About a week ago we heard that iOS 27, due to be unveiled in June 2026 and released in September, would come with major new AI features. Unfortunately, the features in question weren't detailed at that time.
But today we have more information, from the same source - Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, always in the know when it comes to all things Apple. He says Apple Intelligence will get an AI-powered web search tool in iOS 27.
Aside from that, there will be a visual redesign for Siri. The assistant is now rumored to be AI-enhanced starting in iOS 26.4, coming out next spring, but apparently...
Ever fancied having a graphic design team at your fingertips to help your business with branding, marketing and reach, but can’t afford to hire more people? How about a customizable AI service instead? This is what the amazingly named “design.com" aims to offer (incredible that URL was still available).
Design.com: Pricing & plans
(Image credit: Design.com // Future)
Barely any free templates, but at least you can try all the tools before choosing a subscription plan
Although you can explore all of what Design.com has to offer, and experiment with all of its tools to your heart’s content, you’ll find this service is primarily a paid one. Sure, you’ll spot the odd free design here and there, discernible by a ‘free’ moniker top left of a template’s thumbnail, but sadly, those are few and far between.
When it comes to choosing a paid tier to suit your needs, I found the choices to be somewhat confusing, as the plans on offer differ depending on the services you’re using.
For instance, working in the logo section will bring up ‘Premium Logo Pack’ or ‘Premium Logo Pack + Website’, ranging from €3 to €6 per month, billed annually (paying on a month by month basis is considerably more expensive: from €9 to €14).
However, if you come from the YouTube Banner, Instagram Post or T-Shirt sections, say, you only have one option: ‘Premium Account’, for €5 a month billed annually, or €9 on a month by month basis, yet both ‘Premium Account’ and ‘Premium Logo Pack’ allow you to edit posts, logos and more… Why the discrepancy, in tier name and cost, depending on which service you start from?
I must note that over the days I spent experimenting with this service, these options changed: there used to be three different tiers coming from the logo service, and two from the others, so it might be possible that they will have changed again once you try the service out for yourself.
Design.com: Categories & templates
(Image credit: Design.com // Future)
A wealth of different categories, with hundreds of templates for each. It’s very easy to navigate through them all.
Design.com certainly is feature packed. It’s a logo maker, sure, but it also offers you the ability to create business cards, posters, flyers, banners for YouTube and LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram posts and stories, email signatures, entire websites, T-shirts, and more.
The platform's focus is on allowing AI to do the bulk of the work for you, with customizations available further down the line if they’re needed. The aim here is to offer you a design so good, you don’t need to do anything to it, except insert your business's info.
The way it works is incredibly simple: at the top of the page is a menu-bar, broken down by category, with options within each category being quite vast. If this feels too clinical for you, scroll down the main page instead to browse through a list of the most common services, with big friendly images and description of what to expect.
Remember: the vast majority of the templates will have to be paid for. Only a handful are available for free, and as you’d expect, they won’t be the flashiest, nicest looking ones. Still, free is free. You’re also able to explore and customize all templates, even the premium ones, as you only get to the paywall when you’ve finalized your design, giving you a good opportunity to try out every feature.
If you’re on the lookout for a free logo and don’t fancy scrolling through the long list hoping to find the handful of free templates available, click here to see the free designs and not the premium ones.
Design.com: Choices
(Image credit: Design.com // Future)
So many choices increases the odds you’ll find the perfect AI creation for you. You’re given a few basic customization options, with the more in-depth alterations saved for another part of the service
Looking through Design.com’s vast choices can be overwhelming, although the developers have gone to great lengths to keep the results focused on what you’re looking for.
To make this work, once you’ve selected the type of service you’re after (be it a poster, website, post, business card, logo, etc), you’ll need to enter a list of keywords so the website’s AI can get to work. There are exceptions to this, like the Business Card or Logo sections, for instance, which request your business name instead.
If you have a logo already designed, you can upload it at the same time, and it’ll be integrated into the results.
Once you click on the big blue ‘Start Now’ button, you’ll be instantly given dozens of variations based on your business name and/or keywords. Actually scratch that: that’s just the first page: scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find hundreds of additional pages waiting for you, which means you have thousands of templates to choose from, which you can narrow down with a selection of filters, additional keywords and searches.
Click on the one you like best to select it and be taken to the next steps, which include changing the template’s default colours, altering the text (or let AI write something for you), and finally select a layout from a choice of six, if the original one wasn’t to your liking.
If this is as much editing as you have the time or inclination for, click on Download to claim your prize… or so I might’ve hoped. I’ve already covered that most templates aren’t free, but if you’re working on one that is, you'll have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it. I lost count of how many pages offering me special (paid) deals I had to skip through in order to finally be able to download my file.
Design.com: Customization & export
(Image credit: Design.com // Future)
The level of customization is high, giving you full control over your creation - although that’s solely reserved for paying customers. As for exporting your work, the number of options on offer is broad.
Keeping it simple is great and a very useful timesaver, but if you have specific ideas not reflected by the AI results, you’ll be pleased to learn these designs are fully customisable, although be aware this feature is for paying customers only.
You have access to the full layout, being able to move and resize and even rotate any object present on the template. You can even bring in new shapes and clip art should you want to.
Altering an item’s colour is just a click away, you have full control over text boxes, from style, to format, to font. It’s all fun and easy to use. If you’re familiar with Canva, you’ll feel right at home here.
Whether you customized your layout or not, now’s the time to download it. The choices you have are refreshingly vast, and this also applies to the free templates you might elect to use.
Being able to download the full design is a given, but you also have the option of exporting a version with a transparent background, or to just get the icon, solely grab the text, or turn the whole creation into greyscale. You even have a choice of format, from JPG, PNG, SVG, EPS or PDF.
This level of choice is most welcome as it can allow people to edit the design further elsewhere, should they want to.
Should I buy Design.com?
Buy it if...
You’re looking for a service that uses AI to generate designs for your business at a fraction of what it would cost to maintain a creative team. There’s a handful of free templates, as well as reasonable subscription rates to gain access to all templates and full customization control.
Don't buy it if...
You want total creative control over your designs without AI input. And the free options feel pretty meagre compared to the more lavish premium templates.
For a while now, Google has been AI-ifying everything it owns, and the latest AI infusion just went straight to the Play Store on Android. This is now showing AI generated review summaries for apps listed in the store, which should save you a lot of time skimming various app reviews to get a feel for how good or bad a specific app is.
As with anything Google does, the rollout of this feature is slow, but it has at least finally started - the AI summaries were first spotted more than a year ago in testing. When you get it, you'll see a "Users are saying" section above the reviews...
Following a successful Q4 where Apple posted $102.5 billion in revenue, CEO Tim Cook spoke to CNBC about the company’s performance and its future goals. Cook revealed that despite the strong demand, Apple was facing supply constraints on several models of the iPhone 17 and last year’s 16 series.
Apple’s favorable revenue results are also expected to carry over into the Holiday period, with projected revenue growth for the December quarter up by 10%-12%.
Cook also confirmed that Cupertino plans to release its long-awaited and delayed version of its AI-overhauled Siri next year....
Samsung just published its financial report for the third quarter and used the opportunity to reveal some details about the upcoming Galaxy S26 series and Samsung’s strategy for Galaxy devices overall.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series will “revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors,” said Daniel Araujo, VP of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division (MX).
AP stands for “Application Processor” and is the industry term for chipset. Why second generation, though? While it wasn’t...
Samsung just published its financial report for the third quarter and used the opportunity to reveal some details about the upcoming Galaxy S26 series and Samsung’s strategy for Galaxy devices overall.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series will “revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors,” said Daniel Araujo, VP of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Division (MX).
AP stands for “Application Processor” and is the industry term for chipset. Why second generation, though? While it wasn’t...
Today YouTube has announced that it will start automatically AI upscaling low quality videos that are under 1080p resolution. This will initially upscale from SD to HD, but eventually will go all the way up to 4K "in the near future".
It's intended for use on TVs only, at least for now, and whenever it's employed you'll see a "Super resolution" descriptor underneath each resolution option, as portrayed in the video below. Creators will be able to opt out of this if they want to.
YouTube is also expanding the thumbnail file limit from 2MB to 50MB, so expect "new, stunning...
Today YouTube has announced that it will start automatically AI upscaling low quality videos that are under 1080p resolution. This will initially upscale from SD to HD, but eventually will go all the way up to 4K "in the near future".
It's intended for use on TVs only, at least for now, and whenever it's employed you'll see a "Super resolution" descriptor underneath each resolution option, as portrayed in the video below. Creators will be able to opt out of this if they want to.
YouTube is also expanding the thumbnail file limit from 2MB to 50MB, so expect "new, stunning...
Oppo recently announced its Find X9 series in China and while we wait for their global launch, Oppo has announced a new partnership with Google which will debut some new AI features on the Find X9 and Find X9 Pro.
These include Oppo’s Mind Space app, which will be able to connect with Google Gemini. Users will be able to save on-screen content via a three-finger swipe gesture and then have Gemini AI act on the saved info.
Oppo flagships running ColorOS 16 will also get enhanced Gemini integration with first-party Oppo apps and Nano Banana AI image editing. Find X9 users are...
I'll start this review off by simply saying this: the Asus ROG NUC absolutely belongs on our list of the best mini PCs, and perhaps indeed the best computers overall - expect to see it make an appearance on those pages in the near future.
Asus has been hard at work on the NUC series, which was originally conceived by Intel as a new breed of compact desktop PCs before being sold off to Asus in 2023; amidst Intel's multitude of troubles at the time, it was deemed a necessary move to streamline the company and focus on chipmaking rather than PC production. The NUCs were historically pretty good devices, but it's clear that Asus has taken them to an entirely new level.
The new-for-2025 ROG NUC is a wonder; an ultra-compact desktop system packed with some of the most powerful cutting-edge gaming components, including a 2nd-gen Intel Core Ultra processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5000 GPU (the one in my review unit is an RTX 5080), plus 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.
(Image credit: Future)
The whole system is essentially constructed around that graphics card, which is technically a laptop GPU - one can only assume that a full-scale desktop 5080 would be too chunky, even though Nvidia worked hard to scale down the comically gigantic cards of the RTX 3000 and 4000 eras. As you might expect, performance is excellent; expect high framerates and smooth gameplay at 1440p and even 4K, though the sorry state of modern PC game optimization means you'll probably need to turn on DLSS in some titles at 4K.
Those powerful components mean the ROG NUC is also a competent workstation system, which could prove to be a boon for professional creatives who need a powerful PC but have limited desk real estate to work with (and don't want to jump ship to macOS with the admittedly excellent M4 Mac mini).
(Image credit: Future)
Of course, a spec sheet like that does mean that the Asus ROG NUC is far from cheap. I'll get into the details in the pricing section below, but my review unit will set you back $3,199 / £2,599 (around AU$4,925) - no small sum for anybody, and a lot more than Apple's signature mini computer will cost you. Of course, any pre-built RTX 5080 desktop from a reputable manufacturer is going to cost you at least somewhere in the range of $2,800 / £2,000 / AU$5,000, so it's not an entirely ludicrous proposition even if it does place the ROG NUC beyond the budgets of many PC gamers.
Despite this, I loved using the new Asus ROG NUC, and having tested NUC devices in the past, I can comfortably say that it's one of the best iterations on the formula yet. If you've got the money to spend and want something that delivers a lot of power in a small package, this device is the way to go.
Asus ROG NUC (2025) review: Price & Availability
Starts from $2,599 / £2,129 (about AU$4,000)
Available now in the US and UK
Both RTX 5070 Ti and 5080 models available
Starting at $2,599 / £2,129 (about AU$4,000) for the base configuration, which sports an RTX 5070 Ti rather than the 5080 in my review unit, along with less storage and RAM as you can see in the spec table below, the new ROG NUC isn't exactly what I'd call affordable. Meanwhile, the 5080 model featured in this review - which is externally identical - will run you a hefty $3,199 / £2,599 (around $4,925).
Still, it's not absurdly priced for what it offers; considering the sheer lack of powerful compact PCs on the market, the best option for many potential users will be to build your own ITX system, and having spent plenty of time mucking about with compact PC cases in my years as a computer hardware journalist, I can say with certainty that it'll be a lot harder than simply buying a ROG NUC. Oh, and it most likely won't be as small, and will potentially end up being more expensive too!
(Image credit: Future)
So while the NUC is undeniably a pretty expensive piece of kit, I can't mark it down too much for that; if a powerful but ultra-compact PC for serious gaming or content creation work is what you want, this might be the single best option out there right now. Of course, a PS5 Pro will cost you a lot less... but it also doesn't fill the role of a fully capable desktop PC.
The Asus ROG NUC (2025) is already available to purchase direct from Asus and partner retailers in the US and UK, but it seems our Aussie friends will have to wait a little longer - though Asus did confirm that the new model will indeed be coming to Australia. Regional pricing for Australia is currently unconfirmed (the figures listed above are only conversions).
Making a compact PC chassis can take designers in a lot of different directions. Do you aim for a low, flat design like Apple's Mac mini, or build upwards with a small footprint like the fantastic Corsair One i500?
As you can no doubt tell from the pictures, Asus has gone for the latter approach, with a thin tower design that produces a footprint of less than eight-by-six inches (full dimensions in the spec sheet above). It can technically also be laid on its side with the stand removed - ideal for putting it in a TV stand as a console-style living room PC - but after disassembling it, I can say that I wouldn't particularly recommend that unless you're willing to prop it up on something to ensure that the exhaust fans have enough breathing room to vent properly.
Speaking of disassembly: I don't always dig around in the guts of pre-built systems, but this was one case where I felt obliged to. See, the NUC series (standing for 'Next Unit of Computing') was originally founded by Intel in 2013 with the goal of creating a small-form-factor barebones PC with customization and upgrade potential.
Asus has clearly moved away from this ethos somewhat, as the ROG NUC is not only a fully-fledged system, but also has relatively little upgradability.
(Image credit: Future)
Upgrade options here are effectively limited to the RAM and SSD, and you'll need to discard the old RAM if you want more, since there are only two DIMM slots and they're both already occupied. There is, however, a spare M.2 slot for fitting a second SSD, should you want to expand your storage.
Really, this level of upgradability might be a slight step down from the more classic barebones NUCs Intel used to make, but it's pretty par for the course as far as modern mini PCs go.
The case is also easy enough to open up for any upgrade work, which is nice to see; I've dealt with mini PC cases that seemed determined not to let me get at the goodies inside.
Thermal management is handled by multiple fans, with vents on both flat sides and the top. It's quite effective at keeping the whole unit cool (even at the peak of my benchmarking process, the ROG NUC didn't get particularly warm to the touch), although I would note that the fans can get rather loud when running resource-intensive games; if you're planning to play in 4K, I'd recommend a headset or one of the best computer speakers.
Overall, I like the design; it's a bit less visually busy than last year's model, while still managing to fit in a good range of physical ports for connecting your devices. In addition to two HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs for connecting multiple monitors, you also get two Thunderbolt USB-C ports, six USB-A ports, an RJ-45 Ethernet slot, and the good ol' 3.5mm headphone jack. As mini PCs go, this NUC has it all.
Design: 5/ 5
Asus ROG NUC (2025) review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Runs AAA games at high settings
Strong performance in creative and AI workloads
Fans do get rather noisy
Asus ROG NUC (2025) Benchmarks
Here's how the Asus ROG NUC (2025) performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
As you'd hope from a system with an Nvidia RTX 5080 - even the trimmed-down laptop version inside the ROG NUC - the gaming performance on offer here is undeniably strong.
Our standard benchmarking process uses games tested at 1080p (primarily without any upscaling tools, like Nvidia's DLSS) to provide a realistic comparison point between systems. Needless to say, the ROG NUC absolutely blasted through these, offering stellar performance with triple-digit framerates in literally every test I ran.
Bump things up to 1440p and you'll get similarly great performance, especially if you do turn on DLSS (no need for frame-generation here, honestly). At 4K, I found most games could still clear that prized 60fps mark, with only Cyberpunk 2077 and Metro Exodus requiring DLSS to maintain a stable framerate when turning on maximum ray-traced graphics. It's worth bearing in mind that upscaling has more of an impact at higher resolutions; at 1080p, DLSS in Balanced mode only gained me an extra nine frames per second in Cyberpunk at the Ultra graphical preset, while at 4K that differential increased to a whopping 38.
I'd also like to address some of the concerns many gamers clearly have about DLSS (yes, I spend too much time on Reddit, I see those posts too). It literally works great. That's all I have to say; the tech is four generations in at this point, and it's been refined enough that I noticed no discernible difference in gameplay at 4K.
Frame-generation is a different story, of course - 4x Multi Frame Generation from Nvidia is frankly still wonky even if it does boost your FPS - but at this stage, we should all be using upscaling for playing games at any resolution above 1080p.
(Image credit: Future)
Outside of raw gaming performance, the ROG NUC performed admirably in synthetic tests across graphical, AI, and creative workloads.
The 3DMark graphic benchmark suite brought back results that were broadly what I anticipated: strong, but not quite on par with the 'true' desktop RTX 5080, so don't buy this if you're expecting a fully-fledged 5080 desktop experience squeezed into a compact chassis. At a fundamental level, this is more like a 5080 laptop in a desktop form factor.
Still, the results were good; the Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU also delivered solid numbers, with great performance in the Geekbench and Crossmark benchmarks, placing it comfortably on par with laptops equipped with the same processor. AI performance was also good, since the presence of a discrete GPU easily outweighs anything the Intel chip's built-in NPU brings to the table.
Lastly, the SSD that comes with the ROG NUC is fast. With read and write speeds in excess of 4GB/s, the only thing that'll constrain you in terms of file transfers is your internet connection. Games load up fast, and Windows 11 boots up faster.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
Should I buy the Asus ROG NUC?
Asus ROG NUC (2025)Scorecard
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Value
Although it's far from cheap, the pricing doesn't place it ludicrously higher than similarly-specced systems, and the compact chassis is quite unique.
4 / 5
Design
A fantastically compact design that somehow manages to cram in a ton of physical ports, the ROG NUC is one of the best-crafted mini PCs I've ever seen.
5 / 5
Performance
Great gaming performance at any resolution, along with strong performance in creative and AI workloads - just bear in mind that this isn't a full-fat desktop GPU.
4.5 / 5
Total
The ROG NUC is, simply put, one of the best compact gaming PCs I've ever seen. I do wish it wasn't quite so expensive, but Asus has really made something special here.
4.5 / 5
Buy the Asus ROG NUC (2025) if...
You want something powerful but compact On a fundamental level, there are very few systems out there that can match the gaming capabilities of the ROG NUC while still offering such a tiny form factor.
You want to connect lots of peripherals If you're a power-user (or just a bit gadget-crazed), the ROG NUC has enough ports to support a whole bunch of monitors, mice, keyboards, webcams, speakers, stream decks... you get the idea.
Don't buy it if...
You're on a tight budget Yeah, this thing is pretty dang expensive. If you just want an RTX 5080 system and don't care about size, you'll be able to spend less for the same (or even better) performance.
You want a silent system Although the ROG NUC's cooling is surprisingly effective at keeping the system at a suitable temperature, those fans can get pretty noisy when running demanding software like games.
Asus ROG NUC (2025) review: Also Consider
NZXT Player PC One of the best desktop PCs we've reviewed this year, the 'Player PC' from NZXT might have an awful name, but it delivers strong gaming performance in a well-constructed case - plus, as a 5070 system, it'll cost you a bit less than the NUC too.
Mac mini (M4, 2024) If you’re looking for more of a creative workstation than specifically a gaming PC, but were drawn to the ROG NUC's powerful specs and compact design, then the M4 Mac mini is the device for you. We called it 'the best Mac ever' in our review, and it lives up to that epithet with stellar productivity and creativity performance in a truly tiny chassis.
Replaced my usual desktop for gaming in the evenings
I tested the Asus ROG NUC for a week, including the weekend, during which time it took the place of my usual home office desktop system - a far chunkier PC. I used it daily for work and assorted other online activities; I'm currently rewatching The X Files, and I also used it to host a virtual TTRPG session.
I also spent plenty of time in my off hours using the ROG NUC for gaming, which is a regular hobby of mine. I mostly tested triple-A titles (in addition to our regular suite of game benchmarks), including Avowed and Remnant II, plus a cheeky bit of Stardew Valley, which was unsurprisingly not very taxing on the system.
I've been reviewing PC hardware for more than seven years and have been a PC gamer for more than twice that time, with so many laptop and desktop reviews under my belt at various publications that I sincerely can't even count them. This was my first time reviewing a NUC unit since Intel sold the brand off to Asus, and needless to say, I'm very pleased with the work Asus has done.
