The Guardian’s deputy editor of social platforms on the demand from high-profile people and brands for help in harnessing the power of TikTokI didn’t want to work in social media. If you’d asked 15-year-old me my dream job, I might have said foreign correspondent, or maybe travel writer. So you can imagine my surprise to now find myself giving these very colleagues advice on how to get the best selfie angle or write the sharpest TikTok ‘hook’.But taking a job as the Guardian’s deputy editor of social platforms may prove to be one of my smartest career moves if the current job market is to be believed. Continue reading...

15 Aug 2026 08:01 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

The UK is both an epicentre of global creative industries and a budding AI powerhouse. Here’s how it can balance support for creatives while also embracing technological changesWhat does it mean to be a creator in today’s modern world when artificial intelligence is reshaping relationships between humans and technology?That’s one critical question the UK creative industry has been asking itself as AI rips up traditional conventions on copyright, ownership, effort, and originality. Continue reading...

13 Jul 2026 14:53 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

With great software and battery for two days, the pricey svelte folder strikes best balance between phone and tabletSamsung’s top folding phone for 2026 is its first to carry the “Ultra” moniker in its name, packing a much bigger battery and better cameras into the thin and light body of a book-style foldable.The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra continues from where the exquisite Z Fold 7 left off last year. With its svelte chocolate bar dimensions opening into a square tablet, the Ultra sits above the new passport-shaped Z Fold 8 as Samsung’s top model. Costing £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), it is a lot of money to pay for a phone, regardless of how many other devices it can theoretically replace in your pocket. Continue reading...

13 Aug 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Novel squat Android opens to an iPad-like screen for video or multitasking, with plenty of power and battery lifeSamsung’s latest folding phone breaks the mould with a squat, passport-like shape reminiscent of the Blackberry, which opens up to become a tablet similar to an iPad mini. It is certainly a better shape for a tablet than other designs, but is a short and wide phone when closed a compromise too far?The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is an entirely new variant in Samsung’s foldable family for this year launched alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra with a more familiar candy bar shape. Both folders are extremely expensive, with the Fold 8 starting at £1,699 (€1,999/$1,899.99/A$2,699) and the Fold 8 Ultra at £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), with RAMageddon driving up prices even at the top of the market. Continue reading...

10 Aug 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Super-premium Android has top performance, long battery life and good cameras, but is let down by softwareHonor’s svelte Android phone-tablet has been given a glow-up for its sixth version, offering a great alternative to Samsung for a fancy foldable with a red suede-like back framed in gold.The Magic V6 continues the Chinese challenger brand’s strategy of taking a razor-thin device and slapping a giant circular lump on the back to fit in top-class cameras, something others often forgo. It costs a not inconsiderable £1,500 (€1,700/A$2,999) but only until August when the price jumps to a cool £2,000 (€2,300) – a solid £300 more than last year’s model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite, even at the very top end of the market.Main screen: 7.95in (403ppi) 120Hz OLED flexible displayCover screen: 6.52in (406ppi) 120Hz OLEDProcessor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5RAM: 16GBStorage: 512GBOperating system: MagicOS 10 (Android 16)Camera: 50MP + 50MP ultrawide + 64MP 3x tele; 2x 20MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, dual sim + esim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, GNSSWater resistance: IP68/69 (1.5 metres for 30 minutes)Dimensions folded: 156.7 x 74.5 x 8.75-9mmDimensions unfolded: 156.7 x 145.6 x 4.0-4.1mmWeight: 219-224g Continue reading...

27 Jul 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Mid-range Android stands out with huge screen, slick software and dot-matrix display, but falls just short of greatnessNothing’s latest quirky smartphone is a huge aluminium Android with three cameras and a big LED matrix screen on the back that challenges the notion mid-range phones can’t be just a bit more fun.The Phone 4a Pro is a bit of a departure from UK-based Nothing’s previous glass-clad transparent designs. It still has a touch of those elements but only in the camera island at the top, with the rest of the body now solid aluminium – a rare sight in the world of Android phones. Continue reading...

18 May 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Snappy performance, long battery life, great keyboard and excellent new haptic touchpad make the best of Windows 11Microsoft’s Surface laptop for consumers is back, faster and with longer battery life and a hefty price increase because of the high cost of memory and chips.The Surface Laptop 8 is a straight replacement for the seventh edition from 2024, which was the first of Microsoft’s new generation of ARM-based, Qualcomm-powered PCs designed to better rival Apple’s MacBook Air and other thin and light machines. Continue reading...

14 Jul 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN