Hostage is now streaming on Netflix, and if you don't binge watch its pithy five episodes over the next few days, then you're weekending wrong. In fact, I'd go stronger than that: if you don't watch it this weekend, you'd be missing out on the streamable television event of the year (just behind Adolescence).
The millisecond I heard that Suranne Jones was on board to play fictional British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton, I knew the new Netflix series could do no wrong. Fortunately, I love being proved right, and this is one of those times.
Let's set the scene; Dalton has just won the country's general election, with her husband Alex (Bashy) deployed to French Guiana with Médecins Sans Frontières (a.k.a Doctors Without Borders). Soon after, he's kidnapped by a group of unknown terrorists, who demand Dalton resigns in order to release the hostages safely. In the meantime, she's dealing with a huge crisis in the National Health Service (NHS) as medicine supplies run out, while French President Toussaint (Julie Delpy) is in the city for a scheduled visit to work out a deal to help.
Netflix obviously isn't a stranger to hit political dramas, with shows like The Diplomat, House of Cards and The Night Agentin its back pocket. But not only is Hostage offering a fresh perspective by focusing on the relationship between Britain and France, but it's giving us a political problem we've never seen before: two female leaders of Western states, in power at the same time, both being blackmailed by a system intent on setting them up for harm. For me, that's the most exciting part of the entire show, as well as the most honest.
Hostage on Netflix is an explosion of tension from start to finish
If you're not a UK native, you're probably unaware of what a national powerhouse Suranne Jones is over here. From Doctor Foster andGentleman Jack to classics like Scott & Bailey and her humble beginnings on soap opera Coronation Street, there's not a single role she's not knocked out of the park. Her craft really comes into its own when she's playing someone in a position of power, but usually this only extends to doctors and detectives.
The only way up is to play the leader of a country, and frankly it's a role she was born for. Jones takes the careful political intricacies of Hostage in her stride, deftly portraying a political leader who wants to put her country first as well as a mother trying to keep her family intact. It's not a dilemma we've seen from a world leader explored on TV because the women just haven't been represented deeply enough in this way... but here, there are two.
Julie Delpy's Toussaint is everything Dalton is not. Caring more about her upcoming re-election campaign than anything else, she comes across as cold, conniving, and uncaring to any problems that aren't immediately her own. We get to understand her personality and predicament more as the five episodes go on, but her natural acidity towards Dalton makes for some delicious back and forth sparring sessions. This only gets better when the pair realize that in order to cull this threat they must work together, beautifully blending in a level of raw vulnerability scarcely seen in the political coalface. They're a dynamic leading duo, and make for faultless casting.
If you asked me, I'd say the big baddie here was actually the patriarchy (yay, feminism!). Sure, the patriarchy isn't directly holding a gun to Alex's head, but it is the ultimate threat to both Dalton and Toussaint. It's assumed they will both crumble and give into the demands of the masked men trying to call the shots, but when neither leaders backs down, the game changes. They're both able to juggle the extreme surge of demands on their plates with tact and strategy, even when they're at breaking point behind closed doors.
The broader story is just as exceptional as the people bringing it to life
Netflix’s incredible new political drama Hostage had me so hooked, I never saw the final shocking twist coming. (Image credit: Netflix)
Performances aside, what I'm most impressed with in Hostage is its astonishing grasp on its storytelling. Most have us have sat through enough crime procedurals or bog standard thrillers to anticipate exactly what twists are coming when, but Hostage kept me on my toes the entire time. In fact, the only shock moment I saw coming was thanks to an episode blurb on the platform (here's your reminder to take each of these with a pinch of salt), and you could easily argue that episode 5 is a little too fluffy around the edges, though it worked for me. Trust me, there are more than enough moments to leave you gasping out loud and scrambling to figure out what's going to come next.
The intersection of social and political issues at play – the NHS and immigration crises, disgruntled politicians and underfunded national defense – are all things we're experiencing the effects of in real time, which only makes watching Hostage that much more visceral. Almost all of what we see could actually happen in the blink of an eye, shrewdly exposing the problems that lie underneath if push came to shove. It's quite a feat to blend fact and fiction so well that you don't quite know where the seams join up, and its a testament to the team behind it.
Do I feel better about the post-Hostage world? Absolutely not, but we probably all need a reality check of this convincing magnitude. If this could open up the same international conversations as Adolescence (and as far as TV show quality is concerned, it should do), imagine how much more proactive we could all be.
Hostage is now streaming on Netflix, and if you don't binge watch its pithy five episodes over the next few days, then you're weekending wrong. In fact, I'd go stronger than that: if you don't watch it this weekend, you'd be missing out on the streamable television event of the year (just behind Adolescence).
The millisecond I heard that Suranne Jones was on board to play fictional British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton, I knew the new Netflix series could do no wrong. Fortunately, I love being proved right, and this is one of those times.
Let's set the scene; Dalton has just won the country's general election, with her husband Alex (Bashy) deployed to French Guiana with Médecins Sans Frontières (a.k.a Doctors Without Borders). Soon after, he's kidnapped by a group of unknown terrorists, who demand Dalton resigns in order to release the hostages safely. In the meantime, she's dealing with a huge crisis in the National Health Service (NHS) as medicine supplies run out, while French President Toussaint (Julie Delpy) is in the city for a scheduled visit to work out a deal to help.
Netflix obviously isn't a stranger to hit political dramas, with shows like The Diplomat, House of Cards and The Night Agentin its back pocket. But not only is Hostage offering a fresh perspective by focusing on the relationship between Britain and France, but it's giving us a political problem we've never seen before: two female leaders of Western states, in power at the same time, both being blackmailed by a system intent on setting them up for harm. For me, that's the most exciting part of the entire show, as well as the most honest.
Hostage on Netflix is an explosion of tension from start to finish
If you're not a UK native, you're probably unaware of what a national powerhouse Suranne Jones is over here. From Doctor Foster andGentleman Jack to classics like Scott & Bailey and her humble beginnings on soap opera Coronation Street, there's not a single role she's not knocked out of the park. Her craft really comes into its own when she's playing someone in a position of power, but usually this only extends to doctors and detectives.
The only way up is to play the leader of a country, and frankly it's a role she was born for. Jones takes the careful political intricacies of Hostage in her stride, deftly portraying a political leader who wants to put her country first as well as a mother trying to keep her family intact. It's not a dilemma we've seen from a world leader explored on TV because the women just haven't been represented deeply enough in this way... but here, there are two.
Julie Delpy's Toussaint is everything Dalton is not. Caring more about her upcoming re-election campaign than anything else, she comes across as cold, conniving, and uncaring to any problems that aren't immediately her own. We get to understand her personality and predicament more as the five episodes go on, but her natural acidity towards Dalton makes for some delicious back and forth sparring sessions. This only gets better when the pair realize that in order to cull this threat they must work together, beautifully blending in a level of raw vulnerability scarcely seen in the political coalface. They're a dynamic leading duo, and make for faultless casting.
If you asked me, I'd say the big baddie here was actually the patriarchy (yay, feminism!). Sure, the patriarchy isn't directly holding a gun to Alex's head, but it is the ultimate threat to both Dalton and Toussaint. It's assumed they will both crumble and give into the demands of the masked men trying to call the shots, but when neither leaders backs down, the game changes. They're both able to juggle the extreme surge of demands on their plates with tact and strategy, even when they're at breaking point behind closed doors.
The broader story is just as exceptional as the people bringing it to life
Netflix’s incredible new political drama Hostage had me so hooked, I never saw the final shocking twist coming. (Image credit: Netflix)
Performances aside, what I'm most impressed with in Hostage is its astonishing grasp on its storytelling. Most have us have sat through enough crime procedurals or bog standard thrillers to anticipate exactly what twists are coming when, but Hostage kept me on my toes the entire time. In fact, the only shock moment I saw coming was thanks to an episode blurb on the platform (here's your reminder to take each of these with a pinch of salt), and you could easily argue that episode 5 is a little too fluffy around the edges, though it worked for me. Trust me, there are more than enough moments to leave you gasping out loud and scrambling to figure out what's going to come next.
The intersection of social and political issues at play – the NHS and immigration crises, disgruntled politicians and underfunded national defense – are all things we're experiencing the effects of in real time, which only makes watching Hostage that much more visceral. Almost all of what we see could actually happen in the blink of an eye, shrewdly exposing the problems that lie underneath if push came to shove. It's quite a feat to blend fact and fiction so well that you don't quite know where the seams join up, and its a testament to the team behind it.
Do I feel better about the post-Hostage world? Absolutely not, but we probably all need a reality check of this convincing magnitude. If this could open up the same international conversations as Adolescence (and as far as TV show quality is concerned, it should do), imagine how much more proactive we could all be.
Lava has announced its foray into the gaming segment with the Lava Play Ultra, which has the Dimensity 7300 SoC at the helm with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, expandable by up to 1TB via a microSD card.
Lava says the Play Ultra runs "clean Android 15" out of the box since it has no ads, bloatware, or unwanted apps. The smartphone comes with the promise of two years of OS upgrades and three years of security updates. And, while the Play Ultra doesn't come with any fancy features you see on other gaming smartphones, you do get a dedicated Game Booster for an...
The upcoming Oppo Find X9 Pro has had its full camera details leaked today courtesy of a tipster over on X. The phone is said to come with a 50 MP main camera using Sony's Lytia LYT-828 sensor, a 200 MP telephoto camera using Samsung's ISOCELL HP5 sensor (with 3x optical zoom), a 50 MP ultrawide using Samsung's ISOCELL JN5 sensor, a 2 MP color / flicker sensor, and a 50 MP selfie camera using Samsung's ISOCELL JN5 sensor.
According to previous leaks, the phone has a 6.78-inch LTPO OLED flat screen with narrow bezels on all sides, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, IP68 and IP69...
The upcoming Oppo Find X9 Pro has had its full camera details leaked today courtesy of a tipster over on X. The phone is said to come with a 50 MP main camera using Sony's Lytia LYT-828 sensor, a 200 MP telephoto camera using Samsung's ISOCELL HP5 sensor (with 3x optical zoom), a 50 MP ultrawide using Samsung's ISOCELL JN5 sensor, a 2 MP color / flicker sensor, and a 50 MP selfie camera using Samsung's ISOCELL JN5 sensor.
According to previous leaks, the phone has a 6.78-inch LTPO OLED flat screen with narrow bezels on all sides, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, IP68 and IP69...
The RedMagic 11 is coming later this year, and today in China some details about it have been outed. The phone is going to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset, which Qualcomm is announcing in September.
It will boast an upgraded built-in cooling fan, which will allow it to have an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. The combination of an active fan and an IP rating was pioneered last month by the Oppo K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro, but those two are only water resistant.
The RedMagic 11 will be the first ever smartphone to have an active cooling fan as well as both water...
The RedMagic 11 is coming later this year, and today in China some details about it have been outed. The phone is going to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset, which Qualcomm is announcing in September.
It will boast an upgraded built-in cooling fan, which will allow it to have an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. The combination of an active fan and an IP rating was pioneered last month by the Oppo K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro, but those two are only water resistant.
The RedMagic 11 will be the first ever smartphone to have an active cooling fan as well as both water...
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra had a dual front-facing camera – as did the Tab S9 Ultra and Tab S10 Ultra. That’s cool and all, but the wide notch they caused was not ideal. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra will go halfway towards fixing the issue – it will only have a single camera on the front.
Due to thin bezels, that camera will still live on a notch, but it will be less obtrusive as you can see in the images below. The notch, which will have a semicircular design, will eat a tiny fraction of the roomy 14.6” OLED display.
Leaked images of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra...
Shokz is one of the best-known names in the fitness headphone space and finally it has turned its attention to a burgeoning new market and thus challenge a big rival: clip-on open earbuds (and Bose).
Clip-ons are a kind of the best open earbuds that don’t loop all the way around your ear, but ‘clip’ onto your auricle to take up less space and hold the sound drivers further into your ear itself. Companies haven’t taken to the design quite as readily as the now-standard sports loop open-ears (production of that design is through the roof in 2025), but perhaps Shokz’ attention is about to change that.
So meet the Shokz OpenDots One, new clip-style (cuff style?) headphones which are here to challenge the big name on the market, the Bose Ultra Open. They’re Shokz’ first readily-available bud in this form factor, not counting a limited-run beta product. And due to a few smart decisions, they are a big success.
The OpenDots aren’t cheap headphones but they do undercut the Bose by a significant margin, releasing at a competitive price point that sees them match Shokz’ sports-loop and bone conduction options. In fact they also beat the recent Shokz OpenFit 2+ which may push some prospective buyers of those open-ears into the clip instead.
Shokz has given the OpenDots a more natural curved, ergonomic look than certain rivals, both ensuring that they look a little more understated and classy, and helping them fit the shape of an ear for a reliable hook and comfortable fit. And it totally works, with these Shokz some of the most pleasant open-ears I’ve ever used. I could easily forget I was wearing them when I wasn’t listening to music.
The sound profile is pleasing too, which may sound like a muted word if not for how low expectations for open earbuds can be. Shokz has fine-tuned the sound to ensure there’s hearty but well-defined bass, which sits in harmony with treble instead of blowing it out. Audiophiles who need open-ears will find these some of the best picks on the market.
Even when you’re not using the Shokz OpenDots One, you’ll find them easy to tote around with a tiny carry case that totally disappears in pockets. Banish the thought of the giant carry cases sports-loop open-ears come in.
I’ve avoided prolific comparisons to the Bose in this intro because you may come to the Shokz without having ever heard of their competition; and the OpenDots One stand apart for being significantly cheaper than the Ultra Open. They ask you why you need to pay extra, even if Bose offers some advanced audio modes.
The OpenDots One might be a harder sell for people who’ve not used a clip-on earbud before, especially with many other options on the market that are a cheaper option to experiment with. But if you’re going to try a new form factor, why not buy an option that nails it?
Shokz OpenDots One review: Specifications
Component
Value
Water resistant
IP54
Battery life
10 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (total)
Bluetooth type
Bluetooth 5.4
Weight
5.6g / Charging case: 52g
Driver
2x 11.8mm
Shokz OpenDots One review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
Announced in May 2025 (available in many markets August 2025)
Priced at $199 / £179 / AU$339
Undercuts Bose, but pricier than many other rivals
The Shokz OpenDots One were announced in May 2025 and went on sale in the US immediately, though they took a few months to release globally (the UK is only just seeing them now, at the time of writing: August 21, 2025).
You can pick up the OpenDots for $199 / £179 / AU$339. While they’re more expensive than many other types of clip-on earbud like the Huawei FreeClip, JLab Flex Open or Soundcore C40i, they undercut their big rivals.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds sell for $299 / £299 / AU$449 so the Shokz aren’t just a hair cheaper, but a fair way more affordable.
Shokz OpenDots One review: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Small charging case which is easy to use
Lightweight buds that cling to the ear well
Handy touch controls
The Shokz OpenDots One come in two color options: Black or the curiously-named Gray, which is actually beige with silver highlights. The latter is what my tester units were.
The case is pretty small and lightweight, as you’d imagine for micro-headphones like these, tipping the scales to 52g. It’s rather featureless, bearing only a small pairing button and USB-C charging port, but there’s elegance in simplicity. It opens with a horizontal divide; in a neat twist you can put either earbud in either gap, cutting down on all the faff headphone users can face (or, at least, I can face) when trying to work out which bud to put on which side.
Now onto the buds. They consist of a cylindrical counterweight and spherical bud which sits in your ear, all joined by a band made of titanium alloy according to Shokz. This middle is lovely and flexible and I never felt at risk of accidentally snapping it or bending it too far.
It’s hard to believe for any open earbuds, especially clip-style ones, but the OpenDots fit like a dream. I barely felt them during many hours of testing and, although I ran, cycled, rowed and did various gym workouts with them in, they never fell out or moved around enough to affect my listening experience.
Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Image credit: Future)
Another benefit over Bose’s alternatives is that they don’t look like a cyborg accoutrement, with the nice flowing design making them appear more like jewelry than a piece of robotic equipment.
Following on from my praise about the versatile any-bud-in-any-case-side compliment, you can actually also put either bud in either ear with no issue. The Shokz will automatically detect which ear they’re in to deliver music.
Like most earbuds, the OpenDots One have touch controls: you can double- or triple-tap the connective band, double-pinch the spherical counterweight or pinch and hold, for four triggers in all (it doesn’t matter which side you use, both do the same). You can customize what each control does and I found each relatively easy to trigger (which isn’t saying much compared to the competition) though I did take a while to remember that single-tapping or single-pressing didn’t do anything: double or nothing!
Shokz has certified the OpenDots One at an IP54 rating, which means the buds are protected from dust and limited water splashes but not full immersion or even beams of water. Basically, don’t take them swimming.
Design score: 4.5/5
Shokz OpenDots One review: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Battery life is 10 hours, 40 hours with case
App brings EQ but not that much else
No connectivity problems in testing
If you thought it was time to start finding something to criticize the Shokz OpenDots One about, it’s not yet. The battery life is above average and you can even charge the case via wireless powering.
According to Shokz, the OpenDots last for 10 hours of listening on a single charge, and while I didn’t listen for that long in one burst, the power drain for the periods I did listen for suggests it’d hit that figure almost dead on. The charging case brings three extra charges, for a full listening total of 40 hours, which is better than lots of open-ear options on the market.
You won’t get noise cancelling here, though surprisingly some open earbuds do offer that (see the Honor Earbuds Open, although granted, they're not the cuff-style type). Throughout my testing period I had no connectivity issues to speak of.
(Image credit: Future)
As with any good headphone, there’s an app you can download to get extra features. In this case it’s just called Shokz, with the company using one platform for all its earbuds.
Perhaps the main reason to download the Shokz app, beyond customizing the touch controls, is for the equalizer it provides access to. There are four modes: Standard, Vocal, Bass and Private (designed to reduce audio bleed, although that basically just muffles your music), but you can also create a custom mode via a five-band equalizer.
A few other features available via the app include the ability to toggle wear detection, find your lost earbuds, customize multipoint pairing and enable Dolby Atmos (though toggling this just seemed to boost the treble when playing music). It’s not the biggest feature-set I’ve ever seen at earbuds at this price, but it offers everything you need or would expect.
Features score: 4/5
Shokz OpenDots One review: Sound performance
(Image credit: Future)
Two 11.8mm drivers per bud
Decent sound, though lack of spacing
Lots of bass
You’re totally right to assume that an open-ear headphone would sound poor, because that’s generally the case, but the Shokz OpenDots One buck the trend: they’re the rare case that sound good.
A highlight of the buds, which Shokz leans into in its marketing and promotion, is the bass. This is something oft lost by open-ears, but the OpenDots enjoy a well-defined lower-register, giving your music a meaty tone but without ever blowing it out with overwrought thumping or booming. I opted to listen in the bass enhancement mode when working out for that little extra kick, but you’ll enjoy loads of bass even if you don’t.
Unlike some super-bass earbuds, the treble still holds its head high, offering crisp and clear vocal lines and letting you hear the spacing between instruments a little. As sound gets towards the mids they do lose some detail and clarity, but you can still enjoy tunes beyond their bassline.
(Image credit: Future)
Fixing another open-ear problem, the OpenDots have a nice high max volume so they can fight against noisy traffic if you want to hear your tunes.
Shokz uses a lot of home-brewed tech in the OpenDots One. Highlights include Bassphere, which has the effect we’ve already discussed, and DirectPitch designed to stop sound leaking from the buds and everyone around you having to hear your embarrassing music choice.
These are some of the better open earbuds I've used for audio quality, and they compare to your average in-ear headphone, but it's important to be clear: audiophile-grade favorites shouldn't feel any heat from the Shokz.
Sound performance score: 4.5/5
Shokz OpenDots One review: Value
(Image credit: Future)
Despite not being that expensive in the grand scheme of things (and in a crowded market), it’s still worth considering the Shokz OpenDots One are some of the more premium open or clip-on earbuds out there, simply due to how cheap the rivals are.
With that in mind, the OpenDots have a lot to prove – but they largely succeed. They provide great sound and a flawless design and cost a hearty amount less than their big-name rivals.
Of course you’re paying for their quality with many other similar-form-factor options available for a fraction of the price, so if you want clip-ons and quality doesn’t matter, you can get better value for money with cheaper options. It's just a question of whether you should.
Value score: 4/5
Shokz OpenDots One review: scorecard
Category
Comment
Score
Value
They're solid earbuds which give you decent value for money, but you're paying for what you get.
4/5
Design
Lightweight, a reliable fit and a slender carry case: what's not to love?
4.5/5
Features
The battery life is good and the existing features are useful, though rivals offer more.
4/5
Sound
The sound may fall short of truly great, but it's very good, especially compared to other open earbuds.
4.5/5
Shokz OpenDots One: Should I buy?
(Image credit: Future)
Buy them if...
You want a lightweight earbud
Banish the thought of having to work out with a large earbud; the Shokz OpenDots One are nice and small, and I could barely feel that I was wearing them while out and about.
You need a small charging case
I loved how the Shokz' small charging case could easily fit in my running shorts' pocket or a small compartment of my bag, with most open-ears having much larger cases.
You wear glasses
Sports-hook earbuds are hard to wear for glasses users due to their hook needing to go where your glasses are. Clip-ons are a great alternative as there's no issue.
Don't buy them if...
You want in-depth equalization
If you’re the kind of person who likes to spend ages tweaking the sound of their headphones, the Shokz’ five-band equalizer might not offer you the versatility you’re looking for.
You're a cyclist
I tried using the buds quite a bit while cycling and, more so than sports-loop buds, their design caught on my helmet's strap. I could see the buds being knocked out by said strap, so perhaps cyclists should avoid.
Also consider
Component
Shokz OpenDots One
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Huawei FreeClip
Water resistant
IP54
IPX4
IP54
Battery life
10 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (total)
7.5 hours (earbuds), 27 hours (total)
8 hours (earbuds), 36 hours (total)
Bluetooth type
Bluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3
Weight
5.6g / Charging case: 52g
6g / Charging case: 43g
5.6g / Charging case: 44.5g
Driver
2x 11.8mm
12mm
10.8mm
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
These pricier clip-on options have some audio chops that the Shokz OpenDot One doesn’t. However the battery life is worse, the IP rating isn’t as high and, at least if you ask me, they don’t look as natural.
Now a more affordable option: Huawei is a company I trust to make decent-sounding open earbuds due to past attempts, and the FreeClip use a slender-body bud to take up even less space on your ear. The battery life isn’t as good as the Shokz though.
How I tested
(Image credit: Future)
My testing period for the Shokz OpenDots One cover just over two weeks of use, which is our standard review period for headphones.
The buds were paired to an Android phone for the entirety of the testing. I used them at home at work and also on runs, at the gym and while cycling, and I also tried to use them while playing tennis like promotional images show but this felt incredibly rude to my fellow players.
I've been testing products for TechRadar since 2019 and this has included plenty of other workout headphones.
Amazon's long-running line of Fire-branded tablets is going to go through some significant changes, according to a new report. The company is allegedly planning to move away from its own Fire OS (which is a fork of Android) and actually use Android proper.
The first Fire tablet to run Android will arrive next year, and will cost $400, which is a much higher price point than what we're used to seeing Fire tablets go for.
The switch to Android has apparently been a multiyear project for Amazon, and it comes as a consequence of the retailer basically hearing too many complaints from...
