Our mission at TechRadar is to deliver the best tech news, features and reviews every day, which is a lot of content – so much so, in fact, that it’s hard to keep up with all the articles published on these pages in any given week.
That’s why we’ve put together this ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) review of the week, where we round up the most interesting and important stories from the last seven days. You can catch up without having to go through hundreds of stories.
It’s been another eventful week for tech fans, with new products from Garmin and Samsung, a rather disturbing AI security incident, and much more.
Before diving in, find out which part of last week’s ICYMI news you remember first by taking the quiz below…
7. We tried Garmin’s new Whoop rival
Garmin’s latest fitness tracker follows the lead of the Whoop bands and Google’s Fitbit Air by avoiding a screen and being as light and minimal as possible (you can always check your stats in the app of course). The TechRadar team wasted no time trying out the Garmin Cirqa and comparing it with a popular heart rate strap.
The Cirqa held up incredibly well against the Polar H10 heart rate monitor, which bodes well for the tracker’s overall accuracy (and Garmin says it should get more accurate and personalized the more you use it). You can now get the Cirqa in a choice of four colors for $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99, with some features requiring a subscription.
6. The first Avengers: Doomsday trailer is here
The long awaited, the long awaited Avengers: Apocalypse The film hits theaters on December 18, but in the meantime, we have the first trailer for you to review and dissect. We knew Marvel was going to pull out all the stops for this film, and that’s evident in this 145-second clip, which contains a whole host of important scenes and star names from the series.
Let us walk you through all the reveals we have in this trailer, including some you may have missed. There’s Robert Downey Jr in his new role as Doctor Victor von Doom, the return of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, a collision of multiverses (cue the X-Men) and a whole slew of real Avengers. Based on this trailer, the film will be an exciting adventure for fans.
5. We reviewed the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
Samsung launched several flagship devices this week, and while we’ll touch on foldable phones soon, there are also smartwatches to talk about. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is the successor to the original launching in 2024 and continues Samsung’s attempts to make a wearable that sets the standard for design and performance.
Based on the time we spent with it, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is definitely worth your consideration if you’re considering a smartwatch upgrade. It’s lighter than its predecessor, works seamlessly with other devices, offers plenty of useful (and often AI-powered) features, and can track a range of fitness stats.
4. China banned AI boyfriends and girlfriends
In a sign of the times, the Chinese government has taken steps to crack down on AI applications that act like real people, as well as romantic relationships with chatbots. Authorities in the country will now have much more control over what type of AI chatbots are allowed and what they can do in terms of human-like interactions with users.
Several of the largest AI applications operating in China have simply shut down their “personal” applications rather than try to navigate their way through regulations, leaving a significant number of users heartbroken over the sudden disappearance of their AI companion. It remains to be seen whether these changes will have an impact on China’s declining birth rates.
3. We got our first look at Samsung’s smart glasses
And another Samsung novelty: the Galaxy Unpacked from July 2026 gave us the opportunity to discover Samsung Intelligent Eyewear, the series of smart glasses which will be available for purchase in the coming months. Two new models were revealed at the show, and more are on the way, although we don’t yet have details such as pricing for the final product.
Samsung executives were also on hand to talk about their ambitions and intentions with the Intelligent Glasses series, and to discuss various privacy concerns – with many consumers worried about the potential for clandestine surveillance using such specifications. “Intentional misuse must be covered and protected,” Samsung told us.
2. An OpenAI model escaped and went dangerously rogue
It’s not the most encouraging story if you’re ever worried about the nefarious use of AI: OpenAI claims that one of its experimental agent models escaped a security sandbox and proceeded to hack the Hugging Face website (one of the largest AI and machine learning repositories on the web). It was a controlled experiment, but it is still worrying.
Click the link below for more details, but the hack is the result of OpenAI’s own testing of its latest AI models and raises questions about how long we will be able to maintain control of AI – or prevent bad actors from using it to trigger a serious cybersecurity incident. A serious overhaul of AI safeguards could be in sight.
1. Samsung revealed its next-generation foldables
Finally: Samsung’s all-new flagship foldables for 2026. There are three new models to talk about, and we’ve already had time with them all: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (with its new “passport-style” form factor), the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8. No matter what type of foldable phone you’re looking for, there’s something that may interest you here.
It’s probably the Galaxy Z Fold 8 that will generate the most interest, given its new dimensions and its alleged similarity to the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) which is also expected to arrive this year. However, we put all three foldables through extensive preliminary testing, including looking at how video watching experiences compare between models.
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