. Crucial personal and banking information is tied to my phone, and I’d still need it occasionally even if I tried switching to a second, simpler device.
So instead of breaking free, I found ways to reduce my screen time and phone addiction. I wish I could say it was through willpower, but nope. I relied on some of the same technology to get away from it.
I used my iPhone’s built-in features to curb my phone usage. It’s not a perfect solution, but these methods have helped me lower my screen time without swapping to a dumb phone.
Set up your iPhone for fewer distractions
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Personally, these social media apps cause a lot of distraction.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
If your phone addiction isn’t extreme, you can set up your iPhone to be less distracting.
It starts with easy things like disabling notifications and simplifying your home screen. I removed all social media apps from mine, and it helped me reduce the daily open rate. I was no longer mindlessly tapping those icons because I’m lazy enough not to swipe down and type the app’s name just to scroll through them.
Here are other iPhone settings that you can use to curb your phone addiction.
I use the iPhone’s Focus mode to limit distracting notifications when I’m working and traveling — essentially for times when I want to be 100% present in things I’m doing.
This feature goes beyond the simple Do Not Disturb function. I need notifications from my family and favorite contacts to pass through, so I have set up different Focus modes instead of using a blanket Do Not Disturb mode every time. Here’s how to set up Focus mode.
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Go to Settings > Focus and tap on the + icon.
Mike De Socio
Create and customize your own Focus mode.
Mike De Socio
1. Go to Settings > Focus. 2. Tap on the + icon (on the top-right corner) to create a Custom Focus. 3. Manage notifications by choosing which apps and contacts you want to hear from during your focus time. You can change individual settings here through People and Apps.
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You can also create a custom home screen that activates when you switch on your new focus mode. For instance, I have Instagram on my home screen in Travel focus mode, and none of the social media apps are on my Work home screen.
Apple’s Screen Time feature can help you create schedules and set limits for apps that are sucking the joy out of your life. If you’re adamant about having time away from your phone, you can block apps and notifications for those time periods.
For instance, I have Instagram set to 45 minutes per day and 30 minutes on weekends. Here’s how to set up Screen Time.
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Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and tap on Add Limit.
Screenshots by Prakhar Khanna/CNET
Select the apps you want to set time limit for.
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Screenshots by Prakhar Khanna/CNET
1. Go to Settings > ScreenTime > AppLimits. 2. Tap on Add Limit. 3. Select the individual or categories of apps you want to set timers for. 4. Tap Next and set the amount of time you want to allow yourself on each app. 5. Tap Customize Days if you want to customize your limit’s schedule. 6. Tap Add in the upper right corner.
Once set, your iPhone sends a notification 5 minutes before approaching your set time limit. After the app reaches the Screen Time limit, it stops whatever it’s doing and displays a new screen. It prompts you to tap OK to exit the app. You can choose to tap Ignore Limit if you’re doing something urgent that requires more time to finish.
Schedule downtime
Go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime and set a schedule.
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Screenshots by Prakhar Khanna/CNET
Schedule downtime on iOS is part of the Screen Time feature, and you can use it to force yourself to put down your iPhone. I have set it up for weekends. Here’s how you can set up downtime on your iPhone.
1. Go to Settings > ScreenTime > Downtime. 2. Toggle on the widget next to Scheduled. 3. Set your downtime schedule.
When downtime is enabled, only phone calls and apps that you choose to allow are permitted. Like Screen Time limits, when you schedule downtime, a 5-minute reminder is sent before it begins. You can then ignore the reminder or turn on downtime. It can be turned off at any time by turning off Scheduled.
Use Assistive Access
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Assistive Access makes it easy to stay focused with only the essential apps.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
Assistive Access is an accessibility feature in iOS. It provides a simplified user interface that aims to help people with cognitive disabilities use an iPhone with greater ease and independence. However, it can double as a feature that’s enabled when you want a more focused way to use your iPhone.
In a way, this feature dumbs down your iPhone. Apple says, “Assistive Access offers ways for people to navigate iPhone and communicate using visuals rather than text.”
It displays on-screen items in a large grid that emphasizes images and icons. You also get large text labels and high contrast buttons on the iPhone’s home screen and across essential apps like Calls, Messages, Camera, Photos and Music.
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Here’s how you can set up Assistive Access on your iPhone.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
Tap on Continue on these screens and customize what you want to see when your Assistive Access is turned on.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > AssistiveAccess. 2. Tap on Set Up Assistive Access and select Continue. 3. Choose the layout for home screen apps from either Rows (if you want items arranged in a list) or Grid (for bigger icons arranged in a grid). 4. You can now tap on the + icon to select apps available in Assistive Access. 5. The iPhone will prompt you to enter your passcode and set up an Assistive Access passcode. Follow the on-screen instructions, and you’re done.
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To exit Assistive Access, you need to:
1. Triple-press the side button (for modern iPhones) or the Home button (for iPhones with Touch ID). 2. Tap Exit Assistive Access. 3. Enter the Assistive Access passcode you entered during the setup process.
I haven’t been able to use Assistive Access for more than a day because it limits the iPhone’s functionality down to a basic phone. It is great if you can live with just simple functionalities.
Otherwise, I recommend using the settings mentioned in the previous section to keep 100% of your iPhone’s functionality while reducing your screen time.
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Make your iPhone minimalist with this Dumb Phone app
I made my iPhone Air semi-dumb by installing this app.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
The Dumb Phone is a $3 per-month app (or $25 for a lifetime purchase) that lets you create a minimalist-style phone. Unlike the iPhone’s built-in Assistive Access feature, it creates a text-based launch menu for your most essential apps and hides everything else.
The setup process is simple with on-screen instructions, but you need to enable a few settings.
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Add Widget: Go to your home screen > tap and hold on empty space > Tap Edit > Add Widget > search for “dp” > Select Page 1 widget.
Set the minimalist DP wallpaper: In the DP app, the second instruction takes you to an option to save a wallpaper. Save it and go to Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper > Photos > select the recently saved black wallpaper > follow the rest of dp instructions.
Enable Dark mode: Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > select Dark.
Set Reduce Animations & Transparency to On: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings > Add App > Home Screen & App Library. Then, after it’s added, tap Home Screen & App Library > Reduce Motion, then tap On.
Create a minimalist Home Screen: The app prompts you to uncheck all other home screen pages, suggests widget positioning and removes dock icons.
I added my essential banking and work apps to the dock and enabled all the other settings. The Dumb Phone app offers plenty of customization options to personalize your iPhone experience.
By default, all other settings and UI elements remain the same as before. You can still access all the other apps and add whatever you want to your home screen.
However, if you want the true dumb phone experience, you can turn on Detox Mode to block non-essential apps. It connects the app to the iPhone’s Screen Time setting, which can be used to permit or block app notifications and access.
It took me at least an hour to set up the Dumb Phone app to my liking, but once it was, it helped me reduce my screen time.
I like it because it didn’t force me to relearn the basic features of my iPhone. It simply adjusted my home screen and settings for a more focused, distraction-free interface. It made me realize that most of it comes down to muscle memory — because readjusting my home screen was a bigger win than expected.
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By removing apps from my home screen or deleting them altogether, I am no longer mindlessly tapping on apps I don’t need.
Assistive Access is likely the most effective way to curb your phone usage. It gives you these big UI buttons within apps.
Prakhar Khanna/CNET
That said, there are two relatively obvious issues with this route. First, you’re paying additional money for the privilege of simplifying things. And secondarily, you’ll still need to rely on some willpower, because it’s not hard to swipe away from these customizations.
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If you do eventually decide that you want a secondary device for staying connected while minimizing distractions, there are a lot of options. Newer keyboard-equipped phones, “minimalist” themed phones and the Barbie-themed flip phone offer different ways to still have access to communication while cutting back.
But you might not need the extra expense if some of these iPhone customizations provide a similar way to quiet things down. While I’m still on this journey, these iPhone settings have helped me limit my screen time. I hope they’ll help you too.
Two years ago the EMF hacker camp in the UK released a new kind of event badge. The Tildagon was designed to be a recurring event badge, useful for the next EMF rather than destined to be e-waste. With the 2026 event coming up there’s a new Tildagon called the Spaceagon, and as you might expect it’s very familiar indeed.
Tildagon owners can update their badge with the Spaceagon front panel, while those without one can buy the new badge. It has a few minor updates from its predecessor, including better buttons, LEDs, and display mounting, and there’s a compass, a joystick, and touch sensitive areas.
The Tildagon introduced its own add-on format, the Hexpansion. This year there’s the first official Hexpansion, a keyboard, using the same rubber moulding we see on quite a few maker projects. We like the Hexpansion idea because it uses an edge connector rather than a set of pins on the device, but at the cost of more expensive badge parts.
In 2026, the act of spending more than a grand on a new phone has never felt more questionable. Don’t get us wrong, there are some incredible handsets at the higher end, and if you plan on making full use of the features they bring to the table then the expense will likely be worth it, but if you just need a solid day to day phone for calls, a bit of light entertainment and taking decent pictures, then the best cheap phones are made with you in mind.
Unlike with the best phones overall, or even the slightly more expensive crowd of the best mid-range phones, cheaper devices do come with a level of compromise that, thankfully, is easy to navigate. After all, it makes sense that these phones don’t fire on every cylinder, as they’ve had to focus their efforts on certain areas in order to bring the price down – all you have to do is decide which features mean the most to you.
For instance, if you want a great screen or a solid set of cameras then the latest budget-friendly picks from Honor and Poco are a safe bet, whilst the likes of Samsung and Nothing (via its CMF sub-brand) have the software experience on lock. There’s more choice than ever, but thanks to the hard work of our tech experts, you can save yourself from a heap of research and use this very list to find your next upgrade quickly.
In order to keep things within a reasonable budget, we’ve set a strict upper limit of £400/$400 for this article, so you won’t find a phone that goes above that here. Plus, if you decide that you want to stick with your current phone for a bit longer then we recommend keeping this page bookmarked and returning to it when you’re ready for a new device, as our rankings may have changed.
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Keep on reading to see which of the latest budget phones have most impressed our team of testers, and if you’re curious to save a buck on other tech purchases then feel free to check out our guides to the best cheap smartwatch, the best cheap headphones and the best cheap tablets.
Best cheap phones at a glance
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Learn more about how we test mobile phones
Every phone we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, screen accuracy, battery life, performance and camera prowess.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how much battery it loses per hour streaming video.
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We also make sure to use every phone we review as our primary handset for at least 4 days to ensure our review is as accurate as possible./
One of the best screens at this price range
256GB storage as standard
Longer duration of software support
There are some downgrades compared to the Honor 200
AI features still need some work
No wireless charging
As much as we love the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion for its long-lasting battery life and fast charging, if you want a strong competitor that isn’t quite as eye-catching but does include a beefier battery in return, then the Honor Magic 8 Lite is well worth checking out. This is one phone that absolutely runs rings around the latest iPhones and Samsung Galaxy handsets where longevity is concerned.
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Thanks to the use of a gigantic 7500mAh battery, which is about as large a cell as you’ll find in a phone outside of China, the Magic 8 Lite is one of those rare phones that can genuinely last up to three days under the right circumstances. If you grew up in a time before smartphones when multi-day batteries were the norm, then you’ll love what Honor has managed to achieve here.
Working in tandem with the massive battery is a speedy 66W charging speed over a wired connection. Although you will need to buy a compatible charging brick separately, it does allow you to claw back 54% in just 30 minutes, which on most phones probably wouldn’t be enough to get you through the day, but that’s not the case here. If you have a bit more time to spare then a full charge will only take you about 68 minutes, so you shouldn’t have an issue with topping the phone up as you get ready in the morning.
Of course, having such a sizeable battery life wouldn’t mean much if the phone itself wasn’t that fun to use, and thankfully that’s not the case as the accompanying 6.79-inch 120Hz OLED display is perfect for catching up on a bit of entertainment. Colours are vibrant and there’s a great degree of contrast, plus it’s all made even better with the fact that this screen can reach a whopping 6000 nits of peak brightness.
For context, 6000 nits is roughly double what’s capable in the far more expensive iPhone 17, so you’re getting tremendous value for money here. In not too dissimilar a fashion to the Nothing Phone (4a), because Honor has spent so much of its efforts on bolstering other aspects of the phone, it’s the performance that falls short as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 feels fairly dated. Still, if you’re after an entertainment-first device then it’s unlikely to affect your experience of streaming films and TV shows.
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Incredibly competitive price for the spec
Multi-day battery life
Big, bright screen
Cameras remain a weak point for Poco
HyperOS is packed full of bloatware
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For any mobile games who don’t have a ton of cash to spend on their next upgrade, the Poco F7 fills the gap of being a high performing smartphone that still somehow carries a budget price tag. At just £389, the Poco F7 carries a handful of features that you’d expect to see on phones almost double the cost, the most important of which is its performance.
Thanks to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor housed within the phone, the Poco F7 provides some of the best gaming performance we’ve ever seen on a budget handset. As a point of comparison, the Poco F7 steamroller over the Pixel 9a and the Samsung Galaxy A56 in multi-core tests, and even wasn’t that far off from the Poco F7 Pro when running the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme test.
What ties the experience together is the massive 6.83-inch AMOLED display which provides phenomenally vibrant colours while the 120Hz refresh rate ensures that any action happening on screen is fast paced and engaging. It’s just as good for sitting back and enjoying a bit of streaming, as it is for gaming.
Of course, if you do plan on using the Poco F7 as something of an entertainment hub on the go, then you’re going to need a solid battery to back it up and thankfully that isn’t an issue here. The gigantic 6500mAh cell allowed us to reach two days of use under the right circumstances, so you definitely won’t have anything to worry about over the course of a single day.
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The inclusion of 90W fast charging means you won’t be waiting around for long either, as we managed to charge the phone from 0% to 100% in only 40 minutes. As a final flourish, the Poco F7 still carries a premium build boasting full IP68 dust and water resistance. If you’re the type of person who’s run into durability issues with affordable phones in the past then the F7 should be a major step up.
SQUIRREL_PLAYLIST_10207754
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Very long battery life
Solid maximum screen brightness
Fairly fast charging
Uses a space-filling junk camera
Water-treading design
All-plastic frame
As great as it can be to have top-notch cameras, cutting-edge software and more, for a lot of people out there the only thing that truly matters is a battery life that actually sees you to the end of the day without any sense of panic. If you’re someone who uses their phone for surfing the web, messaging, payments and other such daily tasks and needs a battery that can keep up with it all, then the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is the phone for you.
This beast of a handset, despite being wonderfully slim, manages to cram a whopping 7000mAh battery into its build, pretty much outdoing almost every other phone in its price bracket. In fact, a battery of that size is quite a rarity amongst the flagship end of the market too, with even something like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (which costs £1099/$1099.99) only having a 4900mAh cell to work with.
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In fact, if you’re a more conservative user then you could probably stretch the Edge 70 Fusion’s battery to run for up to two days at a time. When you do need to top it up, you can make use of speedy 68W wired charging which, from our testing, can net you a full battery in just shy of an hour.
There’s a luscious 6.78-inch AMOLED display onboard with a 144Hz refresh rate to boot. Because of the battery life available, this all combines to make the Edge 70 Fusion a great phone for catching up on a bit of entertainment, especially when you’re travelling. That higher-than-average refresh rate makes even simple things like scrolling through social media feel that bit better.
Unfortunately, anyone thinking that the refresh rate would also come in handy with a spot of gaming should think again, as the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset just isn’t quite powerful enough to do intensive 3D titles justice. It’s fine for everyday tasks but for more than that, you’re better off seeking out a Poco phone.
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Attractive, unique design
Lightweight but delightful software experience
Reliable battery and camera performance
Affordable price – There’s a pink one!
Not the most powerful phone around
Display is a little dark at times
Glyph Light bars are gone
Not a big jump on the Phone 3a
Who said that budget phones had to look cheap? The Nothing Phone (4a) carries the same level of style that has made Apple such a household name, and depending on your particular tastes, you may even prefer Nothing’s space-age aesthetic. Just like the Nothing Phone (3a) before it, the (4a) looks like a device of science fiction on the back, but it’s very much real and costs just a fraction of the flagships.
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Although the Nothing Phone (4a)’s design is certainly eye-catching, it’s also functional with the Glyph Bar on the side of the camera bump acting as a means for you to see incoming calls and notifications while the phone is placed face down on a surface. The intent is so that you don’t need to constantly pick up the phone to see if anything’s come in, and avoid needless doomscrolling.
The brand’s unique approach to design extends far beyond the hardware too, as the Nothing OS Android overlay is leagues ahead of what you’ll find on most budget phones. Not only is the UI wonderfully free of bloatware, but there are tons of exclusive widgets that utilise the brand’s iconic pixel art.
What surprised us the most is that although there’s a modest battery upgrade which brings the included cell up to 5080mAh, the phone actually makes fantastic use of what’s available to keep things running for up to two days under certain use cases. Even if you are someone who racks up a hefty amount of screen time then you won’t have to worry about depleting the battery over the course of a single day.
Where the Nothing Phone (4a) doesn’t quite hit the mark is in performance. Just like how it is with the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset does a fine job with most everyday tasks, but it just isn’t as smooth as what you’ll find on a comparatively priced Poco phone. Still, for the asking price and everything that the Phone (4a) delivers on, it’s hard to imagine anyone being dissatisfied with it.
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Compact yet rugged design
Dedicated telephoto camera
Wireless charging
Not the strongest performer
Cameras can be a little inconsistent
Very similar to the Edge 50 Neo
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At under £400, the Motorola Edge 60 Neo is a brilliant budget-friendly Android that should suit most everyday uses.
With a 6.36-inch pOLED display, paired with a faux-leather finish on the back, the Edge 60 Neo can easily be used with just one hand. Plus, don’t worry about accidentally dropping or even spilling water on your handset, as it’s equipped with flagship standard IP68 and IP69 ratings too.
Speaking of the display, it’s packed with surprisingly premium screen technologies for its price tag. Not only does it sport a 120Hz refresh rate, something which was missing from the entry-level iPhone until the new iPhone 17, but it also offers a 3000 nits peak brightness and supports HDR10+ content too.
Where the Edge 60 Neo really impresses, however, is with its photography ability. We should disclaim that this might not be one of the best camera phones, but it’s still a solid shooter for most conditions.
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The star of the show is, unsurprisingly, the 50MP Sony main sensor which churns out detailed and vibrant shots during the day. Even at night, the main camera is able to brighten shots up while maintaining sharpness too.
This is supported by a decent enough 13MP ultrawide and a 10MP 3x camera, which is a rare addition for phones at this price range. It’s not the best, especially when you attempt to surpass 3x zoom, but generally it’s able to capture decent shots.
Otherwise, powering the Edge 60 Neo is a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 7400 chip which runs casual apps and the odd spot of gaming without much stutter. Motorola also promises up to five years of major Android upgrades too, making this a solid budget investment too.
Finally, with support for 68W wired charging speed, and 15W wireless too, the Edge 60 Neo even surpasses the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for battery prowess too – for over half the cost.
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Solid performance in virtually every situation
Gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED display for HDR gaming
Good enough camera in good conditions
Noticable background battery drain
Iron Man stylings are lackluster
Fair bit of pre-installed bloat
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When it comes to performance in budget phones, it’s Poco handsets that surprise us time and time again. These devices go far beyond what you’d expect from phones at the lower end, giving you the type of chipsets that can handle everyday tasks with ease, and rarely (if ever) buckle under the pressure. The excellent Poco X8 Pro keeps that tradition going nicely.
Under the hood is the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra which has an available 12GB RAM to lean on, allowing it to make short work of most apps. It can also hold its own with a bit of gaming, as we were able to enjoy a few rounds of PUBG without issue. Even with Zenless Zone Zero, which is a fairly taxing title, the phone managed to achieve a fairly stable 60fps throughout. That level of performance is just mindblowing for a phone that costs less than £400/$400.
Gaming on the X8 Pro is made even more enjoyable by the large 6.59-inch AMOLED 120Hz panel, especially when it kicks things into gear with HDR. The panel packs a 1.5K resolution and support for Dolby Vision, so if gaming isn’t your thing and you’d rather use the phone for catching up on the latest shows and films, then you’ll still have a great experience here.
The phone packs a sizeable 6500mAh battery and, perhaps even more surprisingly given that a lot of flagship phones can barely match half of this, 100W wired charging. There’s 27W reverse wired charging too for when you need to top up some headphones or a pair of earbuds on the go. We don’t recommend leaving the phone on overnight however as we picked up on surprisingly potent battery drain.
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The only area where the X8 Pro doesn’t quite match up to the impressive specs found elsewhere is in the camera setup. To its credit, the main 50MP sensor can pick up some decent shots if there’s a good amount of light available, but if not then the whole experience falls apart pretty quickly. If you’re obsessed with camera quality on a budget then the Pixel 9a is a better buy.
Greatly improved cameras
Brighter screen with better colours
Slightly quicker
NFC Payment support
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Only IP54 rated
Back isn’t replaceable
Essential Space could cost money soon
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is a follow-up to the Nothing sub-brand’s original CMF Phone, and it fixed most of our complaints about the original modular phone.
With a modular design, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is one of the more unique offerings in the budget smartphone market. Though you can no longer easily replace the back panel, the Accessory Point returns, allowing you to attach lanyards, kickstands and more.
You can also add new macro and fisheye lenses to the new triple camera setup, transforming the look and feel of your photos.
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Modular design aside, the CMF Phone 2 Pro offers a surprisingly rounded experience.
The 6.67-inch AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate and a boosted 3000 nits of peak brightness. Arguably more importantly, the screen can now display over a billion colours with 10-bit colour support, reducing banding and providing more accurate colours overall.
The single 50MP camera was arguably the weakest area of the original CMF Phone, but with a combination of 50MP main, 50MP 3x telephoto and 8MP ultrawide lenses, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is wholly more capable. Don’t expect flagship-level performance, but there is a notable jump.
Throw in a boosted Dimensity 7300 Pro processor, a 5000mAh battery with enough juice to last two days, and Nothing’s charming Nothing OS 3.2, and you’ve got a stand-out budget smartphone.
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Crisp, clear, and fluid P-OLED display
Big performance boosts over the previous model
Great cameras for most people
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At under £200, the Moto G86 is a fantastic choice for anyone who doesn’t want to splurge on a fancy phone, who needs a reliable second phone for work or who wants a decent Android for their child.
In a world where most premium smartphones look pretty similar to one another, the Moto G86 boasts a more unique design, thanks to the woven texture at its rear. That’s paired with a chrome rim around the bezels which catches the light and helps the handset look more premium than its price tag would suggest.
Perhaps most surprising about the Moto G86 is how brilliant its display is. The 6.67-inch pOLED panel sports a 120Hz refresh rate and a tight 89.2% screen-to-body ratio which means the bezels are nearly invisible and helps to maximise bright colours and dark blacks. Because of this, we found that streaming HDR content feels like using a much more expensive handset.
Powering the Moto G86 is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, which although certainly doesn’t achieve particularly high benchmarking scores, offers superb everyday performance. Sure, gamers will undoubtedly be better off with one of the best gaming phones, but for casual mobile games and social media scrolling, the Moto G86 does the job.
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Flip the handset over and you’ll find its 50MP main and 8MP ultrawide lenses, alongside the depth sensor and flash. All in all, the camera is pretty decent and can manage confidently in good lighting conditions.
Otherwise, the Moto G86 sports an average-sized 5200mAh battery which although isn’t particularly impressive, can still ensure the phone comfortably sees the day through.
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Lovely screen
Good main camera
IP68 rated
Affordable price point
No headphone jack
A lot of bloatware
Slower charging than its predecessor
At its core, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro is a great phone. Working in the phone’s favour is an excellent 6.67-inch OLED display. With Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, not to mention a peak brightness of 3000nits that makes the phone easy to use outdoors, it’s quite amazing that Xiaomi has managed to cram all of this screen tech in at the budget end of the market.
The main 200MP sensor is also nothing to be sniffed at, delivering wonderfully detailed shots in the daytime, and still managing to hold its own after the sun goes down. Because of that high megapixel count, you do have some leeway when it comes to cropping in, and zooming in up to 3x still delivers decent shots, but you won’t want to go any further than that.
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One thing we genuinely didn’t expect was an official IP68 rating, given that the grading was previously held back for last year’s Pro Plus model, but it’s still great to see it trickle down here. This means that you can use the phone around the sink and you won’t have to worry if takes a tumble in with the soaking dishes.
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FAQs
What’s the best cheap phone to buy?
The best cheap phone depends on your priorities. For the best overall experience, we recommend the Honor 400 due to its stunning AMOLED screen, huge storage, and six years of software and security updates.
Which cheap phone has the best camera?
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Our favourite cheap phone for the camera is the Motorola Edge 60 Neo, though the Nothing Phone 3a isn’t too far behind.
Can I get 5G on these phones?
Yes, all of the phones in the above list offer 5G connectivity so you’ll be able to get these data speeds as long as you have network coverage and a compatible SIM card.
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How much should I spend on a budget phone?
We usually say between £200-400 / £200-400 just because you’ll get 5G connectivity, solid cameras, decent displays, and good enough performance for the price. Of course, you can go cheaper, but phones under £100/$100 often involve significant compromises in performance.
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Do cheap phones get software updates?
This depends on the manufacturer. Google Pixel phones offer the best support (seven years, for example for the Pixel 10a). Samsung traditionally offers 4-6 years worth of updates on A-Series phones, while Motorola and other brands typically offer 2-3 years. We’ll let you know for each of our picks, but if you’re ever in doubt check the manufacturer’s policy.
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Test Data
Honor 400
Poco F7
Motorola Edge 70 Fusion
Nothing Phone 4a
Motorola Edge 60 Neo
Poco X8 Pro
CMF Phone 2 Pro
Motorola Moto G86 5G
Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G
Geekbench 6 single core
1142
2094
1145
1236
1095
1724
1003
1046
1020
Geekbench 6 multi core
3131
6294
3183
3312
3111
6616
2910
2962
2908
Geekbench 6 GPU
–
–
2298
3549
–
12549
–
–
–
3DMark Solar Bay
–
–
–
–
–
26
–
–
–
AI performance
–
–
–
652
–
–
–
–
–
1 hour video playback (Netflix, HDR)
–
5 %
2 %
5 %
6 %
–
7 %
6 %
11 %
30 minute gaming (intensive)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
8 %
–
30 minute gaming (light)
–
5 %
6 %
–
2 %
–
5 %
–
7 %
Time from 0-100% charge
–
40 min
59 min
–
57 min
62 min
65 min
98 min
100 min
Time from 0-50% charge
–
17 Min
22 Min
–
–
29 Min
26 Min
47 Min
50 Min
30-min recharge (included charger)
–
82 %
64 %
–
–
–
–
–
–
15-min recharge (included charger)
–
46 %
37 %
–
–
–
–
–
–
30-min recharge (no charger included)
–
–
–
–
69 %
52 %
57 %
31 %
30 %
15-min recharge (no charger included)
–
–
–
–
37 %
31 %
29 %
15 %
15 %
3D Mark – Wild Life
–
4341
1085
–
1031
4053
852
18.87
874
GFXBench – Aztec Ruins
26 fps
61 fps
–
–
–
–
22 fps
24 fps
17 fps
GFXBench – Car Chase
31 fps
66 fps
–
–
–
–
29 fps
22 fps
22 fps
Full Specs
Honor 400 Review
Poco F7 Review
Motorola Edge 70 Fusion Review
Nothing Phone 4a Review
Motorola Edge 60 Neo Review
Poco X8 Pro Review
CMF Phone 2 Pro Review
Motorola Moto G86 5G Review
Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G Review
UK RRP
£399.99
£389
£379
£349
£379.99
£349
£219
–
£299
USA RRP
–
Unavailable
–
–
–
–
$289
–
Unavailable
Manufacturer
Honor
–
Motorola
Nothing
Motorola
Poco
Nothing
–
Xiaomi
Screen Size
6.55 inches
6.8 inches
6.78 inches
6.78 inches
6.36 inches
6.59 inches
6.77 inches
–
6.7 inches
Storage Capacity
256GB
256GB
256GB
256GB
256GB
512GB
128GB, 256GB
256GB
256GB, 512GB
Rear Camera
200MP main; 12MP ultrawide
50MP + 8MP
50/13MP
50MP + 50MP +8MP
50MP + 13MP + 10MP
50MP + 8MP
50MP + 50MP + 8MP
50MP
200MP + 8MP + 2MP
Front Camera
50MP
20MP
32MP
32MP
32MP
20MP
16MP
32MP
20MP
Video Recording
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
IP rating
IP56
IP68
IP69
IP65
IP69
IP68
IP54
IP68
IP68
Battery
5300 mAh
6500 mAh
7000 mAh
5080 mAh
5200 mAh
6500 mAh
5000 mAh
5200 mAh
5110 mAh
Wireless charging
–
–
–
–
Yes
–
–
–
–
Fast Charging
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Size (Dimensions)
74.6 x 7.3 x 156.5 MM
77.9 x 8.2 x 163.1 MM
75.6 x 8 x 157.8 MM
77.57 x 8.55 x 163.95 INCHES
71.2 x 8.1 x 154.1 MM
75.19 x 8.38 x 157.53 MM
78 x 7.8 x 164 MM
161 x 7.8 x 74 INCHES
74.4 x 8.4 x 162.3 MM
Weight
183 G
216 G
188 G
204.5 G
175 G
201 G
185 G
185 G
190 G
ASIN
–
–
–
–
–
–
B0F2T4LT17
–
B0DKY54C4G
Operating System
MagicOS 9
HyperOS 2 (Android 15)
Android 16
Nothing OS 4.1 powered by Android 16
Android 15
HyperOS (Android 16)
Nothing OS 3.2 (Android 15)
Android 15
HyperOS 2 (Android 15)
Release Date
2025
2025
2026
2026
2025
2026
2025
2025
2025
First Reviewed Date
22/05/2025
27/06/2025
13/04/2026
05/03/2026
12/01/2026
08/05/2026
05/05/2025
–
22/04/2025
Resolution
2736 x 1263
1280 x 2772
2772 x 1272
2720 x 1224
1200 x 2670
2756 x 1268
1080 x 2392
1220 x 2712
1220 x 2712
HDR
–
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
120 Hz
144 Hz
120 Hz
120 Hz
120 Hz
120 Hz
120 Hz
120 Hz
Ports
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C, microSD card slot
USB-C 2.0
USB-C
Chipset
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4
MediaTek Dimensity 7400
MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra
MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro
Mediatek Dimensity 7300
Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Ultra
RAM
8GB
12GB
8GB
12GB, 8GB
128GB
12GB
8GB
8GB
12GB, 8GB
Colours
Midnight Black, Meteor Silver, Desert Gold
Black, White, Cyber Silver
Orient Blue, Sporting Green, Blue Surf, Country Air, Silhouette
There are a lot of single board computers on the market these days, so you can be forgiven if you missed the LuckFox Lyra. Its main claim to fame seems to be that it shares the Pi Pico’s 51 mm x 21 mm footprint while being powerful enough to run a full Linux system– or at least, it was. Now its claim to fame is as a device you can interact with no peripherals, accessing the terminal via Morse code. That’s thanks to [Gabriel Broussard Korr] and his Morstdin project, which should run on just about anything POSIX-compliant, by dint of a being a clever sh script at heart.
Of course, with most POSIX-compliant systems, you’ll need to alter the script to account for some kind of periferal to do the Morse I/O– not so on the LuckFox Lyra, which has a built-in LED and a single usable button. It actually has two buttons, but one of them is RESET and you can’t use that for anything but its intended purpose. The BOOT button, on the other hand, becomes user input after the system has started. One button, one LED? It’s almost like LuckFox designed this SBC for Morse! Admittedly we’d prefer an audible output, but adding a buzzer would detract from the purity of this implementation.
He’s had to extend the code, of course, since Samuel Morse did not expect all of the special characters you’re likely to encounter on the terminal. The resultant Programmer’s Morse, or PMorse is a straightforward extension, but [Gabriel] didn’t stop there: he’s also added a set of commands he describes as “vim-like” make using this headless device easier by doing things like deleting whole words or flash the line you’re working on so you can make sure you haven’t made any errors.
If that wasn’t enough, he’s also put an LLM on it. Because in the Year of Our Lord 2026, you apparently cannot escape the frakkin’ toasters by jumping your rag-tag fleet into the 128 MB of RAM on this tiny SBC. Still, his inclusion of Llamma.cpp does add one thing to the project: it can now claim to be the world’s smallest stand-alone chatbot. It’s also the only one that speaks Morse. That’s got to be worth some bragging rights.
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[Gabriel] may have a thing for physically tiny Linux devices– his last project, which we featured, was about using Linux on old smartphones with Termux.
Life is busy enough without wasting time on spammers, scammers, and telemarketers. Whether you are suffering insistent injury lawyers, fraudulent car warranty representatives, or a drunk-dialing ex, there is a way to stop the endless calls and messages. The major carriers and phone manufacturers have upped their game against unwanted calls and messages in recent years, so let’s look at how you can effectively block them.
Before we dive into blocking options, there are a few things to know:
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If possible, don’t answer any calls from numbers you don’t recognize. Callers with anything important to say will likely leave a message anyway. Sadly, this won’t work for people with businesses or interests that involve a lot of calls from unknown numbers.
Never click on a link or attachment in a spam text message because it could trigger malware. If possible, avoid opening them altogether.
Never respond to a spam text message, as it will confirm that your number is valid.
If you are concerned that the call or message might be from a legitimate company, try typing the number into your preferred search engine. While it can be tricky to confirm a scammer’s number, it is easy to verify a legitimate one. If you can’t find anything on the number, be cautious and ignore it. We will explain how to block numbers, but it’s also important to report unwanted calls and messages. If it’s telemarketing, scam, or spam, you can report it to the FTC here. You can also add your number to the Do Not Call Registry, though it only works for sales calls from reputable companies. Sadly, many organizations and scammers ignore it. We will go into how to report numbers to manufacturers, carriers, and third parties below. The more people do this, the easier it is to identify and preemptively block or label nuisance numbers.
How to Block Calls and Texts on an iPhone
Apple via Simon Hill
It’s easy to block individual numbers on your iPhone. Here’s how:
A memory shortage that isn’t expected to ease before the end of 2027 will drive global PC shipments down 11.3% in 2026, even as Apple’s MacBook Neo puts new pressure on PC rivals.
Market research firm IDC expects conditions to worsen through the year, with PC shipments projected to fall 20% year over year in the fourth quarter. Rising memory costs are limiting product availability and making it harder for manufacturers to maintain broad product lineups.
PC shipments still grew 3% during the first quarter of 2026, but that came from buyers accelerating purchases ahead of expected price increases and shortages. Much of that demand was pulled forward from later in the year, masking a market facing tighter supplies and a weaker outlook.
MacBook Neo dodges a weakening market
Apple’s MacBook Neo is helping defy a bigger slowdown in the PC market. Stronger-than-expected demand for the lower-cost notebook led IDC to raise its notebook forecast.
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The device is also increasing competitive pressure across the industry. Research manager Jitesh Ubrani said PC makers are likely to respond with new chips, operating system improvements, and more aggressive promotions.
Strong demand for the MacBook Neo is helping support notebook sales. Image credit: IDC
Strong demand for the MacBook Neo is helping support notebook sales as higher costs and supply constraints weigh on the broader market. IDC also said the notebook is helping keep some lower-cost options available, easing part of the price pressure affecting the industry.
Higher PC prices are likely to persist
IDC expects average PC selling prices to climb 17% in 2026 as memory shortages continue to push costs higher. The firm also expects prices to remain above 2025 levels even after memory production expands over the next two years.
Buyers considering new hardware may face fewer opportunities to avoid those increases. PC makers are dealing with tighter component supplies, rising costs, and weaker demand across much of the market.
Those pressures are colliding with broader economic challenges and increased competition across the PC industry. Apple’s MacBook Neo is generating enough demand to influence notebook forecasts and increase competitive pressure throughout the market.
Smart locks are a highly visible part of your home that you’ll use just about every day, so it’s important to find a reliable pick that meshes well with your smart home. Here are the factors you should be thinking about as you shop.
A retrofit smart lock like the August lock will replace the interior of your current lock but not the exterior keyhole or the deadbolt.
CNET
Full deadbolt or retrofit
Most smart locks will replace your existing lock, including the interior thumbturn, the exterior keyhole and the deadbolt in the middle. Locks like those will also come with their keys, replacing the ones you use now.
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Others, like the August Smart Lock, and the Lockly fingerprint model, are designed instead to work with at least some of your existing lock hardware. With a retrofit lock like that, you probably won’t need new keys and might not even need to swap out the deadbolt. Locks like those can sometimes be a better fit for apartments, where the building owners might not allow you to replace the entire lock.
Yale’s smart lock can work with the Nest video doorbell.
Yale
Modes of access
Different smart locks will take different approaches to letting you in. On a basic level, most smart locks will let you lock and unlock the door wirelessly from your phone, using an app. Others add in keypads for coded entry, which can help you rely on your keys a little less while also making it easier to share access with others. Some lock add fingerprint or palm scanning to let you inside with biometrics. There are also keypad and NFC options, even face scanning in some cases.
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Apple has also added a Home Key feature in iOS15 that lets you store a digital house key in your Apple Wallet, which lets you open compatible smart locks using the NFC radio in your iPhone or Apple Watch. Many other brands have followed suit with digital passes that guests can download on their phones with the right apps.
So, what’s right for you? Going into an app for door access isn’t ideal unless you are controlling it remotely. That’s why we like Bluetooth and NFC passes that can work with a wave of your phone, as well as fingerprint sensors and similar options that are keyed to individuals and work at a touch at any time. But a keypad has its advantages as well, since it allows for temporary code handouts or limited-time access without someone needing their phone or a specific app to use.
The Schlage Encode Plus is the first smart lock to support Apple Home Key. It lets you unlock your door using an iPhone or Apple Watch.
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Schlage
Platform compatibility and Matter
If your household includes multiple types of smart home devices, then your best bet is to control them all from a single smart home platform. That way, you won’t need to juggle multiple apps to keep everything automated. The most popular picks are Amazon Alexa, the Google Home app and the Google Assistant voice controls that come with it, and Apple HomeKit, which brings Siri into play. Samsung SmartThings is another option for a hub-centric smart home.
That brings us to Matter. Matter (and its tagalong communication protocol Thread) is an important smart home protocol designed in coordination with major brands, including Google, Amazon, Apple, and many others. It helps guarantee compatibility across different platforms and adds extra security and data transfer benefits, which buyers should definitely be watching for.
Currently, smart lock companies are still adopting the Matter standard. Our top pick uses it and is one of the best options we’ve found. Schlage has begun to adopt the standard for locks like its upcoming Schlage Sense Pro, but it hasn’t made its way to our Schlage Smart Lever pick quite yet, and the same goes for Yale Assure. Brands like Aqara are now including built-in Matter support with their latest locks. August has also announced it’s working to bring Matter to its smart locks, so in some cases, it just be a “matter” of waiting for the right firmware update.
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Aqara’s lock comes with many unlocking options and gets even more features if you plug in a hub.
Aqara
Security and privacy
Smart locks aren’t quite as data-sensitive as devices with built-in cameras and microphones, but you’ll still want to make sure that you’re keeping things secure. Most, if not all of your options will use some form of encryption to keep the wireless transmissions between your lock and your phone or home network secure. You should also look for locks that use two-factor authentication to keep your account safe from malicious logins. As with any connected device in your home, you’ll want to be sure to keep your lock updated to the latest firmware and to set a strong password in the app.
As for lockpicking and other physical concerns, you can look for the lock’s ANSI grade to get a sense of its durability, and how well it might stand up against a brute-force entry attack. ANSI grade 3 is the most basic rating, but a growing number of smart locks offer ANSI grade 2 or grade 1 ratings, which tell you that they’re built with commercial-grade durability. If you’re concerned about forced entries, a lock like that might be a good investment.
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Lockin’s Veno Pro 7 components
John Carlsen/CNET
Design considerations
Your smart lock is going to sit right on the front of your home’s exterior, so it’s worth aiming for something you won’t hate looking at. Some smart locks go out of their way to show off their gadgety features with light-up touchscreens, color-coded LED indicator lights and tech-minded designs. Others take the opposite approach, doing their best to blend in and look just like a standard lock, from the outside at least. Picking a preference between the two approaches will help you narrow your options.
You’ll also want to consider how the lock stays powered. Most smart locks will run off four AA batteries, but some take a different approach. The minimalistic Level Lock +, for instance, runs off two AA batteries that sits inside of the deadbolt itself to keep things extra compact. Meanwhile, Eufy’s touchscreen smart lock runs off of a rechargeable battery pack.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi support has now become common for smart locks, but it’s important to look at the details. Some locks don’t have built-in Wi-Fi, but only support it if you buy an additional hub.
fjo3 shares a report from Defense One: A small but growing number of European officials and analysts are saying what four years ago was unthinkable: Ukraine isn’t just surviving its grueling war with Russia, it is in some ways thriving and may even be on a path to victory. This isn’t yet captured in headlines — for example, about last weekend’s barrage of Russian drones and missiles around Ukraine — but in the details, like how some 90 percent were intercepted. Several long-term trends have shifted in Ukraine’s favor, and the core reason is its fierce focus on AI and robotics.
In the crucible of war, Ukraine has developed drones and ground robots that can hold territory — even take it back. Some are fully controlled by humans, like supply robots and medical-evacuation vehicles. But an increasing number are controlled in at least some aspects by dozens of AI products, from guidance packages on aerial drones to decision aids at the highest levels. […] Just as important as the tech are the new tactics. Given unusual latitude to experiment, Ukrainian fighters began to develop robot-forward infantry concepts, like combined-arms attacks by airborne and ground systems, “more than a year ago. Right now, we’re massively starting to implement this,” said Davyd Aloian, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, the coordinating body on domestic and international security, in an interview.
Ukraine and its partners are also steaming ahead on new concepts for highly autonomous defenses against Russian drones, combining ISR sensors and AI to detect and identify enemy drones in less time and with more certainty. “All of the systems are being linked with each other and with people” to create a distributed network with interceptor drones at various locations to be activated when needed, Aloian said. “One day we will have only like 10 guys who are just going to be responsible for approving interception. And it will automatically go direct to the target.” The human operators will be dispersed as well. “Everything can be controlled from Kyiv, Lviv, from cities in other countries,” he said. “It’s not what happened to Ukraine” (referencing Russia’s barrage of Shahed drones) that “should scare us in Europe,” said Swarmer CEO Serhii Kupriienko. It’s how quickly Ukraine’s “middling” military evolved to counter Russia’s invasion.
“We are behind by literally 10 years or 20 years” in some defense-technology areas, such as satellite imagery, Kupriienko said, and yet his country has climbed a capability curve that just two years ago seemed insurmountable. So could others, he said. “The answer is always AI solutions and integrating the AI into even the daily routine work within the bureaucracy,” he said.
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“We have evolved since 2022, the industry has and our defense has as well. Right now we are able to provide not only [large quantities of drone] assets but everything what is needed to build out the ecosystem,” including parts and production, training, modification, etc. Aloian said.
If you’re of a certain age, you probably fondly remember corded landline telephones, scratch ‘n sniff stickers, and Tupperware. If your home didn’t have any of these items, you were probably born sometime after the early 1980s. Generation X is typically defined as those born between 1965 and 1980, meaning they’re about 46 to 61 years old today. Often overshadowed by Baby Boomers or Millennials, they are a sandwich generation that may currently be taking care of both their children and their elderly parents.
They grew up in a different time, well before the digital age. Forget smartphones and artificial intelligence. Their state-of-the-art tech was more like a Sony Walkman. And their parents? They were Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Much like the cultural shift between Gen X and Gen Z, these parents were raised in a completely different world than the one their children grew up in. Forget cassette players, many people this age remember watching TV on a black and white television. Here are five classic electronics that many Gen Xers grew up with, whether they were relics from the Boomer era or new, cutting-edge technology.
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Rotary phone
Tony Dunn/Getty Images
If you’re too young to drive, you may not even know what a rotary phone is. We aren’t just referring to the corded landline phones that you can still spot here and there. We mean the old-fashioned phones with a rotary dial that required you to put your finger into a number’s hole and spin clockwise until you hit the metal stop, then let the dial return and do it again with the next number. Sounds tedious, right? If you put this phone in front of an eight-year-old and asked them to call home, they probably wouldn’t know how.
There was no memory, no redial function and no caller ID. From the 1930s through the early 1960s, rotary phones were made from Bakelite, the very first synthetic plastic. If you’re a Gen Xer, the phone in your house growing up was probably made of a more lightweight plastic and was the property of the Bell System. Customers paid a lease fee but at least had their choice of colors, including bubblegum pink and bright yellow. Today, these phones are mostly used for decoration after being replaced by more modern touch-tone landline phones and, of course, cell phones.
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VCR
José Araújo/Getty Images
Long before we could queue up an entire season of our favorite show to binge on Netflix, watching a movie at home was a much more complicated, and dare we say, special affair. The VCR, or video cassette recorder, was a staple of most households in the 1990s, but if you were lucky enough, your parents may have invested in one even earlier. And when we say invested, we truly mean it was an investment — a VCR sold for about $1,000 or more in 1975, and still cost on average $200 to $400 by the mid-1980s. One thousand dollars in 1975 is equal to more than $6,000 today.
Remember the Blu-ray versus HD-DVD war in the 2000s? A similar situation played out in the 1970s and early 1980s, when VHS was introduced as competition to Sony Betamax machines. Many households had one or the other, few had both, and each took differently-sized tapes. VHS was less expensive and ultimately won the battle, and eventually most homes had a VCR.
Today, many movies hit the small screens in our living rooms shortly after their theatrical release, but this simply wasn’t the case 50 years ago. The first American films released on VHS were “The Sound of Music,” “Patton,” and “M*A*S*H*,” which were all re-released to the public in 1977. The 2005 movie “A History of Violence” was the last film to be widely released on VHS. Today, most VCRs have been regulated to basements or the junk heap.
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Electric drip coffee maker
Ryanjlane/Getty Images
Today, many of us pop a pod into a single-serve machine to get that coffee fix, but in the 1970s and 1980s, you’d have to make an entire pot, or survive on instant. The popular Mr. Coffee, introduced in 1972, was the first automatic electric drip coffee maker. The technology took off, quickly replacing stovetop and electric percolators. The machine had a water reservoir just like many single-serve machines today, and an automated drip system. It came with a glass carafe that would sit on the hot plate, keeping the coffee warm. All you needed for that perfect cup of joe was a filter and coffee grounds.
You can still buy drip coffee machines, of course, and the Mr. Coffee brand has expanded to include cold brew, espresso machines, and other specialty brewers, but many coffee addicts have switched to Keurig or other, more complicated, machines. For some, the drip, drip, drip of an electric coffee maker will always remind them of days gone by.
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Clock radio
Ideabug/Getty Images
Today, our nightstands are often cluttered with chargers, smartphones, e-readers and fitness trackers, but your parents’ nightstands probably looked a bit different. You may remember a clunky lamp and a corded phone, and some type of clock radio. Likely boxy, perhaps boasting that faux woodgrain look that was so popular in the 1970s and 1980s, these small electronics were in almost every home for decades.
Clock radios made the switch from analog to digital with flip clocks in the 1970s. Instead of waking up to a loud buzzer, clock radios allowed the user to wake to their favorite radio station. Of course, you could also simply listen to the radio whenever you wanted. These small electronics were sold in different shapes, sizes, and colors. The Sony Dream Machine was a popular choice. Introduced in the 1960s, it was sold until 2011 when smartphones began to take over the job of a clock radio. If you like a bit of nostalgia, you can still pick up a clock radio on Amazon, and there are plenty of Sony Dream Machines on eBay in many different styles. It may feel old school, but many sleep experts recommend a technology-free bedroom. For a better night’s sleep, take a cue from your parents and ditch the smartphone alarm.
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Answering machine
yodamclaren/Shutterstock
Long before the days of 24/7 availability, answering machines received calls when we were on vacation or out grocery shopping. If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, you probably remember calling your best friend, hoping for a pool date, only to be met with the standard, “Hi, you’ve reached the Smith family. We’re not at home right now…” greeting.
The history of the answering machine seems to be up for debate. A man named Joseph Zimmermann is credited with inventing one of the first machines in the late 1940s, but these were huge, bulky devices that weren’t designed for home use. He sold more than 6,000 of them, but answering machines didn’t truly catch on commercially until technology allowed for smaller devices in the early 1970s. The PhoneMate Model 400, introduced in 1971, still weighed 10 pounds, but it could hold 20 messages on reel-to-reel tape. By the early 1980s, digital answering machines were available, and eventually they were built directly into the base units of phones, eliminating the need for two devices. While most of us rely on smartphones and voicemail today, you can still buy phones with built-in answering machines.
Fusion startup Xcimer Energy on Wednesday flipped the switch on its Phoenix laser system, which the company says is the largest privately owned example in the world.
Xcimer’s approach to fusion power is modeled after the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which proved in December 2022 that a controlled fusion reaction could release more power than required to ignite it.
The NIF trained 192 laser beams on a fuel target smaller than a pencil eraser. The energy from the lasers hit the gold target. As the lasers obliterate the gold target, their energy is converted into X-rays, which are focused on the fuel pellet inside, compressing it until atoms in the fuel fuse and release energy.
The company is betting that more powerful, less complex lasers will help turn NIF’s concept for fusion power into something more profitable.
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Xcimer’s plans for a fusion power plant call for two lasers capable of firing in microsecond-long pulses. Light from those pulses will be fed through a compression system, of sorts, which will delivers the lasers’ energy to the fuel target in nanoseconds. The quicker the fuel is compressed, the more likely it is to generate usable fusion reactions.
Phoenix is a step toward an eventual power plant. The system uses excimer amplification, similar to those used in semiconductor manufacturing but significantly more powerful. At full strength, the krypton-fluoride laser generates over 1 kilojoule of energy, Xcimer told TechCrunch, and its core is 38 meters long.
While that may be the most powerful privately owned laser, it’s still a fraction of what the company says it will need for a commercial power plant, which could exceed 12 megajoules.
Xcimer hopes to complete a prototype in 2028 before working on a larger system that it hopes will produce at least as much power as it consumes. Sometime in the mid-2030s, it is planning to build its first commercial scale power plant.
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After objecting to turn over relevant emails during discovery in a lawsuit brought on by Elon Musk, the judge is forcing the matter. Musk’s email accounts must be submitted for review.
On Tuesday, Judge Mark Pittman responded to Elon Musk’s objections over his various email accounts. The objections were overturned, and business email accounts owned by Elon Musk for SpaceX and Tesla must be turned over for discovery.
Even though the case was brought on by X and xAI, the emails for Musk’s other companies were found to be relevant due to how he’s used them. The judge cites that business conducted for X and xAI occurred through various accounts, including several email addresses and Xchat accounts.
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The case has been moving at a snail’s pace since it was brought on in August 2025. In May, SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi was brought in as a document custodian.
Current Apple CEO Tim Cook was also requested as a custodian, but that was denied.
Pointless lawsuits
It isn’t clear how long these proceedings might go, as the claims themselves are quite baseless. Musk has asserted that Apple and OpenAI worked together to prevent other AI solutions from being viable alternatives on Apple’s platforms.
ChatGPT does frequently chart in the top five free apps on the App Store, but other AI apps overtake it from time to time. xAI, X, and other Elon Musk properties never chart as high simply because they’re not as popular.
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In fact, X is a shadow of what used to be Twitter due to the extremist views and sometimes illegal content that persist on the platform.
The claims are even more absurd given that OpenAI is reportedly unhappy with how its partnership with Apple turned out. Also, Apple is also now working with Google to use Gemini as the foundation of its future models.
It seems that Musk could have saved everyone a lot of time and money and focused on building more desirable platforms. Instead, we all have to watch the world’s richest man throw tantrums about perceived slights.
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