Well before he became CEO of one of the most valuable startups of all time, Dario Amodei was a 26-year-old PhD student studying biophysics at Princeton, obsessing over how his money would leave its mark on the world.
Tech
Top-rated cleaners for dust and stains
Although the tech world is typically obsessed with the latest smartphones, one of the best things we’ve seen over the last few years is how continued innovation in the world of vacuum cleaners has made it easier than ever to keep your floors looking pristine. If you’re ready to make full use of the latest home cleaning gadgets then here are the best vacuum cleaners that our team recommend.
While industry titans like Dyson and Hoover are still putting out great vacuums, it’s the appearance of a lot of new brands like the Chinese-based Dreame that have helped to push all companies to be more competitive on the market. What this means is that not only are you getting more features for your money in 2026, but there are also far more types of vacuum cleaners to buy.
For instance, if you really don’t have a lot of time in the week due to a busy work/family life schedule, the best robot vacuum cleaners are great for helping to stay on top of general maintenance until you actually get an opportunity for a manual clean. Similarly, there are now some options amongst the best hard floor cleaners that can actually pick up solids as they go, which makes them far more efficient at picking up a wider array of messes.
For standard vacuums however, while you can pick up wired options that pack a ton of power, we’ve seen a ton of innovation in the world of cordless vacuums. There are some options that now have a battery life of over an hour, and auto detect modes are fairly commonplace which allow the vacuum to recognise how much dirt is on your floor plus the type of floor in question, and then adjust the suction power accordingly.
There’s so much more we could talk about but know that for every vacuum cleaner that arrives at our offices, they are all subjected to the same series of tests to see if they’re actually up to scratch. Only when one of our experts recommends a vacuum in question will it then be considered for entry on this list, so you can always shop with confidence.
Types of vacuums in the list
Making a decision on which plug-in vacuum to buy can be tricky but also personal to the layout and size of your house. If you have a smaller home or struggle to lift heavy items, a smaller cleaner will be best suited to you; if you have a larger home, then a bigger vacuum will make more sense.
There are two main types of vacuum cleaners: cylinder and upright. Cylinder cleaners have you drag around the main vacuum cleaner body, while you hold the hose. They’re a little more cumbersome to store, but for the most part, you only have to hold the hose and floor head, so they feel lighter. Upright cleaners are a little neater, combining everything into a single body. Just plug them in, lean them back and start pushing.
Which type is best for you is personal and would be impacted by the size and layout of your home and your general cleaning requirements. If you live in a bungalow or flat then an upright cleaner is probably right for you. But if you live over multiple floors and need to clean stairs the cylinder cleaner can have better all-round utility.
Buying advice
We report on all specs and test data at the bottom of this list. This is to supplement our advice and to help you make an informed decision. Here are some key points to consider:
- Weight: While cleaners spend most of their time on the floor, weight is still important, particularly if you have multiple stairs. A 4-to-5kg cleaner is quite light, 5-7kg cleaners sit in the middle, and 7kg+ are heavy.
- Vacuum cleaner type: Cylinder cleaners can feel lighter to move around and are easier to get under furniture; upright cleaners are neater with an all-in-one design; wet and dry vacuum cleaners are best for DIY as they can suck up wet mess.
- Provided head: A floor head (get one that suits your flooring, such as carpet and/or hard floor) and crevice tool are the minimum you need. Look for a dusting tool to speed up cleaning and a pet tool for cleaning sofas and pet beds.
- Bin capacity: A minimum of a 1-litre bin is a good idea, but up to 1.5-litres will reduce how often you have to empty. Those with larger houses should get bigger cleaners.
Most importantly read our real-world testing summary and, if you’re still not sure, visit the review.
Best vacuum cleaners at a glance
SQUIRREL_ANCHOR_LIST
Learn more about how we test vacuum cleaners
We put each of these vacuums through the Trusted Reviews testing methodology in our purpose-built lab where we have custom-made rugs, carpet tiles, carpet and hard floors. We also make sure that each flooring type has tight corners to test how effective the vacuum is at getting dirt in the corner. For each listing, you’ll see a link to our full review. If you’re still on the fence about which vacuum to buy we always recommend reading the full review. The performance tests we perform on these vacuums are: We also run some real-world tests such as the ease of assembly, manoeuvrability, dust capacity, ease of emptying, and an overview of accessories.
Very flexible
Self-empty station works brilliantly
Excellent performance
Hard to empty cleanly manually
If you ever needed a concrete example to show just how far Shark has come, not just in its own right, but also as a major disruptor to Dyson’s place in the market, then look no further than the Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty Pro IA3241UKT. This is an outstanding cordless vacuum that we cannot recommend enough, particularly if you’re a pet owner.
There are quite a few reasons why the IA3241UKT is great when you have pets, but chief among them is the inclusion of a motorised pet tool in the box. This allows thicker pet hair to be separated from the main brush to stop any issues from arising as you clean. The MultiFlex stem also makes it a lot easier to clean under beds and sofas where a lot of hair can pile up.
When analysing the raw suction power that the IA3241UKT can achieve, we were impressed to see a register of 59AW when the vacuum was set to Eco mode, which is actually a tad more powerful than the Dyson V16 Piston Animal. Boost mode kicked it all the way up to 322AW so there’s a lot of room to tackle different messes, but thanks to the dirt detection software onboard, you don’t have to worry about swapping between different modes as the IA3241UKT will do so automatically.
With the ability to collect just as much dust when going backwards over a bit of flooring as when it’s being pushed forwards, the IA3241UKT made short work of our simulated dust test, collecting 99.1% of the debris that we scattered. The edge test was similarly brilliant, collecting 95.9% which is a lot more than some pricier vacuums can achieve. Although the IA3241UKT is great at vacuuming by default, we do recommend spending just a bit extra to improve the experience on the back-end by buying the self-empty dock. Without this add-on, the process of manually emptying the dust bin can get a bit messy, whereas the dock simplifies it all.
Brilliant to use
Cleans well on low power setting
Super light
Not for carpets
Doesn’t have a smaller handheld mode
The Dyson PencilVac is one of those rare cordless vacuums that makes you do a double-take, wondering how on earth someone created such a thing. Compared to the PencilVac, all other cordless vacuums look positively chunky, as this appliance is just 38mm thick at the stem and weighs only 1.8kg. It’s incredible if you have very little storage space in which to house a vacuum when it’s not in use, but it also has an impact on the usability of the thing.
Because it’s so lightweight, the PencilVac simply glides across your floors, requiring very little effort on your part to get it to where it needs to be. The brush head section can also rotate on its axis to move seamlessly to tackle different spaces as you go, such as down the side of a sofa. All of this means that you don’t have to worry about the typical sense of fatigue which can arise with more cumbersome vacuums.
When it came time to put the PencilVac’s performance to the test, we were again impressed by how much cleaning ability Dyson has been able to cram into such a slim frame. When using the crevice tool, the PencilVac could pick up debris from 1.5cm away, and that power continued when tackling our simulated dust mess by using flour. We registered the PencilVac as picking up 99.75% of the debris, which is no easy feat. The PencilVac was similarly effective with cleaning right up at the edge of the skirting board, collecting 96.2% of the flour we scattered. For the rice spill, the vacuum collected 100% of the debris, so for similar solid messes, you’ll get on just fine here. Even if you’re up against a more involved clean than usual, there’s a compactor that can be used with the dust bin to maximise the amount of space available. It’s such a simple yet ingenious idea that we’re surprised it wasn’t already a mainstay of modern vacuums.
The only key area where the Dyson PencilVac is a bit of a letdown is its complete inability to tackle carpets. There isn’t a dedicated mode for cleaning carpets on the PencilVac, so this is one appliance that’s best saved for flats or homes with hard floors only. Of course, there are plenty of other Dyson vacuums that cater to carpets, but none of them has the slick design of the PencilVac.
High suction power
Brilliant mopping
Can climb high thresholds
Flexible when dealing with mixed flooring
Too many water levels to choose from
At this point, we’ve lost count of the number of robot vacuums we’ve tested over the years, and while there’s usually been room for improvement, whether that be in suction power, mopping ability or some kind of smart feature that doesn’t quite stack up, that cannot be said for the Roborock Saros 20. This is an exceptional robot vacuum that honestly makes it feel as if the concept has finally delivered on its core potential.
Right at the heart of the Saros 20 is the unbelievable 36,000Pa suction power, which leaves the vast majority of its competitors in the dust. With that kind of raw power onboard, the vacuum was able to pick up practically all of the debris in our flour test, on both the carpet and hard floor sections of our testing facility. Edge cleaning was similarly brilliant, although it did leave a bit of debris after the initial pass, but was able to scoop up any remaining bits on a second visit. Because this is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum, there’s also a mopping element to help with any dried-in stains or spills that need taking care of.
When going over stains for coffee and red wine, the Saros 20 got rid of it all in next to no time. It was similarly efficient with a simulated mud stain, which required a combination of the vacuum and the mop in order to move both the stain and the debris that came with it. The ketchup test, as expected, wasn’t quite so seamless, but this is the toughest benchmark we implement. Thankfully, the Saros 20 was able to loosen the stain after an initial pass and after several more goes, the stain was eventually removed completely.
For when you are sending the Saros 20 out to do a general clean of your floors, we were really impressed by the StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 which uses 3D ToF sensors to gain a better understand of your home, giving it greater insight into which items of furniture it can pass under and which obstacles need to be avoided. Going even further, the vacuum can climb thresholds of up to 8.7cm so if you have slightly elevated portions of a room, that won’t be enough to stop the Saros 20 from completing its assignment, which we love to see.
Cleans brilliantly
Easy to empty
No smelly filter
Doesn’t quite get to the edge
We’ve tested so many great hard floor cleaners that at this point, we’ve pretty much lost count, but then something like the Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene comes along to up the bar even further for the rest of the industry to try and catch up. This is, by every metric, an incredible cleaner that offers a lot of versatility, even if you do have to contend with the typical high price tag that comes with buying a Dyson appliance. Before we can talk about any other aspect of the Clean+Wash Hygiene, it’s worth highlighting the raw cleaning performance onboard as it is very much the reason why you should want to add this cleaner to your arsenal. Usually there’s one of our tests where a hard floor cleaner might struggle, but that wasn’t the case with the Clean+Wash Hygiene as it aced them all.
On the mid-level setting, we were able to remove coffee and red wine stains in just a few passes, to the point where you’d never know that they were there in the first place. The mud stain, which is where a lot of cleaners can trip up because of the inclusion of solid bits of debris, still wasn’t an issue. Because of the Clean+Wash Hygiene’s ability to separate solids as it goes and store them in a separate tank, the mud stain didn’t stand a chance.
The most difficult of the bunch is our ketchup stain test, something that can get spread around by lesser powered appliances, but the Clean+Wash Hygiene just scooped it all up. The only area where it ran into some trouble was with edge cleaning a separate ketchup mess. For these moments, the only other option that can really get the job done properly is the Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge.
In terms of the build of the device, not only is it very easy to empty once you’re done with the clean, but because there’s no filter involved, you don’t have to deal with the horrible smells that can build up overtime. Throw in the fact that the Clean+Wash Hygiene can run for up to 70 minutes at a time and it’s easy to see why we rate the appliance so highly.
Light and easy to use
Cleans quickly
Powerful stain removal
As much as we recommend having a dedicated hard floor cleaner to hand as it makes the process of dealing with spills and stains so much easier than going down the manual route, the one area where a lot of these appliances struggle is with edge cleaning, and it does make sense to a degree given how they’re built. However, the Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge defies all logic by going against the grain here. Simply put, if you live in a home where you have pets or kids and messes of all kinds can turn up when you least expect them, then the OmniForce Edge might be the perfect hard floor cleaner to have to hand. When put up against our edge test, which is where so many other hard floor cleaners have struggled, Bissell’s appliance performed exceptionally well. With the ketchup stain involved, the appliance removed all of it that was present on the floor, to the point where the only remnants were on the plinth itself and a tiny bit of ketchup that had gone right underneath and would require a finer tool to remove.
The reason why the OmniForce Edge is able to perform so well in these scenarios is thanks to the ZeroGap Multi-Surface roller which uses an additional screw-in section on the edges which allow the appliance to reach much further than your average hard floor cleaner. It’s a bit mind-bending but the important thing is that it works.
What’s great is that, even though Bissell has paid extra attention to edge cleaning, the brand hasn’t let the ball drop with other scenarios. With dried-in coffee and red wine stains, the OmniForce Edge was able to get rid of them completely in just a few passes at the standard power level. Because the device can also pick up solids, it made short work of our multi-faceted mud stain too.
You can get up to 30 minutes of use between charges which is more than enough for most people but you do get a bit longer with the Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene. Still, Bissell’s appliance costs a lot less which makes it great for shoppers on a budget, the 4.8kg weight of the thing means that you can move it around plenty within those 30 minutes and rarely feel any sense of fatigue.
Powerful cleaning
Large selection of tools
LiftOut mode makes the vacuum more flexible
Edge pickup could be better
Although the convenience and flexibility of a cordless vacuum cleaner can’t be denied, the sheer power of a traditional plug-in model is undoubtedly hard to beat. Fortunately, the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design does a great job at offering maximum pick-up power with clever design elements that make it much easier to use.
There’s an easy-to-reach foot switch that releases the bin and motor from the floor head which essentially turns the LiftOut Multi Pet-Design into a more flexible cylinder vacuum cleaner. When in this mode, you can reach tighter spaces much easier, turning it into one of the best car vacuum cleaners.
Plus, when in LiftOut mode, you can attach the main floor head to the wand which is a rare benefit for such vacuums. This is especially useful if you find yourself struggling to push the 6.63kg appliance around – although as most of that weight sits on the floor, this shouldn’t really be much of an issue.
Vax also includes a selection of useful tools, including one for pet hair removal, stairs, crevice and a mini motorised brush. Although there isn’t enough on-board storage for all the tools, you can keep both the crevice and one additional tool on the vacuum’s body at all times. There’s also a large two-litre bin which can be easily emptied by either the top or bottom.
Overall we were seriously impressed with how well the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design vacuum coped during our tests. Not only did we find it picked up 97.37% of dropped dust, but it also did an admirable job of tackling wall edges too. Plus, thanks to the design of the main floor head’s brush bar, long hair strands were cleared up without getting tangled.
Thanks to its flexible design and mighty suction, the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design has easily earned its spot as one of the best upright vacuum cleaners.
Lots of tools
Great suction and cleaning power
Excellent manoeuvrability
A little heavy
Tools can only attach to the long wand
With a 1.8-litre bin, anti-tangle floor head and hailed by us as “the most manoeuvrable plug-in vacuum” we’ve tested, the plug-in Dyson Ball Animal is a brilliant choice for those who don’t want to be limited by battery power. Although it weighs a mighty 7.6kg, making it heavier than most of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor’s large ball at its base is designed to make it easy to push the vacuum around so you shouldn’t need to lift it often.
Dyson also includes a handful of useful tools, such as a two-in-one crevice attachment, dusting brush, stair tool and an anti-tangle turbine device for pet hair. The caveat here is that all tools need to be attached to the long wand found under the handle and, while the wand is useful at reaching high spaces, we did find it can be fiddly to use.
Otherwise its main anti-tangle floor head, which is made up of bristles that prevent hair from wrapping around and becoming tangled, works brilliantly. The floor head also has a slider which adjusts airflow depending on the surface type, handy for areas that need a more delicate touch.
Overall we found that the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor is a fantastic vacuum that makes light work of day-to-day household cleaning. With plenty of tools, manoeuvrability and uninterrupted plug-in performance, this vacuum will suit most households.
Compact
Well-marked controls
Useful selection of tools
Can be hard to push across some surfaces
If there’s one problem with cylinder vacuum cleaners, it’s that they’re often bulky and messy to store. The Miele Boost CX1 is different.
First, it’s very small (280 x 400 x 400) and it weighs 7.8kg, which makes it more compact than the competition. Secondly, there’s room on board for all of the tools (dusting brush, crevice tool and upholstery brush), and there’s a clip for stowing the floor head. All-in, we found this the neatest and most compact cylinder we have tested.
The minor downside to such a cleaner is that the hose is a little shorter than on rivals, as is the power cable. As such, you may need to use a couple of extra power sockets to clean your home, compared to a regular cleaner.
We loved the power settings on this vacuum cleaner: they’re clearly labelled for the job at hand with settings for curtains and upholstery, rugs, carpet and hard floors. No more guessing which mode to use. There’s a lot of power in this cleaner, too. We measured it at 89AW on its lowest setting, up to a massive 422AW on its maximum power. That’s a huge amount of suction, and great for picking up larger messes fast.
In our real-world tests, we found that debris on carpet was gone straight away and that the cleaner reached right to the edge of rooms. Hard floor pick-up was flawless. The only test that this cleaner struggled with was pet hair removal: with suction only, the Boost CX1 struggles to agitate and remove hair, and a cleaner with a motorised brush is really required. Miele does sell a Cat & Dog version that adds a motorised brush for these jobs.
If you’ve got a more modest home and like the idea of a cylinder cleaner, this compact and powerful model is a great choice.
Very powerful
Cleans brilliantly on all surfaces
Easy to move around
Large bags
Can be difficult to push across some surfaces
A little untidy to store
Easily one of the most recognisable vacuums in the UK, the Henry is known for its iconic design and (more importantly) its exceptional power and performance. Available as the classic red Henry or the pink Hetty, the Numatic Henry HVR160 is able to make light work of most cleaning tasks from everyday household mess to even DIY work with minimal hassle. The Henry HVR160 is easy to manoeuvre too thanks to its wheeled cylindrical body however it’s worth noting that it does weigh 7.5kg so it isn’t the lightest vacuum to carry around.
Storing the Henry isn’t particularly neat either as there isn’t any dedicated space to house the 2.4m long hose, so it ends up loosely piled on top of the base. Having said that, the Henry does boast a manual handle to wind the cable back into the main body which neatens it up slightly.
Included with the Henry HVR160 is a set of useful accessories, including a two-in-one floor head that can switch between carpets and hard floors, a crevice tool for hard to reach areas, a dusting brush and an upholstery brush.
The Henry also boasts a massive 10m long power cable alongside a 2.4m hose, which should be enough to clean an entire floor from a single power socket. We found that the Numatic Henry was simply one of the most powerful vacuums we’ve ever tested, with its raw power measuring at a whopping 408AW. This means the Henry is able to pick up debris much faster than its rivals, although we did find that this sheer strength had a tendency to suck up lighter rugs, which can be a nuisance.
Overall the Numatic Henry HVR160 is a classic for numerous reasons. Not only is it a design icon but it’s exceptionally powerful and comes equipped with numerous tools and a large 6-litre bin capacity.
Powerful suction
Huge capacity
Great set of tools
Regular floorhead not so good for pet hair
If you’re searching for a big vacuum cleaner on a small budget, the Numatic Henry XL Plus is an excellent pick.
The Henry XL Plus presents a supersized alternative to the classic Henry vacuum cleaner, ideal for tackling bigger spaces that require a larger capacity cleaner. This model is large, measuring 510x350x370mm and weighing 10kg. Thankfully, the attached wheels make it easy enough to move around despite its size. The vacuum has a huge 15-litre capacity (twice that of a regular Henry) and requires NVM-2BH HepaFlo bags. There’s also a second filter that sits on top of the bag, locking in dust effectively.
The controls are comparable to a regular Henry, with Numatic including a single on/off switch to toggle power and an air vent at the top of the wand to reduce airflow.
The wand and hose have good reach and we found that we were able to clean a full flight of stairs without moving the vacuum further than the top and bottom steps.
The Henry XL Plus comes with a regular floorhead for cleaning hard floors and carpets, along with a dedicated hard floor tool and a turbo tool to agitate dirt that works well with pet hair, though it’s a shame the brush isn’t an anti-tangle one. For this reason, you’ll be better off opting for one of our best vacuums for pet hair if you’re a pet owner searching for something a bit more adept at tackling fur. The vacuum has 431AW of power, which is similar to the suction power of the standard Henry and just above that of the Shark CZ500UKT. The Henry XL Plus performed admirably in our tests, making it an excellent pick for anyone looking for a large-capacity vacuum cleaner to tackle big spaces.
Good value
Doesn’t get tangled with hair
Powerful
No power to floor head in Push&Lift mode
Edge performance could be better
The Hoover HL5 Pet is a vacuum cleaner with anti-twist technology, making it ideal for cleaning up after your furry friend.
The HL5 Pet is a smart-looking vacuum cleaner with a bold blue and yellow finish. There are also some useful design details, including a clear porthole in the top of the bin to show how full the vacuum is while cleaning.
This particular model includes a large 1.4-litre bin with a filter that lifts out easily to be fully cleaned from time to time. There’s a washable foam filter beneath the bin and a HEPA filter at the front to keep dirt locked inside the vacuum. The HL5 Pet is easy to use in its upright mode and the LED lights highlight the floor as you clean, though not quite as strongly as the laser on the Dyson V15 Detect. The vacuum is lightweight and easy to push around with an air vent that helps reduce power when needed. There’s also a carpet mode, which sets the brush to maximum speed.
The Push&Lift feature makes this cleaner very nimble when tackling tricky areas like stairs and car interiors, while the anti-twist technology prevents hair from getting caught in the roller making the HL5 Pet ideal for cleaning up after pets.
Furthermore, there’s a crevice tool and a motorised pet tool in the box for stairs, pet beds and sofas, along with a wand and hose for reaching ceilings.
The HL5 Pet is incredibly powerful for an upright vacuum, hitting 332AW in our tests. For comparison’s sake, the Shark NZ860UKT has 268AW of power, though the Shark vacuum does do a faster job in many instances. The HL5 Pet also performed well in our real-world tests, especially when faced with pet and human hair.
Low price
Lots of suction
Cleans well on carpet
Long hairs tangle around brushbar
Struggled with larger particles on hard floor
If you have pets at home then you’ll appreciate the Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet, especially as it’s one of the more budget friendly options on our list.
In terms of raw power, we measured the Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet reached up to 287AW, making it higher than the likes of the Shark NZ860UKT and the Vacmaster Respira. In real-world use, we found the vacuum performed admirably during our tests and was able to pick up the majority of dropped dust from carpets.
We also found that the Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet coped well with pet hair across carpets, thanks to its motorised floor brush, although longer hair did have a tendency to become tangled.
It’s also worth mentioning that we noted that the vacuum struggled when dealing with hard floors, picking up just 83.8% of dropped debris from the surface. If your home is made up of predominately hard floors, then we’d advise against this vacuum and suggest opting for the Hoover HL5 Pet instead. As its name suggests, the Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet also sports a useful removable cylinder alongside a two metre hose for easier stair, spot and upholstery cleaning.
Overall, if your home is mostly made up of carpets and you have pets, then the Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet is a brilliant and affordable vacuum cleaner.
Very powerful
Long battery life
Useful range of tools
Have to hold the trigger in
Motorised tool can get tangled with hair
Hailed by us as the “most powerful handheld-only vacuum cleaner”, the Dyson Car+Boat is actually not an entirely new product. In fact, it’s essentially a Dyson V8 without the wand or floor tool.
With this in mind, considering the V8 received a perfect five-star rating from us, it’s no surprise that the Car+Boat provides exceptional power, handles tough messes with ease and offers more battery life than regular handheld models. There are two power modes to select from: Standard or Boost, with the latter delivering a whopping 211AW, which is way ahead of other handheld cleaners like the Shark Premium Handheld. During our controlled tests, we found the Car+Boat was able to collect 99.7% of dust dropped across the floor and a jaw-dropping 98.6% during our difficult edge test.
It’s worth noting that there is no anti-hair wrap technology present, so longer hair can get caught around the brush.
At just 1.9kg, the Dyson Car+Boat is light and easy to carry around, making it ideal for tackling spot cleans. We also found the vacuum offers just under 40 minutes of battery life on standard mode, which drops to under ten minutes when boost is enabled.
To operate the Dyson Car+Boat, you’ll need to hold the trigger down constantly, which is a bit of a pain. Otherwise, if you want a dedicated handheld vacuum that’s powerful and long-lasting, then the Dyson Car+Boat is a brilliant, albeit expensive choice.
Good value
Powerful
Cleans well
Only ships with a crevice tool
For the amount of choice that’s now available within the budget market, let alone with vacuum cleaners in general, it can be difficult to know which one of the cheaper options is actually worth buying. Well, if all you want is a straightforward vacuum that’s powerful, easy to use and doesn’t cost a fortune then the Hoover HL4 Home is an instant recommendation.
Even though it only carries a price tag of £219, the Hoover HL4 can provide a level of suction that far outweighs any expectations. When vacuuming loose rice on our testing floor, the HL4 was able to scoop it all up with ease and could even collect grains from 2.4cm away, so it’s far less likely that you’re going to see areas that have been missed because you didn’t specifically go over them in a passthrough.
It was a similar situation when we purposefully spilled 20g of flour on the test floor to see how the HL4 would handle it. With each passthrough, the vacuum removed huge amounts of flour which meant that the whole mess could be cleaned in next to no time. Again, on the price alone, the Hoover HL4 Home is a tough act to beat.
For most targeted spills that don’t require the full brunt of the brush, you can remove the cylinder from the vacuum and use it to clean up smaller messes quickly. There’s also a crevice tool included which is perfect for cleaning up the corners of a room as well as any gaps in a sofa where crumbs and dust can linger. Because the HL4 Home only weighs in at 5kg, it’s incredibly easy to move around, and its slim build prevents it from taking up much space when it’s stored away. It really is the ideal corded vacuum cleaner for anyone living in a flat or a home that doesn’t have much space in the way of storage. Having a 1.2-litre bin onboard isn’t bad either, as you certainly won’t need to empty it halfway through a clean to allow for more room.
Cylinder cleaners have the power in a wheeled unit that you pull around behind you. There’s less weight in your hand, as you hold the wand and hose only, and you only occasionally need to drag the cylinder where you need it. They’re not quite as quick to get going with as an upright cleaner, which you plug in, pull back on and get going with. Upright cleaners are generally more popular as a result.
A bagged cleaner adds running costs into the mix, but you get a simple bag that you pull out and throw away, which can be better for allergy sufferers. With a bagless cleaner, you get a removable bin that needs emptying, which saves on cost but can lead to dust spreading in the air as you empty
All vacuum cleaners come with a floor head. Given the power available, some don’t require a spinning brush, but look out for models that do, as motorised brushes can make dirt pick-up more efficient, particularly when dealing with pet hair. You’ll also want to get a crevice tool and dusting tool, at the minimum, for close-up work; look out for a mini motorised brush if you have pets and want to tackle furniture Most plug-in models are limited to 750W of power, but the actual suction available and cleaning quality differs from vacuum to vacuum. Read our reviews to find out which vacuums clean the best.
Wet and dry models can tackle wet spills as well as dry, although you may need to do a bit of conversion before switching modes. These models can have more powerful motors, but they’re specialised tools that excel at tough jobs, such as DIY mess, and cleaning out a blocked washing machine.
For basic cleaning, there’s not much between the two types, but the plug-in model does have some general advantages. First, you can keep cleaning for as long as you want, and don’t have to stop to recharge. Sure, some cordless cleaners provide power for whole-home cleaning, but even they will run out if you want to deep clean your house, tackle your sofas and car, for example. With a plug-in cleaner, you can just keep on going, and you run them at higher suction power for a deep clean. A wet and dry vacuum cleaner can suck up dry dirt and water, although you usually have to convert between the two modes. As well as that clear difference, wet and dry vacuum cleaners don’t have the same power limitations placed on them, so they’re more powerful making them great for DIY jobs and dealing with the messiest of dirt.How we test
– Carpet test
– Pet hair test
– Hard floor test
– Edge cleaning test
– AirWatts measured at the handle on all power settings
– Noise tests using a decibel meter
Test Data
Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty Pet Pro IA3241UKT
Dyson PencilVac
Roborock Saros 20
Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene
Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge
Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design
Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor
Miele Boost CX1
Karcher WD6 P Premium
Numatic Henry HVR160
Numatic Henry XL Plus
Hoover HL5 Pet
Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet
Dyson Car+Boat
Hoover HL4
Sound (normal)
–
–
–
57.2 dB
69.6 dB
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
AirWatts (low)
59 AW
33 AW
–
–
–
–
–
89 AW
160 AW
314 AW
–
–
–
45 AW
–
AirWatts (medium)
82 AW
56 AW
–
–
–
–
–
313 AW
362 AW
–
–
–
–
–
–
AirWatts (high)
322 AW
103 AW
–
–
–
151 AW
203 AW
422 AW
467 AW
408 AW
431 AW
332 AW
287 AW
211 AW
243 AW
Sound (low)
65.5 dB
69.8 dB
–
–
–
–
–
58.6 dB
70.5 dB
–
–
–
–
78.6 dB
–
Sound (medium)
68.6 dB
71.2 dB
–
–
–
–
–
66.3 dB
74.3 dB
–
–
–
–
–
–
Sound (high)
75.1 dB
74.5 dB
58 dB
–
–
73.2 dB
67.8 dB
68.4 dB
80.1 dB
68.1 dB
69.2 dB
76.8 dB
71.2 dB
77.4 dB
71.1 dB
Full Specs
Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty Pet Pro IA3241UKT Review
Dyson PencilVac Review
Roborock Saros 20 Review
Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene Review
Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge Review
Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design Review
Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor Review
Miele Boost CX1 Review
Karcher WD6 P Premium Review
Numatic Henry HVR160 Review
Numatic Henry XL Plus Review
Hoover HL5 Pet Review
Vacmaster Respira Lift Off Pet Review
Dyson Car+Boat Review
Hoover HL4 Review
Manufacturer
Shark
Dyson
roborock
Dyson
Bissell
Vax
Dyson
Miele
Karcher
Numatic
Numatic
Hoover
Vacmaster
Dyson
Hoover
Size (Dimensions)
260 x 350 x 1120 MM
38 x 226 x 1160 MM
350 x 353 x 79.8 MM
280 x 244 x 1096 MM
270 x 270 x 1107 MM
270 x 370 x 1160 MM
280 x 390 x 1065 MM
x x INCHES
382 x 418 x 693 MM
320 x 340 x 345 MM
360 x 370 x 510 MM
350 x 290 x 1150 MM
260 x 260 x 1150 MM
131 x 331 x 207 MM
330 x 228 x 1150 MM
Weight
3.22 KG
1.8 KG
–
3.82 KG
4.8 KG
6.63 KG
7.3 KG
–
9.6 KG
6.5 KG
10 KG
5.9 KG
5.46 KG
1.9 KG
5.5 G
ASIN
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
B08HDCGX16
B00JU53C92
B078KKHT2Q
–
B0B9CFWKB7
–
–
–
Release Date
2026
2026
2026
2025
2025
2025
2024
2022
2022
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2024
First Reviewed Date
27/04/2026
02/02/2026
26/02/2026
03/02/2026
21/08/2025
15/01/2026
28/01/2025
05/07/2022
01/04/2022
04/05/2022
08/11/2022
23/03/2023
03/02/2025
28/03/2025
09/09/2025
Model Number
Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty Pet Pro IA3241UKT
Dyson PencilVac
Roborock Saros 20
Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene
Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge
Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design
Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor
Miele CX1 Boost
Karcher WD6 P Premium
Numatic Henry HVR160
Henry XL Plus
Hoover HL5 Pet
UC0902EHUK
Dyson Car+Boat
–
Vacuum cleaner type
Cordless stick
Cordless stick
Vacuum cleaner and mop
–
–
Plug-in upright
Plug-in upright
Cylinder
Wet and dry cylinder
Cylinder
Cylinder
Upright
Plug-in upright
Handheld
Upright
Provided heads
Floor head, 2-in-1 tool, mini motorised brush
Fluffycones floor head, 2-in-1 crevice tool
–
Floor head
Floor head with ZeroGap roller
Crevice tool, mini motorised brush, pet hair remover, stair tool
Floor head, stair tool, Flat out head, soft dusting brush, combination tool, quick-release tangle-free turbine tool
Floor head, crevice tool, dusting brush, upholstery brush
Floor head, tool connector, crevice tool, extension hose
Floor head, crevice tool, brush, upholstery tool, extension tube
Crevice tool, mattress tool, brush, turbo brush, flexible crevice tool, carpet/hard floor head, hard floor head
Floor head, crevice tool, mini pet tool
Floor head, 3-in-1 combination tool, Pet Mate tool, upholstery tool
Crevice tool, combination tool, mini motorhead
Anti-Twist floor head, crevice tool
Bin capacity
0.47 litres
0.08 litres
2 litres
0.52 litres
0.44 litres
2 litres
1.8 litres
2 litres
26 litres
5 litres
15 litres
0.4 litres
1.5 litres
0.54 litres
1.2 litres
Bagless
Yes
Yes
–
–
–
Yes
Yes
Yes
–
–
–
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Modes
Auto, Boost, Eco
Eco, Standard, Boost
Vacuum, Mop, Vacuum and mop, Mop after vacuuming
Three water flow options and Max mode
Standard, boost
On/off
On/off (brush bar can be turned on/off, too)
Curtains and upholstery, rugs, carpets and hard floors
Auto, manual
On/off
On/off
On/off (air vent reduces suction)
On/off (hard floor and carpet modes)
Standard, boost
Carpet, hard floor
Filters
2 (washable)
1 (washable)
1 (washable)
0
1 (washable)
2 (one washable, one replaceable)
1 (washable)
2 (washable)
1 (washable)
1
1
2 (washable)
3 (washable)
2 (washable)
2 (washable)
Run time
1 hrs min
30 mins min
200 mins min
45 mins min
31 mins min
hrs min
hrs min
hrs min
hrs min
–
hrs min
–
hrs min
50 mins min
hrs min
Charge time
–
–
2.5 hrs
–
4 hrs
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Brushes
–
–
1x side brush, 1x roller
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Mop Option
–
–
Dual microfibres mops
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Smart assistants
–
–
Yes
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Floor cleaner type
–
–
–
Hard floor cleaner
Hard floor cleaner
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Detergent capacity
–
–
–
0.75 litres
0.65 litres
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
UK RRP
£499.99
£429.99
£1299
£429.99
£319
£269.99
£379.99
£268
£246.99
£149.99
£167.99
£297
£109.99
£249.99
–
USA RRP
–
–
$1299
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
What style of vacuum cleaner do you want?
Do you need a bagged or bagless cleaner?
What accessories do you need?
How much power do you need?
Do you need a wet and dry vacuum?
What can a plug-in vacuum cleaner do that a cordless model can’t?
A smaller advantage is that you can generally use plug-in cleaners for other suction jobs as they don’t cut out; cordless cleaners often (although not all models) have suction protection, turning off when they detect a blockage. For example, if you’ve got a vacuum drill attachment, where dust from drilling is sucked away before it can make a mess, this will work more easily with a plug-in cleaner. With a cordless cleaner, this kind of accessory may not work. Likewise, for vacuum storage bags, some cordless cleaners will cut out before you’ve compressed your bag; a plug-in cleaner will not.
What’s the difference between a regular model and a wet and dry vacuum?
Continue Reading
On what one might assume was likely a fairly modest academic stipend and with no discernible inheritance from his parents, an Italian-American leatherworker and a project manager for libraries, Amodei gave $10,000 in 2009 to a relatively new charity evaluator called GiveWell. Founded by two ex-hedge funders before effective altruism was even a phrase, GiveWell ranked charities primarily by a single dispassionate metric: dollars per lives saved.
- The AI boom is set to create a new slate of Silicon Valley millionaires and billionaires, many of whom say they plan to give all or much of their wealth to charity.
- Much of that philanthropy — which one estimate says could exceed $100 billion per year — will go to causes associated with effective altruism, like animal welfare or AI safety.
- This influx of wealth may ultimately reshape American philanthropy in its own rigorously optimized image, with broad implications for how we treat animals, fight disease, and adapt to AI itself.
It was the kind of approach that clearly appealed to Amodei — though it may not have gone far enough for him. In 2010, he wrote a guest blog post for GiveWell dissecting the effectiveness of two of the group’s top global health charities: VillageReach and StopTB. Both charities could save a life at roughly comparable costs — around $545 — but while StopTB treated or prevented tuberculosis in adults, VillageReach’s interventions mostly saved babies and children. Most people would probably feel that saving a child trumps saving an adult; indeed, even effective altruists often agree on the grounds that children have more life to live left.
Amodei, though, viewed that as a liability for VillageReach. An adult death, he wrote, is “perhaps 2 or 3 times worse than an infant’s death,” because adults “are capable of deeper and more meaningful experiences.” As uncomfortable as such a calculus may be, he wrote, “on a practical level one is forced to make difficult decisions with limited funds.”
Though he declared StopTB to have “superiority on cost-effectiveness,” Amodei ultimately gave VillageReach higher marks for their tightly controlled “chain of execution” — the full sequence of steps between a dollar of donation and a vaccine reaching a child. That was important enough to Amodei that, despite his initial reservations, he ultimately gave VillageReach his entire $10,000 donation in 2009 — enough to save, he estimated, the lives of 20 babies across rural Africa.
But Amodei hoped the ultimate impact would be even greater. “The money I give out is not just a one-shot intervention,” he concluded, “but also a vote on what I want the philanthropic sector to look like in the future.”
The future, it seems, has arrived. Amodei is now a multibillionaire, his fortune poised to skyrocket further if and when Anthropic goes public, as many expect it to do later this year. He is one of dozens of new billionaires and millions of new millionaires minted virtually overnight by the AI boom.
There have already been plenty of aftershocks to this emerging AI megawealth, like the stratospheric San Francisco housing market, the nerdmaxxing of sex work, and the proliferation of all-you-can-biohack peptide raves.
But the most consequential, and perhaps weirdest, way this burgeoning AI-ristocracy plans to burn through its cash is by giving a huge chunk of it away. Amodei is one of several AI multibillionaires — alongside his co-founders at Anthropic and OpenAI’s Sam Altman — who have pledged to donate most of their wealth in their lifetime. But even their obscene degree of collective wealth — they are worth $111.8 billion as of this writing — is only one slice of an AI bonanza that seems poised to balloon into one of the most consequential waves of American philanthropy of all time, one deeply shaped by the same utilitarian impulse that guided one of young Amodei’s first big donations.
”I am having thousands of conversations with people who are perplexed by their own fortune and determined to give with thoughtfulness and urgency in a way that I haven’t, frankly, experienced before,” said Nick Allardice, CEO of the effective-altruism-aligned anti-poverty group GiveDirectly, whose work is grounded in research on the efficacy of unconditional cash transfers. “It’s just really important that people get started, that they don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.”
This is neither your father’s, your grandfather’s, nor your great-great-grandfather’s philanthropy. If Gilded Age industrialists like John D. Rockefeller, a devout baptist, gave in service of their religiosity or, as was the case for Andrew Carnegie, their reverence for civic duty, then most of today’s AI barons carry forth their own spiritual tradition, one at the very least informed by the vigorously optimized commandments of the effective altruism movement. They appear far less likely to fund Carnegie-style works like opera houses or libraries than they are to put their faith — and their billions — in what they believe they can measure, calculated on the cost benefit analysis of a life saved or an apocalypse averted.
In some cases, as Amodei did as a grad student, they’ve already begun the process. “These are people who have committed themselves to giving back even before they were very wealthy,” said Sjir Hoeijmakers, CEO of Giving What We Can, an organization that developed a campaign popular with effective altruists to give away at least 10 percent of their yearly income, “people who have been building the habit of giving for a very long time.”
And it is, to be clear, a very particular kind of giving. Amodei was the 43rd person to sign the 10 percent pledge the year after it launched in 2009, and its roster has since swelled to over 11,000 people, including more than a dozen current or former Anthropic employees. Donations made through Giving What We Can’s platform are on track to grow by 40 percent this year, Hoeijmakers told me, and support for animal welfare charities — a cause particularly and unusually popular with effective altruists — has already exceeded its 2025 total.
“We have the resources available to tackle things that we should have tackled a long time ago,” like eradicating malaria or putting an end to factory farming, Hoeijmakers said. “I hope this funding wave, if it comes, will show that we can actually solve global problems at scale if we put our mind to it and our resources.”
Devoutness has long been a virtue in philanthropy, which largely originated in religious tithing, and there are plenty of worse things to have faith in than numbers. Having a communal guiding philosophy will undoubtedly help effective altruism’s newly flush disciples follow through on their promises far more prolifically and consistently than they would without it. And despite its high profile, less than 1 percent of total philanthropy came from effective altruism last year, according to Hoeijmakers. Most rich people prefer to give to the normie causes, like their alma maters, not to the sort of chronically underfunded global problems — like protecting animals or fighting lead poisoning — that effective altruists justifiably care most about.
Now, quite suddenly, there’s about to be much more money to go around for these causes, which as Hoeijmakers hopes, could help finally address some of the enormous, entrenched global problems that more traditional philanthropists have all but ignored.
But such piety also carries its own risks. In a viral Substack post from May, Stripe executive Nan Ransohoff argued — rather dismissively, but not incorrectly — that “traditional philanthropic orgs and people won’t cut it” in this new wave of AI-funded effective philanthropy, that these donors “will have an affinity” for “tech-caliber talent and execution” and will be “by default wary of folks who come from traditional philanthropy.” Ransohoff called instead for Silicon Valley to build its own new ecosystem of funds and “philanthropic startups” to cater to this new wave of wealth, emboldened with the “speed, intensity, and execution of a top technology startup.” Many of those old-school philanthropic people wrote indignant rebuttals to Ransohoff’s piece, arguing against their own obsolescence at a time when a number of the organizations they support are increasingly starved for funding.
Those responses are, in aggregate, also correct, after their fashion. The new AI philanthropists will likely aspire to new models and approaches, as Ransohoff rightly argues. But they reinvent the wheel at our collective peril, not least of all because ignoring past efforts and steamrolling over existing infrastructure might make even the most optimized giving less efficient, and certainly less informed, than it would be otherwise.
“Acknowledge what’s here and what’s working — don’t just ignore it,” said Nicole Taylor, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. “These folks are transforming our daily lives with their technology, and they have the opportunity to be as transformational with their philanthropy. My fear is that they think that they can do it alone.”
How much money are we actually talking about?
As Ransohoff pointed out in her piece, a lot of money is on the line here — and, along with it, a lot of cautious hope about how it might get spent.
Ransohoff posits that if you add up the promises of Amodei and his fellow co-founders, the worth of the OpenAI Foundation — the nonprofit that owns a big chunk of OpenAI’s profits — and rumored contributions from Anthropic employees, then the AI wealth boom could, in theory, lead to at least $37 billion and as much as $100 billion in total annual giving, a sizable boost to the roughly $617 billion that was given in the US in total last year.
“These folks are transforming our daily lives with their technology, and they have the opportunity to be as transformational with their philanthropy. My fear is that they think that they can do it alone.”
— Nicole Taylor, Silicon Valley Community Foundation president and ceo
This projection should be treated with cautious skepticism. For one thing, hundreds of billions in cash are not just sitting around in some Bay Area money vault; much of today’s AI wealth is wrapped up in potentially volatile equity, and many lofty philanthropic pledges ultimately fail to reach their full potential.
“What people say before they become extremely wealthy, and then how they behave after they become extremely wealthy, sometimes diverge,” said David Goldberg, founder and CEO of Founders Pledge, which recruits tech leaders to donate a portion of their future earnings. It doesn’t help either, he said, that some tech luminaries — namely, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel – have come to treat most philanthropy with disdain in recent years, an ethos that has permeated some parts of the sector. Musk, it’s worth noting, actually pledged to give most of his wealth away himself back in 2012, though, like many other ultra-wealthy signatories of the Giving Pledge, he seems quite unlikely to keep that promise.
That’s not to say AI money isn’t already flowing. Coefficient Giving, a grantmaker that evolved out of GiveWell, is poised to steward a large portion of the coming philanthropic bonanza. For most of its history, the group operated essentially as the private grantmaking operation for Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna. But it recently made a significant pivot towards operating pooled, multidonor funds for anyone interested in causes like lead exposure, farm animal welfare, or questions of AI safety. Just last month, Coefficient Giving announced it would donate $1 billion to GiveWell alone this year, more than five times the $175 million the group initially pledged seven months ago. They chose to do so explicitly, because Coefficient Giving expects to receive much more funding very soon.
There’s also the OpenAI Foundation, which has already begun pumping $100 million into Alzheimer’s research, and Anthropic, which recently announced a partnership with the Gates Foundation to invest $200 million worth of grants, API credits, and technical support into global health work. And plenty of Silicon Valley elites have begun making promises of their own. Earlier this summer, David Silver pledged to donate 100 percent of his equity proceeds from his UK-based $1.1 billion startup Ineffable Intelligence — the largest commitment in Founders Pledge history — and many signers of the Founders Pledge will see their portfolios skyrocket in response to the coming wave of AI IPOs.
But Goldberg does believe there’s a risk that as people get rich fast, they will donate money “much, much slower” than they intended, simply because they get “too busy, they don’t have the right support, or there’s some form of analysis paralysis.”
All of this is to say that the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom are not going to function as some sort of charitable monolith. Some, like Musk, probably won’t give much or anything to charity at all. Others may park their money in donor-advised funds — a kind of secretive charitable investment fund — or, eventually, a private foundation, both of which tend to dole out their money gingerly, meaning donors can enjoy the tax benefits of charity many years before they actually opt to help anyone with their money.
Effective altruism is about to have its big break
While its name recognition may be relatively high these days, the effective-giving movement is still on the margins of American philanthropy. But if this new wave is anywhere near as big as everyone says it will be, then that won’t be the case for long.
For the uninitiated, my ex-colleague Dylan Matthews has written plenty on what effective altruism is, but, in sum, it is a movement that believes in goodmaxxing, in the idea of using rigorous research to save the greatest number of lives possible, including future human lives and farm animal lives. Once an EA poster boy, Sam Bankman-Fried sullied the movement in 2022, which may help explain why some prominent adherents — like Amodei and his sister and co-founder Daniela, whose husband Holden Karnofsky co-founded GiveWell — have distanced themselves somewhat from the movement in recent years.
But even when donors shy away from the term, the causes and principles of utilitarian evaluation that have defined effective altruism from its early days still permeate the new moneyed corners of Silicon Valley, particularly among those most poised to give a lot — and to give a lot quickly.
Ask any animal welfare or global health nonprofit — or, better yet, an expert-led pooled fund with a reputation for rigorous charity evaluations — and they will tell you that they are preparing for, and possibly even beginning to see glimmers of, a windfall.
“We are very much anticipating a significant influx of funding,” said Dan Shannon, CEO of the Humane League, which fights to end factory farming. “I am cautiously optimistic that this could be a real sea change for us,” because “even if it’s a fraction of the big numbers being bandied about,” it could do a lot for a movement that operates on less than $300 million per year.
He said he’s been speaking with other leaders about the possibility of creating a pooled fund to absorb more cash, which has become an increasingly popular solution for donors who want the rigor of a 2010 Dario Amodei-style deep dive on a charity’s methodology and effectiveness without having to do the math or thinking themselves.
Among the more idiosyncratic elements of their ethos is their fixation with existential risk, as in, how likely is this thing — this mirror bacteria; this nuclear war; this asteroid; or, of course, this artificial intelligence — to destroy humanity? Amodei left OpenAI to start Anthropic in the first place because he believed OpenAI had failed to take the safety risks of AI seriously enough.
Much of the new EA wealth will likely go toward efforts to make life on Earth better now or in the near future through donations to causes like medical research, animal advocacy, or anti-poverty interventions. But another, more controversial chunk of it will go toward mitigating existential risks, especially that of Silicon Valley’s own Frankensteinian creation: AI itself.
“If you’re breaking the world and making money by breaking it, should you just not break it? I wrestle with the question myself.”
— David Goldberg, Founders Pledge founder and ceo
It’s that last cause that has proven most controversial. If these billionaires are so afraid that AI will break the world, then why, you might ask, would they not just stop building it in the first place? Is there not an inherent contradiction, a conflict of interest perchance, in the sense that those tasked with making sure AI does not, let’s say, build a bioweapon, take your kid’s job, or make everyone dumb, are doing so with money made from the very thing they’re trying to regulate?
In other words, “If you’re breaking the world and making money by breaking it, should you just not break it?” asked Goldberg of Founders Pledge. “I wrestle with the question myself.” In the end, “this is a technology that’s coming, regardless of who’s building it,” he reasoned, and it is better that the presumably good guys — the ones bothering to think about the consequences at all — build it first.
If you broke the world, can you fix it?
Even if the AI bubble pops, and if the much-discussed giving boom ends up smaller than many anticipate, it could still lead to significant changes for some of the world’s most neglected problems. And if it is close to as big as it’s expected to be, then what happens next could be gravitationally transformative, reshaping how the world lives, considers animals, and adapts to its most disruptive technological breakthrough in a century.
“I don’t think most people think about factory farming as something that could actually be eradicated. Full stop,” Shannon said, but “my grandparents lived in a time without factory farming, and I think my grandchildren could live without factory farming,” and “that could ultimately be the legacy of this wave of philanthropy.”
Ending the pervasive use of cages — “probably the cruelest way that animals are treated on industrialized factory farms,” says Shannon — could cost as little as $500 million over 25 years, or less than 1 percent of the $60 billion that Ransohoff estimates Anthropic employees may have sitting in donor-advised funds, thanks to Anthropic’s generous early gift-matching policy, which could quickly turn into real cash once the company goes public.
“There’s so much needless stupid, preventable suffering in the world. We live in this time of so much abundance, so much wealth, so much technological development, and yet, there are so many people who have been left behind.”
— Nick Allardice, GiveDirectly CEO
Developing a new vaccine costs an average of $886.8 million, which may sound like a lot, but it is equivalent to less than 6 percent of Amodei’s newfound fortune. It is less than what the OpenAI Foundation has pledged to invest in disease research and other causes next year alone.
Then, there’s, perhaps, the biggest target of all. Ending extreme poverty everywhere would cost just over $300 billion annually, according to one analysis — which is a hefty price tag, but less than one-fifth of what the wealthy spend on luxury goods each year. “There’s so much needless stupid, preventable suffering in the world,” said Allardice of GiveDirectly. “We live in this time of so much abundance, so much wealth, so much technological development, and yet, there are so many people who have been left behind.” If this new wave of giving is wielded well, he said, then “we have the potential to collectively raise the floor of human experience.”
That’s a lot of responsibility to place on the shoulders of a bunch of bustling young tech workers still processing what it means to be quite suddenly, dazzlingly wealthy. It is also a lot of faith to place in an industry that has left more Americans feeling scared than hopeful about what a future flush with AI portends.
If you aim to fix global poverty, but the technology that made you rich also threatens to make everyone else poor, then whose side are you really on? To be clear, many of the AI-ristocracy have fretted, often apocalyptically, over the implications of their creation long before most of us knew we had anything to worry about. But that doesn’t mean they know how to fix this, and, at the very least, they will not do so alone.
The last time the ground shook from such a supermassive earthquake of wealth was arguably during the Gilded Age, when robber barons and industrial tycoons turned American charity — until then, mostly almsgiving and poorhouses — into big business. They seeded enormous philanthropic empires like the Rockefeller Foundation and beloved institutions like Carnegie Hall. But, even as their exorbitant fortunes made life indisputably better — birthing the modern library, the yellow fever vaccine, and many social services — they were often built atop systems of vicious exploitation. When those systems changed, as they did eventually, it did not come from the benevolence of industrial barons, but from sustained public pressure for better labor protections.
Effective giving was born out of the conviction that many of the world’s most important causes go vastly underfunded, which, in turn, demand relentless prioritization of the limited funds that exist. If those causes are no longer underfunded — a plausible scenario if AI wealth continues to grow at the pace many expect it to — then that might change the calculus of how effective altruists decide what’s worth funding. It might even open up some wiggle room for new causes, including somewhat less measurable — but not necessarily less impactful — approaches. “Now we’ll be thinking more about what we can do with a lot of resources; which larger problems can we solve?” said Hoeijmakers. “You’ll put slightly less relatively into evaluating every small dollar on the margin.”
This already seems to be happening, to some extent, at places like Coefficient Giving, which, in recent years, has begun adding new funds for causes like housing policy reform that fall out of effective altruism’s traditional purview. “We don’t want to be only appealing to the subset of people who happen to be interested in effective altruism,” CEO Alexander Berger told my colleague Bryan Walsh last year. “Our aim — and so far we’ve seen some success — is being a resource to people who have never heard of effective altruism or are not interested in it or don’t find it very motivating or welcoming. And I think that’s good.”
The optimal outcome here is not that Silicon Valley wealth edges out everything else, but that the siloes begin to break down altogether and that there is enough money to go around that the sector no longer needs to make overly intellectualized trade-offs, like young Amodei sitting in his dorm room, ascribing a number on the relative worth of a parent versus a child.
“It’s tough to find the right balance between caring and hard-nosed realism,” he wrote at the time, “but it is possible, and it is, as far as I know, the only way to truly change the world.” He’s about to search for that balance on a much bigger scale.
After initially refusing to even review it, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Moderna’s mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the pharmaceutical company announced in a press release. Known as mFlusiva (or mRNA-1010), the immunization is effective against the four most common strains of influenza and has been in human testing trials since 2021. Those variants cause up to five million severe flu cases every year and result in as many as 650,000 respiratory deaths annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote in 2017.
The vaccine is approved for adults aged 50 and over. Moderna said it received approval for people between the ages of 50 to 64 after a Phase 3 clinical trial that enrolled 40,805 adults across 11 countries. It also received accelerated approval for patients 65 and older. The trial’s objectives were to evaluate the safety of the mFlusiva and its relative efficacy compared to an approved and effective non-mRNA vaccine (comparator).
In its study, Moderna’s researchers concluded that “mRNA-1010 was superior to standard-dose licensed vaccines for prevention of… influenza-like illness in adults 50 years of age or older.” However, it added that “solicited adverse events” were more frequent with mRNA-1010 than current flu vaccines, including injection-site pain, fatigue, headache and myalgia (muscle pain). Most adverse reactions were “mild to moderate and transient,” the study states.
Approval for Moderna’s flu vaccine got off to a rocky start after the FDA refused to even review Moderna’s application. The US drug regulator initially said that Moderna’s comparator vaccine didn’t represent the “best available standard of care” in the US at the time of the study, and that it preferred a higher-dose vaccine for older adults as a comparator.
The FDA’s refusal to review the vaccine came after the director of drug approval overruled career scientists, prompting critics to call the move political. “It’s all pretext and obfuscation when the real agenda is rejecting conventional science and serving a predetermined anti-vaccine agenda,” law professor Richard Hughes IV told The Guardian at the time.
After less than a week, however, the FDA reversed course and agreed to review Moderna’s application, likely because it previously told Moderna that its selected comparator vaccine was just fine. “We agree that it would be acceptable to use a licensed standard dose influenza vaccine as the comparator in your Phase 3 study,” the FDA told the company prior to the rejection.
mRNA vaccines from Moderna and others have generally sailed through trials due to inherent properties that make them safer and more effective than standard vaccines. Those include high efficacy in preventing severe illness, rapid development times, adaptability to new strains, manufacturing without live viruses, fewer side effects for immunocompromised people, and the ability to trigger a strong immune response without the risk of altering human DNA.
“Additionally, mRNA vaccines do not linger in our bodies, causing harmful health effects over time,” the National Council on Aging writes. “In reality, once the mRNA delivers instructions to our cells, it’s quickly broken down and flushed out of the body.”
Tech
Meta confirms its AI hacked another company’s system, and the pattern is anything but Irregular
Meta just admitted that one of its AI models got loose during a security test and hacked into another company’s system. It’s the fourth time in recent weeks that a major player in the space has made the same kind of admission, and three of those incidents trace back to the same point of failure.
One testing lab, three separate slip-ups
Meta told the BBC the breach happened during an evaluation run by Irregular, a third-party firm hired to stress test its AI for security weaknesses. Meta called it a “misconfiguration” and said it’s still gathering details before it shares more.
An Irregular spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that Meta’s incident is the same test environment issue Anthropic disclosed last week, when it revealed that three of its Claude models broke out of test environments and hacked into three companies. OpenAI also disclosed a similar breach earlier this week, saying one of its models exploited a bug to break into a website after Irregular accidentally handed it live internet access.
At this point, Irregular seems less like the company’s name and more like a warning label.
The one breach that didn’t need Irregular’s help
The earliest of the four incidents worked differently. In July, OpenAI’s own testing model found a vulnerability in a file repository connected to its sandbox, used it to reach the open internet on its own, and eventually broke into Hugging Face’s systems while trying to cheat on a cybersecurity benchmark. No outside evaluator handed it access by mistake. The model found its own way out.
The UK’s AI Security Institute found the same pattern, regardless of how it started. This week, the institute published a report on tests it ran separately, and found AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic took unauthorized actions online 19 times across 122 runs.
None of this required a rogue AI plotting against its creators. Every case traces back to a company either mishandling internet access or running a test looser than intended. That’s a far more mundane problem than a killer AI, but it’s the more relevant one if you’re using tools that browse, click, and act on your behalf. The companies building them are still figuring out how to keep them inside the fence they draw.
Longtime Slashdot readers schwit1 and fjo3 shared a report about BMW displaying a Spider-Man promotion on connected vehicle screens in more than 70 markets. According to reports, drivers had to play or dismiss the ad before they could use the infotainment system. Futurism reports: BMW, showing that it was about as in-touch as its drivers are familiar with turn signals, teased the promotion as a “special surprise.” According to The Autopian’s coverage and the heaps of complaints online, the ad appears on the center console screen when you start up the car. When the ad’s done playing — a cheap looking animation that doesn’t come close to warranting all this hubbub — it even has the gall to ask you to scan a QR code.
While it does give you the option to play or skip the “festive animation,” it’s still an annoying extra step drivers have to take before pulling up the map they need or the music they want to listen to. It’s also a breach of trust: drivers keep their cars connected so they receive critical software updates, not unexpectedly see ads when they’re trying to hit the road. Few owners were pleased. Enthusiasts in the r/BMW subreddit had a veritable meltdown when someone posted footage of the ad playing on their infotainment system.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
You can use your iPhone or Android smartphone as a high-definition computer webcam using built-in operating system features—like Apple Continuity Camera on Mac or Microsoft Phone Link on Windows 11—or via third-party apps like DroidCam and Reincubate Camo over USB or Wi-Fi. This setup instantly replaces low-quality laptop cameras without requiring separate video capture hardware.
Most built-in laptop webcams utilize basic image sensors that struggle in low-light environments, produce grainy 720p footage, and lack autofocus precision. Modern smartphone cameras feature multi-lens arrays, advanced image signal processing (ISP), and high dynamic range (HDR) optics that outperform even mid-range standalone USB webcams. Repurposing your phone as a video feed is the most cost-effective way to achieve broadcast-quality video for remote meetings, online classes, or content streaming.
Quick Take: Choosing the Right Setup Method
The optimal method for converting your phone into a webcam depends on your mobile operating system, your computer OS, and whether you prefer a zero-software native pipeline or advanced manual camera controls.
| Method | Supported Devices | Connection Type | Max Resolution | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Continuity Camera | iPhone (iOS 16+) to Mac (macOS Ventura+) | Wireless (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) or USB | 4K / 1080p 60fps | Mac users seeking zero third-party software installation. |
| Microsoft Phone Link | Android (Android 10+) to PC (Windows 11) | Wireless (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) | 1080p | Windows 11 users wanting native wireless Android integration. |
| DroidCam | Android & iOS to Windows & Linux | Wi-Fi or USB Cable | 1080p (Pro) / Standard Def (Free) | Cross-platform users needing legacy Windows/Linux support. |
| Reincubate Camo | iOS & Android to Mac & Windows | Wi-Fi or USB Cable | 4K (Pro) / 1080p (Free) | Power users wanting manual exposure, LUTs, and studio framing. |
| Elgato EpocCam | iOS to Windows & Mac | Wi-Fi or USB Cable | 1080p (Pro) | Streamers integrated into the Elgato and Stream Deck ecosystem. |
Prerequisites and Hardware Requirements
Before configuring software protocols, prepare your physical and network environment to ensure stable video feeds and prevent hardware fatigue during extended video calls.
- Physical Mounting: Position your smartphone at eye level using a dedicated monitor mount, flexible tripod, or MagSafe desktop stand. Avoid leaning your phone against books or monitor bezels, as sudden shifts can disrupt autofocus or knock the device over during a live call. If your work involves presenting remote slide decks or facilitating interactive workshops, a stable mount ensures consistent framing alongside your home office tech setup.
- Connection Stability: Wireless connections require a strong 5 GHz Wi-Fi network with both devices connected to the same local subnet. For zero-latency transmission and uncompressed video, use a direct USB cable (USB-C to USB-C or USB-A to Lightning/USB-C). USB connections bypass network congestion and keep your phone charged.
- Power & Thermal Management: Video processing generates internal heat and drains smartphone batteries rapidly. Turn down screen brightness during calls, remove heavy protective cases if the phone feels hot, and keep the smartphone connected to an external power source or powered USB host port.
- Audio Configuration: Smartphone microphones are directional and sensitive, but using them across a room can introduce room echo. Pair your phone camera feed with a dedicated USB desktop mic or headset for optimal sound clarity. You can review recommended audio upgrades in our guide to the best budget microphones for home offices.
Path 1: Native Operating System Methods (No Apps Needed)
If you run modern operating systems on both your mobile device and computer, you can use built-in system features that require no third-party app installations.
Method A: Apple Continuity Camera (iPhone to Mac)
Apple’s native Continuity Camera protocol automatically recognizes a nearby iPhone as a high-definition webcam for any macOS video application, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, and Web Browser instances.
System Requirements: An iPhone XR or newer running iOS 16 or later, and a Mac running macOS Ventura (13.0) or later. Both devices must have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and be signed into the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication enabled. Per Apple Support details on Continuity Camera, the feature operates both wirelessly and over a wired USB cable.
- Enable Continuity Camera: On your iPhone, open Settings > General > AirPlay & Continuity and ensure Continuity Camera is toggled ON.
- Mount the Device: Mount your iPhone near your Mac in landscape orientation with the rear camera facing you. Lock the iPhone screen.
- Select the Input in Meeting Software: Open your preferred conferencing software (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, or FaceTime). Access the app’s video settings menu and select your iPhone under the camera device dropdown list.
- Configure Video Effects: On your Mac, click the Control Center icon in the top menu bar and select Video Effects. Toggle features such as:
- Center Stage: Keeps you centered in the frame as you move around.
- Portrait Mode: Blurs your physical background using hardware depth mapping.
- Studio Light: Artificially brightens your face while dimming background glare.
- Desk View: Simulates an overhead camera angle to show your physical desk surface using the ultra-wide lens.
Method B: Microsoft Phone Link (Android to Windows 11)
Microsoft natively integrates Android camera feeds directly into Windows 11 using the built-in Phone Link ecosystem, allowing your Android device to appear as a standard UVC camera across all desktop applications.
System Requirements: A PC running Windows 11 with the latest system updates, an Android smartphone running Android 10 or newer, and the Link to Windows mobile app version 1.24022.0 or later. Official setup guidelines are detailed in Microsoft Support instructions for mobile camera usage.
- Link Android to Windows: Open the Phone Link application on Windows 11. On your Android phone, open the Link to Windows app and scan the QR code displayed on your PC screen to complete Bluetooth and Wi-Fi pairing.
- Enable Camera Sharing: On your Windows 11 PC, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices. Click Manage devices and ensure your paired Android device is toggled ON under “Use as connected camera.”
- Authorize Android Permissions: When prompted on your smartphone screen, grant permission for Link to Windows to access your mobile camera.
- Select Camera Source: Open your desktop video calling software, access the video preferences menu, and select your Android phone from the available camera list. A floating toolbar will appear on Windows 11, letting you toggle between front and rear lenses, pause the feed, or apply background blur.
Path 2: Cross-Platform & Legacy Setup via Third-Party Apps
If you use mixed ecosystems (such as an Android phone with a Mac, or an iPhone with a Windows 10/11 PC), third-party webcam client utilities bridge the connection reliably over Wi-Fi or USB cables.
Option 1: DroidCam Setup (Android/iOS to Windows/Linux)
DroidCam by Dev47Apps is a lightweight utility that creates a virtual webcam driver on your PC, routing video and microphone audio directly from your smartphone.
- Download Software Components: Download the mobile app from the Google Play Store DroidCam page (or Apple App Store for iOS). Next, download and install the Windows or Linux desktop client directly from the Dev47Apps DroidCam official connection portal.
- Connect via Wi-Fi:
- Ensure your PC and phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Launch the DroidCam app on your phone. Note the Wi-Fi IP (e.g.,
192.168.1.15) and DroidCam Port (default is4747). - Open the DroidCam Client on your PC. Select the WiFi/LAN connection icon.
- Type the exact Device IP and Port numbers shown on your phone into the PC client fields. Check both Video and Audio boxes, then click Start.
- Connect via USB (Low Latency / High Reliability):
- On Android: Enable Developer Options by tapping your device’s Build Number 7 times in Settings > About Phone. Open Developer Options and switch USB Debugging to ON.
- Connect your phone to your PC using a USB data cable. If prompted on your phone, tap Allow USB Debugging.
- In the PC DroidCam client, select the USB icon, click the Refresh button to locate your device, and click Start.
- Configure Call Software: Open Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. In the audio/video settings menu, select DroidCam Source 2 (or Source 3) as your video camera, and DroidCam Virtual Audio as your microphone input. If you host multi-party teleconferences frequently, review our guide on how to hold a video conferencing meeting effectively.
Option 2: Reincubate Camo Setup (iOS/Android to Mac/Windows)
Reincubate Camo provides comprehensive control over smartphone optics, offering fine-tuned adjustments for exposure, focus, color temperature, and lens selection across both macOS and Windows environments.
- Install Client Software: Install the Camo app on your iPhone or Android phone via the Camo iOS App Store listing or Play Store. Download and install Camo Studio on your Mac or Windows PC.
- Pair Devices: Connect your smartphone to your computer via USB cable (or pair wirelessly over Wi-Fi by scanning the Camo Studio QR code). Open Camo Studio on your computer.
- Adjust Optics and Image Profiles: Use the Camo Studio interface on your desktop to switch between Ultra-Wide, Wide, and Telephoto lenses. Adjust digital zoom, crop, frame rates, and color balance without touching your physical smartphone.
- Select Camo Virtual Camera: Open your conferencing app and choose Camo Camera as your active video input source.
Option 3: Elgato EpocCam Setup (iOS to Windows/Mac)
Part of the Corsair/Elgato ecosystem, EpocCam is designed specifically for iOS users who want seamless integration with streaming tools and Elgato Stream Deck controllers. Additional information and setup files are available on the Elgato EpocCam official product hub.
- Download the EpocCam app on your iPhone and install the Camera Hub drivers on your macOS or Windows computer.
- Restart your PC or Mac after driver installation completes to register the virtual camera service.
- Connect your iPhone over Wi-Fi or USB, open Camera Hub on your computer, and select EpocCam inside Zoom, OBS Studio, or Microsoft Teams. If you stream using OBS, you can learn more about scene composition in our tutorial on OBS Studio streaming setup basics.
App Comparison: DroidCam vs. Camo vs. EpocCam vs. Native Solutions
When selecting the right mobile webcam application for your workflow, evaluate free resolution caps, license pricing, overlay features, and resource consumption.
| Feature / App | Apple Continuity Camera | Microsoft Phone Link | DroidCam (Dev47Apps) | Reincubate Camo | Elgato EpocCam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier Limit | 100% Free (Native) | 100% Free (Native) | Standard Def (480p), Ads included | 1080p, basic lens controls, subtle watermark | 720p, mono audio, watermark |
| Paid Tier Pricing | N/A | N/A | ~$5.00 one-time (DroidCamX Pro) | ~$4.99/mo or $39.99/year (Camo Pro) | ~$7.99 one-time (EpocCam Pro) |
| Max Resolution | 4K / 1080p | 1080p | 1080p (Pro) / Up to 4K (OBS Plugin) | 4K (Pro) | 1080p (Pro) |
| Desktop OS | macOS only | Windows 11 only | Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows | macOS, Windows |
| Manual Controls | Basic (Apple Video Effects) | Basic (Toggle lens, pause) | Moderate (Focus, brightness, contrast) | Advanced (LUTs, ISO, Shutter, Lenses) | Moderate (Filters, Stream Deck integration) |
How to Test and Calibrate Your Mobile Webcam
Before jumping into a critical job interview or live presentation, test your video feed locally to verify image clarity, framing, and audio sync.
- Test Hardware Permissions: On Windows 11, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras and click your connected mobile device to check the live video preview. On macOS, open the native Photo Booth or FaceTime app to confirm camera detection. If your operating system experiences driver glitches, see our guide on troubleshooting steps for general OS and software permission fixes.
- Check Exposure & White Balance: Point your camera toward your face, avoiding strong light sources directly behind you (such as open windows). If using DroidCam or Camo, lock exposure and focus in the desktop app to prevent the camera from continuously hunting for focus when you move your hands.
- Verify Latency & Audio Sync: Clap your hands in front of the camera while monitoring the live desktop preview. If the video lags behind the audio by more than a quarter-second, switch from Wi-Fi to a direct USB connection. If network dropouts persist, inspect your home network using our guide to optimize Wi-Fi for video calls.
Troubleshooting Common Mobile Webcam Failures
Even robust mobile webcam setups can run into technical bottlenecks. Below are diagnosis steps for common failure modes.
Issue 1: Device Not Found / IP Connection Fails
- Cause: Your phone and computer are on isolated Wi-Fi bands (e.g., one on 2.4 GHz, the other on 5 GHz) or the router has AP (Access Point) Isolation enabled.
- Fix: Access your router’s administration panel and disable AP Isolation. Ensure both devices are connected to the identical SSID. If the DroidCam phone app displays an IP address of
0.0.0.0, your phone is disconnected from Wi-Fi; toggle Wi-Fi off and on again. Switch to a USB cable connection if local wireless interference is severe.
Issue 2: Black Screen or Permission Denied Error
- Cause: Mobile privacy settings are blocking camera access, or another desktop app is hogging the virtual camera driver exclusively.
- Fix: Close all running video apps (Zoom, Skype, OBS, Webex, Teams) on your computer. Open your phone’s Settings > Apps, locate DroidCam, Link to Windows, or Camo, and explicitly grant Camera and Microphone permissions. Restart the PC client app.
Issue 3: Rapid Battery Drain and Overheating
- Cause: High-resolution continuous video encoding combined with screen backlight operation generates extreme internal heat, causing thermal throttling and battery depletion.
- Fix: Lower the resolution output from 4K/1080p to 720p inside your app preferences. In DroidCam or Camo settings, set the mobile app screen to turn off or dim automatically after establishing a connection. Keep your phone connected to a high-wattage USB charger rather than a low-power un-bus-powered USB hub.
Where This Approach Has Limits
While smartphone webcams deliver superior image quality compared to low-cost webcams, they are not a complete replacement for dedicated, permanently mounted cameras in every scenario.
- Interruptive Mobile Events: Incoming cellular calls, alarms, or push notifications can interrupt active video feeds depending on your mobile operating system and application setup. Enabling Do Not Disturb mode during meetings is mandatory.
- Sensor Heat Limits: Prolonged video sessions exceeding 2 to 3 hours can cause thin smartphones to reach high thermal thresholds, resulting in dropped frame rates or temporary camera shutdowns.
- Focal Distance & Lens Distortion: Smartphone wide-angle lenses are engineered for handheld photography. When placed 18 to 24 inches from your face on a desk mount, fixed wide lenses can slightly distort facial proportions unless digital crop or optical telephoto lenses are applied via apps like Camo.
Key Takeaways
- Native First: If you use an iPhone with a Mac, rely on Apple Continuity Camera for zero-setup 4K/1080p video. If you use an Android device with Windows 11, use Microsoft Phone Link.
- Third-Party Versatility: For cross-platform or legacy setups, DroidCam offers the best budget-friendly USB and Wi-Fi drivers, while Reincubate Camo provides professional-grade optical controls and color grading.
- Prefer USB over Wi-Fi: Wired USB connections eliminate wireless signal degradation, reduce audio sync latency, and maintain device power during long conferencing calls.
- Mount Properly: Invest in an eye-level smartphone desk mount or MagSafe stand to ensure ergonomic viewing angles and clear framing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my smartphone as a webcam while keeping it plugged into a charger?
Yes. Keeping your smartphone connected to a USB port on your computer or an external power adapter is strongly recommended. Continuous camera capture and wireless video encoding draw significant battery power, so maintaining a wired power supply prevents unexpected shutdowns during long video calls.
Why does my smartphone get hot when used as a computer webcam?
Capturing uncompressed video, encoding real-time camera streams, and transmitting data continuously over Wi-Fi or USB requires high CPU and GPU utilization on mobile chips. To reduce heat, dim your phone’s screen, lower the resolution setting to 720p or 1080p 30fps, and avoid leaving the phone in direct sunlight.
Can I use my smartphone’s microphone along with its video feed?
Yes. Most utilities, including DroidCam, Camo, and Apple Continuity Camera, register virtual audio drivers on your computer alongside the video source. You can select your smartphone microphone inside Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, though a dedicated external desktop USB microphone will deliver superior acoustic quality.
OpenAI’s agents had apparently shown unusual behavior way before the attack on Hugging Face happened. At the Black Hat USA security conference in Las Vegas, two OpenAI employees revealed more details about the AI agents that went rogue and attacked the repository. Apparently, its agents spent two months communicating on a message board of sorts inside its testing network, sharing vulnerabilities and exploits. OpenAI discovered and shut down the message board on July 4, but the agents found another way to rebuild it for communication by July 8. The agents’ contributions to that resurrected board led to the attack on Hugging Face.
“This incident involves actually a team of agents who are working together, finding exploits, sharing them with one another, moving laterally through our systems and external systems, and doing this over the course of days and weeks,” Eric Wallace, who works on safety at OpenAI, told the crowd at the event, according to Wired.
The employees revealed that the agents communicated within an OpenAI package manager, which manages the installation of other software. Since the package manager is shared all across the company’s infrastructure, all of the agents it’s evaluating could stumble upon it. And they did: After agents found exploits, they’d leave them open and then share them with the other agents on the message board.
Over time, the agents started collaborating, delegating tasks and splitting up work between each other to accomplish their goals, unbeknownst to OpenAI. There was even drama among their ranks, with agents accidentally deleting each other’s works and suspecting each other of being an impostor. Some agents reportedly proposed signing their posts with codes to prevent fraud. By the time OpenAI found the board, it already contained hundreds of thousands of messages.
Wallace explained that all those happened because frontier models like to cheat. They would be under pressure to find a solution for a problem quickly using fewer tools while being tested, and they would realize that instead of doing a task for real, they could just look for an answer on the internet. That is why the company tests its models without a way to go online. If you’ll recall, the agents were only able to go on the internet during the incident with Hugging Face because they exploited a vulnerability.
Michael Dalton, the other OpenAI employee who spoke at Black Hat, said numerous teams in the company had dropped everything to help improve its security prevention, detention and response techniques. The company deliberately slowed down research to upgrade its security and “dramatically [scale] up” the monitoring of its AI agents. “The important takeaway here that has really shifted dramatically is that fully automated offensive loops require investment in truly, fully automated defense, and we are not there as an industry,” Dalton said. “We will have to find that path together with urgency.”
Tech
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni offers a souped-up, 2026 upgrade for my beloved Nova Pro Wireless and is perfect for multiplatform gamers
Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: One-minute review
The most succinct way to describe the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni gaming headset is that it feels like a 2026-ified version of its excellent predecessor, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless — one of my favorite gaming headsets ever.
The Omni is a fantastic wireless gaming headset and offers a whole heap of improvements and enhancements over its older brethren, and in its own right, will tick every box most gamers can think of. Each feature that’s been tweaked or upgraded might not be huge in isolation, but every single one adds up, and it absolutely is greater than the sum of its parts when everything’s considered.
The design and build will be very familiar to anyone who’s used any of the Nova line, as it shares identical design language and aesthetics, while retaining a robust build quality you can have confidence in. The GameHub dongle is also identical in form to the one found on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite and the Nova Pro Wireless, but is boosted to offer an upgraded level of connectivity: you can connect and mix up to four different inputs on the Omni, which is somewhat ludicrous but offers excellent versatility.
Latest Videos FromTechRadar
The audio quality, microphone, and overall performance of the Omni is spectacular, and can’t really be faulted. I think I might just prefer the bottom-end audio of my Audeze Maxwell 2 over the Omni, but that’s nitpicking as the overall audio experience is fantastic, no matter which platform you’re connected to. Being able to change EQ on the fly with the Arctis Companion App is a great boost over the Nova Pro Wireless and an excellent feature of modern Nova headsets.
It’s an excellent headset, no doubt, but its pricing and the fact that Nova Pro Wireless will still be available mean the Omni’s place in the lineup is a little muddy for me. It performs fantastically, offers the full set of gaming headset features you could ask for, but I’m just not totally convinced it’s a great value option right now.
In isolation, however, this is a fantastic multiplatform wireless gaming headset and probably the one to go for if you really want the maximum flexibility and versatility.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Price and availability
- List price: $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799
- Closely priced to the Nova Pro Wireless, which will inevitably be cheaper
- Way under the Nova Elite, but in direct competition to headsets like the Audeze Maxwell 2
In isolation, the Arctis Nova Pro Omni is pretty well placed price-wise at $399.99 / £349.99. However, its position alongside the rest of the Nova lineup raises an eyebrow.
A large part of this is because of the continued availability of the headset that the Omni feels like it was made to replace: the Nova Pro Wireless. With the latter now readily available for far less than the Omni’s list price, I think — as a fan of both — that the value proposition of the Omni is lessened.
Unless you really really want the four-device connectivity (as opposed to two), and really want the latest and greatest in a SteelSeries headset without going for the much more premium Nova Elite, then I still think the Nova Pro Wireless is going to be a better value purchase for you. Especially if you’re on just one platform.
The Omni is also up against formidable competition outside of its own brethren at this price point. My absolute favorite headset right now, and my top pick ever in terms of pure audio quality, the Audeze Maxwell 2 is in the same price territory and would be my recommendation for someone prioritizing that.
Then there’s also the likes of the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2, and the Sony Inzone H9 2 in the $300-ish zone, along with the likes of the Fractal Scape and the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro that come in slightly cheaper and all offer incredible wireless gaming headset experiences with a host of features.
Having said all that, the Omni does do a lot in and of itself to justify its price tag as a high-end, brilliantly flexible and top-performing wireless headset. It will definitely be the best wireless option in this part of the Nova lineup when or if the Nova Pro Wireless ceases to be made, but until then it’s not a slam dunk for me.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Specs
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni |
|
Price |
$399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799 |
|
Weight |
11.95oz / 339g |
|
Drivers |
Custom 40 mm Neodymium Magnetic (Hi-Res) |
|
Compatibility |
PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3 |
|
Connection type |
Hi-Res wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 + LE Audio (SBC with MultiPoint support for up to 10 devices; LC3, LC3+ for LE Audio) |
|
Battery life |
Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System |
|
Features |
Simultaneous four-source audio via Omni GameHub; certified Hi-Res audio (96kHz/24-bit), ClearCast Pro – Retractable Boom Microphone with onboard AI Noise Rejection, ANC, Arctis Companion App compatibility |
|
Software |
SteelSeries GG/Sonar, SteelSeries Arctis Companion App (iOS & Android) |
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Design & features
- Class-leading set of features and connectivity options
- Reliable and fantastic build quality and battery solution
- Very much from the Nova line of SteelSeries headsets
Straight out of the box, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Omni really is a Nova Pro Wireless in disguise, as all the parts are there. That isn’t a criticism, as the Omni is simply another SteelSeries headset cut from the Arctis Nova cloth.
It’s a familiar design to anyone who’s seen or held a Nova headset, but it does have a tangible level of robustness and solidity that instils confidence — I’ve already dropped my unit a few times, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. The ear cushions are incredibly comfortable too, and I’ve been able to wear this headset for full work days without ever fully realising it too.
The GameHub is basically the same as on other Nova headsets that use it, but there are a few more options within the OLED display, and the addition of a texture to the navigation wheel is a welcome touch.
It’s this kind of small design change that’s present in a few areas across the Nova Pro Omni too: the multi-function volume wheel on the left cup has a new texture to it, the ear cushions are thicker and more padded compared to the Nova Pro Wireless, the mic is new and improved, and so on.
On top of intuitive controls, Arctis Companion App integration, boosted connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3 features here), greater battery life, and quicker fast charge, and more, all the Omni’s improvements over the Nova Pro Wireless do stand on their own feet, and, importantly, add up to a wonderfully designed and feature-filled wireless gaming headset that will offer everything even those with three consoles and a PC could ever want.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Performance
- Fantastic SteelSeries audio quality out of the box
- Every upgrade feels worthwhile
- Audio quality and overall performance still close to its predecessor
In terms of performance, the audio is the least difficult thing to cast an opinion on: it’s fantastic. Once again, this is from the SteelSeries Arctis Nova line so shares in all the excellent out-of-the-box audio quality the series is known for and does not disappoint in any way.
What’s more, the audio is now Hi-Res certified, and on PC you’ll be getting 96kHz/24bit, which is a sheer, immersive joy to behold in games like Cyberpunk 2077, and even the atmospheric noises in Frostpunk 2 are detailed and clear. But even away from that, on PS5 Pro (Sony’s console can’t take advantage of 96kHz audio), the gaming audio delivered by the Omni is, predictably, a treat.
Sea shanties, explosive ship combat, and swashbuckling sword action in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced are fantastically vivid and rich; the audio in 007 First Light is even more cinematic and bombastic; and even audio in older online games like my go-to, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, is elevated excellently, with enemy audio presented accurately, and the action and soundtrack mixed perfectly.
The ability to change EQ presets for individual games and preferences via the Arctis Companion App remains a brilliant feature too, expanding the Omni’s already excellent versatility.
On top of that, being wireless but plugged into a host of different devices as well as Bluetooth on my phone was very handy — in my particular setup. If you do have a multi-device setup and are looking for one headset that can be used on all of them with ease, even if not simultaneously, then this is a quality feature. For others on single-device setups, this is a bit overkill.
Away from games, music and entertainment is superb on the Omni, and using it for work calls – and multiplayer gaming sessions — with its new (compared with the Nova Pro Wireless) omnidirectional ClearCast Pro mic is brilliant. I found the overall quality of the mic to be excellent, though its omnidirectional design did mean a little more background noise escaped to my friends down the line at times, and it’s certainly a big step up over the Nova Pro Wireless’ microphone.
The way the headset feels to use is also a notable step up over the Nova Pro Wireless, and thus feels closer to the Nova Elite too. The wheel on the left ear cup is incredibly pleasing to use, the GameHub that offers more options is intuitive and easy to use, the new ear cushions are thicker and more comfy than the Pro Wireless (but only just), and there’s also improved ANC which I found worked well, as well as a hoist of boosts to Bluetooth (up to 5.3), longer battery life on the batteries and faster quick charge, and a few more to boot.
Each of the improvements over the Nova Pro Wireless do add up to something much greater than each in isolation.
Should I buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider…
If the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni might seem overkill in some departments, then check out these two fine offerings as alternatives.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni |
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless |
Audeze Maxwell 2 |
|
Price |
$399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799 |
$379.99 / £329.99 / AU$739 |
$329 / £339 / AU$569 |
|
Weight |
11.95oz / 339g |
9.5oz / 266g |
17.3oz / 490g |
|
Drivers |
Custom 40 mm Neodymium Magnetic (Hi-Res) |
40mm Neodymium |
90mm Planar Magnetic |
|
Compatibility |
PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3 |
PS4, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3 |
PlayStation or Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Mac, Mobile |
|
Connection type |
Hi-Res wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 + LE Audio (SBC with MultiPoint support for up to 10 devices; LC3, LC3+ for LE Audio) |
Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C), Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C & audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 (Auracast, LE Audio, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC, AAC, SBC, Multipoint) |
|
Battery life |
Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System |
Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System |
80+ hours |
|
Features |
Simultaneous four-source audio via Omni GameHub; certified Hi-Res audio (96kHz/24-bit), ClearCast Pro Retractable Boom Microphone with onboard AI Noise Rejection, ANC, Arctis Companion App compatibility |
Companion App, 40mm Neodymium magnetic drivers, 360-degree spatial audio, retractable ClearCast 2.X mic |
SLAM acoustic management technology, detachable hypercardioid mic, beamforming mic with physical and AI reduction, FILTER™ Noise Reduction Technology, embedded Dolby Atmos license (Xbox) |
|
Software |
SteelSeries GG/Sonar, SteelSeries Arctis Companion App (iOS & Android) |
SteelSeries GG/Sonar (PC) |
Audeze App (PC & mobile) |
How I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni
- Used as a daily driver for a few months
- Tested on PC, PS5, and mobile
- Deployed across a host of games, as well as daily work calls and more
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni headset has been my sole unit for gaming on PS5 and PC, as well as work tasks and calls, for the best part of three months.
I have used it to play a bunch of 007 First Light, a full review playthrough and subsequent platinum playthrough of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and a whole host of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 on PS5, and also dived into Cyberpunk 2077, Frostpunk 2, and Crusader Kings 3 on Acer Predator Orion 5000 gaming PC (supplied by Acer) teamed with a productivity monitor and an Acer Predator X32QFS gaming monitor (also supplied by Acer).
For a lot of that game-time testing, the Omni was connected to my PC and PS5 simultaneously on one setup, deploying its multi-connectivity. I was then also able to use it for all my work calls, and listening to music.
During this time, I was able to directly compare the Omni with some other gaming headsets I had to hand, such as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Nova Elite, as well as the Audeze Maxwell 2 and Maxwell 2 ANC.
First reviewed May-August 2026
Verdict
The Sendy Audio Egret is a flagship-feeling open-back headphone for refined home listening sessions. A 98 x 84mm planar driver, a sub-800nm composite diaphragm built using Sendy’s Electron Beam Evaporation Deposition (EBED) process and handcrafted natural-wood housings combine for a wide, airy, intoxicatingly natural experience. The triple-composite balanced cable in the box would cost a small fortune as an aftermarket buy. At £799, the Egret undercuts several obvious rivals and is in straight contention for the best open-back headphone at the money
-
Planar driver delivers flagship-class detail
-
Handcrafted natural-wood housings look and feel beautiful
-
Premium triple-composite balanced cable included as standard
-
Light, well-balanced and comfortable
-
Doesn’t demand a desktop amplifier
-
Bass prioritises control over boom
-
Open-back design leaks both ways
-
Headband feels thin
Key Features
-
Review Price:
£799
-
Sound
Newly developed 98 x 84mm planar magnetic driver
-
Design
Soft leather earpads and contoured headband
-
Cable
1.8m detachable triple-composite balanced cable
Introduction
Sendy Audio, the more ambitious Chinese sibling of Sivga, has been building a reputation for planar magnetic headphones pairing serious engineering with cabinetmaker-grade housings.
The Aiva first put the brand on the map; the Peacock pushed it upmarket; now the Egret, named after a type of heron, spreads its wings as its most technically ambitious headphone yet.
Its beating heart is a newly developed 98 x 84mm planar magnetic driver alongside a nano-scale composite diaphragm just shy of 800nm thick, finished using Sendy’s Electron Beam Evaporation Deposition (EBED) process.
In plain English: punchy sound, low distortion and a driver that doesn’t need a desktop amplifier to come alive. With the likes of the HiFiMAN Arya Organic, Meze 109 Pro, and Sennheiser’s HD 660S2, and Audeze MM-100 on its radar, let’s see if the Egret fits the bill. Which, if you’re in any doubt, is a bird pun.
Design
- Handcrafted natural-wood earcups
- Open-back grille inspired by an egret in flight
- Light suspension headband and angled hybrid earpads
The Egret is one of those headphones you instinctively pick up to admire before you put them on, owing mainly to solid natural wood cups with a unique grain pattern and finished in a classy satin sheen.
Heron fact: The grille pattern is loosely inspired by the wings of an egret in flight, and acts as the visual focal point of the headphone.
Structural elements are CNC-machined aluminium, finished in a soft gunmetal anodisation. Yokes, the contoured headband, and hybrid leather earpads with breathable fabric on the inner edge make the Egret a nice place to rest your cranium and lugholes.
While a quoted 420g weight isn’t especially light, the Egret’s headband spreads the load across the crown nicely, the clamp is moderate, and the pads track the head and ear comfortably. Multi-hour sessions came and went without adjustments, and glasses-wearers should fare well.
My only real reservation is the PU leatherette on the underside of the headband, which is thinner than I’d like for this money. The open-back grilles are exposed on both sides, so this is a home, studio or quiet-office headphone.
Also, even though they’re open-back, they actually muffle some background noise. It’s not total silence, but it’s enough to drown out a desk fan or a vacuum. That makes them a solid choice if you aren’t listening in a padded cell.
Specification
- 98 x 84mm planar driver with EBED diaphragm
- Detachable triple-composite balanced cable
- Source-friendly 38Ω / 103dB sensitivity
At 98 x 84mm, the planar driver is the largest Sendy has built, and the diaphragm is reportedly less than 800nm thick.
The interesting bit is the EBED process: rather than printing or laminating a conductive trace onto the diaphragm as a separate layer, ultra-fine aluminium is vapour-deposited directly onto the membrane at the atomic level.
That allegedly produces a more uniform coating, less added mass and a cleaner electromechanical response. Let’s call this a ‘break glass in an emergency’ line of conversation for your first Hinge date.
A 1.8m triple-composite balanced cable combines 30 strands of Furukawa oxygen-free copper, 10 strands of silver-plated copper, and 10 strands of enamelled gold-plated copper, contained in a graphene-reinforced PVC jacket.
It all terminates in a 4.4mm balanced Pentaconn plug at the source, with dual 3.5mm balanced connectors at the cups, plus 3.5mm and 6.35mm adapters.
Sendy quotes 8Hz to 40kHz, 38Ω and a 103dB ± 3dB sensitivity, which translates to something that’s genuinely source-friendly. A DAC like the Chord Mojo 2 offers plenty of headroom, while a more modest USB dongle DAC still manages satisfaction without strain. They get plenty loud without high-end gear, though a nicer source is never to be sniffed at.
Packaging is generous, too. The tan eco-leather hard case looks a little like clenched buttocks and is lined with felt, while a linen cable pouch and supplied adapters all come in the box.
Sound Quality
- Wide soundstage
- Lush midrange
- Refined treble
If the Egret has a defining sonic trait, it’s spaciousness. The combination of that large planar driver, the open-back grille and the airy tuning produces a soundstage that takes a tentative step outside the headphone.
Instruments spread cleanly and with a noticeable three-dimensional arc, leaving things nicely layered on more complex compositions.
Bass is where the Egret’s tuning shows its priorities. It extends comfortably, but it’s more of a subtle additional texture than slam dunk drops. Forget physicality and think tactile detail.
Midrange is the headphone’s emotional centre. Vocals — male and female alike — flatter without being shouty. It rewards good recordings without punishing average ones. Treble is refined and non-fatiguing.
Cymbals shimmer rather than sizzle, brass has controlled bite, and there’s plenty of air around acoustic guitars. If anything, the Egret is a touch laid-back, but sit with them for a few hours, and that restraint reveals itself as a deliberate, classy choice.
Should you buy it?
If you want a flagship-feeling planar that’s comfortable for long sessions, easy to drive from real-world equipment and beautifully made, the Sendy Audio Egret is one of the easiest recommendations at this price. Plus herons.
No — I’m a booby person
If outright low-end physicality matters more, rivals hit harder. If you need to listen on a commute, an open-back of any kind is the wrong tool. A booby also arguably has nicer plumage.
Final Thoughts
The Sendy Audio Egret lets its engineering do the talking. The 98 x 84mm planar driver and the EBED-deposited nano-diaphragm are interesting, but you don’t need to care about either to enjoy what they produce: a wide, three-dimensional soundstage, a lush and natural midrange, textured bass and a treble that refuses to fatigue.
The triple-composite balanced cable, hard case and adapter mean nothing important has been left in the lab either, and the compromises – slightly thin PU leatherette, subtle bass, and the inherent leakage of an open-back – are sensible rather than damaging.
Set against offerings from HiFiMAN, Meze Audio, and Audeze, the Egret holds its own on technicalities, craftsmanship and pricing, and could potentially trouble our best over-ear headphones list.
How We Test
I tested the Sendy Audio Egret in a home office and a quiet living room, primarily as a long-session music listening headphone. Sources included a mix of dedicated DACs and Hi-Res Lossless sources.
I used the supplied 4.4mm balanced cable, plus an Apple USB-C to 3.5mm dongle via the included adapter to gauge real-world use.
Music testing covered electronic, hip-hop, rock, jazz, classical and acoustic material from Apple Music Hi-Res Lossless. Comfort was assessed across multi-hour sessions. No waterbirds were harmed during testing.
- At the desk
- Across portable and desktop sources
- Mixed listening
FAQs
Is the Sendy Audio Egret hard to drive?
No. The Egret has a 38Ω impedance and a quoted sensitivity of 103dB ± 3dB, which makes it relatively easy to drive for a planar. It reaches comfortable listening volumes from a balanced dongle DAC and scales well with a desktop chain, but it doesn’t demand one.
What is the EBED process used in the Sendy Audio Egret?
Electron Beam Evaporation Deposition is the manufacturing technique Sendy uses to apply the conductive trace to the planar diaphragm. Ultra-fine aluminium is vapour-deposited onto the membrane at the atomic level, producing a more uniform coating, lower added mass and reduced distortion compared with bonded or laminated traces.
What cable does the Sendy Audio Egret come with?
A 1.8m detachable triple-composite balanced cable, combining Furukawa OFC, silver-plated copper and enamelled gold-plated copper. It terminates in a 4.4mm balanced plug at the source, with dual 3.5mm balanced connectors at the cups, and ships with a 3.5mm single-ended adapter.
Full Specs
| Sendy Audio Egret Review | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sendy |
| IP rating | No |
| Weight | 420 G |
| Release Date | 2026 |
| Driver (s) | 98 x 84mm planar magnetic |
| Connectivity | 4.4mm balanced (source); dual 3.5mm balanced (cups) |
| Colours | Handcrafted natural wood |
| Frequency Range | 8 40000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | Over-ear |
| Sensitivity | 103 dB |
| UK RRP | £799 |
| USA RRP | $799 |
| EU RRP | €879 |
A phishing campaign is exploiting fears surrounding the recently disclosed COLDCARD wallet vulnerability and suspected $88.6 million Bitcoin theft to trick users into installing ScreenConnect remote access software.
Proofpoint, which discovered the campaign, says it uses emails impersonating COLDCARD that claim a security audit is underway across its hardware cold storage wallet devices.
The phishing campaign comes after attackers recently stole approximately 1,367 Bitcoin, worth an estimated $88.6 million, from 4,585 addresses using what is believed to be a random number generation flaw affecting multiple COLDCARD models and firmware versions.
The emails are sent from compliance@coldcardteamnews.com with the subject “Hardware audit now available” and tell recipients that recent findings require COLDCARD to verify the integrity of devices across all hardware revisions.
“We are writing to inform you of a coordinated security audit now underway across the COLDCARD device network. Recent findings have prompted us to verify the integrity of hardware across all revisions, and your participation is needed,” reads the fake security audit emails.
Source: Proofpoint
The emails direct users to an alleged “Security Verification & Incident Reporting Tool,” claiming the process is air-gapped, will not request their recovery seed, and must be completed by August 10.
Clicking an “Access the Audit Tool” button opens the site coldcardcompliance.com, which impersonates COLDCARD with a message to click on the “Start Hardware Audit” button to download the tool.
The fake website also includes a live “Customer Service” chat feature that allegedly allows targets to receive support for their COLDCARD devices.
In chats shared by Proofpoint, an operator asks whether the victim uses Windows or macOS and then instructs Windows users to run the downloaded tool.
Source: Proofpoint
When one user reported seeing a black window and an administrator prompt, the operator explained that the prompt was required to begin the installation and told them to click “Yes.”
Proofpoint believes these conversations are likely being handled by real people rather than an automated chatbot, allowing the attackers to respond to concerns and pressure hesitant victims into proceeding with the installation.
Batch file installs remote access software
Proofpoint shared on X that clicking on the website’s “Start Hardware Audit” button downloads a batch file named Coldcard_Diagnostic_Tool.bat from a GitHub account.
BleepingComputer analyzed the 25.7MB batch file shared by Proofpoint and found that it contains two Base64-encoded files embedded directly in the file.
When launched, the script first pretends to perform a diagnostic check on your device, but in the background it actually checks whether the user has administrator privileges. If it does not, it uses PowerShell to relaunch itself with a User Account Control prompt to request elevated permissions.
Source: BleepingComputer
The script then stores the embedded Base64-encoded files in a randomly named directory as setup.msi [VirusTotal] and docusign.exe [VirusTotal] in the Windows temp folder and decodes them using Windows certutil.
After installing the setup.msi file, the script launches docusign.exe, displays an “Installation Complete” message, and then deletes the temporary directory. The docusign.exe file is a legitimate signed executable that installs a DocuSign printer driver, which acts as a decoy during the attack.
The MSI launched setup.msi file is actually a ConnectWise ScreenConnect installer, which is a remote management tool that gives the threat actor remote access to the device.
When launched, Proofpoint says it connects to the activeretirementrelocation[.]com, which is the ScreenConnect command-and-control server used by the threat actor.
Once connected through ScreenConnect, the attackers could remotely access the computer, steal data or cryptocurrency, or install additional malware.
Proofpoint warns that this access could also be used to deploy ransomware.
Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.
The Picus whitepaper shows how breach and attack simulation tests your SIEM and EDR rules so threats stop slipping by detection.
It’s supposed to mask your IP address, but researchers found that it doesn’t always work due to a WebKit issue.
Apple’s Private Relay feature is supposed to ensure that no website or even the company itself can see your IP address when you browse the web on Safari. But according to security researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk, it doesn’t always work as intended due to issues with Apple’s web browser engine, WebKit.
One of the issues they found is related to passkeys, which are gaining ground as a new secure and password-free login method. As 404Media explains, when you use a passkey to log in, your device makes an authentication request outside of the browser itself. Private Relay is an iCloud+ feature bound to Safari and doesn’t shield your identity throughout your device like a real VPN does. So, if you log into a website or a service with your passkey on Safari, it could leak your IP.
The possibility of an IP leak isn’t confined to Safari either. Since the issue lies with WebKit that’s used on all iOS browsers, your IP could also become visible to websites and services if you use passkeys on other browsers designed for privacy and anonymity, like OnionBrowser and the researchers’ own Psylo browser.
The researchers said in a post on X that they have already contacted OnionBrowser and the Tor Project, which provides the anonymity network the browser uses, to share their findings and solutions. Apple told 404Media that it’s already investigating the researchers’ report, but as the researchers said in their post, it could take a lot of time before the company addresses the problem. They mentioned the issue with iCloud’s Hide My Email, for instance, which another research team discovered in mid-2025. Apple didn’t roll out a fix, which would prevent the feature from leaking the real email addresses behind aliases, until a year later.
Re: Responsible Disclosure
We found ourselves in a bit of a dilemma with these DNS and IP leaks in WebKit and how to handle them responsibly.
We first became aware of a DNS leak in Psylo in late June 2026 after a user reported it. During our investigation, we found two… https://t.co/5kFu0jtUsJ
— Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪 (@mysk_co) August 5, 2026
News Videos44 seconds ago
MAJOR XRP CLARITY ACT ATTCK!!! (IS IT DEAD??!?!)
NewsBeat1 minute ago
Smart clothes will soon be on sale. But regulations are needed to prevent a new waste mountain
Business2 minutes ago
Admiral profit falls 18% as UK car insurance division reports decline
-
Fashion6 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Wit & Wisdom
-
Politics6 days agoMeta enters AI-training agreement with far-right ‘propaganda rag’ Newsmax
-
Politics4 days agoZack Polanski: an incitement to murder Nigel Farage?
-
Crypto World5 days agoMicroStrategy Post-Earnings CLARITY Act Push Could Add New Catalyst for Its Stock
-
Crypto World5 days agoXRP Ledger v3.3.0 brings five institutional features
-
News Videos7 days agoBitcoin Enters the 3rd Stage of the Bear Market
-
Politics7 days agoLuke Littler’s dominance sparks GOAT debate
-
Sports6 days agoSeema Kaliramna Wins Discus Throw Bronze, Takes India’s CWG Medals Tally To 17
-
Crypto World5 days agoNew York sues Kalshi over prediction market gambling
-
Crypto World4 days agoCrypto PAC spending tops $2M in Michigan House race
-
Business3 days agoDTCR: Deleveraging And A Hedge Fund Collapse Point To A Possible AI Bottom
-
Business6 days agoTrump Announces Hamas Disarmament Agreement as Iran Strikes Kuwait Air Base and US Attacks Pause Overnight
-
Crypto World6 days ago3 Fed Officials Just Explained Their Rate Hike Vote: Is Inflation Winning?
-
Tech4 days agoESET tracks rise in malicious AI skills and adaptable malware
-
Tech6 days agoGemini Spark can now use Chrome logins and saved passwords to run errands on your behalf
-
Sports5 days agoFrance Cricket implodes: letters hidden in a drawer and a board at war
-
NewsBeat7 days agoFour people die trying to cross Channel in small boats
-
Crypto World4 days ago
XRP Ledger urges node upgrade after manifest flood
-
Tech6 days agoBuilding A Reproduction PlayStation Motherboard
-
Crypto World5 days agoMoneyflip CEO charged in $40K murder-for-hire plot
You must be logged in to post a comment Login