This week at Africa Crypto News, payment processing giant MasterCard announced it will use USDC to expand its Global Digital Settlements partnership with Circle. Like the Tether USDT, USDC is one of the most popular, allowing for inexpensive and instant global value transfer.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, Invastor has launched an education program aimed at political stakeholders and leaders. Over the past few years, Kenya has taken steps to create clarity in regulations with crypto. The Virtual Asset Service Provider Bill (VASP) is being considered in Congress and could ultimately be enacted by law.

Meanwhile, international law enforcement agency Interpol has implemented a major operation to seize fraudulent Bitcoin and crypto mining operations across the continent. Crypto-mining is energy-intensive and farms can be difficult to run in areas with priorities that enhance critical services, such as healthcare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8biv8ensnla

Explore the story that will make headlines for the continent this week:

Africa Crypto News: MasterCard expands its partnership with Circle

MasterCard, an international credit and debit card service provider, has it Expansion Partnerships with circles to promote payments in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

This agreement will allow MasterCard users in these regions to resolve transactions using USDC and to purchase in some cases. Top Solanamime Coin. Payment processors and card issuers are leveraging trustworthy global infrastructure for this initiative.

Stablecoins provide a relatively secure way to handle crypto as their value is fixed on stable assets such as USD and Euro. MasterCard benefits crypto users by linking blockchain native assets with traditional Fiat systems. Sol ▲2.15% Owner.

(Source: TradingView Sol USDT)

Dimitrido Tosis, president of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, explained the benefits of the partnership as follows:

“This is a key move for Mastercard, and our strategic goal is to integrate stubcoin into the financial mainstream by investing in infrastructure, governance and partnerships.

The news is a major milestone for the blockchain sector and is moving away from its early reputation as a hub of fringe assets towards mainstream adoption.

Discover: Best Meme Coin ICO for Investing in 2025

Kenya Crypto News: Invastor is investing in education programs

Available at Digital Finance Platform Infastor announcement An education initiative aimed at Kenyan lawmakers. The program provides lawmakers at various government levels with small amounts of crypto to manage as part of their portfolio and provides guidance on the handling of digital assets. The best cipher to buyLike Bitcoin ETH ▲2.94%.

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Invastor is making this effort to help lawmakers better understand crypto assets and enact appropriate laws for the sector. Kenya’s Parliament is currently considering the Virtual Asset Service Provider Bill (VASP).

Kenya’s approach to digital assets is evolving. From attention to leadership, support blockchain innovation, stable development, exploring Bitcoin reserves.

With national policies regarding the Virtual Asset and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) draft bill, we have… pic.twitter.com/xqfphmvqq7

– Hon. William Cabogo (@honkabogo) July 10, 2025

Invastor CEO Chris Esukumo highlighted the importance of Kenya’s digital payments and the potential for crypto growth. Esukumo pointed out that Kenya has shown the world how to jump legacy systems with mobile money. He now expects they will do the same thing in cryptography.

Binance has also participated in stakeholder engagement in the VASP bill, strengthening the importance of Kenya as a crypto hub.

Discover: 20+ Next Cryptocurrency to Explode in 2025

Zambia and Angola Crypto News: Interpol cracks down on Zambia and Angola scams

It’s located at Interpol carried out A major seizure targeting crypto fraudsters and illegal operators across the continent, focusing on Zambia and Angola to arrest cybercriminals.

Zambian authorities have shut down a massive crypto investment scam that has scamned an estimated $300 million victim. The surgery led to 15 people being arrested. Additionally, there was domain and bank account seizure to prevent further fraud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukd82gnveu

In Angola, authorities have shut down around 45 illegal crypto mining operations using electricity designated in vulnerable areas. Crypto miners face challenges in electricity consumption as they are unable to meet their needs in some regions.

Discover: 9+ Best High Risk, High Reward Cryptographs for Buying in 2025

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At a Glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Frequent updates and new features
• Good performance on multi-core Apple chips
• Slick, easy-to-use interface
• Powerful new AI features and tools for developers

Cons

• Most editions require a subscription
• AI features not available in all editions
• Virtual machines require a lot of memory and processor power
• Windows On ARM is expensive

Our Verdict

Parallels Desktop is one of the best options for Mac users who need to run Windows, Linux – and even macOS – as a virtual machine on their Mac.

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Parallels (1 year)

$99.99

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$219.99

Price When Reviewed

Standard – $99.99 annual subscription or $219.99 perpetual license; Pro – $119.99 annual subscription; Business – $149.99 annual subscription

Best Prices Today:

Parallels (1 year)

$99.99

Parallels (Perpetual License)

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The Mac is no longer dismissed as an insignificant niche market that struggles to compete with Microsoft Windows. But, even so, there are still times when many Mac users need to run apps and software that are only available for Windows PCs. Perhaps your employer uses particular business software that’s only available for Windows, or you may need to use a website that relies on some Windows-only technologies. Many developers need to test their apps and services on both Macs and PCs and, of course, there are all those A-List games that only run on Windows as well.

It used to be easy to install Windows on Macs, thanks to Apple’s Boot Camp software and the fact that from 2006 to 2020 all Macs used the same Intel processors as Windows PCs. However, with the advent of M-series Macs, Boot Camp is no more, so if you want to run Windows on a Mac you need to consider one of the various virtualization options that we feature in our round-up of the Best Virtual Machine software for Mac.

The advent of Apple’s own chips, aka Apple Silicon, also means that the standard version of Windows, designed for X-86 chips, won’t run on Arm-based chips like Apple’s M-series. If you want to run Windows on an M-series Mac you need the Arm version of Windows. 

Our top solution for running Windows on a Mac is Parallels Desktop. Read on to find out why in our full review of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Skip to the section about the latest version of Parallels Desktop if you are already familiar with the software and want to know what’s new.

What is Parallels Desktop for Mac 

Parallels Desktop is referred to as a virtualization program, because it allows you to create a virtual machine on your Mac – sometimes known as a VM – which is essentially a piece of software that simulates the physical hardware of a Windows PC (process also known as emulation) and lets you run Windows on your Mac.  

One of the benefits of a solution like Parallels Desktop is it allows you to run Mac and Windows apps side by side, without having to reboot your Mac to switch between the macOS and Windows (which you had to do with Boot Camp).

Parallels gives you a lot of control over how you integrate Windows on your Mac. You could choose to keep Windows and macOS completely separate, with a full Windows desktop window floating on the Mac desktop, or the Windows VM can be expanded to full-screen size to hide the Mac desktop. But you can also use Coherence mode to run your Windows apps on your Mac so that they integrate fully with your Mac apps–you can even add them to your Dock.

You can run more than Windows as a VM on your Mac with Parallels Desktop. You can create a VM that runs Linux, or even a VM that runs a different version of macOS itself. This can be useful for developers who need to test a website or an app on different versions of the macOS, although it’s currently only possible to create VMs that run Monterey (macOS 12.0) or later on Macs with Apple Silicon. However, Intel-based Macs can go right back to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion–we have the details of how to find old versions of macOS here.

Another useful feature of Parallels is Rollback mode, which lets you run Windows (or Linux, or macOS) like a kiosk. What this means is that nothing is saved and after you have finished working and restart the computer the VM will return return to it’s original state, this is perfect for developers who can experiment and then return to a clean slate.

Installing Windows using Parallels Desktop

Parallels makes installing Windows really easy. Since Parallels Desktop version 18 it has been possible to download and buy the ARM version of Windows 11 directly within Parallels. You do need to buy a license for the ARM version of Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise in order to create a Windows VM on Macs with Apple Silicon processors – unfortunately, the less expensive Home edition isn’t supported – although it’s also possible to use an existing license if you have one available. Microsoft doesn’t differentiate between Windows On Intel and Windows On Arm, so a Windows 11 license can be used for either version.

This is a big deal because the Arm version of Windows isn’t normally licensed to individual users. Fortunately, Parallels has worked closely with Microsoft to simplify the process of creating VMs that use the ARM version of Windows. Just select the File/New command to create a new VM (or press the ‘+’ button in the program’s main Control Centre window) and it will present you with a big button labeled: Get Windows 11 From Microsoft. 

Windows 11 On ARM allows you to run most older software and apps that were originally written for the Intel version of Windows, so you shouldn’t have any compatibility problems when running virtual machines that use Windows On ARM.

Parallels Desktop 20.2.0 added the ability for Macs with Apple Silicon to run the original Intel version of Windows. That will be useful for developers who want to work on both ARM and Intel platforms. The feature is available in the Pro, Business and Enterprise editions.

Older Intel-based Macs can still run Windows 10 via Parallels, although older versions of Windows are no longer supported.

Read our guide to How to use Parallels Desktop to run Windows on a Mac for more information. 

Parallels Desktop system requirements 

Since your Mac is effectively running two operating systems at the same time–the macOS and Windows–so you’ll need a reasonably fast Mac with plenty of memory, disk space and – above all – processor power in order to run your virtual machines efficiently. 

Fortunately, modern multi-core processors like Apple’s M-series of chips can run routine apps such as the Windows versions of Microsoft Word or Excel using virtualization with no trouble at all, and faster Mac models can do a pretty good job running 3D games or high-end tools for design and graphics work.

You do need plenty of memory to run the macOS and Windows alongside each other though. Parallels Desktop generally recommends a minimum of 1-2GB for each VM, but that really is the absolute minimum, and it’s in addition to the memory that your Mac needs just to run the macOS, so if you’ve got a Mac with just 8GB of memory then you’re not going to get the best possible performance when running Windows in a VM.

Juggling memory and processor cores can be confusing for less experienced users, but Parallels Desktop can help by recommending settings that will be suitable for running different types of Windows apps and software. On high-end Macs, such as the Mac Studio, you can configure your virtual machines to use up to 62GB of memory and 18 CPU cores for improved performance. Unfortunately, Parallels informed us that the multiple GPU cores on Apple Silicon chips are controlled solely by the macOS itself, so Parallels doesn’t currently allow you to also specify the number of GPU cores used by your virtual machines.

Parallels Desktop update: What’s in Parallels Desktop 26 for Mac?

New versions of Parallels Desktop are always released to coincide with the latest updates to the macOS every year (with occasional mid-year updates, such as the recent v20.2, also thrown in for good measure). This year’s release arrives just ahead of the new macOS 26 – aka Tahoe – and it also adopts Apple’s new version numbers, which means that the latest version is now called Parallels Desktop 26. And, along with the existing Standard, Pro and Business Editions, there’s also a new Enterprise Edition for larger organisations.

As you’d expect, Parallels Desktop 26 is fully compatible with macOS 26 Tahoe, and includes technical updates that allow it to run smoothly with the new system for handling background processes that has been introduced with macOS 26. And, when creating a Windows virtual machine (VM), it’s also compatible with the latest Windows 11 25H2 as well. Windows virtual machines can also display the storage space that is available on the host Mac, making it easier to avoid slow-downs due to lack of storage on the VM.

Users of the Business Edition now have more detailed control over virtual machines deployed throughout their organisation, ensuring that settings such as shared folders, access to USB devices, and network usage can be enforced for all users. There’s more help for IT managers who want to use Parallels’ Single Application Mode, which allows them to install a single Windows app on their virtual machines, which then appears to run on the Mac desktop like a native Mac app, without exposing the full complexity of the Parallels Desktop interface. It’s also possible to manage Windows updates within virtual machines by using the Jamf Pro management system, and the Business Edition has been audited for compliance with the latest SOC 2 Type II security standards.

What was new in Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac?

Parallels Desktop 20 arrived in September 2024, bringing support for macOS Sequoia and new features in that version of macOS. 

Parallels 20 included a number of new features that are only available to Mac’s running Sequoia. With Sequoia as your Mac’s main operating system – rather than just a guest running in a virtual machine – you have the ability to sign into a Mac virtual machine (VM) using your Apple ID, which will allow you to use your Apple email and other Apple services. And it is possible to use the Apple Intelligence-powered Writing Tools feature within Windows apps that arrived on Macs with an macOS 16 update.

There were performance improvements when using Parallels’ file-sharing features to exchange files between your main Mac and your virtual machines. Macs with Apple Silicon also gained the ability to quickly save and restore snapshots of VMs (although the snapshots feature was already available when running Parallels on Macs with Intel processors in the past).

Parallels Desktop 20 was compatible with the 24H2 Windows 11 On Arm update which featured an improved Prism emulator to provide as much as 80% performance improvement when running some older Windows apps that were written for Intel processors. Prism is similar to Apple’s Rosetta, which allows old Mac apps that were written for Intel processors to run on modern Macs with Apple Silicon – and, strictly speaking, this is an improvement provided by Microsoft within Windows 11 24H2, but it still benefited Parallels users by speeding up older Windows apps running within a virtual machines. 

As mentioned above, Parallels Desktop 20.2.0 added the ability for Macs with Apple Silicon to run the original Intel version of Windows.

What was new in Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac?

Parallels Desktop 19 arrived in August 2023 and introduced a redesigned interface with windows and dialogue boxes that adopted the curved lines and candy colors of macOS. More serious eye candy also arrived with support for 3D graphics in Windows using OpenGL 4.1, improving compatibility and performance for some important graphics and design programs, such as ArcGIS Pro, VectorWorks and VariCAD. The 2023 update also brought Touch ID to Windows virtual machines, allowing users to sign in to a Windows VM using both Touch ID and a personal Microsoft account.

Apple changed the printing system used in Sonoma, so Parallels Desktop 19 also introduced a new Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) to allow users to print documents from a virtual machine using their normal printer.

Parallels Desktop 19.2 brought a faster option for cloning VMs. That’s useful for developers and professional users who may need to create multiple VMs based on an existing template. It also improved the ability to use Sign In With Apple to sign in to a Parallels account using hardware security keys that users may have created on their Mac. The introduction of Sonoma changed the way the macOS handles Windows disk formats, causing some VMs to become unstable when running from an external hard drive or SSD, so version 19.2 also fixed this problem to improve the stability of VMs on external drives.

And, in March 2024, the program was updated to version 19.3. This fixed graphics problems that had affected a number of well-known Windows games, such as Dark Souls II and Genshin Impact. Gamers should be aware, though, that (at the time of writing) Parallels is still working on support for Microsoft’s DirectX 12 graphics software, and Parallels Desktop is still limited to games that use DirectX 11.

Parallels Desktop Pro vs Standard, Business vs Enterprise

Parallels Desktop has traditionally been available in three separate versions, with the Standard Edition designed for home users and education, the Pro Edition for developers, and the Business Edition for corporate users. However, 2024 sees the arrival of a new Enterprise Edition, which is due for release ‘later this fall’ (with pricing available on request). 

Features for developers

Parallels states that it is seeing more and more Mac users running the macOS as a guest operating system on a VM, especially developers who need to test their apps with different versions of the macOS. 

Parallels therefore supplies configuration options when creating VMs that run the macOS, providing greater freedom to configure the number of processors and the amount of memory used. Developers get a command-line interface to speed up testing, advanced networking features, and the ability to share folders and volumes between different versions of the macOS. There’s even some TLC for Linux users, with improved handling of Mac trackpads, and faster installation for the popular Ubuntu version of Linux.

The version 20 update to Parallels Desktop Pro brings an assortment of new features for developers including the Parallels AI Package (available in all editions, apart from Standard). This will allow developers to create a ready-made virtual machine that includes 14 different sets of AI tools, along with code samples and instructions. It’s even possible to use ordinary language commands – such as “Parallels, start my Windows 11 VM”. These tools are designed to help all developers, including students and smaller teams, so that they can start experimenting with AI quickly and easily. There is also improved support for Microsoft’s Visual Studio development tools, which now includes the use of Microsoft’s CoPilot AI features within Windows. (www.parallels.com/products/desktop/ai/)

Version 19 brought several new features specifically aimed at developers including an extension for using Visual Studio code that makes it easier to organize and use multiple VMs, and improved support for creating VMs that run different versions of macOS.

As we mentioned above, Parallels has confirmed it is working on a feature that will also allow Macs with Apple Silicon to run the original Intel version of Windows. This will be a breakthrough for developers who want to work on both ARM and Intel platforms. 

Features for businesses 

The Business Edition of Parallels Desktop includes several features to help IT departments in large organizations quickly roll out Parallels virtual machines to multiple users. There are improved security features, and, since version 19, those with the Business edition of Parallels Desktop can use their VMs with corporate management systems such as Hashicorp Packer and Microsoft’s InTune.

The Enterprise Edition, coming later in 2024, will include a Management Portal that makes it easier to install and manage virtual machines for large numbers of users within an organisation. This Edition will also provide SOC Type 2 reports, which are used to maintain security standards within large organisations.

Features for gamers

Gamers who want to run Windows games on a Mac can do so via Parallels Desktop, and are able to use game controllers with those games. 

There has been support for DirectX 11 since Parallels Desktop 15. There is no DirectX 12 support yet. 

Version 4.1 of OpenGL is also supposed. 

Parallels Desktop for Mac pricing 

Parallels Desktop is available in three different editions: Standard, Pro and Business.

The Standard edition is mainly aimed at home and educational users and costs $99.99/£89.99 per year, with additional discounts also available for students and education users. That annual subscription fee includes any new versions and updates that may be released in the future. It’s also possible to buy the standard edition with a perpetual license for a one-time fee – unfortunately this has increased from $129.99/£104.99 to $219.99/£154.99 with the 2025 edition. That price is a one-time fee that allows you to use the Standard Edition forever – with no recurring subscriptions – although you will need to pay an additional fee for any upgrades that are released in the future.

The Pro Edition and Business Edition are only available with a subscription, with the annual pricing remaining unchanged. The Pro Edition aimed at developers costs $119.99/£99.99 while the Business Edition is $149.99/£119.99. Pricing for the new Enterprise Edition is available on request (parallels.com).

It’s worth mentioning that there’s also a version of Parallels Desktop that is sold on the Mac App Store–however, Apple imposes some serious technical limitations on this version so it’s probably best to buy Parallels Desktop directly from Parallels itself.

Can you use Parallels for Mac for free?

The Parallels website offers a 14-day free trial so that you can see how Parallels Desktop works before buying the full version. Just remember that you do still need to buy a license for Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, which starts at a rather hefty $199.99/£219.99.

Can you use Parallels Desktop on more than one Mac? 

To use Parallels desktop on two or more Macs you will need to buy additional licenses. If you are just moving to a new Mac you can uninstall the software on the first Mac and install it on the new Mac. 

Should You Buy Parallels Desktop?

Parallels isn’t the only option available for running Windows on a Mac, but its constant cycle of regular updates has ensured that it continues to outpace rival virtualization programs, such as VMWare Fusion. It’s also more straightforward to use than alternative technologies, such as CrossOver from Codeweavers. 

Parallels keeps up with the latest developments on Macs with Apple Silicon to ensure that it remains one of the best options currently available for running Windows and Windows software on a Mac.

Should you update to Parallels Desktop 26? 

If you have an existing subscription to Parallels Desktop then, of course, you automatically get all the new features included in version 26 as part of your subscription. It’s a shame, though, that the perpetual license option for the Standard Edition has increased in price, as there are many people who only need Parallels Desktop for occasional use and don’t want to pay for a recurring annual subscription.

Gamers who want to play Windows games may also want to look at alternative options, such as the popular CrossOver from Codeweavers. However, Parallels Desktop 26 remains the best option for business and education users who need access to a wider range of Windows productivity software – especially as rivals, such as VMWare’s Fusion, are falling behind with fewer regular updates.

Last week, seven of the eight Eth2 clients under active development succeeded in marking the major milestone of moving from single-client to multi-client testnets at the “Interop Lock-in”. With this exciting success in Eth2 development, we wanted to reflect on how this point was reached and on what it means to the Ethereum network and ecosystem.

Anyone following Ethereum over the past couple of years has likely become familiar with terms such as “Ethereum 2.0”, “Eth2”, or “Serenity”. Each of these refer to substantial upgrades slated for the Ethereum protocol that have been envisioned in some form since before the network went live in 2015.

In the early years of Ethereum, groundbreaking research was accomplished in parallel to the original chain (Eth1) launching, while the massive growth of the Ethereum community that followed aided the initial adoption of decentralized applications. Still, the road from these early breakthroughs to a highly decentralized, yet scalable proof-of-stake blockchain has been long. Over the past 18 months though, research has finally stablized into a cohesive and complete vision for the coming major upgrades known as Eth2.

As research moved into specifications toward the end of 2018, many teams (client teams) from across the community stepped up to build out core implementations of the protocol (clients). Since then, there has been a dynamic play between specification and implementation. Fort-nightly calls and a common spec repository organize communication and the sharing of ideas, but client teams have primarily worked in relative isolation, building and testing their implementations of the protocol.

While the spec was a moving target, clients could only dig so deep into interoperability and optimizations, but once the Phase 0 specification of Eth2 was deemed “frozen” on July 1, 2019, clients made tremendous progress and began to take concrete steps toward production.

Interop

Joseph Delong from Pegasys had the crazy idea of gathering members from each of the client engineering teams in a remote location for a week of interoperability work. The event was deemed the “Interop Lock-in” or as it was generally referred — “Interop”. With the spec freeze in sight and Devcon on the horizon, Interop in September was an opportunity have all of these stakeholders work through initial interop-issues in person.

The primary purpose of the event was to have each participating client to achieve pair-wise interoperability with each other client in small test networks — Lighthouse <-> Artemis, Lodestar <-> Lighthouse, Lodestar <-> Artemis, etc.

Participating client teams included:

Additional goals involved testing (1) larger networks in both node count and (2) validator count, (3) networks with 3+ clients, (4) enhancing tooling for monitoring and debugging Eth2 networks, and (5) other fun things like getting raspberry pis running and building fork visualizers.

Leading up to the event, some goals seemed like a stretch, but teams worked diligently until the deadline and achieved amazing progress. By the end of the week, client teams far exceeded original expectations of having a few pair-wise networks, instead completing the entire pair-wise tests, building a small network of all 7 participating clients, and more.

The following represent a glimpse into the highlights of the client successes, but is certainly not exhaustive:

Multi-client testnets

• All 7 participating clients achieved pair-wise interoperability, and although an 8th, Shasper, was not able to be in attendence, they have begun to work through this milestone as well.
• Many larger testnets were formed between 3+ clients, 3+ nodes, and higher than minimal validator counts.
• All 7 clients in attendence were successfully run on a single network.
• All participating languages’ libp2p implementations are now interoperable after debugging some minor issues.

Network debugging and tools

• Some consensus errors between clients were identified, debugged, and recorded as portions of the state transition that require increased test coverage.
• Command line tools were built to better debug ssz objects and state transitions (zcli, pycli, and similar tools embedded within clients).
• Progress made on metrics dashboards, a fork visualizer, and other tools to better understand clients and networks
• Clients were packaged up into containers to perform large-scale network tests within the Whiteblock genesis platform.

And then some

• Client teams served as eachother’s first alpha users resulting in extensive build/run scripts and related documentation.
• Isolated load tests with Nimbus and Lighthouse handled 2000+ validators on a single machine paired with similarly full nodes over LAN.
• Multiple clients were built and tested on a small raspberry pi network.

And beyond

Interop marked a major inflection point for Eth2. There is still much work to accomplish before launch, but engineering efforts will increasingly be geared toward testnets, optimizations, and usability — work that begins to shift this software into the hands of users.

So what’s up next for client teams and eth2 development?

• Benchmarks and optimizations
• Test sync, stress test networks, etc
• Public and incentivized testnets
• Third party audits
• Polishing the validator user experience

Finally, we owe a special thank you to the ConsenSys team for helping to organize, host and provide resources that made Interop possible.

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Lightweight & compact
• Bluetooth remote control included
• Good magnetic adhesive force
• Also serves as a selfie stick

Cons

• Wobbles noticeably at maximum length
• Closing the legs can be a little fiddly

Our Verdict

The Kraftgeek Just Tap is a clever MagSafe tripod with a length of between 13 and 66 inches (33-168cm). This is impressive Considering the dimensions when retracted. The compact design causes some instability when fully extended, but when retracted the tripod serves as a selfie stick as the supplied Bluetooth remote control is magnetically attached to it.

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Price When Reviewed

$49.99

Best Prices Today: KraftGeek JustTap MagSafe Tripod

Tripods can be a real pain if you want to take photos or videos with your iPhone when you’re out and about, as standard models tend to be heavy and bulky. Not so the Kraftgeek Just Tap Tripod tested here. It’s a lightweight, compact MagSafe tripod that doubles as a selfie stick when the legs are folded.

Kraftgeek specialises in tripods and stands of all kinds. In addition to various smartphone stands, the company also offers music stands, easels and other stands.

The Just Tap consists of ten interlocking aluminium segments, creating a telescopic pole. This is inserted into a round plastic body, which in turn consists of three segments and folds out into three tripod feet at the touch of a button on the underside.

This in itself is a pretty cool mechanism that enables an incredibly compact design: the entire pole has a diameter of just 1.5 inches (3.8cm) once inserted, apart from the flat MagSafe holder with a diameter of 2.4 inches (6cm) at the top and the remote control, which minimally protrudes from one of the three feet. This corresponds roughly to the diameter of a relay baton in athletics.

The thickness of batons means it can be gripped comfortably and securely with one hand, and this is also an advantage for the Kraftgeek Just Tap, as it also sits comfortably in the hand when folded up as a selfie stick. The only drawback: the tripod weighs 16oz (455g), while a baton only 1.8oz or 50g, and this is noticeable, especially when an iPhone is hanging at the other end and the extended telescopic pole increases the leverage on the arm.

The MagSafe holder is connected to the telescopic rod via a plastic rod and two hinges. Each hinge has just over 180 degrees of travel, so you can rotate your iPhone a total of just over 360 degrees relative to the rod. This is most useful if, for example, you want to film yourself sitting at a table over your shoulder or use the Kraftgeek Just Tap as a selfie stick.

Speaking of MagSafe: the adhesive force is surprisingly strong. My iPhone 16 Pro Max stays stable on the tripod even when I shake it up and down wildly. Of course, you shouldn’t overdo it, because sooner or later the iPhone could suddenly go flying, but with normal use I’m not worried at all. However, if the tripod falls over, the iPhone will also come loose—although, of course, this risk exists with tripods of any design.

So that you can also attach smartphones other than the iPhone, Kraftgeek includes a metal ring that you can stick to an Android smartphone and which honestly holds even better than the Magsafe magnets in the iPhone. As long as you haven’t stuck it on, you should keep it at a distance from the MagSafe holder of the tripod as a precaution; otherwise it could cost you a fingernail or two to pull the ring off the holder again.

In addition to the metal ring, the scope of delivery also includes a small Bluetooth remote control, which you can use to operate the shutter release of your iPhone from a distance. For transport, it is magnetically attached to one of the three base elements in a recess provided for this purpose and also serves as a shutter release when you use the tripod as a selfie stick. The remote control is charged via USB-C, and the 50mAh battery lasts for what feels like half an eternity in this simple device. When the battery life is running low, the integrated LED lights up red.

The compact and lightweight design also has disadvantages. Although the ten aluminum segments fit together almost perfectly, each of them has enough play to affect the overall stability. In other words, the Just Tap is a little wobbly at maximum length. This is particularly noticeable when filming outdoors in moderate winds, regardless of whether you are using action mode or not.

Due to its low weight, the centre of gravity also shifts very far upwards as soon as you attach an iPhone to it, which is why the Kraftgeek tripod falls over more easily than professional models. But it’s not as if the Just Tap would fall over at the slightest breeze. You just have to be careful not to knock it over with a clumsy movement.

Last but not least, the walls of the aluminum segments are very thin. Although they are strong enough that you probably won’t run the risk of bending them in normal use, but if it falls over and you trip over it and land on it, it’s bound to break. As with the previous point, you just have to be a bit careful.

Price

Considering the price, however, it is not difficult to recommend the Kraftgeek Just Tap. The tripod costs $49.99 / £38 / 37.95 euros, and shipping from the company’s own shop currently takes 1-2 weeks. Kraftgeek’s products will also be available on Amazon in the future, but Kraftgeek has not yet set a specific timetable, Kraftgeek told me when I asked.

Should you buy the Kraftgeek Just Tap Tripod?

While there are compromises that you must make if you are looking for a lightweight, compact tripod such as the Kraftgeek Just Tap, this is built for the iPhone and works so well we can highly recommend it.

This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Wide range of photo editing tools, including AI-powered ones
• Cross-platform editor offering desktop, web, and mobile apps
• Regularly updated
• Compatible with dozens of plugins
• Handy guides and tips for beginners
• Supports online collaboration

Cons

• Bloated desktop app(s)
• Relatively expensive
• No lifetime license

Our Verdict

Adobe Photoshop remains the best photo editor for professionals out there. It’s stable, reliable, feature-rich, and actively developed; it won’t disappoint.

Price When Reviewed

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Best Pricing Today

Price When Reviewed

Full Photoshop: $22.99 a month, $263.88 a year for Photoshop; Photography Plan: From $19.99 a month, $239.88 a year.

Best Prices Today:

Adobe Photoshop Free Trial

Free

Adobe Photography Plan (per month)

$19.99

Adobe Photoshop (per month)

$22.99

Adobe first launched Photoshop exclusively for the Macintosh in 1990. Since then, the software has grown to become the default photo editor for creative professionals on all platforms. Today, the app is available on all major operating systems and continues to keep up with the latest industry trends—including the current AI boom.

While many rivals have put out alternative photo editing apps, very few brands have managed to gain a fraction of Adobe’s relevance in this space. Nevertheless, Photoshop is expensive, and whether it’s worth the recurring fees will depend on your personal budget and needs.

Adobe Photoshop is available on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, Android, and the web. While all clients serve the same main purpose, the actual feature set differs based on the platform you’re using. For example, some of the desktop tools are currently unavailable on mobile and on the web. As such, this review focuses on the Mac version of Photoshop.

Getting started with Photoshop

Unlike Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop is not available on the Mac App Store. To install the macOS client, you’ll first need to download the Creative Cloud app launcher from the web, which then automatically installs over half a dozen other Adobe apps for maintenance and such. It’ll flood your Launcher (or App Library on macOS Tahoe) with unnecessary icons and overload your Mac with background processes that could drain the battery and impact its performance. It’s a nightmare. The alternative is using the web version of Photoshop, but it’s missing some features.

Despite the bloatware, Photoshop performed fluidly on my M2 MacBook Air running the macOS Tahoe developer beta. Compared to the web app, the native Mac client’s UI looks a bit outdated, but it works. You get to tweak the theme and other preferences, but a modern redesign is objectively overdue.

If you’re new to Photoshop, you’ll likely appreciate the tips and video guides bundled with the app. Thanks to these explainers, you can find out exactly what each primary tool does and quickly get to know how the complex software operates.

Before looking into the traditional Photoshop features, let’s explore the newest features that are powered by artificial intelligence. Adobe Firefly is the company’s AI engine, and it’s baked natively into Photoshop. While using AI in photo editing can be a controversial topic, certain smart tools help creatives achieve more in less time—without necessarily stripping the original photo of its artistic essence.

For example, noise reduction tools and blemish erasers have been around for eons. The AI-powered Photoshop app merely upgrades these existing features to enhance the output. So, you get to circle intrusive objects and have AI generate a suitable background that blends with the rest of the image. You similarly get to upscale or expand photos while minimizing pixelation. It’s the subtle kind of AI that maintains the input’s realism.

Otherwise, you get some wilder AI features in Photoshop for those who want to completely transform their content. For example, you can generate images from scratch using text prompts and insert them realistically (shadows and all) into your project. You also get to try different variants of the same object to see what visually works best in a particular context.

Likewise, you can isolate the subject in your shot and have AI generate new backgrounds or sky styles, making it easier for marketers to take product shots. Similar to Lightroom, you can also apply AI-made filters that uniquely adapt to your individual photos.

Like most AI features, the output can sometimes be unpredictable. However, the features have generally worked reliably for me, and they are undoubtedly more accurate than asking ChatGPT to edit a photo in a specific way. It’s worth noting, though, that certain generative features consume Adobe Firefly credits. If you run out of AI tokens, you can buy additional ones via a separate Firefly subscription, which starts at $9.99/£9.98 a month.

Photoshop classic features

Even before the AI boom, Adobe Photoshop topped the photo editing charts due to its advanced capabilities. For starters, the software utilizes a longstanding layering system, making it easy to isolate edits and apply changes without affecting the original image. If you’re unsure about a certain change or effect, you can easily deactivate, reorder, or delete the respective layer without impacting the rest of your project.

Other non-AI features include different brush styles for doodling, cloning tool, a ton of fonts for inserted text, cropping, blending, color balance adjustments, smudging, masking, healing, distorting, warping, edit changelog, numerous export options, etc. And with support for third-party plugins, you can supercharge the software further with more specific tools that Adobe doesn’t natively offer. There’s a reason why the word Photoshop has become the go-to verb for any altered image—it’s incredibly powerful and basically limitless in its abilities.

In terms of performance, I didn’t encounter any major bugs or lags while using Photoshop on my MacBook. If it feels sluggish, you can head to the app’s settings and tweak some relevant options to make the experience smoother. For example, you can pick between on-device and cloud processing for certain AI features. Similarly, you can accelerate some tools by prioritizing speed over accurate results and dictate how much RAM the software can put to use.

Photoshop pricing and availability

To access Photoshop on macOS (or any other platform), you’ll need to pay for a subscription after your 7-day free trial expires. Adobe offers three main tiers:

Photoshop: The vanilla tier offers Photoshop access on all platforms, in addition to 100GB of cloud storage, for $34.49/£32.98 a month and cancel at any time. If you have long-term photo editing needs, you can opt for the $275.88 annual plan with monthly $22.99/£21.98 billing. Canceling the latter plan early will incur additional fees, however. To maximize your savings, you can pay $263.88/£262.51 upfront for one year of access.

At the time of writing Adobe has 50% off for the first three months in the UK, meaning you can get it for £9.98 a month for three months, before paying the full price for the rest of the term.

Photography bundle: This discounted tier unlocks Photoshop, Lightroom, and 1TB of cloud storage for $29.99/£28.99 a month (cancel at any time). Similar to the vanilla tier, you can choose an annual plan to save some bucks and get it for $19.99/£19.97 a month. Whether you’re opting for monthly billing or paying it all in one go, this bundle will cost you $239.88/£238.42 a year.

Creative Cloud Pro bundle: If you rely on other Adobe software, you can pay $104.99/£99.89 a month for the all-encompassing Creative Cloud Pro bundle (cancel at any time). This unlocks Photoshop, Lightroom, Acrobat, Illustrator, and over a dozen other apps. The annual plan is a monthly $69.99/£66.49 payment, while an upfront payment would discount it to $779.88/£773.86 for the year.

Adobe U.S. has 40% off for the first year bringing the price down to $41.99 a month paid monthly on the annual plan.

Adobe U.K. has 50% off for three months bringing the price down to £32.66 a month for three months.

Eligible students can apply additional discounts when subscribing to the Creative Cloud Pro bundle.

The price structure doesn’t make a lot of sense, and the Photography bundle is the best value even if you just want Photoshop. You’re still be getting around 10x more cloud storage for a significantly lower fee compared to the vanilla Photoshop tier.

For more information on Adobe pricing and the latest deals read Adobe Creative Cloud pricing: How to get the best deal.

Should you subscribe to Adobe Photoshop?

Whether you’re polishing a portrait, designing a poster, preparing marketing materials, or creating a digital banner, Photoshop will be able to handle your needs. And due to its popularity, you can find hundreds of solid tutorials on YouTube and other sites if you’re new to the platform. The app caters to both basic edits and advanced workflows, so no matter what your experience level is, you can find ways to utilize Photoshop effectively.

The only reason you may want to avoid using Photoshop is its revenue model. It’s not cheap, and for many reasons, some users avoid services with recurring subscription fees. Fortunately, there are plenty of Photoshop alternatives that are completely free, such as Photopea, or charge a one-time fee, including Apple-owned Pixelmator. While their feature sets—especially the AI-centric ones—aren’t identical to that of Photoshop, they can still produce similar results.

However, if your job revolves around manipulating images or you’re a prospective artist, then Adobe Photoshop is absolutely worth the price tag. Ultimately, Adobe Photoshop remains the best photo editor for professionals out there. It’s stable, reliable, feature-rich, and actively developed; it won’t disappoint.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling for a review of the central bank’s operations as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces mounting pressure to resign.

In a new interview with Bloomberg Television, Bessent says that the Federal Reserve is in need of deeper scrutiny as its budget and operations have expanded over the years.

Bessent’s comments come as President Donald Trump has said he hopes Powell quits and has also considered attempting to remove him, all while slamming the Fed chair for not cutting interest rates.

“The President has said he is not going to fire Chair Powell. I was somewhat surprised that [economist] Mohamed El-Erian came out and said that [Powell should resign]. And what I’ve come out and said is that I believe that it would do Chair Powell a favor, and he would be doing the institution a favor, if he did an internal review, separate monetary policy from everything else.

And this is something that [economist and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury] Larry Summers and I agree on, is this mission creep from the Fed is endangering their independence of monetary policy, all these other things that they’re engaging in could threaten monetary policy.

It is a big, sprawling institution. The central budget for the board is up 4x since 2004, and every institution needs to examine themselves.”

Bessent also says he’d support Powell overseeing the agency’s review, despite the criticism he’s facing.

“It could be a committee. It could be a group. They could invite outside experts in. The Bank of England after the 2022 rate hike shock went back and did a very good examination of what went wrong with monetary policy that brought in outside experts. I think an internal review would be a good start. And if the internal review didn’t look like it was serious, then maybe their could be an external review.”

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