Google Photos has long offered a 'Portrait blur' feature for adding bokeh to your people snaps, but now Google's Android app is bringing the effect to a lot more subjects – as long as you're a Pixel user or Google One subscriber.

The editing tool currently lets you add background blur to existing photos of people. But Google has announced that its Google Photos Android app is bringing the effect to lots of new subjects, including pets, food and plants.

The catch is that you'll need to either use a Pixel phone or subscribe to Google One to get the feature. The latter differs from free Google Drive cloud storage by being a paid subscription offering, with prices starting at $2 / £1.59 / AU$2.49 per month or $20 / £15.99 / AU$24.99 annually (for 100GB storage). If you try to use the feature without a Google One subscription, you'll be unable to save the photo.

While it's unlikely to be a feature that you'll upgrade your cloud storage for, it is a welcome bonus to anyone who's in those Pixel or Google One camps. Photographers often use shallow depth-of-field, which this tool simulates digitally, to draw attention to a particular subject, and the ability to add it to old photos really broadens it appeal.

It's possible to do this already on other apps like Snapseed and After Focus, but there's a real convenience to having it inside Google Photos if you use the photo service regularly – and Google's subject recognition is improving quickly.

You may not have the feature on your Android phone yet, as Google says it's "coming soon", but expect to see it rolled out in the coming weeks.

Analysis: Google's robot photo editor learns new tricks

Google Photos' editing features were initially quite rudimentary, but they've been given a big boost in the last 18 months – and this expanded Portrait Blur tool is another example.

The Google Photos app will automatically decide the amount of blur to add to your photos, though it can sometimes go overboard. Luckily, there is also the handy option to tweak the effect – to find it, just go to 'edit photo' then 'tools', and you'll find the blur slider.

As always with Google, though, the emphasis is on machine learning and automatic adjustments. And it's here that the Google Photos Android app is, in particular, getting much stronger. It now makes editing suggestions for your snaps, like brightening or rotating a picture – or even archiving it, if it deems it unworthy of your collection.

But sometimes these automations can get a bit carried away, like accidentally reminding you of a painful memory. So last year Google added some new controls for its Memories feature (which you can find by tapping the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner of the app) to help you hide or erase unwanted memories (in the Google Photos app, at least).

Being able to add 'Portrait blur' to old photos that were taken well before 'portrait modes existed is certainly a handy new feature though, and one that we're sure will ultimately come to other Android phones and, eventually, the iOS app too.

The most exciting e-bike of 2022 is way cheaper than you’d expect

Rad Power Bikes, maker of some of the toughest and best e-bikes around, has released a new folding e-bike that's built like a tank, packs down small enough to toss in the trunk of your car, and costs far less than you might expect.

Good quality e-bikes under $1,500 / £1,000 are hard to find, let alone folding models, due to the extra engineering involved in building a frame that can be packed down neatly but is still strong enough to handle the weight of a rider and the force of a powerful motor.

The new RadExpand 5 is the exception, costing just $1,299 (about £900 / AU$1,600), folding down in seconds, and boasting a 48V, 750W motor to make light work of hills and tough terrain.

Unlike most folding e-bikes we've tested, the RadExpand 5 isn't built for commuters (although you could certainly use it to cruise to work in style if you like). Instead, it's built for tackling mud and rutted trails on weekend adventures, with 4-inch-wide tires, full-coverage front and fenders, water-resistant wiring and connectors, and a range of up to 45 miles on a single charge.

Tough as nails

The RadExpand 5 is surprisingly practical too, with built-in lights, an included rear rack (ideal for bikepacking), and a 275lb / 125kg maximum payload. The adjustable high-rise handlebar should make for a comfortable ride for a wide range of rider heights, and a custom LED display shows current charge level, power mode, and light settings.

It's worth checking the laws surrounding e-bikes before placing your order, though. The RadExpand 5 will be legally classed as a bicycle in the US, but vehicles with a motor rated above 250W are only legal to ride on private land in many other territories, including the EU and UK.

Analysis: weighty matters

The RadExpand 5 is one of the most exciting e-bikes of 2022 thanks to its combination of power, convenience, and value. Its only real downside seems to be weight. The RadExpand 5 is lighter than the previous RadMini, but is still a seriously hefty machine at 62.5lb (about 28kg).

For comparison, our current top-rated folding e-bike, the GoCycle G4 , is a comparatively featherweight 39lb / 17.6kg, and even the heaviest model in our listing, the E-Trends Fly, is only 52lb / 23.5kg.

However, it's worth remembering that the RadExpand 5 isn't intended for lifting onto buses or taking to the office. A fairer comparison would be the Mate X from MATE.bike, another powerful folding machine made for all-terrain riding, which tips the scales at 63lb / 28.5kg.

Like the RadExpand 5, the Mate X is available with a 750W motor, and has a similar range of 50 miles. The biggest difference is the price, which is more than double that of the RadExpand. We're seriously excited to take it out ourselves and see whether it lives up to expectations.

Elden Ring Update makes Starscourge Radahn actually hard again

Publisher Bandai Namco released a small update today to the larger Elden Ring patch 1.03 that hit mid-March. Specifically, they slid in a fix to give Starscourge Radahn’s back his groove. The original update reduced the intimidating swordsman and his tiny baby horse's damage, basically turning his giant swords into a pair of pool noodles, making him a total pushover compared to his brutal contemporaries like Maliketh.

Developer FromSoftware continues to tinker with Elden Ring , tweaking the game to be just the right amount of challenging. Though, clearly getting Starscourge Radahn back to his formerly beefy self was important to the team as the only patch note in this update is “Fixed a bug in the balance adjustment of the boss 'Starscourge Radahn' in update 1.03, in which the power of some attacks was unintentionally reduced” making Radahn the star of a solo act update.

Previously, Radahn took a pretty big whack over the head in patch 1.03, with his weapon and projectile hitboxes shrinking and slowing down, a reduction in his melee damage, and big changes to his homing attacks among other things. While it's clear he needed some adjustments, he'd gone from being a challenge to being a source of entertainment as you could watch summoned NPC's pummel him on their own.

Not that there's anything wrong with using summons. While magicking up aid in battle feels against the spirit of Soulsborne games, as Pat discovered, leaning into the Elden Ring's summons feels like cheating but makes for an immensely fun time.

If you’re tackling Radahn now, you’ll want to be prepared since he’s bringing his A-game again, and that means weathering a beating. If you need some help, check out our Elden Ring bosses guide for some specific breakdowns, and it’s never a bad idea to brush up on more basic Elden Ring tips .