Two-thirds of Brits say slow and unreliable broadband is their pet peeve3.7m UK homes still don’t have full fiber (60% of which are in cities)Vodafone’s 5G/full fiber can now reach 26 million homesVodafone says it’s researched what bothers UK consumers the most, with 67% of citizens stating that slow and unreliable broadband is now their biggest pet peeve.The issue is so significant, Vodafone found, that more than 20 million people say they would consider moving home to secure a better broadband connection, with many regions yet to receive full fiber rollout.With hybrid working now commonplace and other factors like connected devices all driving traffic higher, 87% of Brits now consider fast broadband essential for daily life.Latest Videos FromVodafone believes 5G Broadband could plug current fiber gapsIn response to growing concerns over slow and unreliable broadband, the company, which recently merged with Three, has launched its own mobile broadband package to provide customers with cellular connections throughout their homes as an alternative to cable connections.According to the firm, more than 26 million UK homes can now access full fiber or 5G broadband on its network, which it says is more than any other UK provider.

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Cellular connections play an important part in the rollout of full fiber – those 5G networks already exist for smartphone connectivity, however around 3.7 million UK homes are still limited to old copper cables or part-fiber. Interestingly, it’s not necessarily a rural issue, with three in five of those remaining homes actually located in cities.Mobile networks already play a role, with half (49%) of Brits using a smartphone hotspot when broadband is an issue. Having this type of connection available via a router or a mesh Wi-Fi network would enable all devices to connect – not just those within reach of a smartphone (when the smartphone is home).Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!”This launch means we’re giving customers real choice: full‑fibre broadband where it’s available, and powerful 5G Broadband where it’s not – plus, better options for anyone just wanting speed with ease and flexibility,” VodafoneThree said.Vodafone’s website is now showing 5G Broadband deals supporting up to 150Mbps, priced from £19 to £29 per month for 30-day and 24-month contracts.

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High End Vienna brings even more speakersKanto Tuk Grand brings premium, stand-mounted boxes in ‘burled’ woodBowers & Wilkins goes for the formidable sci-fi lookI am convinced that there are two types of speaker, and all the pomp and ceremony of High End Vienna hasn’t convinced me otherwise. Two new high-profile, high-price announcements prove I’m right, too.Type number 1: the box. Lots of speakers are essentially well-braced, driver-filled boxes that you put on your shelves or place on stands. There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s a simple look, and today it’s Kanto Audio that’s waving the cute, ever-so-slightly kooky cuboid flag with its new Grand Tuk.This new $999.99 / £799.99 (about AU$1,600) speaker pair is due to go on sale at some point this summer. Don’t worry, we’ll spend more time with Kanto Audio in a moment, but we’ve someone else to meet.Latest Videos FromOn the other side of the scale is type number 2: the 70s sci-fi creature. We see all sorts of formidable towers of power-style speakers, which occasionally look inspired by the costume department of Doctor Who in the best way — and representing that team today is Bowers and Wilkin.The brand’s new 800 Series Diamond D5 range of speakers has quite a few different products, headlined by the 801 D5 which we weren’t provided release or price information for. Some look like legally-distinct Daleks, others aerodynamic car spoilers, and they’ll all go on sale in September.

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Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond D5

(Image credit: Bowers & Wilkin)Let’s start with the big range, so I can share a picture of a Dalek to prove my point. The Diamond D5 series consists of the flagship which, as already pointed out, doesn’t have a price or release date, though that doesn’t specifically mean it won’t release; we’re just waiting on details. Instead you can buy a similar model, the 802 D5, which comes at “a more affordable price point”: $45,000 / £32,500 (about AU$66,000) for a pair.Naturally, it’s a floor-stander, as are the 803 D5 (MSRP $35,000 / £25,500, which converts to roughly AU$52,000) and 804 D5 (MSRP $25,000 / £16,500, converting to around AU$37,000).Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.Also showing up to the party, just without a leg to stand on, is the 805 D5, $15,000 / £10,000 (roughly AU$10,000): a stand-mounted pair of speakers.Rounding out the range are two three-way center channels for home theaters: the $15,000 / £10,000 (same conversion as before) HTM81 D5, and the $12,000 / £8,000 (about AU$16,000) HDM82 D5. These are both designed to be used alongside the main products: the HTM81 works with the 801 and 802, while the cheaper model goes with the ‘cheaper’ speakers.So why are these things so expensive? Well, the big selling point is the use of Bowers & Wilkin’s Diamond Dome tweeter, which is that little microphone-looking flourish at the top. It’s designed to provide reference-quality sound in the higher ends.

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They’ve all clearly been meticulously designed too — that’s why they look so unusual — and come with impressive (though varied) extra speakers. These are hands down professional-grade high-end audiophile pieces of kit, but there’s something for the rest of us at High End too…Kanto Tuk Grand

(Image credit: Kanto)Let’s move on to everyone’s favorite Star Wars character: Kanto Tuk Grand. This new bookshelf speaker offering goes for a cool $999.99 / £799.99 (about AU$1,600) per pair and after the Bowers & Wilkins, that looks cheap.As I’ve mentioned before, it’s our more traditional example within this article, but there’s a reason audio companies return to this tried-and-true build. Kanto has, the company tells us, spent time refining this cabinet design, both to improve the sound and to “belong with” the space you put it in.Specs-wise (because there’s only one product, we can actually talk about its specs without creating a massive list), you’ve got a 28mm x 35mm Air Motion Transformer tweeter, and a 6-inch aluminum cone. It hits a frequency response range of 40Hz-22kHz, and a power output of 160W.There’s a nice range of connection options here: you can plug them in via 2x RCA cables or optical, as well as USB-C, and those latter two will bow allow 24 bit/96kHz playback. You can also pair via Bluetooth 5.4, with the Tuk Grand supporting atpX Adaptive, AAC and SBC.Design-wise, it’s relatively basic compared to the Diamond boys, but simplicity is underrated (a lower price point is not underrated, though I still wouldn’t call the Kanto ‘cheap’).The Kanto Tuk Grand was unveiled alongside three second-gen speakers from Kanto Audio, due out between summer and fall, but make no mistake: the Grand is the flagship product here.

(Image credit: Bowers & Wilkins / Kanto)The best stereo speakers all budgetsOur top buys, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Amazon is starting to roll out its redesigned Fire TV mobile app to customers, the company announced on Thursday. While you could previously only use the app as a backup remote, the updated experience lets you browse and discover content directly from your phone, manage your watchlist on the go, and play titles on your TV from the mobile app.

“The updated app turns smartphones into a second screen for discovering what to watch next, making it easy to add a friend’s show recommendation to a watchlist even when away from home,” Amazon wrote in an email to TechCrunch. “This seamless integration between mobile and TV creates a more flexible and convenient viewing experience for Fire TV customers to find what they want to watch, fast.”

The app is rolling out now in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K.

Image Credits:Amazon

Amazon says the refreshed look matches the new Fire TV user interface that it launched last month, which was designed to put more focus on content, while also simplifying navigation. The updated user interface introduced rounded corners, varied gradients, consistent typography, and increased spacing between content, while also providing more room for pinned apps.

The top navigation bar has been simplified into categories marked with clear icons for Movies, TV, Live TV, Sports, and News. The search button is more easily accessible to the left of the Home tab.

Within these tabs, Fire TV shows the content you’re already watching alongside recommendations from your subscribed services, organized in rows labeled “For You.” The tabs also feature free movies, top movies and shows, and other paid content you might like.

The changes to the app and the user interface come in response to the surge of streaming content, which has made it harder to keep track of what’s available on each service, requiring platforms like Fire TV to function more as discovery hubs rather than just places to launch streaming apps.