Brits enjoying a quiet Sunday today will be briefly interrupted this afternoon when the government tests its emergency alert system.
It means that at 3 p.m. some 85 million phones across the nation will suddenly start vibrating while also making a loud siren sound for about 10 seconds — even if they’re on silent.
The alert will also include a message on the display clearly stating that it’s an emergency test. So don’t panic.
Such alerts can be used to warn people of nearby dangers, such as severe weather events like storms or flooding.
Indeed, the government said that since the first national test in 2023, the system has sent five real alerts during major storms when lives were genuinely at risk.
It also noted that some older phones or those not connected to 4G or 5G networks may not be compatible with the system and so will not receive the alert. More information about device compatibility can be found at gov.uk/alerts.
Similar smartphone-based emergency systems are also operational in other countries, including the U.S., with regular tests carried out at various times. Finland, for example, tests its system monthly, while Germany, on the other hand, runs tests once a year.
“Emergency alerts have the potential to save lives, allowing us to share essential information rapidly in emergency situations including extreme storms,” lawmaker and senior government member Pat McFadden said earlier this year when the test date was announced. “Just like the fire alarm in your house, it’s important we test the system so that we know it will work if we need it.”
When the U.K. carried out the first such test two years ago, it didn’t go so well. Some people got the alert earlier than the stipulated time, while other phones just stayed silent after failing to receive the alert. Hopefully the authorities have ironed out the kinks by now so that Sunday’s test will proceed exactly as expected.
While the government recommends that folks keep the emergency alerts function enabled, you can also opt out of receiving them in a few simple steps.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.
Apple's first foldable phone is now on shelves, in short supply, but with an unreal amount of buzz around it. After all, it's the first foldable iPhone, and there's plenty that this phone gets right. But there's also a lot that is either broken or underwhelming. What's peculiar is the dialogue around this phone, and how it has completely overshadowed every other attempt at making a phone with a similar form factor.
I've spent some time with the iPhone Duo, and I've used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for almost three months now. In my opinion, Samsung deserves more credit. When the Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived earlier this year, it was celebrated in some circles and ridiculed in others for supposedly copying what Apple would eventually deliver with the iPhone Duo. The dialogue was pretty odd, for multiple reasons. Samsung has been making foldable phones for years, so claiming that it copied a product Apple hadn't even launched was simply absurd.