Sarah Elaine Eaton, Beatriz Antonieta Moya Figueroa and Robert Brennan of The University of Calgary and Rahul Kumar of Brock University explore how GenAI is changing how young people learn.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is now a reality in higher education, with students and professors integrating chatbots into teaching, learning and assessment. But this isn’t just a technical shift; it’s reshaping how students and educators learn and evaluate knowledge.

Our recent qualitative study with 28 educators across Canadian universities and colleges – from librarians to engineering professors – suggests that we have entered a watershed moment in education.

We must grapple with the question: What exactly should be assessed when human cognition can be augmented or simulated by an algorithm?

Research about AI and academic integrity

In our review of 15 years of research that engages how AI affects cheating in education, we found that AI is a double-edged sword for schools.

On one hand, AI tools like online translators and text generators have become so advanced that they can write just like humans. This makes it difficult for teachers to detect cheating. Additionally, these tools can sometimes present fake news as facts or repeat unfair social biases, such as racism and sexism, found in the data used to train them.

On the other hand, the studies we reviewed showed AI can be a legitimate assistant that can make learning more inclusive. For instance, AI can provide support for students with disabilities or help those who are learning an additional language.

Because it’s nearly impossible to block every AI tool, schools should not just focus on catching cheaters. Instead, schools and post-secondary institutions can update their policies and provide better training for both students and teachers. This helps everyone learn how to use technology responsibly while maintaining a high standard of academic integrity.

Participants in our study positioned themselves not as enforcers, but as stewards of learning with integrity.

Their focus was on distinguishing between assistance that supports learning and assistance that substitutes for it. They identified three skill areas where assessment boundaries currently fall: prompting, critical thinking and writing.

Prompting: A legitimate and assessable skill

Participants widely viewed prompting – the ability to formulate clear and purposeful instructions for a chatbot – as a skill they could assess. Effective prompting requires students to break down tasks, understand concepts and communicate precisely.

Several noted that unclear prompts often produce poor outputs, forcing students to reflect on what they are really asking.

Prompting was considered ethical only when used transparently, drawing on one’s own foundational knowledge. Without these conditions, educators feared prompting may drift into over-reliance or uncritical use of AI.

Critical thinking

Educators saw strong potential for AI to support assessing critical thinking. Because chatbots can generate text that sounds plausible but may contain errors, omissions or fabrications, students must evaluate accuracy, coherence and credibility. Participants reported using AI-generated summaries or arguments as prompts for critique, asking students to identify weaknesses or misleading claims.

These activities align with a broader need to prepare students for work in a future where assessing algorithmic information will be a routine task. Several educators argued it would be unethical not to teach students how to interrogate AI-generated content.

Writing: Where boundaries tighten

Writing was the most contested domain. Educators distinguished sharply between brainstorming, editing and composition.

Brainstorming with AI was acceptable when used as a starting point, as long as students expressed their own ideas and did not substitute AI suggestions for their own thinking.

Editing with AI (for example, grammar correction) was considered acceptable only after students had produced original text and could evaluate whether AI-generated revisions were appropriate. Although some see AI as a legitimate support for linguistic diversity, as well as helping to level the field for those with disabilities or those who speak English as an additional language, others fear a future of language standardisation where the unique, authentic voice of the student is smoothed over by an algorithm.

Having chatbots draft arguments or prose was implicitly rejected. Participants treated the generative phase of writing as a uniquely human cognitive process that needs to be done by students, not machines.

Educators also cautioned that heavy reliance on AI could tempt students to bypass the “productive struggle” inherent in writing, a struggle that is central to developing original thought.

Our research participants recognised that in a hybrid cognitive future, skills related to AI, together with critical thinking are essential skills for students to be ready for the workforce after graduation.

Living in the post-plagiarism era

The idea of co-writing with GenAI brings us into a post-plagiarism era where AI is integrated into teaching, learning and communication in a way that challenges us to reconsider our assumptions about authorship and originality.

This does not mean that educators no longer care about plagiarism or academic integrity. Honesty will always be important. Rather, in a post-plagiarism context, we consider that humans and AI co-writing and co-creating does not automatically equate to plagiarism.

Today, AI is disrupting education and although we don’t yet have all the answers, it’s certain that AI is here to stay. Teaching students to co-create with AI is part of learning in a post-plagiarism world.

Design for a socially just future

Valid assessment in the age of AI requires clearly delineating which cognitive processes must remain human and which can be legitimately cognitively offloaded. To ensure higher education remains a space for ethical decision-making especially in terms of teaching, learning and assessment, we propose five design principles, based on our research:

Explicit expectations

The educator is responsible for making clear if and how GenAI can be used in a particular assignment. Students must know exactly when and how AI is a partner in their work. Ambiguity can lead to unintentional misconduct, as well as a breakdown in the student-educator relationship.

Process over product

By evaluating drafts, annotations and reflections, educators can assess the learning process, rather than just the output, or the product.

Design assessment tasks that require human judgement

Tasks requiring high-level evaluation, synthesis and critique of localised contexts are areas where human agency is still important.

Developing evaluative judgement

Educators must teach students to be critical consumers of GenAI, capable of identifying its limitations and biases.

Preserving student voice

Assessments should foreground how students know what they know, rather than what they know.

Preparing students for a hybrid cognitive future

Educators in this study sought ethical, practical ways to integrate GenAI into assessment. They argued that students must understand both the capabilities and the limitations of GenAI, particularly its tendency to generate errors, oversimplifications or misleading summaries.

In this sense, post-plagiarism is not about crisis, but about rethinking what it means to learn and demonstrate knowledge in a world where human cognition routinely interacts with digital systems.

Universities and colleges now face a choice. They can treat AI as a threat to be managed, or they can treat it as a catalyst for strengthening assessment, integrity and learning. The educators in our study favour the latter.

By Sarah Elaine Eaton, Beatriz Antonieta Moya Figueroa, Robert Brennan and Rahul Kumar.

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a professor and research chair for the Werklund School of Education, in the University of Calgary. Beatriz Antonieta Moya Figueroa is an assistant professor for the Werklund School of Education in the University of Calgary. Robert Brennan is a professor of mechanical and manufacturing engineering at the University of Calgary. Rahul Kumar is an assistant professor for the Faculty of Education at Brock University.

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Multiple critical vulnerabilities in the popular n8n open-source workflow automation platform allow escaping the confines of the environment and taking complete control of the host server.

Collectively tracked as CVE-2026-25049, the issues can be exploited by any authenticated user who can create or edit workflows on the platform to perform unrestricted remote code execution on the n8n server.

Researchers at several cybersecurity companies reported the problems, which stem from n8n’s sanitization mechanism and bypass the patch for CVE-2025-68613, another critical flaw addressed on December 20.

According to Pillar Security, exploiting CVE-2026-25049 enables complete compromise of the n8n instance and could be leveraged to run arbitrary system commands on the server, steal all stored credentials, secrets (API keys, OAuth tokens), and sensitive configuration files.

By exploiting the vulnerability, the researchers were also able to access the filesystem and internal systems, pivot to connected cloud accounts, and hijack AI workflows (intercept prompts, modify responses, redirect traffic).

As n8n is a multi-tenant environment, accessing internal cluster services can potentially allow pivoting to other tenants’ data.

“The attack requires nothing special. If you can create a workflow, you can own the server,” Pillar Security says in a report today.

Pillar’s report describes the problem as incomplete AST-based sandboxing and explains that it arises from n8n’s weak sandboxing of user-written server-side JavaScript expressions in workflows.

On December 21, 2025, they demonstrated a chained bypass to the n8n team, allowing sandbox escape and access to the Node.js global object, leading to RCE.

A fix was implemented two days later, but upon further analysis, Pillar found it incomplete, and a second escape via a different mechanism using equivalent operations remained possible.

n8n developers confirmed the bypass on December 30, and eventually, n8n released version 2.4.0 on January 12, 2026, addressing the issue.

Researchers at Endor Labs also discovered sanitization bypasses and demonstrated the CVE-2026-25049 vulnerability with a simple proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit that achieves remote code execution.

“In all versions prior to 2.5.2 and 1.123.17, the sanitization function assumes keys in property accesses are strings in attacker-controlled code,” says Cristian Staicu of Endor Labs.

However, while the check is reflected in TypeScript typings, it is not enforced at runtime, introducing a type-confusion vulnerability. This leads to bypassing the “sanitization controls entirely, enabling arbitrary code execution attacks.”

In a report today, researchers at SecureLayer7 provide the technical details that enabled them to achieve “server side JavaScript execution using the Function constructor.”

They discovered CVE-2026-25049 while analyzing CVE-2025-68613 and n8n’s fix for it. It took more than 150 failed attempts to refine a successful bypass.

SecureLayer7’s report also includes a PoC exploit and detailed steps for the initial setup and creating a malicious workflow that leads to full server control.

Recommended steps

n8n users should update the platform to the most recent version (currently 1.123.17 and 2.5.2). Pillar security also recommends rotating the ‘N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY’ and all credentials stored on the server, and reviewing workflows for suspicious expressions.

If updating is not possible at the moment, the n8n team provides administrators with a workaround, which acts as a temporary mitigation and does not completely address the risk:

• Limit workflow creation and editing permissions to fully trusted users only
• Deploy n8n in a hardened environment with restricted operating system privileges and network access to reduce the impact of potential exploitation

Currently, there have not been any public reports about CVE-2026-25049 being exploited. However, n8n’s growing popularity appears to have caught the attention of cybercriminals in the context of the Ni8mare flaw (CVE-2026-21858).

GreyNoise this week reported seeing potentially malicious activity targeting exposed n8n endpoints vulnerable to Ni8mare, logging at least 33,000 requests between January 27 and February 3.

Although this probing could be due to research activity, scanning for the /proc filesystem indicates interest in post-exploitation potential.

Modern IT infrastructure moves faster than manual workflows can handle.

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Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. Data sourced from the Labour Force in Singapore 2025 report by Singapore Ministry of Manpower released on 29 Jan 2026.

According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Manpower, the path to prosperity in Singapore still leads through university. While success stories of college dropouts who became billionaires capture imagination, the truth is that for most people the safe and tested path of organised education is still the one that pays best.

As the national median salary for all resident Singaporean employees climbed to S$5,775 in 2025, university degree holders saw their median salary rise to S$9,038, up from S$8,656 last year.

In fact, university degree holders outearn the next group – those with diplomas and other professional qualifications – by a whopping 78 per cent.

$100,000 in your 30s

It’s also quite impressive how quick the income progression is for university graduates. Starting at just S$4,680 in gross income upon graduation, they double it by mid to late 30s, pushing the median for everybody above S$100,000 annually.

Incomes peak and remain relatively comparable in your 40s and 50s, before declining on average towards your retirement (but still remaining at over six figures annually for more than a half of degree holders).

A tale of two Singapores

With recently reported increases in median pay of around $400 per month per year, university graduates in Singapore are on track to be the first group to cross the S$10,000 mark by about 2030.

By then they might be outearning diploma holders by $4,000 (and other groups by even more). They would also constitute about half of the local labour force (currently at around 45 per cent).

Given the huge disparities it does suggest a growing, fundamental split in the Singaporean society—two different groups leading completely different lives, increasingly disconnected from each other, which could contribute to greater sociopolitical divisions as well.

It’s no longer about a narrow elite that many aspire to joining but few do, but one half of the society regularly making twice as much money than the other.

On the one hand, it’s only natural for those best educated and most capable to considerably outearn the rest. On the other, however, it may put a strain on the expectations Singaporeans on both sides of the divide have of their country.

The government itself has just acknowledged that it might be a challenge to provide equally good jobs for everybody in the future.

The only thing you can do is to stay the course on education and climb the ladder to, hopefully, join the prosperous side.

Featured image: jpldesigns / depositphotos

Alexa+ is now available to everyone in the US, and if you are an Amazon Prime member, you get it at no extra cost. Amazon has been testing Alexa+ through an early access program over the past year. Now, it is moving out of that phase and opening the experience to a much wider audience across Echo devices, the Alexa mobile app, and Alexa.com.

What is Alexa+?

Alexa+ is a rebuilt version of Amazon’s assistant, powered by large language models from Amazon Nova and Anthropic. Unlike the older Alexa, which focused on short commands, Alexa+ is designed to understand natural, conversational requests and handle more complex tasks.

You don’t even need an Echo speaker to use it. Alexa+ works on the web and inside the Alexa app, making it more like a full AI assistant than a smart speaker feature.

Amazon says people are already using Alexa+ roughly twice as much as the standard version during testing. The assistant can answer deeper questions, help with planning, and handle longer back-and-forth conversations instead of one-off commands.

How much does Alexa+ cost?

Pricing is where Alexa+ becomes especially interesting. Prime members in the US get unlimited access to Alexa+ as part of their existing subscription. If you are not a Prime member, Amazon offers a limited free chat experience through the Alexa app and Alexa.com.

Full access without Prime costs $19.99 per month, which Amazon is clearly positioning as an incentive to subscribe to Prime instead.

What Alexa+ can do for you

Alexa+ goes well beyond setting timers and playing music. It can help plan meals, order groceries, manage calendars, write emails, help with shopping, organize trips, and build smart home routines using natural voice commands. You can also use Alexa+ as a text-based chatbot for research, planning, and content generation through the web and mobile app.

Amazon has been steadily pushing Alexa beyond smart speakers, across devices ranging from Samsung TVs and BMW cars to wearables. It is also trying to take on ChatGPT and Gemini by bringing Alexa to the web, signaling how central Alexa+ is becoming to its broader AI strategy.

By bundling Alexa+ directly with Prime subscription, something that millions of users already pay for, Amazon is turning Alexa+ into something people are likely to try simply because it is already there.

A digital photo frame shouldn’t be complicated. At its best, it’s just a good-looking screen that can be set up quickly that reliably shows the photos you care about. Unfortunately, that’s not always how things play out. The market is flooded with cheap digital frames that promise simplicity but end up delivering washed-out displays, clunky apps and a frustrating experience — leading you to abandon it after a week.

That’s a shame, because a good digital frame can be really enjoyable. Most of us have thousands of photos sitting on our phones that never make it beyond the camera roll, even though they’re exactly the kind of moments worth seeing every day. A solid frame gives those images a permanent home, whether it’s family photos cycling in the living room or shared albums updating automatically for relatives across the country. We’ve tested a range of smart photo frames to separate the genuinely useful options from the forgettable junk, and these are the ones that are actually worth putting on display.

Best digital picture frames for 2026

AURA

Using an Aura frame felt like the company looked at the existing digital photo frame market and said “we have to be able to do better than this.” And they have. The Carver Mat is extremely simple to set up, has a wonderful screen, feels well-constructed and inoffensive and has some smart features that elevate it beyond its competitors (most of which don’t actually cost that much less).

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The Carver Mat reminds me a little bit of an Amazon Echo Show in its design. It’s a landscape-oriented device with a wide, angled base that tapers to a thin edge at the top. Because of this design, you can’t orient it in portrait mode, like some other frames I tried, but Aura has a software trick to get around that (more on that in a minute). The whole device is made of a matte plastic in either black or white that has a nice grip, doesn’t show fingerprints and just overall feels like an old-school photo frame.

The 10.1-inch display is the best I’ve seen on any digital photo frame I’ve tested. Yes, the 1,280 x 800 resolution is quite low by modern standards, but it provides enough detail that all of my photos look crisp and clear. Beyond the resolution, the Carver’s screen has great color reproduction and viewing angles, and deals well with glare from the sun and lights alike. It’s not a touchscreen, but that doesn’t bother me because it prevents the screen from getting covered in fingerprints — and the app takes care of everything you need so it’s not required.

One control you will find on the frame is a way to skip forwards or backwards through the images loaded on it. You do this by swiping left or right on the top of the frame; you can also double-tap this area to “love” an image. From what I can tell, there’s no real utility in this aside from notifying the person who uploaded that pic that someone else appreciated it. But the swipe backwards and forwards gestures are definitely handy if you want to skip a picture or scroll back and see something you missed.

Setting the frame up was extremely simple. Once plugged in, I just downloaded the Aura app, made an account and tapped “add frame.” From there, it asked if the frame was for me or if I was setting it up as a gift (this mode lets you pre-load images so the device is ready to go as soon as someone plugs it in). Adding images is as simple as selecting things from your phone’s photo library. I could see my iPhone camera roll and any albums I had created in my iCloud Photos library, including shared albums that other people contribute to. You can also connect your Google Photos account and use albums from there.

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One of the smartest features Aura offers is a continuous scan of those albums — so if you have one of your kids or pets and regularly add new images to it, they’ll show up on your frame without you needing to do anything. Of course, this has the potential for misuse. If you have a shared album with someone and you assign it to your Aura frame, any pictures that someone else adds will get shared to your frame, something you may not actually want. Just something to keep in mind.

My only main caveat for the Carver Mat, and Aura in general, is that an internet connection is required and the only way to get photos on the device is via the cloud. There’s a limited selection of photos downloaded to the device, but the user has no control over that, and everything else is pulled in from the cloud. Aura says there are no limits on how many images you can add, so you don’t need to worry about running out of storage. But if you don’t want yet another device that needs to be online all the time, Aura might not be for you. Most other frames I tested let you directly load photos via an SD card or an app.

The Aura app also lets you manage settings on the frame like how often it switches images (anywhere from every 30 seconds to every 24 hours, with lots of granular choices in between) or what order to display photos (chronologically or shuffled). There’s also a “photo match” feature, which intelligently handles the issue of having lots of images in both portrait and landscape orientation. Since the Carver Mat is designed to be used in landscape, the photo match feature makes it so portrait pictures are displayed side-by-side, with two images filling the frame instead of having black bars on either side. It also tries to pull together complementary pairs of images, like displaying the same person or pulling together two pics that were shot around the same time.

Overall, the Carver Mat checks all the boxes. Great screen, simple but classy design, a good app, no subscription required. Yes, it’s a little more expensive than some competing options, but all the cheaper options are also noticeably worse in a number of ways. And if you don’t want a mat, there’s a standard Carver that costs $149 and otherwise has the same features and specs as the Caver Mat I tested.

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Pros

• High-quality display with minimal reflections
• App makes set-up and management of your photos simple
• You can store an unlimited number of pictures in Aura’s cloud
• Good integration with Apple iCloud Photos and Google Photos
• Elegant, well-constructed design
• Smartly displays two portrait photos side-by-side on the landscape display
• No subscription required

Cons

• A little pricey
• Aura’s app and cloud are the only way to get photos on the frame
• Can’t be set up in portrait orientation

PhotoSpring

If you’re looking to spend less, PhotoSpring’s Classic Digital Frame is the best option I’ve seen that costs less than $100 (just barely at $99). The PhotoSpring model comes with a 10.1-inch touchscreen with the same 1,280 x 800 resolution as the Carver Mat. The screen is definitely not as good as the Carver, though, with worse viewing angles and a lot more glare from light sources. That said, images still look sharp and colorful, especially considering you’re not going to be continuously looking at this display.

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PhotoSpring’s frames are basically Android tablets with some custom software to make them work as single-purpose photo devices. That means you’ll use the touchscreen to dig into settings, flip through photos and otherwise manipulate the device. Changing things like how often the frame changes images can’t be done in the app. While doing things on the frame itself are fine, I prefer Aura’s system of managing everything on the app.

However, PhotoSpring does have a good advantage here: you can pop in a microSD card or USB drive to transfer images directly to the frame, no internet connection required. You can also use the PhotoSpring app to sync albums and single images as well, which obviously requires the internet. But once those pics have been transferred, you’re good to go. Additionally, you can upload pictures on a computer via the PhotoSpring website or sync Google Photos albums.

As for the PhotoSpring hardware itself, it looks good from the front, giving off traditional photo frame vibes. The back is rather plasticky and doesn’t feel very premium, but overall it’s fine for the price. There’s an adjustable stand so you can set the frame up in portrait or landscape mode, and you can set the software to crop your photos or just display them with borders if the orientation doesn’t fit.

PhotoSpring also has a somewhat unusual offering: a frame that has a rechargeable battery. The $99 model just uses AC power, but a $139 option lets you unplug the frame and pass it around to people so they can swipe through your photos albums on the device. This feels like a niche use case, and I think most people will be better served saving their $40, but it’s something to consider.

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One of my favorite things about PhotoSpring is that they don’t nickel-and-dime you with subscription services. There aren’t any limits on how many images you can sync, nor are things like Google Photos locked behind a paywall. The combo of a solid feature set, a fine display and a low entry price point make the PhotoSpring a good option if you want to save some cash.

Pros

• Solid display
• Works in portrait or landscape orientation
• Lets you load pictures from multiple sources, including the PhotoSpring app, an SD card, USB drive or via Google Photos
• Inoffensive design
• No subscription required

Cons

• Touchscreen controls mean the display is prone to picking up fingerprints
• Display picks up more reflections than the Aura
• Feels a little cheap
• Software isn’t the most refined

Google

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If you want a device that works great as a digital photo frame that can do a lot more than the above options, consider Google’s Nest Hub Max. It has a 10-inch touchscreen with a 1,280 x 800 resolution and can connect to a host of Google services and other apps to help you control your smart home devices. It also works great for playing videos from YouTube or other services, or streaming music thanks to its large built-in speaker. At $229, it’s significantly more expensive than our other options, but there’s no question it can do a lot more.

From a photos perspective, you’ll need to use Google Photos. If you’re not already using the app, switching your library over might be too much of a task to make it worthwhile. But if you do use Google Photos, signing in with your Google account when you set up the Hub Max makes accessing your images quite simple. You can pick specific albums, have it stream your entire library or pull things from various recommendations it offers up.

Once that’s set up, you can customize the slideshow as you’d expect — I set mine to come up by default after the Hub Max was dormant for a few minutes. I also removed everything from the display except the photos. By default, it shows you a clock and the weather forecast, but I wanted to just focus on the pictures. I do like the option to show a little more info, though.

As for the screen itself, it has the same relatively low resolution of the other digital photo frames I tried, but it handles glare very well. And the built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts brightness and color temperature, which I enjoy. It keeps the Hub Max from feeling like an overly bright screen blasting you with light; it recedes into the background well.

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Of course, the Nest Hub Max has a lot of voice-activated tricks via the Google Assistant. My big question is how long the Hub Max will be supported, as Google is clearly planning to phase out the Assistant in favor of Gemini, and I’m not convinced that the Hub Max will ever support that new AI-powered tool. Beyond the Assistant, you can get a variety of apps on it like Netflix and YouTube, stream music from a bunch of apps, see video from your Nest Cam or make video calls via the built-in camera.

If you’re going to buy a Nest Hub Max, it shouldn’t be just for its digital photo frame features, even though those are quite solid. It’s best for someone well-entrenched in the Google ecosystem who wants a more multi-purpose device. If you fit the bill, though, the Nest Hub Max remains a capable device, even though it’s been around for almost five years.

Pros

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• Good display quality with auto-brightness and warmth settings
• Getting images on it is a piece of cake, provided you use Google Photos
• Plenty of ways to control smart home devices
• Good-sounding speaker

Cons

• Almost five years old
• Google Assistant’s days are likely numbered
• More expensive than a standard digital photo frame

AURA

The Aura Aspen frame is a step-up from our top pick in terms of overall quality and, unfortunately but predictably, price. For $229, you get a 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, 11.8-inch display that supports 169 pixels per inch, and the frame can be positioned in either portrait or landscape mode. There’s a physical button and touchbar on the frame’s edge that let’s you swipe through photos or change what’s currently displayed, but you can also do that remotely with Aura’s mobile app. All of the same great app features present in the Carver are here for the Aspen, including inviting others to contribute photos to your frame. The kicker here, like with all Aura frames, is the lack of a subscription necessary to keep your frame filled to the brim with updated photos. That alone may be worth paying the higher price tag for some when picking out a frame you want to be able to use freely for years to come. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor

Pros

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• Elegant design
• 1,600 x 1,200 resolution display
• Easy-to-use Aura app
• Can invite others to add photos via mobile app
• No subscription required

What to look for in digital picture frames

While a digital photo frame feels like a simple piece of tech, there are a number of things I considered when trying to find one worth displaying in my home. First and foremost was screen resolution and size. I was surprised to learn that most digital photo frames have a resolution around 1,200 x 800, which feels positively pixelated. (That’s for frames with screen sizes in the nine- to ten-inch range, which is primarily what I considered for this guide.)

But after trying a bunch of frames, I realized that screen resolution is not the most important factor; my favorite photos looked best on frames that excelled in reflectivity, brightness, viewing angles and color temperature. A lot of these digital photo frames were lacking in one or more of these factors; they often didn’t deal with reflections well or had poor viewing angles.

A lot of frames I tested felt cheap and looked ugly as well, which isn’t something you want in a smart device that sits openly in your home. That includes lousy stands, overly glossy plastic parts and design decisions I can only describe as strange, particularly for items that are meant to just blend into your home. The best digital photo frames don’t call attention to themselves and look like an actual “dumb” frame, so much so that those that aren’t so tech-savvy might mistake them for one.

Perhaps the most important thing outside of the display, though, is the software. Let me be blunt: a number of frames I tested had absolutely atrocious companion apps and software experiences that I would not wish on anyone. One that I tried did not have a touchscreen, but did have an IR remote (yes, like the one you controlled your TV with 30 years ago). Trying to use that with a Wi-Fi connection was painful, and when I tried instead to use a QR code, I was linked to a Google search for random numbers instead of an actual app or website. I gave up on that frame, the $140 PixStar, on the spot.

Other things were more forgivable. A lot of the frames out there are basically Android tablets with a bit of custom software slapped on the top, which worked fine but wasn’t terribly elegant. And having to interact with the photo frame via touch wasn’t great because you end up with fingerprints all over the display. The best frames I tried were smart about what features you could control on the frame itself vs. through an app, the latter of which is my preferred method.

Another important software note: many frames I tried require subscriptions for features that absolutely should be included out of the box. For example, one frame would only let me upload 10 photos at a time without a subscription. Others would let you link a Google Photos account, but you could only sync a single album without paying up. Yet another option didn’t let you create albums to organize the photos that were on the frame — it was just a giant scroll of photos with no way to give them order.

While some premium frames offer perks like unlimited photos or cloud storage, they often come at a cost. I can understand why certain things might go under a subscription, like if you’re getting a large amount of cloud storage, for example. But these subscriptions feel like ways for companies to make recurring revenue from a product made so cheaply they can’t make any money on the frame itself. I’d urge you to make sure your chosen frame doesn’t require a subscription (neither of the frames I recommend in this guide need a subscription for any of their features), especially if you plan on giving this device as a gift to loved ones.

How much should you spend on a digital picture frame

For a frame with a nine- or ten-inch display, expect to spend at least $100. Our budget recommendation is $99, and all of the options I tried that were cheaper were not nearly good enough to recommend. Spending $150 to $180 will get you a significantly nicer experience in all facets, from functionality to design to screen quality.

Digital frames FAQs

Are digital photo frames a good idea?

Yes, as long as you know what to expect. A digital picture frame makes it easy to enjoy your favorite shots without printing them. They’re especially nice for families who want to display new photos quickly. The key is understanding the limitations. Some frames have lower resolution displays or need a constant Wi-Fi connection to work properly, so they’re not a perfect replacement for a high-quality print on the wall. But if you want a simple way to keep memories on display and up to date, they’re a solid choice.

Can you upload photos to a digital frame from anywhere?

Most modern digital frames let you do this, but it depends on the model. Many connect to Wi-Fi and use apps, cloud storage or email uploads, so you can add photos from your phone no matter where you are. Some even let family members share directly, which is great for keeping grandparents updated with new pictures. That said, a few budget models only work with USB drives or memory cards, so check how the frame handles uploads before buying.

Georgie Peru contributed to this report.

Last year, it was revealed that Google is working on a new range of Android PCs powered by a new operating system called Aluminium OS, and a while back, we also learned that these PCs might ship with a barebones version of the Pixel Camera app. However, the actual PC itself might take a bit longer to arrive. As reported by The Verge, a detailed report around Google’s internal Project Aluminium suggests the Android-based PC operating system isn’t close to launch.

While Google has talked about combining Android and ChromeOS into a more unified platform, court filings and internal timelines indicate a full public release may not happen until 2028, with limited testing possibly starting earlier. The delay isn’t just technical. It’s also strategic. Google still has to figure out how an Android PC OS fits alongside ChromeOS, which already powers millions of Chromebooks, especially in schools and enterprise environments. And ChromeOS isn’t disappearing anytime soon.

Why Aluminium may take years to land

According to testimony and internal documents cited in the reporting, Google plans to maintain ChromeOS support for up to 10 years on existing devices, potentially stretching into the early 2030s. That means two platforms could coexist for a long time. Some older Chromebooks may not even be able to upgrade to Aluminium due to hardware limits, forcing Google to support parallel systems longer than planned.

That overlap creates messy questions. Should partners ship ChromeOS or Android-for-PC? Will apps work the same across both? And how do developers prioritize one platform without fragmenting the ecosystem? Even basic expectations like keyboard, mouse, and multi-window workflows require bigger changes than Android’s current tablet mode can offer. Further, legal and business complications add another wrinkle. The documents show Google’s laptop OS strategy intersects with ongoing antitrust scrutiny and Play Store rules, which could affect how tightly Google bundles its apps and services on Aluminium devices.

In other words, even if the software is ready, how it’s packaged and distributed may be controversial. For buyers, the takeaway is simple: Android laptops aren’t around the corner. ChromeOS will remain Google’s main PC platform for years, and Aluminium looks more like a long-term evolution than an imminent replacement. When it does arrive, expect a transition period, not an overnight shift. If you’re considering a Chromebook or waiting for an Android-native PC, it’s worth keeping expectations grounded.

Andreessen Horowitz just raised a whopping ⁠new $15 billion in funding⁠. And a $1.7 billion chunk of that is going to its ⁠infrastructure team⁠, the one responsible for some of its biggest, most prominent AI investments including Black Forrest Labs, Cursor, OpenAI, ⁠ElevenLabs⁠, Ideogram, ⁠Fal⁠ and dozens of others.  

A16z ⁠general partner with the infra team Jennifer Li⁠ (who oversees such investments as ElevenLabs – just valued at $11 billion); Ideagram and Fal, has a clear thesis on where the team is looking to spend it’s latest chunk of cash. 

Watch as Venture and Startups editor Julie Bort talks with Li on ⁠Equity⁠ about where a16z sees this AI super cycle going next, including the talent crunch hitting AI-native startups, why search infrastructure matters more than people think, and what kinds of companies are actually getting funded right now. 

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 

Not your usual uncle job: These teens are barbers on the side

Everyone has a go-to person for their hair, and for a growing clientele, the go-to person for their next fade is not a veteran, but 19-year-old Sujaish Kumar or 14-year-old Keanu Akbar. 

While it’s easy to dismiss their work as a hobby, these two students have built successful brands from the ground up, earning recognition online and off—endeavours that gave them purpose after completing their studies. 

Vulcan Post speaks to Sujaish and Keanu to find out how they paved their own way for themselves and other younger barbers in the old school trade.

Both of them picked up barbering by watching online videos 

Getting a decent haircut was often a nightmare for Sujaish. He shared that ‘good barbers’ often charged S$30—out of budget for him and his friends in secondary school—leaving them to patronise shops that provided S$10-S$12 haircuts.

Unfortunately, keeping to that budget mean that the haircuts often came out uneven and messy. ​​Frustrated, Sujaish decided to take matters into his own hands, challenging himself to provide better haircuts. The next day, he started watching tutorials on YouTube and TikTok.

“I had about S$50 saved up, so I just spent that on a pair of clippers. Then I basically had to beg my friends to let me cut their hair.” But even with having the right tools, the execution turned out to be harder than he thought.

“The first few haircuts were really really bad, uneven, and kind of demotivating,” Sujaish sheepishly shared, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to hone his craft, providing free haircuts for family, friends and their acquaintances at his HDB corridor. 

Through word-of-mouth, Sujaish eventually gained a sizable following. Five months after he started, his cuts were good enough for him to charge S$5, which soon rose to S$8 per head. He also began promoting his services on TikTok, and one viral reel further grew his clientele base. 

Even though he had to move his chair to his home upon receiving orders from the Housing Development Board (HDB), he continued making a name for himself online as a young barber, inspiring others, like Keanu, to do the same. 

At the tender age of 12, Keanu was encouraged by his older brother to pick up barbering as a hobby, and he got him a set of tools to help him get started. As it turns out, Keanu’s older brother is friends with Sujaish himself, and that inspired his own suggestion.

Keanu shared a similar learning trajectory: picking up his skills from online tutorials and offering free haircuts for his family and friends to sharpen them. He started charging just S$3 per haircut after a year of practice and performed his services on a staircase at his HDB in Clementi. Word soon spread of his services, which helped him land an interview with local publication AsiaOne, which put his name out to the masses.

But beyond those opportunities, how did they actually sustain beyond the hype—one as long as their veteran seniors? 

Scaling up a word-of-mouth service

While the traditional, word-of-mouth method got them started, both Sujaish and Keanu quickly diversified their reach, leaning heavily into social media, particularly TikTok, to scale up.

Going viral is not an easy feat, but Sujaish achieved just that with a video titled ‘How much I make as a 17-year-old barber in Singapore,’ where he earned S$195 in a single day. This financial transparency not only drew netizens but also attracted Singaporean news outlets Mothership and CNA.

Similarly, Keanu’s interview with Asiaone put him on the radar for more clients. The 14-year-old shared that since the interview, his Telegram subscribers doubled from around 150 to 350, and his TikTok following tripled from approximately 400-500 to 1,200.  

However, viral success came with unforeseen challenges. Sujaish’s video caught the attention of the HDB, who informed him he could no longer operate in the corridor due to potential disturbance to neighbours, prompting him to move operations back inside his home.

Despite the change in settings, Sujaish continued to build his brand and reinvest his earnings for better tools and setups. He has also since raised his starting price to S$30 per haircut and started receiving requests from customers for house calls, where he could get paid a higher price of S$50. 

This additional revenue stream gave Sujaish enough funds to open his own studio at Potong Pasir, which was around 100 sqft, or equivalent to a master bedroom in an HDB flat. While moving to a studio resulted in him forking out more than S$1,000 for flooring, rental and upgrades, he believes it was a gamble worth taking. 

“Even from when I started, my goal was always to have my own private area where I could do my haircuts, and cutting hair at home was disturbing my family.”

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Keanu has also moved his workstation to his home, not because he was told to, but out of a personal desire to provide a more comfortable experience for his clients. “Usually when it rains, I have to cancel my appointments because [my workspace] will get very wet and then people won’t like it.” 

Beyond the fade 

Aside from being able to earn from their side hustle, the trade has also instilled skillsets and qualities that can be used beyond barbering. 

A self-proclaimed introvert, Keanu shared that picking up barbering helped him to gain confidence in engaging with strangers. “When I’m with my friends, I talk a lot. But other than that, I was really quiet in Primary school.”

Time management was also another skill he gained. He shared that he dedicates two and a half hours on selected weekdays and six hours on weekends, with the remainder of the time spent on his studies and leisure with family and friends. 

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“Maybe I’m not living like the full 14-year-old, but I don’t mind it.” 

For Sujaish, barbering has allowed him to learn the foundations of building a business, from marketing himself to learning the operations. These allowed him to have an ambition to work towards opening a full-fledged barbershop and even starting a haircare brand.

Overall, both of them showed a new age of barbers that bring modern trends and tactics to a trade once seen as an “old man’s job” into a career still relevant in the modern world. 

• Learn about our protagonists here:
• Read more stories we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Sujaish Kumar/ Keanu Akbar 

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